amazon 0w-20 or castrol 0w-20 magnatec. whatever is cheapest at the time. they fluctuate between $18 and $23. Right now Castrol is cheapest. Both are currently and COINCIDENTALLY both (among or THE) highest performing AND cheapest oils on the market. Win/win. Platinum plus experience.

Though really at this point, all oils perform extremely highly and are within 0.05% of eachother. Differences are meaningless with respectable change intervals.

That and genuine filters.

 

I switched from Mobile 1 to Amazon 0w-20. Seeing some 3rd party testing helped me make the switch.

OEM filter usually on my cars but last time I used the K&N oil filter because I ordered last second and didnt have time to stop by dealer while the parts dept. was open.

 

Castrol 0w-20 Full Synthetic, with K&N (PS7023) filter. I also use the same oil in the wife's 2016 Mazda 3.
Replaced the drain plugs on all 3 of our vehicles with Fumoto drain valves, really makes my oil changes easier.

 

Wow, surprisingly different viscosity is used in the US and Singapore.

Good oils all round.

 

I just bought Motul 5W40 on Amazon to use for my first oil change, once I drain the factory fill.

I don't condone the usage of oil any thinner than 5w30 - especially not on a turbo engine if you want your engine to last. In the case of aggressive driving in hot weather, you are asking for trouble.

A list of good oils would be -

Motul
Redline
Shell oils
Pennzoil

 

Are you suggesting that Lexus, who has a reputation of reliability to hold up, is telling us to use 0W-20 on the 4 cylinder turbo so that it wears out quicker?

 

I am not suggesting anything. Lexus is not the only brand to do so.

0W20 is mandated, only in North America by CAFE. They offer huge tax rebates to manufacturers who "recommend" to use thin 0w20 oil because it offers a roughly .2MPG improvement during cold start scenario's. They do not care what happens to your engine outside of the warranty period. More money for them one way or another. It is the truth of the business.

In reality, it compromises metal to metal wear which and does not allow the piston ring to maintain as good of a seal, which in turn causes oil consumption AND for fuel to seep past the piston rings, into your oil supply.

If you are using a top notch 0w20 oil with good additives it is not a big deal, but most oils are simply not good enough to warrant being used for more than a few thousand miles.

I know I will likely get blasted from "deviating" from "manufacturer recommendations" but the truth of the matter is, 0w20 is not used on these very same cars outside of Canada and United States.

In my other cars, switching to 5W40 oil made the engine run far more smooth, especially with the hood up there was a very discernible difference with how the engine sound. That alone had me sold.

A 5W40 oil, without optimal oil additives will shear down to a 5w30 or even thinner throughout the course of it's usage.

 

Then what is your opinion on the new API ILSAC GF-6a and b standard? We are looking at 0W-16 oils coming out soon. You’re saying that these new oils being developed even though they are so thin are going to be adopted even if they will cause engine issues as you say? I highly doubt Toyota would be willing to put their reputation on the line for the sake of a rebate.

 

The tax rebate is so huge, every single manufacturer does not even hesitate to sacrifice long term internal wear. Toyota is not the only manufacturer to do this.

You see the trend here? first it was 10w oils, then 5w30, 5w20, now 0w20. Only in North America.

5W and 10W oils are still widely used everywhere else in the world. It's just something to consider. For your next oil change, try using 5w30 or 5w40 and listen to your engine running with the hood up in comparison to the 0w20 fill you had in there previously. You will be able to hear the difference.

There was some sort of Japanese deposit formation test done, where 0w20 performed so poorly during deposits formation tests that it was completely exempt.

It's not worth it.

 

Really depends on the weather of the area you are in. If you're in a warm weather area all year like Florida, then I would use a 5W-30 on a 0w-20 oil cap but will still be cautious about it.

Living in east coast, the weather tends to drop to -20F. So I will never put 5w-30 even on summer time.

 

Well, In my Mazda 6, obviously here it is specified for 0w20, but everywhere else in the world, anywhere up to 10W50 is perfectly OK to use. There isn't an engine in the world which will cause you issues running 5W40 oil. Manufacturers would need to design impossibly thin engine clearances in that case.

I use 5W40 year round here in Canada but I park in a garage. 0w20 would be helpful if you park outside in -20f, but if you are garage stored, 5W30/40 is perfectly OK to use even in the coldest of winters, as I have been doing for many years.

 

Do you also park in a close garage when you are going to malls or other places outside your garage? Or probably not using it during very cold winter days?

I park mine in a close garage but still won't risk changing the type of oil.

 

when I am at the gym or especially at work, it is parked outside in the frigid cold for more than hour. I don't have any issues with cold starts.

I used to have a 2000 Volkswagen Golf which burned tons of oil. I used 20W50 oil (!!) which obviously helped with consumption a lot. VW Specified that 15w40 OR 20w50 is OK to use in temperatures -10c or warmer (+14F). When I parked that car outside for a long time in the winter, you can feel that the oil was very thick during the cold start (perhaps even slightly too thick) but after a few minutes of driving you couldnt tell the difference. I could feel the thick oil was filling the engine internals nicely. Obviously I would never use such a thick oil with a newer car especially not in the winter, but it goes to show there is a huge misconception these days when it comes to oil weight. 5w40 just isn't a thick oil. Think of it as "thick enough." and perfect for year round use.

In the summer, I basically just put it whatever weight oil I can get my hands on from a good brand, is on sale, whatever. Meaning, in my Mazda 6, Ill use 5w50, or 10W40. I think 10W50 is a tad excessive unless you track the car in the middle of the summer, but if it's warm out and within manufacturer specifications (according to everywhere else in the world wher 0w20 is not mandated) you're not going to run into any issues going even for a 10W.

 

Totally different scenario for I daily drive my IS to work so it will sit on an outside parking garage for 8-9 hours. And I think switching between two types of oil thickness can really be damaging to the engine.

 

Certainly not. Running 0w20 for its whole life is more likely to cause damage. If you dont like to rev your engine hard, then you don't have as much to worry about.

I cringe when I hear my engine running, with the hood up, using 0w20 oil. Never again for me. So much valvetrain clatter.