After calling all 3 Lexus dealers that show a service history on the Lexus Driver printout it appears that Quaker State 5-20 has always been used. I believe that is a blend not a fully synthetic oil. Lexus Service indicated that the oil change time frame for this oil was 5000 miles or if you went with a fully synthetic oil like Mobile 1 it was 10,000 miles.

Question 1: Do you see a problem going to Fully Synthetic at this time (28,794). I have always been told you can move up to fully synthetic with no problems but you should never come back down to non fully synthetic. I have always used Mobil 1 after the initial 10,000 mile break in of a new engine. I have never gone 10,000 miles on our other cars. Usually went with 7,500 and high quality extended mileage filters and the oil looked as clean as the day I put it in. Anybody doing the fully synthetic and going the 10,000 miles? I do see that these engines use a canister type oil filter (which I hate by the way) Wife's 71 MB 350SL had this type of filter and there was no way to change it without having oil run down your arm.

Question 2: The car has the P245/45R19 5 Spoke Aluminum 19 inch Wheels and Tires. The door jam sticker shows 33 psi for both front and rear. The tire shows max psi at 51. Is there a general consensus as to the preferred PSI for comfort and handling for this tire? The car has 4 Goodyear Eagle RS-A's 98V rated on the ground. The spare is a Bridgestone which is what I would guess came on it based on the DOT date of 0610.

Dennis

 

1. You can switch at any time nowadays. The cars run 0W-20 now for optimal performance.

Originally, synthetic and petroleum engine oil had different levels of distillates that caused the seals to swell up differently. If the dino-oil caused the seals to swell up (to fit) then going to synthetic caused the seals to shrink and then caused problems.

Nowadays, the formulations are better. Even Valvoline goes on record to say that: http://www.valvoline.com/faqs/motor-...tic-motor-oil/

You're probably OK, but just do the switch and see what happens.

Officially, only the 2014 has 10k intervals at mandated 0W-20. The 2013 and before are 5k intervals because they were certified for 5W-30 or 0W-20.

2. 33 psi is the spec at the coldest ambient temperature. If you drive >100mph, Lexus recommends
"Adding 9 psi (60 kPa, 0.6 kgf/cm2 or bar) to the front tires and 11 psi (70 kPa, 0.7 kgf/cm2 or bar) to the rear."

It's worth noting that Lexus wants your tires 33 psi at the coldest possible temperature where you live. L-SB-0154-08 Rev2 is a TSB that shows how Lexus dealers are supposed to run it higher.

So in a way, you're cleared for 33-44 PSI.

I think each tire has a different "optimal" pressure. The RS-As tend to be somewhat soft so you can bump it up.

 

Max does not mean recommended. 33 PSI for stock tires is about right

 

CJITTY

Yes I know max does not mean recommended. It means do not exceed cold PSI of 51. I am thinking then somewhere around 40 PSI would be good for comfort, handling and best mileage?

I will switch to Mobil 1 next service and see how it goes. I have not checked yet but assume that the canister oil filter setup is the only one available? I put an adaptor on our European Spec 2003 smart car which allowed me to go to a spin on type oil filter rather than the canister/paper oil filter they came out with.

Dennis

 

I guess they shouldn't bother posting the recommended PSI then....I keep my oem 19" tires at the recommended level and my comfort and tire life is just fine..my 22s, that's a different story. Folks will do what they feel is best for them. I use premium fuel because my manual and fuel filler door says to..no issues either

 

CJITTY

Thanks for the clarification. I will run them at 33 PSI as recommended on the door jam. Was just looking for some historical knowledge. Thanks again

Dennis

 

My cold PSI is 33 but after driving a little bit, they get up to 35/36 or so. Anything more than that on my stocks and I feel the tires ride rough. I keep my 22s at about 40 PSI cold

 

Yes, for the LS the 33 is actually pretty good. 40 cold psi will be too high for 19's IMHO.

 

The car manufacturers' tire pressure recommendations also take into account optimal wear for the tires. Higher and you will get excess wear in the center of the tread, lower and you will get excess wear on the outer shoulders.

 

Thanks Keith

Any info on the oil filter.

Dennis

 

The LS oil filter canister has a special drain plug that allows you to drain out the oil PRIOR to unscrewing the canister. With just a little practice, you can do "not a drop spilled" oil changes with no problem whatsoever with these cars. Buy a case of the correct filter kits - they come branded as a Toyota part. Each filter kit contains a rubber canister gasket and a rubber gasket for the small canister drain plug I mentioned. The filter kit (about $5 each in quantity) also contains a special plastic tool that you connect to a tube and that initiates canister draining when inserted into the canister drain plug hole. You should also procure a bunch of oil pan drain plug gaskets (the metal ones) or install a externally operable oil pan drain valve.

As far as oil, Pennzoil has a killer promo tie-in with Shell gas stations. You buy the 5-quart 0W-20 at Walmart for around $25 and you get a $1/gallon discount on up to 20 gallons of gas at Shell. If you do it right, you can bring your full synth price down to $1 per quart. With the $5 filter kit, you're looking at $15 per oil change. At that cost for materials, it can make sense just to have your local Jiffy-Express-Qwik shop do the nasty stuff. They charge me $15, so my total is around $30 every 5k miles.

P.S. I see in another thread you have wheel locks. Get rid of them! They don't stop thieves who will get your wheels off in a heartbeat if they really want them - check Google for how it's done. But the wheel locks WILL certainly STOP YOU when you discover at the worst possible moment that the last tire rotator hid the key somewhere or forgot to put it back altogether. Perhaps your dealer can scare up 4 regular lug nuts for you in trade for your wheel locks.

 

Ain't that the truth! I have two sets for sale (LS460 and RX300) if anybody wants them.....

 

Too add to that, the manufactures specifications are based on the weight of the car and very little to do with what's written on the tire. There are very few exceptions to alter this specification usually if you are going well over 100mph for sustained periods or if your tires are reinforced because the sidewalls are extremely low profile and do not have enough strength. Going well above the manufactures specification could be a safety concern.