Oil for Toyota 1NR-FE stop/start

[hermit]

Hi all

Just bought a Toyota Auris 1.33 stop/start (1NR-FE). The oil chart in the owners manual shows everything from 0W20 to 20W50 API SL or SM or ILSAC. It goes on to note that 0W20 is preferred as it provides optimal fuel efficiency, however if not available 5W30 may be used but should be replaced with 0W20 at the next oil change.

Here in the UK 0W20 or 5W20 is not easy to come by and costs $15-18/litre. I like to change the oil every 5000 miles rather than the 10000 service interval so I am looking to use a thin 0W30 or 5W30 which are a lot cheaper and easier to get.

My question is, what specs (other than SM or SL) should I be looking for as no ACEA standards or HTHS requirements are listed? I've purchased some Motul 0W30 Eco-clean SM/C2, which is a thin 30 weight (9.6cst), has an crazy VI of 235 and a HTHS of 2.87. I thought this was closest to the Eneos 0W20 (now unavailable in UK). Was this a good call?

Does this engine need a low HTHS oil to function correctly, or would a C3/A3/B4 oil such as Helix Ultra Extra or Fuchs Titan GT1 proflex offer better long term protection at a slight loss of mpg? Any thoughts gratefully received.

hermit

 

[Falcon_LS]

Congrats on the purchase!

I personally do not see a problem using 0W-30, but I think it might be a wise idea to write to Toyota UK and get an official letter back through to post to hang on to, in case something goes wrong.

That said, if you don't mind ordering your oil online, Opie sells a 5 litre jug of Motul 8100 Eco-Lite 0W-20 for £53.09 or £10.82 per litre (including VAT).

 

[hermit]

Hi Falcon_LS

Thanks for the reply. In theory contacting Toyota UK would be a good move, unfortunately they have an appalling customer care reputation and I know that their stock response will be use 0W20! Eco-lite is one of the few 0W20s available, but as you note it is expensive. The 0/5W30 oils are significantly cheaper.

Also the manual is quite ambiguous, it shows 0W20, 5W20, 5W30, 10W30, 15W40 and 20W50 as suitable, but 0W20 'preferred'. But then goes on to say the above about changing back to 0W20 at the next change. Weird. I assume this means that although 0W20 is preferred for fuel economy you can use any of the above without invalidating the warranty.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I forsee no problems with the Motul. And Wow on the prices as 5w20 stateside is about 3.00 USD/L. I've run a Motul 8100 Eco-Nergy 5w-30 years ago in a 1NZFE (Vitz/Yaris) and it did OK as far as fuel mileage (~5.8L/100KM), though that engine constantly had TC tensioner issues and VVT operation issues.

 

[hermit]

Thanks for your thoughts ARCOgraphite

Eco-Nergy was another option. This has now been changed to a 0W30 SL/A5B5 but is slightly heavier than the Eco-clean and has nothing like the mad VI. Prices are indeed crazy, even the Eco-clean is $9/litre.

If Toyota are showing 30 and 40 weights in the manual as acceptable, would you conclude that a low HTHS is NOT a requirement for this engine? Would there be any advantage in an A3 oil with regards to wear (eg X-lite)?

 

[CATERHAM]

Obviously you don't want to run an oil heavier than necessary.
The ENEOS 0W-20 has a HTHSV of 2.6cP and a 200 VI. That makes for a very light oil on start-up which is what you want.
Can't you get the Toyota Brand 0W-20 from your local Toyota dealer? It's basically the same as the ENEOS 0W-20.
You could also try Honda to source their 0W-20 brand.
Either way, whatever you choose keep the HTHSV under 3.0cP, the VI as high as possible and if you are going with an expensive oil, extend your oil change interval at least to 7,500 miles.

 

[hermit]

Thanks CATERHAM

Take your points regarding startup viscosity and HTHS. The Eco-Clean 0W30 has an HTHS of 2.87, not far off, and I think the Eco-Clean actually has a lower viscosity at the minimum temps I experience here (-10c), though I'm only using an online VI calculator to work this out. The Eco-Clean does have an exceptionally high VI, wonder how they achieve this?

The local Toyota dealer charges $92/5 litres of Toyota brand 0W20, haven't checked out the Honda option so thanks for that idea. Do you think the HTHS difference (2.87 vs 2.6) is problematic. I assumed that if they said 10w30 or 15w40 was ok in the manual then a low HTHS wasn't critical. Appreciate your insight.

With regard to OCI, the service interval is 10k miles so easiest to stick to 5k miles otherwise the dealer will chuck out 2.5k-old oil!

 

[CATERHAM]

Thanks for the heads up on the Motul 8100 Eco-Clean 0W-30.
Due to it's "crazy" 235 VI it's is indeed lighter than any 0W-20 out there.
How is it being acheived? Very low viscosity but high VI base oils plus a lot of VIIs I would guess.

 

[hermit]

So it would be a Grp 3/3+ base oil a bit like Shell's XHVI? Are lots of VIIs still a bad idea or has their stability improved in recent years? Presumably if it shears it will shear back to a 0W20?

 

[CATERHAM]

With a HTHSV of 2.87cP it's straddling the borderline between a heavy 20wt and light 30wt oil.
I wouldn't be concerned about shear, even if it does shear some, it will still be heavier at operating temp's than ENEOS 0W-20.
I don't think it is GP III based; correct me if I'm wrong but since Motul calls it 100% synthetic it must be predominately GP IV as I understand the European product rules.

 

[hermit]

The is it or isn't it proper synthetic is a bit confusing really. They don't term it a Technosnythese which I guess means its not 100% cracked/mineral. I suppose it could be part cracked, part PAO. The MSDS says 25-50% hydrotreated heavy paraffinic.

 

[CATERHAM]

So it would appear to be at least 50% GP IV with some GP III making up part of the formulation.
That doesn't concern me much and I'd be more interested in whether it contains high moly levels like the GP III based 0W-20s from ENEOS, Toyota, Honda and Subaru.

The fact that it appears to be half the price in the UK to the mentioned 0W-20s, the Motul product would be my first choice.

 

[hermit]

Would the fact that 0W20 is the 'preferred' rather than 'required' viscosity suggest that high moly is preferrable but not essential for this engine?

 

[CATERHAM]

The very high organic moly level is beneficial but of course not essential. (BTW Toyota claims a 2% fuel economy gain from the moly alone).
Since a light HTHSV 2.6cP oil is recommended anything heavier is just going to be less efficient but not generally harmful. But then one can say that about running a heavier oil than recommended in any application. The Motul 8100 Eco-clean 0W-30 with it's 2.87cP HTHSV would be an exception since it is actually lighter than the spec' oil at oil temp's below 40C due to it's 235 VI.

 

[hermit]

Thanks for all your help CATERHAM

Motul is actually pushing the Eco-Clean for Toyota/Honda/Subaru diesel engines, so my guess is its not far off the japanese 0W20 oil formulations.

Toyota are quite cavalier about all this. They expect owners to use a viscosity that is not widely available in some regions. They charge extortionate prices for their own brand but allow dealerships to use whatever they like. When I called my local dealer they said they would have to order 0W20 in. I asked what they used for servicing - 10w40 in everything!

This is clearly about jumping through hoops for the fuel consumption regulations, particularly since viscosities heavier than 0W20 are recommended in older Toyota models with the same engine (e.g. Yaris - 5W30).

 

[CATERHAM]

hermit, just heard from Motul and the VI of the 8100 Eco-clean 0W-30 is not 235 but rather 183. They have pulled the oil from their website presumably until the TDS on the oil is corrected.

If it's HTHSV remains 2.87cP even with a 183 VI it's still the y lightest 30wt oil I know of but not as light as the 0W-20's we discussed.

 

[hermit]

Hi Caterham

Sorry I missed your heads up on the VI change for Eco-clean. Thanks for the info. Is this still a good choice do you think? I note from other posts that you've done a bit more research now. I guess its still an affordable alternative to 0W20s (in the UK at least) and Toyota don't make a specific recommendation with regard to HTHS or ACEA, only SL or SM and 0W20 preferred.

One thing that did surprise me is that the Canadian MSDS shows the 40c viscosity as 40.3 mm2/s. The TDS shows 49.3. This surely must be a typo on the MSDS?