Whats Your Take On Full Synthetic Oil
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Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 12
Whats Your Take On Full Synthetic Oil
Got my 2nd Oil Change done this past weekend at Toyota on my 2nd Gen XB. Today the service manager calls me as a courtesy call to tell me if everything went OK with the car, are there any problems, etc. I said everything was great, good job. I asked him though for a price quote on my next oil change if i switched over to Full Synthetic. He quoted me 'X' amount of money but he said it's not really worth it. If my car was meant to or needed to run On Full Synthetic the factory would say to run Full Synthetic. Other than that he said your just paying for a more expensive Oil Change. Whats you take on Full Synthetic?
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 229
From: Burlington, KY
ive been using royal purple synthetic in my xb since 12k. i have over 23k and havent had any problems. my gas mileage seems to have gone up maybe a couple mpg per tankful. it seems to run smoother too.
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 601
its all personal preference.. but i'd say do it.. sure it's not worth it at the dealer where they charge you prolly 90 dollars for a synthetic oil change where it would be 50 at other places and 30 if you do it yourself...
More synthetic info for you:
What synthetic oil you use and why?
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=231514
What synthetic oil you use and why?
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=231514
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,079
Penzoil Platinum or Mobil1 (whichever is on sale) and a STP filter (they are the same as Mobil1 and K&N filters only cheaper).... Total cost around $30... Probably wont make a huge difference, but can't hurt either...
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 34
From: Denver, CO
I went to a community college auto tech program, and we tore down one of the instructor's engines (Grand Prix). He ran Mobile1 from 3,000 miles to 120,000 miles. We found absolutely everything to be in factory specs. That was enough to sell me!
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 83
From: Vancouver
Just did my last oil with castrol syntec(synthetic) myself, had the 1st 2 oil changes done by the dealer with regular oil. Definatly feels like the car accelerates smoother, like its less stressed. Idles smoother too.
I think its just a matter of preference though. However, syntheic oils work better if your wanting to increase your changing intervals, like doing oil changes every 5-7k miles instead of every 3k. Just make sure to get a filter that can handle extended intervals too.
I think its just a matter of preference though. However, syntheic oils work better if your wanting to increase your changing intervals, like doing oil changes every 5-7k miles instead of every 3k. Just make sure to get a filter that can handle extended intervals too.
is your friend. 
I didn't know what you were talking about but i just saw the commercial last night.
I ran Pennzoil Platinum for 5k miles on my last oil change and I could definitely tell that the motor was noisier. This past oil change I switched back to regular Pennzoil yellow bottle and I could instantly tell that the engine was more quiet.
I may switch to a thicker weight and run 15k miles oil changes with synthetic once my warranty is up.
I may switch to a thicker weight and run 15k miles oil changes with synthetic once my warranty is up.
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 750
From: Honolulu, HI
If you don't get crazy with your car, (ie running it to redline often) change your oil every 5k, use a quality filter (WIX is a commonly available one, also sold as NAPA Gold), don't live somewhere with extreme temperatures, (synthetic keeps a more consistent viscosity), or tow, honestly, regular oil should take you to 100,000 mi just fine. Cars have been running with regular oil for a very long time, and many of those cars reach very high mileages.
Synthetics play a bigger role if you take your engine to the extremes. They hold up better under heat and pressure. If you run a turbocharger, then synthetic would be almost a must, though many older turbo cars came with regular oil, and were expected to be run on regular oil, as synthetic wasn't really widely available to consumers yet. If you take care of your car, conventional oil has been, and probably will continue to run your car just fine.
Given that, in a 100,000 mile span, you only do 20 5,000 mile oil changes. If we say synthetic is $8/qt, and regular oil can be had for $3/qt, and the engine takes 5 qts, you'll save $500 over the course of 100,000 miles/x years. You may consider this a negligible cost, others may not. In theory, you could extend the duration between oil changes too, though that's another subject.
In summary, in the end, to the normal driver, it may make no significant difference to your engine, as long as you use a quality oil and filter, and change it on a regular basis.
Synthetics play a bigger role if you take your engine to the extremes. They hold up better under heat and pressure. If you run a turbocharger, then synthetic would be almost a must, though many older turbo cars came with regular oil, and were expected to be run on regular oil, as synthetic wasn't really widely available to consumers yet. If you take care of your car, conventional oil has been, and probably will continue to run your car just fine.
Given that, in a 100,000 mile span, you only do 20 5,000 mile oil changes. If we say synthetic is $8/qt, and regular oil can be had for $3/qt, and the engine takes 5 qts, you'll save $500 over the course of 100,000 miles/x years. You may consider this a negligible cost, others may not. In theory, you could extend the duration between oil changes too, though that's another subject.
In summary, in the end, to the normal driver, it may make no significant difference to your engine, as long as you use a quality oil and filter, and change it on a regular basis.