Oil for Gen3 Toyota Camry?

[silversapphire]

Hey all, I'm new to driving and auto maintenance. I recently purchased a 1994 Toyota Camry V6. It has 71k miles on it right now. I've got an oil change due soon. . what oil would best suit this car? I'm looking for maximum reliability

sy I was looking at synthetics because they flow better when cold. . but is there any advantage to getting one of the boutique synthetics like amsoil or redline over pennzoil or castrol?

I live in the US, MD, which is a fairly temperate climate.

I drive the car very gently, but I sport it out maybe once a week.

The roads I encounter are suburban, kind of like a mix between city/highway, and I drive short trips in an addition to longer trips on a regular basis.

The manual states the use of 10w30 in temperatures above 0F, but says that 5w30 is the preferred oil. It says to use API grade SG or SH, Energy Conserving II, or ILSAC multigrade engine oil. I figure the latest API grade is backward-compatible/better than SG/SH.

The manual says to change oil/filter every 3750mi for harsh driving or every 7500mi for normal driving.

The car is running pretty well right now. My mechanic said that the valve cover gasket is on its way out, but it hasn't lost any oil in the 2,000 miles that I've driven it so far.

As far as the filter, I'm going to use Toyota.

TIA

 

[cathy]

Either oil fine

 

[HerrStig]

The folks on ToyotaNation.com like Rotella T6.

 

[Trav]

Just run Pennzoil Ultra 5w30 and rest easy.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

I run Mobil 1 5w30 in my gen 3 Camry!

 

[beast3300]

I'm not personally sold on boutique synthetics. PU530/1030 or T6 or T5 would work swimmingly.

 

[silversapphire]

Thanks a lot for great suggestions everybody! I'll go with 5w30 (since its winter and its recommended anyway).

M1/PU/T6 all look like winners. Sadly T6 isn't available in 5w30 (looks like its formulated for diesels, maybe I could use the 10w30 in the summer).

Is there any reason why boutiques cost over twice as much as other brands for synthetics?