LexTodd

Some clarification on synthetics---Most full synthetic motor oils (Mobil 1, Pennz Platinum, Q, Syntec) are made with Group II+ or Group III base oils. These base oils are highly refined and very pure---but still PETROLEUM products! There are very few (Amsoil and a couple of others) that are completely man made. Also, the two big advantages of synthetics are much faster flow at cold start and the ability to maintain viscosity at high temperature. These oil companies all recommend that you follow oem recommendations as to when you change your oil---Remember that the additives in the oil is what wears out--not the oil itself. If you are extending drains and doing filter only changes **poof*** there goes the warranty! Also, oil cleanliness depends on other things such as your driving habits and, (this is big), THE AIR FILTER. Do yourself a favor--use good quality oil, conventional or synthetic, a decent filter, AND CHANGE IT!!!

Johnny

Bingo, straight out of the Bible of Common Sense!

zzzzdoc

I've used Mobil 1 in all my Lexuses / other cars for about 25 years or so. Never once had a problem. I still change the oil/filters at normal intervals. Slightly costly, perhaps, but I've never had engine issues on any of my cars.

For my Lambo I use AGIP fully synthetic motor oil, which is what Lambo and Ferrari recommend. Very hard to find, but I found a local contact. For a hot running, high output V-12, I'd rather treat the engine as nicely as I can.

rjm

I try to follow the dealer's recommendation when it comes to oil and oil change intervals. In a Mercedes, I used the recommended Mobil One and had it changed every 10,000 miles and/or once a year. In 3 BMW's, I used Castrol Synthetic and changed oil every 15,000 miles and/or once a year. I have had no problems with these cars at all, and never heard of an engine failure or engine problems attributed to these oil change intervals. That being said, I agree with Mike In Texas....in my Lexus I use dinosaur oil (what the dealer provides) and follow their 3000 mile oil change intervals. I have read on this forum that changing to Mobil One in a Lexus is a good thing....I just haven't done it yet.

Nospinzone

Interesting RJM. I may go to 15,000 on my Q45a. Its 13 years old now and I might not have it much longer anyway. I love the car, but 13 New England winters and the accumulated road salt is starting to take its toll.

My Lexus dealer uses a synthehtic blend, so they are almost there!

Mike_TX

With due respect, I think your statement is debatable. It's true they use components of petroleum ... after all, nothing is really created out of thin air, but rather altered and/or recombined molecules of existing substances. In this case, the "base oils" you refer to are not technically oils, but are fluids - and in fact are synthetics ... polyalphaolefin, esters, and alkylated aromatics. Basically, a polymer, a reactant and a synthetic hydrocarbon.

I think this is an important distinction because in making Mobil 1 and similar products they don't actually start with "oil" as we know it, then modify it. Instead, they take highly-refined, tailored, components of petroleum (because it's a rich carbon source) and chemically modify them. They could, for instance, use coal instead of petroleum as the source material (and the Germans and Japanese did just that in WWII), but it requires more work to get to the good stuff.

I just grabbed this from CarCraft ( http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...oil/index.html ), but similar info is out there from a number of sources:

Not to be argumentative - just to clarify.

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WhitBaby

When I was down at my dealer's parts dept. they said to make sure and use synthetic 0W-20 weight oil or I'll get a lot of valve train noise. They were waving the little red Toyota 1-quart oil container around as they said this.

They also said they can't even buy it in bulk...yet. When they do an oil change the tech gets an armload of those little red containers and schlepps them back to his bay.

Whit

Mike_TX

I'm still not totally convinced the OEM oil in the LS is synthetic. Most cars with syn oil have prominent labels all over the place to prevent you from accidentally putting regular mineral oil in with the synthetic (since they don't mix well).

I find no such labels on my LS, either underhood or in the owner's manual.

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rominl

iTrader: (4)

actually that's what i was told by my master tech friend as well, iirc. he said by default it should be toyota syn 0-20. however since they are so expensive, they offer an alternative to owners that are not syn and cheaper

it was months ago, so i am playing from memory

rjm

Mike,
I just called Park Place Lexus in Grapevine and Sewell Lexus in Ft. Worth. They both use NON-synthetic 5W30 Mobil oil in all Lexus models. Other parts of the country may use something different.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

did you ask explicitly about the ls460 and gs460? i believe other lexus are all using 5-30, however the 460 should be using something different. 5-30 is quite off from 0-20. personally i would be quite scared if they use 5-30 on ALL lexus blindly

rjm

Nope. I asked what kind of oil they use in their Lexus models. I would think that would include the LS460. In both cases the Service Department Operator answered the phone, and in both cases, she had to ask someone for the specific weight and brand of oil. Same answer from both dealers.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

man i am so not getting my car serviced at those two dealerships

my master tech friend told me they were told clearly to be careful of the 460 engine coz' they use different oil (and it sux coz' it's quite a bit more expensive and also use tons more oil)

onepointon

MikeTX - I was told they are coming from the factory with synthetic oil already in them, and Lexus recommends using the 0w20 synthetic in the 4.6 V8.


As far as the bottle being Mobil 1, I just went to our oil change shop and grabbed a bottle. It says "Toyota Geniune Motor Oil", and the bottom of the bottle says "Toyota Motor Sales, Copyright". I saw no other manufacturer on the bottle other than Toyota.

Now, of course you can use what you want, but this is what you will get if you come to a Lexus dealer. I would find it hard to believe there are dealerships not using this. If you call and ask, and they tell you otherwise, someone must be misinformed. If you are really concerned, call and ask for a shop foreman, manager, or to speak with a technician and I am sure they will tell you what I have stated.



This is true. Its a pain in the ***, and time consuming. I get spoiled by my hose that comes out of the wall and pumps however much oil into the car I want. On the LS and GS 460s I have to pour each bottle.

astrotoy

I asked for synthetic for my first (free) service at 5000 miles. The service person said it would cost extra (the difference between the syn and regular oil cost. I said OK. When I I came back to get the car, the service advisor said that it was free.

That said, I think the most important thing for longevity of your engine is to change the oil and filter regularly and frequently, particularly in first few years of ownership. For my 91 LS400, which I bought new, I had the oil and filter changed every 3750 miles for the first 100K or so. When I started doing more freeway driving after that I went up to 7500 miles. The car started burning about a quart of oil every 3500 miles at about 200K, and it lasted without anything major done to the engine until 350K miles. No synthetic. It might have gone further with syn oil. However, other parts of the car were starting to wear out! The odometer even went out at about 263000 and I had it replaced.