One oil...two cars?

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I've purchased two new cars this year and would like to see twenty years out of both. My wife has a Honda CRV (4 cylinder) that recommends 0-20, and mine is a Toyota Tacoma (6 cylinder, 4.0 L) that recommends 5-30. Both these vehicles will get severe service for the next year and a half until we retire, and consequentially I change the oil in both at about 3k on the clock. I go through a lot of motor oil at various prices and availability.
My question is...can I settle on one viscosity that would satisfy the requirements of both engines? I've been using Mobil1 in both and unless I get better advice, I'd like to stay with that. Thanks much.
 
As long as you are under warranty, it is not a good idea to deviate from what the manufacturer recommends.

Follow the OLM in the CRV and the maintenance schedule in the Tacoma, and both vehicles will last the 20 years.

Severe or not severe, dumping any oil, let alone M1 at 3k, is complete waste.
 
Save your tears for all the oil I've bought and paid for. It doesn't seem a waste at all when leveraged against even small maintenance and repair bills I can avoid long term.
 
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Was the 4.0 in the Tacoma ever spec'd for 5w-30?

Anything less than 10K on either of those engines is going to be a waste - especially with a good synthetic.
 
I'm curious to know what repair costs could be avoided by changing the oil at 3k instead of 6k?
 
Well you ask and the members gave you their best opinion. Put Mobil I 0w-20 in both vehicles. Change the oil and filter once a year and have a nice life. Regards
 
Originally Posted By: silverrat
I'm curious to know what repair costs could be avoided by changing the oil at 3k instead of 6k?

He saves on shrink bills as it'll help him sleep better at night.

Seriously though, he hasn't really described his driving conditions, but if they're truly severe, then 3-4K OCI might be warranted.
 
Originally Posted By: Cadenza
Save your tears for all the oil I've bought and paid for. It doesn't seem a waste at all when leveraged against even small maintenance and repair bills I can avoid long term.

It's quite likely that you're not saving any money unless you're driving short trips in the middle of a sand storm in the winter while towing the Statue of Liberty... But, it's your car and your oil. You can do whatever you want as far as I'm concerned.
 
Do you replace your tires at 50% of wear? Battery at 24 months?

That's what you're doing with the oil. You're not preventing any failures by dumping it that early.

Run 5k and do a UOA and see what it says. You'll be saving money and time in the long run by extending (5k isn't extended at all, though) your OCIs.
 
Here Honda dealers use 5w-30 even though the manual specs 0w-20. Apparently it is the Danish Honda importer that require 5w-30. I don,t know why they do it. But they have no problems doing it.
 
Originally Posted By: Cadenza
My question is...can I settle on one viscosity that would satisfy the requirements of both engines? I've been using Mobil1 in both and unless I get better advice, I'd like to stay with that. Thanks much.




Mobil 1 is a perfectly fine oil. Continue using it without issue/concern. If you wanted to change to see if you like the feel of any oil better, you can do that as well. But protection wise, Mobil 1 is right up there.


However, I feel there's a conflict is that you're willing to change your oil significantly sooner then is needed (M1 even in severe conditions can probably go twice as long as you're running it, without any negative affects to the vehicle). So you're willing to do more oil changes to try and get your vehicle to last longer, but you also want to deviate from what spec'ed oil your manufacturer says is best for the engine.

Please understand, I'm not trying to insult you in any way, I just feel that those two items are in conflict with one another.

If they were my vehicles, and I like to keep my cars running as long as possible, I would continue to use synthetic oil, but I would use the 0w-20 and 5w-30 that each one is spec'ed for.

Personally, I would also extend my OCI out past 3k, unless a UOA said that the oil really shouldn't go longer. But that's just me.
 
Ok well if you're gonna buy 2 jugs, one for each car, why do they need to be the same weight?

Why not just buy one 0w20 and one 5w30? What's the big deal?
 
I'll try to let myself off the hook here, as I don't want to waste either the oil or my efforts...
I drive a mile and a half in the early morning and repeat the drive in the evening. The cabin heater barely gets warm by the time I park, and I'm concerned about acids and moisture that builds up in the oil from a rarely hot engine.
My wife grinds out a ten mile commute in stop-and-go traffic that can often take an hour in Seattle traffic. So I'm trying to provide care for what I have always assumed was "severe" conditions. Can I expect modern synthetics yo go a full 10k? Am I doing damage by not changing earlier?
Thanks for all the replies so far.
 
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