What Type & Grade Of Oil Is Best?

[ron111]

I'm wondering what grade of oil should be used in a V6 Solara with 30K on it. 5W 30? What about 5W 50? Synthetic or conventional oil?

[Turbosolara]

Fully sythetic motor oil is best for all the engine. 5w-30 or 10w-30 aint really matter, depend on your localtion weather (i think there is a chart in the user manual)

[JMSinMaryland]

I use 10W-30 dino. Some people go for 6k with synthetic and then it's actually worth it, $ and time. With the V6 there is enough sludge issues that I won't risk waiting till 6k and therefore I stick with 3k and in that case it's too much $$. I think 10W-30 dino with 3k oil changes is just as good as 10W-30 Syn with 6k oil changes, and if you can afford 10W-30 Syn with 3k that's even better. Jon.

[Flipside909]

I'm wondering what grade of oil should be used in a V6 Solara with 30K on it. 5W 30? What about 5W 50? Synthetic or conventional oil?

Where do you live? If you live in climates that rarely sees 30 degrees or so...10w30 is for you. If you live in climates that have cold winters i.e. East Coast and higher elevations 5w30.

And if you change your oil at regular intervals, synthetic isn't necessary.

[hari-bhari]

did you know that up until 97 (or maybe earlier) or so, toyota recommended oil changes every 7500 miles? but then other companies started saying 3k-5k, so toyota had to lower theirs....but still, 7500 miles is a lot. jus some interesting info.

[DavPak]

did you know that up until 97 (or maybe earlier) or so, toyota recommended oil changes every 7500 miles? but then other companies started saying 3k-5k, so toyota had to lower theirs....but still, 7500 miles is a lot. jus some interesting info.

Honda recommends 7500 mile intervals.

[Yanks0114]

did you know that up until 97 (or maybe earlier) or so, toyota recommended oil changes every 7500 miles? but then other companies started saying 3k-5k, so toyota had to lower theirs....but still, 7500 miles is a lot. jus some interesting info.

Its not that other companies lowered their interval, the oil companies lowered it. Also the 7500 was for ideal conditions such as no traffic, mainly highway, little dust. Toyota reccomends every 3750 for "severe conditions" but do it every 3k. Oil is cheaper than metal

I use Mobil 1 full synthetic 10w30 for the summer and the other 3 seasons i use 5w30.

If you use conventional oil, the brand won't make as much of a difference as the grade of oil. 5w30 is for all temperatures, but 10w30 is especially good in warmer climates. Do not try and take the car out if its below 0 and you have 10w30 in there.

[TXSolaraSLE]

i noticed a lot of you guys saying you can go more miles between synthetic between changes, but even Mobil 1, as a good synthetic says to still change at regular intervals... just FYI. This is from the Mobil1 website under Myths About Synthetics

Myth:
You don't have to change the oil as often when using Mobil 1.
Fact:
While Mobil 1 has given excellent results in extended oil drain tests, ExxonMobil prefers to remain conservative with oil drain recommendations. ExxonMobil engineers recommend that you can go all the way to the maximum mileage or time frame shown in your owner's manual for oil changes when using Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™. This allows the reserve protection capabilities of Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ to cover unusual or unexpected driving conditions.


Oil change intervals can be as short as 3,000 miles or as long as 15,000 miles on some new cars. Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™'s high-performance reserves can give you the confidence to go the full mileage or time frame recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ is especially suitable for the latest vehicles with extended drain intervals or vehicles with oil monitoring systems that vary oil drain intervals.