takwaiyeh

First of all, many thanks to the folks in this forum. I have been reading posts after posts in this forum before and after the purchase and they are very informative. Now that I got the car, it's time to figure out the maintenance stuff.

After hours of searching through the forums, here is what I have so far:

1st oil changes @ 1000 miles with stock filter and pennzoil 5W-30 dino oils (I heard it's not recommended to have synthetic oil change during the engine break-in stage)

After this, oil change every 4-5K miles with Amsoil oil filter and its synthetic oils. It seems like I can order these here:
http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/xlf.aspx
http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/eao.aspx
A quick question here: Will the filter fit into my GS350 due to its bigger size?

What do you think?

Feedbacks are welcome and let me know if I make any mistakes.

Thanks in advance.
-Andy

takwaiyeh

One more thing, where can I find out if the engine oil in my GS350 now is synthetic or dino?

Many thanks again.
-Andy

BKruptcyJD

Congrats on your new purchase. I don't think a 1K mile is necessary. As for brand, you have several choices and amsoil is one of them.

spwolf

you dont need to change oil at 1,000 miles. Toyota had complimentary checkup at 1,000 miles but I think thats gone now. You can use synthetic oil from any point, thats all we use in Europe.

moolman

An oil change at 1000 miles was a suggestion in cars before because as the engine breaks in there are shavings in the engine that are caught by the filter. Supposedly with new engines and tighter tolerances those days are in the past. For 2008, Lexus changed the maintence schedule for all cars and put in a 1000 mile check up, just a check up, no oil change or rotation. This is also the time you can do the Lexus Personalize Settings. In 2007, you have 1 year from purchase to do the LPS.

From the factory, the car should have regular dino oil. There's a big debate about dino or synthetic. I think it's all subjective. I use really cheap oil in my RX350 that I lease and will not keep, Mobil 5000, it's about $9 for 5 quarts. Never had a problem nor will I ever have a problem just because I used Mobil 5000. If anybody really thinks their engine will go bad because of dino oil is on crack. In my Prius that I own and the GS350 I leased that I may keep, I will use synthetic oil. The reason is not scientific nor do I really think synthetic will make a difference. It is pure personal preference that I like to use the best stuff possible for cars that I purchase, just like I like to use Zaino for my car wax.

If you use synthetic, Amsoil is good, my favorite is Royal Purple because it's easier to find locally, while Amsoil is mail order for me. Royal Purple uses cat 4 and 5 base oils too so it's real synthetic oil, not like cat 3 like Mobil 1 and Castrol, the fake synthetic oil crap.

About not using synthetic oil in the beginning is just speculation but some cars come with special engine oil from the factory called "break in" oil. I don't know if Lexus does this but my old Honda Accord did and it stated it in the manual.

Also, after a bit of research, this could be wrong. The stock Toyota engine oil is made by Mobil for Toyota and supposedly is Mobil 5000.

socalJD

First off, factory fill is definitely dino oil, 5w-20 and I believe it is castrol. Over in the IS forum, several owners have had UOAs done to confirm the 5w-20 fill from the factory. The GS350 uses a proprietary cannister style oil filter, so I doubt you could find any aftermarket oil filter to fit in the cannister - you're better off sticking w/OEM oil filters. I know that the 4 Lexus dealers near me all use castrol 5w-30 dino oil for their oil services.

takwaiyeh

Thanks for all the great feedback. According to the user manual, the break-in stage is done @621 miles. I guess I will go ahead and switch to synthetic @1000 miles.

I am gonna shop around today and see if Royal Purple products are available at retailers in California. If not, I will just stick with Amsoil products.

I am concerned whether the Amsoil oil filter will fit my 08 GS350 RWD, since it's a bit bigger than normal.

Also, I plan to eventually switch to Amsoil (or other brand of synthetic products) for the transmission fluids, etc. This is what I found from another post:

Trans [for all the Lexus Toyota Type IV 30k]
Diff 60-70K synthetic

Does it look good?

Thanks again.
-Andy

takwaiyeh

Many thanks, I will stick with OEM oil filter then,
-Andy

moolman

Purolator makes a filter for the GS but at Pep Boys it's $10, the OEM Toyota Denso is cheaper. Royal Purple can be found at locally in California in Walmart or Pep Boys. I usually buy it at Walmart unless Pep Boys has a sale once in awhile. Lucas oil synthetic is just as good too and Pep Boys carries it also. Those two oils are just as good as Amsoil so unless shipping is free, just stick with RP or Lucas.