What oil for road trip

[M1Accord]

My cousins are taking my 1992 Corolla for a road trip from VA to El Paso and from there to the southern of CA and all the way to to the northern part of CA. For the trip him, they'll go to Vegas, Louisiana, Miami, and back up to VA. The current oil is Valvoline 5W20 Supersyn with only 100 miles on it. Should they keep it like that or switch to something heavier. I think the entire trip should take somewhere between 10-15k miles depending on what areas they want to jump to along the way. Gas mileage is a big consideration and this car has been living on 5W20 for the last 2 years, yielding about 38 mpg on straight highway.

How much mileage would be lost with 5W40? I figure it would be nice to change oil once they back to Vegas but I hate to hate some yoohoo doing the change and screw it up. I am sure everyone here heard about the no-change and filter wipe down at the quick-lube shops. The only places I would trust to change my oil are Walmart and Pep Boys because we can actually see the work being done behind the glass window waiting room.

I wish I could go with them but I am stuck at work. At least it is a cold weather when they cross southern tip, which can get pretty hot in summer. I think they'are doing the fill-up, drive 300 miles, and fill-up until they get there. There are 3 drivers so they can take turn doing it. This would be a great test of how durable both oil and car are.

 

[wcbcruzer]

Stay with whatever the manual says.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: wcbcruzer
Stay with whatever the manual says.


+1

 

[Max_Wander]

I'd leave that fresh Synpower in there, I mean, why not? Changing to something heavier wouldnt make sense since it's just highway miles and the engine will be mostly cruising lightly. A 10k UOA might be interesting

 

[lexus114]

5W-20 in a 92?

 

[chevrofreak]

10-15K seems like a gross overestimate of the miles they'll be traveling.

Might as well dump in some Auto RX and take advantage of the fact that the engine will be hot for an extended period of time.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
5W-20 in a 92?


That's what I was thinking, is this car spec'd for 5W-20 oil?

OTOH, if you've been using it for a while now...

 

[J_Myler]

Keep the Synpower in there, I mean what could it hurt?

 

[demarpaint]

If the car has been running well with the 5W20 Synpower and it only has 100 miles on it I would stick with it. If you plan on changing it out I would use what the car was spec'd for. Re-reading the original post it seems the 5W20 is working well.

 

[M1Accord]

No, it is spec'ed for 5W30 but 5W20 has been looking great and there is no leak/usage to speak of. On highway, it can do 80 mph with even light pedal and is extremely quite. I have to be cautious and ease off every now and they or it'll creep past 85 mph and into reckless driving territory.

 

[demarpaint]

Sounds like the 5W20 is a winner for you, stick with it. I recently switched one of my vehicles from 5W30 to 5W20 and have been very pleased.

 

[andrewg]

How many miles on car? Have you done the other vital fluids like transmission, coolant and brake? With a long trip like that, and a higher mileage vehicle, I would go through the entire mechanicals first and replace anything even slightly questionable. I also would'nt use 5w-20 for a long, possibly hot trip. Perhaps half way through the trip I'd switch to 5w30.
Also check belts, hoses, and tire condition.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I would bring along 1-2 quarts Synpower 5/10W30 for 10-15k miles trip in case it's needed to top up.

 

[Ibrahim]

first I would do what andrewg said above...its a long trip and as HTSS_TR said keep couple bottles of synpower handy!
tire air pressure check?