OIL: High Mileage or Full Synthetic?
07-06-11, 11:46 PM
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OIL: High Mileage or Full Synthetic?
2000 GS400 w/116k miles.
On my next oil change I'm debating whether to use Hi-mileage or Full Synthetic. Simple Q but I want the best for my car. When I still got my 02 Impreza WRX turbo I have always use Q-advance Full synthetic. On my 4banger Honda's I usually use Castrol Hi-mileage oils. Now I want the best for my Lexus. Just curious what people use for their DD Lexus. Mine is daily driven & no race. I read a few oil comparison/reviews online and according to the comparison it seems like whats in the "high mileage" oil is what I'd like my car to have. High Mileage oils has sealant for gaskets, piston rings, etc. That sounds like what I might want my Lexus to have since its 116k miles OR should I go Castrol Full Synthetic?
On my next oil change I'm debating whether to use Hi-mileage or Full Synthetic. Simple Q but I want the best for my car. When I still got my 02 Impreza WRX turbo I have always use Q-advance Full synthetic. On my 4banger Honda's I usually use Castrol Hi-mileage oils. Now I want the best for my Lexus. Just curious what people use for their DD Lexus. Mine is daily driven & no race. I read a few oil comparison/reviews online and according to the comparison it seems like whats in the "high mileage" oil is what I'd like my car to have. High Mileage oils has sealant for gaskets, piston rings, etc. That sounds like what I might want my Lexus to have since its 116k miles OR should I go Castrol Full Synthetic?
07-07-11, 05:45 AM
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I bought my GS400 almost 5 years ago with 106,000 miles on it and since owning now with a 146,000, I used nothing but mobile 1 synthetic, and its been fine, I wouldn't want to use the high mileage stuff I used that in one of my other cars and then switched back to regular oil and seen I quickly had to switch back to the high mileage stuff.
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problem solved.
07-07-11, 11:32 AM
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The biggest difference between Synthetic and conventional oil is the molecules in conventional oil are all different sizes, where as in synthetic oil they are made all the same size, which makes the film of oil on engine components uniform. There are other differences such as additives and purity. I would avoid any kind of 'high mileage' oil as the additives that swell oil seals can lead to premature failure of the seal. If you change your oil at the required milage then conventional oil is just fine. If you really want the warm fuzy feelling then use synthetic. I would consider 'high mileage' to be anything over 200,000 miles in a toyota or lexus! I have torn down enough engines to see that even at 200,000 there is such little wear on engine internals that using special oil would not have benefited (cost vs wear). Hope this helps
07-07-11, 02:21 PM
#13
In general, high mileage (HM) oils are not needed unless you are trying to solve a problem. Some HM oils have better additive packs, like Valvoline MaxLife for example is very similar to their normal offering, however it has molybdenum, an anti-wear additive, but many non-HM oils have this too, and the conventional oil you are using (whatever that is) seems to be working just fine. Using standard conventional oils, or synthetics, will do just fine assuming they are changed at reasonable intervals. I've done used oil analysis on my GS300 which has 90K on it and my SC300 which has 200K on it. I have noticed very little difference between any oil I've used. Why change what is working?
