Bichon

You thought wrong.

The correct numbers have already been posted. An original recommendation of 5W-30 has been amended by the TSB to 5W-20 to provide slightly better fuel economy. Both are an acceptable choice.

I've always chosen Mobil 1 over Quaker State, Valvoline and Castrol because the former was the only one made with a true synthetic (group IV PAO) base stock, while the others were just hydrocracked group 3 oils. See: http://www.technilube.com/sections/comps/synth_diff.htm I've heard rumors that Mobil 1 may have switched to a mix of group 3 and group 4 base stock when they reformulated the oil last year.

IS_Mine

Unless dealers are extremely different there is no OEM synthetic oil. The dino oil they use with their Toyota logo is Mobil 1.

Matter of fact the two Lexus dealerships in my area don't carry synthetic oil because Lexus doesn't recommend synthetics to be ran in their cars. Ohhh the craziness!

Lexmex

Pennzoil Platinum is an oil I have been hearing a lot of good things about.

Technique

The local garage I go to uses many different brands of 5w-30/5w-20 in all my late-model cars, depending on what they have in stock... The mechanic says it doesn't matter... I agree... I've never seen/felt a difference... OIL IS OIL

SonnyIs350

Tech i agree with you heard that many times over name brand oil. OIL IS OIL!!!

Bichon

The differences between oils aren't visible to the naked eye nor can they be felt with your "butt dyno". One would need to send samples to an oil analysis laboratory (like Blackstone labs). They'll use a spectrometer to measure the microscopic wear particles (e.g. metal particles from bearings, etc.) suspended in the oil, check to see that the additives are still working, etc.

That said, I agree with you that any oil that meets the technical requirements (grade, viscosity, ...) in the owners manual should be just fine, assuming it is changed frequently enough. (i.e., by following the manufacturers guidelines, or recommendations based on the results of regular oil analysis).

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Why does this discussion seem to happen on every car forum with regular frequency?

Technique

I think you could say that for over half the threads posted on these forums daily

And then there is poor Bichon... I swear, every time some n00b posts an obvious question that's been asked 100 times, Bichon is always there to be the first to answer and point the OP to the FAQ or relevant post... So Bichon knows the pain of the same discussions over and over more than anyone else... In fact, he should be a mod

nabbun

And if I may ask, this oil recommendation was for ISx50 or only the IS 350?

In another thread regarding oil, people mentioned 10w-30 and 10w-20 instead of the correct numbers.

Thanks for the REAL numbers

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

It can be used as shown here:

nabbun

thank you jeebus

Lexmex

With today's engines you would have no issue using the 5W20, but knowing about my experiences with the 1MZFE engine, after about 90,000, you want to start considering moving up 10 in the from a W20 to a W30, or in my case I use a very heavy 0W30.

Some vehicles are different such as VW, that use a W40 across a good spectrum of their products straight off the factory floor.

rjgraham

I don't care if someone blew me afterwards, I would rather do it myself with syn oil

jdinsocal

After changing the oil does anyone know how to reset the Oil Maint Alert that is displayed on the dash? Is there an easier way to reset the alert other then disconnecting the battery or removing a fuse?

Koz

http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/asm.aspx

Koz