DB97ES

I recently bought a 1997 ES 300 and I want to get the oil changed. Any recommendations on the best oil for these cars?

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I use 5w-30 castrol high mileage, To be honest i think as a long as you change 3-5k miles and stay with the correct oil weight, it doesn't really matter. Most people will probably suggest Mobil 1 Synthetic, but it comes down to you.

DB97ES

Cool thanks!

hypervish

If you're going to use conventional oil (dino), then stick with a 3k OCI.
If you're going to use synthetic oil, then stick with a 5k OCI.

These engine's are prone to sludge, if oil is not changed on time. As long as the oil is changed on time, you'll be fine.

As are as what I recommend, Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30. Stands up well to heat, and will clean up any sludge. If you want something even better you can try Pennzoil Ultra 5W-30.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, any major brand oil will do. Just stay away from storebrand oils. I personally like to use Mobil 1 Synthetic, but that's only because I have been brain washed by their marketing. I do my own oil changes and get the oil from Walmart, so the additional cost of synthetic is fairly insignificant to me.

I agree that you should stay with 5k mile oil changes on these engines. Thing is, regular dyno oil can easily last 5,000 miles, so it's up to you if you want to go with full synthetic.

imherenow

i have used regular Castrol GTX 5W30 with toyota filter and no problems

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Oh yeah about the filters. I highly recommend to Use Toyota OEM. They are very well made and are fairly inexpensive. Another good brand is WIX, but sometimes they cost more money than OEM, which doesn't make sense to me.

hypervish

X2, OEM filter's are well made.

Just stay away from Fram aka. orange can of death.

DB97ES

Awesome people! Thank you all.

yeskay

can you elaborate on the fram filter issues. many auto stores eg kragens sell them in their oil/filter packages.

03 ES

Pennzoil Ultimate synthetic 5w-30 and toyota oem filters for me.

EEngineer

Motul 8100 full synth 5W30 for me

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Their base model filters have been known to not do a good job filtering the oil. They also lack the center metal insert, if I recall correctly. I believe their Tough Guard line is on par with regular filters, but I still stay away from them if I can.

Here is a breakdown of all the popular aftermarket oil filters
http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oil...ence.html#fram

And here is the author's recommendations
http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oil.../opinions.html