Kostyan

not to rain on anyone's parade, but if the owner's manual does not specify the car run on synth oil, then its a waist of $. Cars run perfectly fine on conventional 5w-30, delivery the same gas mileage, start the same when cold, and last as long, and Lexus is not an exception. The key is to change the oil/filter at a regular 3-5K mi. So you guys go ahead and put in there whatever you want, its your money.

lexus114

Kostyan, It will start better in cold weather,slightly better fuel economy,usually smoother performance all around.But the biggest advantage w/Synthetic oil is the cold starting,and extended oil change intervals.Although i wont go beyond what Toyota recommends of 5k.

mandyfig

Now that synthetic oil has gone down in price substantially, it is more practical. For a little more you can extend to 5~6K change over without worries.

You need to understand, some people are changing oil every 3k miles, now that's not helping, it is more expense for no return and not "GREEN."

lexus114

Yeah I would say 5,even 6k is good for no worries(with Synthetic).Even for my old Girl.

xfirechief

WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?
Using synthetic is the only way to go. Better cold starts, better protection on hot summer days, less engine wear. Plus better mileage even if small it will pay for the synthetic oil over time.

hesham1

im going to agree with Kostyan on one thing, its not necessary to run synth under the following conditions:

1) you dont plan to keep your car past 100K miles or for more than a few years

2) you use a 3K or 5K oil change interval

BUT... if were on this Forum, that means we are car enthusiasts, and we love our rides! so of course we put in high quality stuff. I personally still use dyno on my RX because i just bought it, and its at 55K miles and I still have to figure out if im going to make the switch this "late". all my other vehicles in my driveway get Mobil 1.

geko29

All my cars get Amsoil. It actually isn't that expensive if you (or a friend) pay the $15 to become a "preferred customer" and buy a case at a time (12 qts or 4 gallons). Then their basic oil (equivalent to Mobil 1) is $4.94/qt or $19.35/gal. I use the standard 5W30 in my RX350, which runs $6.38/qt or $25.15/gal, and will be slowly extending the drain interval (using oil analysis to verify it's safe).

jfelbab

+1 Pennzoil Platinum

FWIW, I don't get any noise on cold start with the Pennszoil. I use this stuff in my cars and all my gas powered toys. I also notice no change in mileage or performance but didn't expect any. I chose to go synthetic as I intend to keep the RX till it drops or I do. I change on 7,500 mile intervals. Oil comes out as clean as it went in. BTW, My owners manual describes the 7,500 mile interval for my driving style and conditions.

bagsbie

x2 Doing the exact same thing! In fact, I am going Amsoil on all of the fluids for my wife's RX: I did transfer case and rear diff with their 80w-90 gear oil. I got their synth ATF for my transmission fluid change as well. Great stuff, best characteristics.

Scottydog

I use it also. And at $20/5 qts at Walmart it's cheap enough to use instead of dino oil. If I didn't have a warranty to worry about I would let the OCI go to 8-10,000 miles.

mandyfig

I usually do between 5~7. I check my oil every 2 weeks. If oil is still clean at 5K, run 1K and check again.

Also depends on time. If 6 months, I change if already at 5K.

RMB350

Just put the Mobil 1 in yesterday. We'll see what happens..

arnieosp

iTrader: (1)

For over 10 years I've been using synthetic oil on my older Mercedes E320. I use mostly Wal-Mart brand, 5W30. I change the oil every 20K miles, I change the filter every 10K miles. The Mercedes has over 160K miles, of which about 115K was on synthetic oil.

Not long ago I had to replace the head gasket. When my brother (who is a professional mechanic) and I tore the engine apart we were both surprised to see how virgin-clean the engine inside was . There was not a bit of oil gunk, not even the slight dark residue on the inside parts. Needless to say, that both of my Lexuses are in synthetic diet with the same oil changing intervals, 20K for the oil, 10K for the fiter.

Call me crazy, but if you talk to any educated oil people, they will tell you that the synthetic oil was developed to last as long as 30K. It does not brake apart from the temperature, it just gets dirty.

Scottydog

The E320 engine takes 8.5 qts, a lot for a 6 cylinder. That should contribute to a longer OCI in the Benz. Consider doing at least one UOA if you want to go 20k between oil changes.

If your GS and RX ever have engine trouble that can in any way be attributed to oil your drivetrain warranty will be out the window...



http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

donmatt

I have been using Mobil 1 in both of my vehicles since 10K sevice. Just did my 30K service at l5K miles and used Mobil 1 5W30. Will be using Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 in my ES next month for its 30K service at 15K miles. Will compare the two oils. May be interesting.