Switch to Toyota 0w-20 on Camry with consumption?

[Mr60hertz]

Any thoughts on switching to Toyota's 0w-20 on a 07 4-cylinder Camry that uses at least a quart every 5k on Pennzoil Platinum? I do 10k changes and am looking to curb consumption a bit. Car has 170k on it.

 

[fauxchemist]

First of all your consumption is nothing/very little. My thoughts are- Why are you trying to slow consumption by going to a thinner oil makes no sense. My guess is, if switched,consumption would hold steady at current rate.

 

[Mr60hertz]

Its not terrible, I agree. I can get the Toyota oil for the same price or slightly cheaper than the Pennzoil bought at Walmart. I guess I should've asked do you think it will make the consumption worse?

 

[DinoOil]

Originally Posted By: Mr60hertz
Any thoughts on switching to Toyota's 0w-20 on a 07 4-cylinder Camry that uses at least a quart every 5k on Pennzoil Platinum? I do 10k changes and am looking to curb consumption a bit. Car has 170k on it.


Really???? Consider yourself blessed. What?... Is it too much to raise the hood between oil changes to check your oil and add every 5K? Maybe you're looking for a problem when there isn't one. Next...

 

[teddyboy]

My wife has the same car with the same engine. Based upon our experience and also on what's been written about that car, your oil consumption is well below average for that model. So far as oil choice is concerned, I was running the TGMO that you're considering in her car. Upon switching to M1 0W20, the consumption seemed to have stayed the same or may have gone down slightly. If you want to try something to curb oil consumption, you might consider M1 AFE 0W30. My experience suggests that if changing oils is going to reduce consumption, it's by going heavier not lighter.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: fauxchemist
First of all your consumption is nothing/very little. My thoughts are- Why are you trying to slow consumption by going to a thinner oil makes no sense. My guess is, if switched,consumption would hold steady at current rate.


I agree it won't change, you have two choices, think about moving to a 30 grade or if you are leaking rather than burning then an HM 30 grade. My guess is that would half the consumption if you used a 5/30 HM, but make sure you don't have a blocked CCV.

 

[Mr60hertz]

Teddy - great feedback. As I can get the Yota oil for a bit cheaper (and more convenient to buy) than the Pennzoil my thought was why not try it especially if I can get marginal fuel economy gains. If the consumption was similar dropping a grade I will give it a shot. I find the consumption to be annoying more than anything.


Originally Posted By: teddyboy
My wife has the same car with the same engine. Based upon our experience and also on what's been written about that car, your oil consumption is well below average for that model. So far as oil choice is concerned, I was running the TGMO that you're considering in her car. Upon switching to M1 0W20, the consumption seemed to have stayed the same or may have gone down slightly. If you want to try something to curb oil consumption, you might consider M1 AFE 0W30. My experience suggests that if changing oils is going to reduce consumption, it's by going heavier not lighter.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd give Mobil 1 AFE 0W20 a try.

 

[Mr60hertz]

Skyship - it burns it, doesn't leak. Are you suggesting replacing the PCV with your CCV comment?

Originally Posted By: skyship
Originally Posted By: fauxchemist
First of all your consumption is nothing/very little. My thoughts are- Why are you trying to slow consumption by going to a thinner oil makes no sense. My guess is, if switched,consumption would hold steady at current rate.


I agree it won't change, you have two choices, think about moving to a 30 grade or if you are leaking rather than burning then an HM 30 grade. My guess is that would half the consumption if you used a 5/30 HM, but make sure you don't have a blocked CCV.

 

[Mr60hertz]

Better than Yota's 0w-20?

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'd give Mobil 1 AFE 0W20 a try.

 

[teddyboy]

Originally Posted By: Mr60hertz
Teddy - great feedback. As I can get the Yota oil for a bit cheaper (and more convenient to buy) than the Pennzoil my thought was why not try it especially if I can get marginal fuel economy gains. If the consumption was similar dropping a grade I will give it a shot. I find the consumption to be annoying more than anything.


You didn't say what viscosity of PP you were running but I'd assume that it's either the 5W20 or 0W20 (althogh Bigfoot sightings are more common). When I switched from TGMO to M1 0W20 there was no detectable change in gas mileage. So far as price is concerend, a 5 qt jug of M1 AFE (in either the 0W20 or 0W30 variety) sells for a little over $25 at Wally World. If you can get TGMO 0W20 for much less than that per quart, you could start selling it online for a profit.

And if you haven't replaced your PCV valve recently, you need to do so immediately. Toyota has tended to ignore that maintenance, an oversight that appears to have been an issue in the 5SFE sludger.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

If you can get the Toyota oil cheaper then I say why not give it a try.
If you are changing your oil every 10,000 miles, and the car is using 2 quarts during that interval, that gives you the opportunity to refresh a large percentage of its crankcase over the cycle. That means your oil is in better shape at 8000 miles than someone who doesn't use a drop.

 

[Mr60hertz]

Its 5w-20. To throw a wrench in the works, I can get Mazda and Subaru's 0w-20 for slightly over cost as well. No eBay sales for me as I enjoy my job. I'll put the PCV on the list.

 

[Doog]

Try Maxlife 5w20 syn blend and 5000 mile interval.

 

[Artem]

I personally enjoy refreshing the oil's additive package every month or so in my 06 Scion tC (same engine, burning about a quart every 3-4k depending upon driving style durin those miles, but its usually very abusive with tons of high rpm action)

It seems to burn less with conventional oil.

I use 5w30 as that is what it specs.

 

[warrior]

Does not sound that bad considering the engine. It will not be hard to find hundreds of threads about these cars burning oil. We have a 2007 I4 that burned 2+ quarts every 5,000 miles. Toyota put a new engine in the car...since then I run PU 5-30...no more burning...just information...sorry if off subject...

 

[randomhero439]

170k, and only burning a quart every 5k miles. Sounds like you maintained the vehicle pretty well.

 

[Bandito440]

5w-30 High Mileage oil of your choice. I happen to like Mobil 1 and Maxlife products. If anything, I imagine a lighter oil would increase your consumption problem.

 

[getnpsi]

If you do lots of highway traveling your consumption will be higher either 20 or 30 weight. Good news if you DO do long highway runs your car and economy shouldn't even take a measurable hit with a 30.

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: fauxchemist
First of all your consumption is nothing/very little. My thoughts are- Why are you trying to slow consumption by going to a thinner oil makes no sense. My guess is, if switched,consumption would hold steady at current rate.


The idea that consumption is directly related to viscosity dates back to monograde oils. It's been well-documented that consumption can actually increase, significantly, by using a thicker oil. If you can find some the excepts of this book online, you'll find it pretty interesting: http://www.astm.org/BOOKSTORE/PUBS/STP621_S2.htm

One thing of note was that a synthetic 5W20 showed significantly less consumption than a conventional 10W40, and that heavier multigrade oils tend to be consumed faster in some standardized tests.

I can tell you that from my own experience that consumption rates tend to vary more by brand than viscosity. I had a car that ate oil and tried probably 10 different oils over a 150K mile period, all of very similar weight. There were significant differences in consumption among oils of nearly identical weight.

I've also used Toyota 0W20 an PP in car that doesn't eat oil (probably 1-2 oz per 5K miles), and usage with PP was slightly higher than TGMO 0W20 or Motorcraft's 5W20. I wouldn't hesitate to use it because of that, but that was my experience with it.

Thicker oil seems to leak a little slower, which is why I bet some people think it helps fix consumption. In general, it doesn't.