Top Off Oil Choices

Agree, will not matter, such a small amount, even Walmart oil will be fine !!
Walmart doesn't blend oil. They sell it like the other places that sell oil.
I honestly don't see anywhere partspro claims that Walmart blends their own oil. Pretty sure the rest of us all understood the statement to mean Walmart BRAND oil (Supertech) which I believe is blended by Warren. But if that is wrong, surely you will point it out as quickly as possible since you love correcting people even when it doesn't matter at all to the current discussion. Good grief.
 
I hear you, but I really want to get rid of these half quarts. I don't have a good place to continue storing them.
use empty 2 liter bottle(s); I use them for blending leftover 15w-40 and 10w-40 oils for use in my scooter & motorcycle; I put the cap on tight & shake the living s&#t out of it to mix the oils...no leaking issues; put a label on the bottles do you know what's inside
 
You reasoning Mr. Smarty pants? One would think EP would be a BETTER choice. Maybe not extending the OCI unduly but
The oil choice would be fine.

Reps? Those schmoes that are sent out to disapprove performing Warranty Work?

You know what worked for me on the 1995 Suzuki Aerio? After a heart to heart chat with the man, gifting the service manager a nice vintage Pierre Cardin shirt still folded in the plastic wrap and cardboard.

Dont ask. Dipstick incident.
My pants are still smarting, big whoop, EP is pure BS, waste of money,
 
My pants are still smarting, big whoop, EP is pure BS, waste of money,
This is at least the second time that you've denigrated EP. And this will be the second time that I've asked that you explain yourself. Why is EP "pure BS," why would you personally never run EP?

In its stead, what would you personally use, and why?
 
My pants are still smarting, big whoop, EP is pure BS, waste of money,
I doubt Mobil would tarnish their reputation. If it a waste of money, it is only 2 dollars extra. You make a lot of claims, with no evidence to back them up.
 
M1 10W-40 High Mileage, my reasoning; being it's a top-off you've put some wear into the current oil, a little thickening of the viscosity may be beneficial, it's closer to the change interval so the additives to help clean out sludge may help and be dumped and change out in a shorter cycle.

So I just did a similar being I have several partials to chose from and I just recently acquired a 2004 3.3l Toyota Sienna with unknown history and needing loads of preventive maintenance updates, at the first change I chose 5w-30 ST, and unfortunately I have a un-diagnosed drip that appears at the bell housing so as it was driven about 300 miles I thought it time to add to bring up to the full mark.

I specifically knew I wanted to use the rest of a 'minimizes sludge' 0w-20 Firestone I had, being I was going to do a short change interval as soon as the oil starts to tint or about 1k, whatever came first. I am at about 400 miles and the tint has seemed to appear, so the plan is to change Thursday after I drove another maybe 50 miles with the 'minimizes sludge' top off. It was less then a 1/4 quart and I do not have a timing chain adding to the oil degradation.

Then next change will be likely 5w-30 ST, but I may go as much as a 10w-40 HM being it's summertime and I plan another short change interval around November when it likely will get parked for the winter, this one is intended for the summer beater.

The good news is the first oil change did stay clean as I expected that it would be much worse considering what dumped out and the sludge I removed during the valve cover gasket replacement.

Just as a funny side note, our father directed us to the used motor oil to top off with, we all got mostly old 6 cyl Chevy and Fords of the 60's era given to us for our first cars and it obviously didn't matter to us at the time, we just wanted to drive and I don't even remember ever changing the oil in my first 2 cars.
 
My question too. has the vehicle ever had the oil level down to the fill line? There’s a big difference on being able to add a little oil and needing a top off. If you are running way down the road and notice you “need” to top off if You check every 1000 miles, then any rated oil will keep the sump safely filled. I would probably want to change the oil soon anyway. plus if you do a uoa, it’s nice to see the entire original sump examined, and not have top off oil diluting the results for the mileage.

Does the car actually use oil and need top offs between changes?
 
My question too. has the vehicle ever had the oil level down to the fill line? There’s a big difference on being able to add a little oil and needing a top off. If you are running way down the road and notice you “need” to top off if You check every 1000 miles, then any rated oil will keep the sump safely filled. I would probably want to change the oil soon anyway. plus if you do a uoa, it’s nice to see the entire original sump examined, and not have top off oil diluting the results for the mileage.
Since you've not quoted anyone, I can't be sure if you're addressing me or someone else. Sounds like it might be me.

So, here's the situation: although I've owned the car for about 10 months, and have done a few changes, the changes have always been short intervals because it was questionable that the engine had good, reasonable scheduled oil changes. During that time, I've only taken one long trip of 400 miles. At no point during that period has the oil level dropped very far. In fact, I've only added 1/2 quart of oil in 4,700 miles.

When I leave on this upcoming trip, there will be approximately 1,400 miles since the last change. So far, the oil level is where it was on the day it was changed ...no observable drop in the level. I'm pleased and somewhat pleasantly surprised.

I have no idea what, if any, oil use will manifest during this trip. As I said in my original post, I may want or need to top up at some point.

I doubt very much that I'll do a UOA at the culmination of this trip, regardless of topping up. However, I may consider an analysis at the next change, when pretty much most all the residual oil that was in the sump when I bought the car has been flushed. The 2AR-FE engine retains about 1.5 quarts of residual oil at every change.

I hope this clarifies the situation. I will say one more thing: the "BS" Mobil1 EP seems to be doing a fine job and I'm happy with it.
 
Since you've not quoted anyone, I can't be sure if you're addressing me or someone else. Sounds like it might be me.

So, here's the situation: although I've owned the car for about 10 months, and have done a few changes, the changes have always been short intervals because it was questionable that the engine had good, reasonable scheduled oil changes. During that time, I've only taken one long trip of 400 miles. At no point during that period has the oil level dropped very far. In fact, I've only added 1/2 quart of oil in 4,700 miles.

When I leave on this upcoming trip, there will be approximately 1,400 miles since the last change. So far, the oil level is where it was on the day it was changed ...no observable drop in the level. I'm pleased and somewhat pleasantly surprised.

I have no idea what, if any, oil use will manifest during this trip. As I said in my original post, I may want or need to top up at some point.

I doubt very much that I'll do a UOA at the culmination of this trip, regardless of topping up. However, I may consider an analysis at the next change, when pretty much most all the residual oil that was in the sump when I bought the car has been flushed. The 2AR-FE engine retains about 1.5 quarts of residual oil at every change.

I hope this clarifies the situation. I will say one more thing: the "BS" Mobil1 EP seems to be doing a fine job and I'm happy with it.

The reality is that the engine in your Camry is so easy on oil it really doesn't matter what you use or top up with. Its not going to care. You live in a temperate climate with no worry over cold flow ability, it would likely run the same on a 20W-XX as it would with a 0W-XX.

Unless you're trying for extended drain intervals, EP really doesn't matter as well. A UOA you take at anything under 10,000 miles of use is likely going to show very similar results using any oil discussed in this thread.

A change of 1-10 parts per million of metal wear isnt going to be the doomsday death of your engine. A UOA isn't done to prove the oil has prevented wear, its to show how the engine is wearing and how much wear is occurring. This could stem from many aspects outside flushing residual oil out from before you bought the car.

I think you're being a little bit anal about your oil changes for somebody who drives very little. You're not particularly kind to the people in this thread who point to ways to save you money.
 
The reality is that the engine in your Camry is so easy on oil it really doesn't matter what you use or top up with. Its not going to care. You live in a temperate climate with no worry over cold flow ability, it would likely run the same on a 20W-XX as it would with a 0W-XX.

Unless you're trying for extended drain intervals, EP really doesn't matter as well. A UOA you take at anything under 10,000 miles of use is likely going to show very similar results using any oil discussed in this thread.

A change of 1-10 parts per million of metal wear isnt going to be the doomsday death of your engine. A UOA isn't done to prove the oil has prevented wear, its to show how the engine is wearing and how much wear is occurring. This could stem from many aspects outside flushing residual oil out from before you bought the car.

I think you're being a little bit anal about your oil changes for somebody who drives very little. You're not particularly kind to the people in this thread who point to ways to save you money.
As much as I like Shel...
On all points... BINGO!

Though I must admit, I'm not a Mobil 1 fan.
 
I think you're being a little bit anal about your oil changes for somebody who drives very little. You're not particularly kind to the people in this thread who point to ways to save you money.

Probably, but I know what I like, and it makes me feel comfortable using M1.

While I appreciate that any number of people criticize my choice, and feel, I'm sure, a helpful desire to save me money, it's my money, and I'll spend it as I please. I don't judge or criticize others for trying to save $$ on their choices, or buying countless jugs of oil on sale that they may never use.


It's his money, his pleasure, and his choice ... one may argue that by purchasing so much oil, he's overspending, but I don't see anyone saying that, or suggesting he do otherwise.
 
I think you're being a little bit anal about your oil changes for somebody who drives very little. You're not particularly kind to the people in this thread who point to ways to save you money.
Yes, I've driven very little in the past year, just as many have. Yet all my driving has been as extreme service. That said, now that things are opening up, a long road trip is planned. Leaving on the 28th or 29th for a 1,600+ mile trip. And I'm gonna feel real secure going over mountains, through high desert, and 100+ degree heat with the M1 EP in the crankcase. Y'know, come to think of it, maybe I should drain the overpriced, better-than-needed oil and dump some Triax into the sump.
The reality is that the engine in your Camry is so easy on oil it really doesn't matter what you use or top up with. Its not going to care. You live in a temperate climate with no worry over cold flow ability, it would likely run the same on a 20W-XX as it would with a 0W-XX.

Unless you're trying for extended drain intervals, EP really doesn't matter as well. A UOA you take at anything under 10,000 miles of use is likely going to show very similar results using any oil discussed in this thread.

A change of 1-10 parts per million of metal wear isnt going to be the doomsday death of your engine. A UOA isn't done to prove the oil has prevented wear, its to show how the engine is wearing and how much wear is occurring. This could stem from many aspects outside flushing residual oil out from before you bought the car.

I think you're being a little bit anal about your oil changes for somebody who drives very little. You're not particularly kind to the people in this thread who point to ways to save you money.
 
Mix them both into a single bottle. Top off anything/everything with it, oil your hinges, etc. Soon, it will be gone and in the meantime you will only have one bottle to hold on to.
 
Since I've had cars, even if I used say, Mobil 1 or Valvoline in a vehicle, a lot of times my top off or sixth quart would be Supertech or similar. It just monetarily worked out that way as Mobil 1 might have been $22 for 5 quarts, but then now it's $7-8 per individual quart, whereas ST is $3-4. Just economics, but I've always just topped off with whatever non-City Star kind of API oil I could find.
 
Back
Top