So I found this website only days ago searching for information about switching to synthetic oil, but wow what a great place to learn about oil! I've been reading through the posts and links to other sites with long explanations on oil and thought I would ask the community their opinion on my truck and my specific driving habits.
1. I have a 2006 Toyota Tundra with almost 75000 miles
2. The owner's manual says to use multi-grade ILSAC engine oil with 5W-30 viscosity and change every 5k miles.
3. I live in California but will most likely be moving to central Oregon where it is much colder!
4. Usually cruise around 70mph but have a ScanGauge to help me keep the foot light.
5. My daily drive is really all over the place. Commute anywhere from 20 to 50 miles to a specific town and then do at least 15 stops and starts through out the day with maybe only 2 of the stops the engine is off more than 2 hours the rest usually under an hour.
6. The truck is in great condition as far as I know. I did increase the tires from 30inch to 33's (only mod i made to the truck).
I was thinking of either switching to Mobil 1 (not sure what "make") or Castrol Edge. My brother works with race trucks and says I should go Amsoil but I feel like for my driving, mobil or castrol should do the job just fine. Also not sure about which oil filter is best for my situation.
The other undecided issue is viscosity. Toyota says to run 5w30 but I hear 0w30 is better for cold start ups which might translate to better wear on my engine? To quote THIS giant oil article:
Quote:
Oil type... Thickness at 75 F...Thickness at 212 F
Straight 30...... 250......................10
10W-30............100......................10
0W-30..............40 ......................10
Straight 10........30....................... 6
Now you can see that the difference between the desired thickness your engine requires ( = 10 ) is closest to the 0W-30 oil at startup. It is still too thick for normal operation. But it does not have far to go before it warms up and thins to the correct viscosity. Remember that most engine wear occurs at startup when the oil is too thick to lubricate properly. It cannot flow and therefore cannot lubricate. Most of the thick oil at startup actually goes through the bypass valve back to the engine oil sump and not into your engine oil ways. This is especially true when you really step on that gas pedal. You really need more lubrication and you actually get less.
Also I drive about 100 or miles a day 5 to 6 days a week. I've been having the dealership do the oil changes (only $35) but I'll be doing my own oil changes when I switch to synthetic. I'm currently leaning towards Mobil due to it being everywhere I go, (I haven't noticed castrol edge but I probably haven't been looking) but I've been hearing good things about castrol since reading this forum. I also purchased a UOA and hope to compare results of the switch.
So basically just wondering if you guys think its a good idea to switch and maybe give some advice on either mobil or castrol and what viscosity I should use. Oh and oil filter recommendations with either oil. Thanks so much!
1. I have a 2006 Toyota Tundra with almost 75000 miles
2. The owner's manual says to use multi-grade ILSAC engine oil with 5W-30 viscosity and change every 5k miles.
3. I live in California but will most likely be moving to central Oregon where it is much colder!
4. Usually cruise around 70mph but have a ScanGauge to help me keep the foot light.
5. My daily drive is really all over the place. Commute anywhere from 20 to 50 miles to a specific town and then do at least 15 stops and starts through out the day with maybe only 2 of the stops the engine is off more than 2 hours the rest usually under an hour.
6. The truck is in great condition as far as I know. I did increase the tires from 30inch to 33's (only mod i made to the truck).
I was thinking of either switching to Mobil 1 (not sure what "make") or Castrol Edge. My brother works with race trucks and says I should go Amsoil but I feel like for my driving, mobil or castrol should do the job just fine. Also not sure about which oil filter is best for my situation.
The other undecided issue is viscosity. Toyota says to run 5w30 but I hear 0w30 is better for cold start ups which might translate to better wear on my engine? To quote THIS giant oil article:
Quote:
Oil type... Thickness at 75 F...Thickness at 212 F
Straight 30...... 250......................10
10W-30............100......................10
0W-30..............40 ......................10
Straight 10........30....................... 6
Now you can see that the difference between the desired thickness your engine requires ( = 10 ) is closest to the 0W-30 oil at startup. It is still too thick for normal operation. But it does not have far to go before it warms up and thins to the correct viscosity. Remember that most engine wear occurs at startup when the oil is too thick to lubricate properly. It cannot flow and therefore cannot lubricate. Most of the thick oil at startup actually goes through the bypass valve back to the engine oil sump and not into your engine oil ways. This is especially true when you really step on that gas pedal. You really need more lubrication and you actually get less.
Also I drive about 100 or miles a day 5 to 6 days a week. I've been having the dealership do the oil changes (only $35) but I'll be doing my own oil changes when I switch to synthetic. I'm currently leaning towards Mobil due to it being everywhere I go, (I haven't noticed castrol edge but I probably haven't been looking) but I've been hearing good things about castrol since reading this forum. I also purchased a UOA and hope to compare results of the switch.
So basically just wondering if you guys think its a good idea to switch and maybe give some advice on either mobil or castrol and what viscosity I should use. Oh and oil filter recommendations with either oil. Thanks so much!