I think that may have to do w/ your driving habits or conditions.

The longest I have gone between oil changes was 2300miles, and the oil still looked very translucent. The oil changed from a honey-like color to amber, but it was by NO means black and dirty.

That is using Castrol dino and a factory filter.

 

Same miles, oil and filter here. My oil was dark translucent amber looking through the thin stream coming out of the sump. But when looking at the heavy stream coming out of the drain pan and going into my 5-gallon storage container, it appeared black. And it looks black in the container. So the color may vary depending on whether you are looking through the oil or at it.

 

who's warranty would you rather trust? Mobil 1's or Scion's? Scion says to change your oil every 5k miles, so you should change your oil every 5k miles if you don't want them to laugh at you when your engine is making strange noises down the road.

like jethro says, I'm glad your dad's car is the guinnea pig... we could all use less SUVs on the highway. just be nice to your scion.

 

 

Read Mobil 1's warranty, requirements, and exclusions at:
http://mobiloil.com/USA-English/Moto...rformance.aspx

 

I think im going to switch to 10w30 starting with my next oil change. It suposta help with the s/c sound.

 

IT wont make anything run any cleaner at all. As a matter of fact, the most common thing I have seen with changing to a heavier oil (especially in toyota 4 bangers) is a noisey drivetrain at startup that lasts a good while. I have seen a few with this issue.. who then switched back to 5W30 and corrected the issue.

 

My Scion will get an oil change every 5k miles with Mobil 1 synthetic, no question about that, but the Rendevouz will do as a guinea pig.

 

interesting - a few guys said that the odd grinding sound (which sound like a bearing problem but is normal as per TRD) ..... would get lower w/ 10w30.

maybe I didnt clarify myself or maybe they guys who said that would help were wrong.

 

I've been using Mobil 1 for about 13k miles now. I can't find Amsoil filters locally so I use Puralator Pure One. I've seen improvements in highway mpg. Use to be about 29-30, now I get 32-33.

 

I just bought a 6-pack of full synthetic for $2/quart. It was Pennzoil's new Platinum Plus. Pennzoil has a promotion with Pep Boys (and probably any other auto store like Auto Zone), good through July 29. There was a Pep Boys store coupon in the newspaper that reduced the price by over a dollar, and then a mail-in rebate from Pennzoil, which brought the cost down more than another dollar to a net $2.
Here's the web page on Platinum Plus:
http://www.pennzoilplatinum.com/

 

I actually save a small amount of oil from each change (I still dont know what I am going to do with it though..Im just a bit crazy) in a clear screw cap tube. The diameter is just bigger than a quarter, and 6 inches tall. Volume is about 100 mls.. This is what I use to judge the color.

I hold the tube and can see through the oil. I cant read a newspaper or anything through it, but I can see the graduation marks on the other side of the tube.



Anyone running the new standard for some the xB, the 5w20?

 

I would think that our oil must be the same color. We both have xBs with 4500 miles using Castrol oil and changed it after 2000 miles. You look at it a glass tube and call it translucent, while I look at it in a container and call it black.

An another matter, if we could really chose the color of our oil after 2000 miles, would it be better to have it clear or dark? I'll take mine dark.

 

The way the Mobil 1 is, I get a free oil change every 4 times because of the quart that is left over out of the 5 quart jug.

 

Shouldnt the tC be running synthetic if ya have a s/c?

 

I would for sure even without the S/C. I won't have a new vehicle that doesn't use synthetic. They are too expensive not to anymore.

 

the way it was explained to me was that mobil one synthetic is great oil. But not to switch to synthetic oil until my car hits 15k because everything needs to break in and seat properly which is harder to do with a synthetic. I'm sure this is debatable but it has worked well for me on alot of cars I've owned. Also most aftermarket filters Fram,STP,Mobil,to name a few are made at the same factory they are just sold under diffrent names. The only one I have heard isn't is puralator. The reason I know this is because my father owns a packaging company and they set up a stretch wrapping system in one of the oil filter plants. My reason for saying this is the factory filter is probably better than most aftermarket oil filters even if your running synthetic just run OEM filters. just my opinion and I respect everyone elses opinion.

 

I think my next oil change and on I am going to run synthetic 10w30

 

Why would you use the wrong weight oil?

 

I know there are alot of people debating 5w-30 or 10w-30 on startup 10w-30 will be slower to reach the head of the engine but in hindsight it will also leak down from the head slower and bind to engine internals longer before draining into the oil pan. From what I understand our engines are pretty high compression and on startup need oil to the head fast so the lighter factory weight will reach the head faster. It will also circulate through the engine faster because it is lighter causing less stress on the oil pump. I'm not saying that the pump cannot handle 10w-30 by any means though. I would like to add in colder areas like colorado or new york new jersey vermont and so on in the winter 10w-30 will be alot thicker and you could possibly damage engine components. You should also see a loss in fuel economy by switching to the heavier oil of course most people in the forums have done enough mods to their cars that fuel economy isn't exactly a priority. I would say stay with what the factory recomends just switch to a synthetic. The engine desighners at toyota seem to be very intelligent and I'm sure they chose the oil weight for a good reason. the only time I could see swithcing to 10w-30 would be in a scion with over 100 thousand miles on it. In this situation there would be engine wear and wear on the cylinder walls and in the head that may actually benifit from a little bit heavier oil but even that may be dissproven I might also consider a heavier oil in a turbo or supercharger application during warm months. I would do research on high compression engines and heavier weight oil to make my final decision. Ultimatly it's your car and your choice let us know how it goes.