HEy guys,

I recently bought a mint 92 5-speed rjp sc300. And it is about time for an oil change. I know originally our cars used 5w-20, but i was at kragen yesterday and i asked an employee what oil he recommended for a 1992 sc300 w/ 145,000 miles on it. He told me that i should not use 5-20 because it's too thin and he said it would be best to use 10w30, and even 10w-40 would be better. Seems a bit odd to me and i dont want to screw up my engine at all since it's in great condition and been serviced by the dealership its whole life. I would much rather trust this Lexus forum than some kragen worker.
SO should i just follow his statement and use 10w40? Use what my manual recommends, 5w20? OR another choice completely.

Any help would be appreciated...oh and btw just to share some of my mods w/ you guys and gals, i have tsx projectors retrofitted, stance coilovers(rides great, just need the daizen sways next), and new paint from the dealer. Honestley looks like it just came off the showroom floor I LOVE it. Oh and its my 2nd sc so far. Saw the car one day when i was EIGHT years old on a roadtrip to reno and told my mom"one day that'll be my car." Never ever wanted another car other than the sc and eleven long years later Im still loving the SC and finally got my dream car(previous sc was an auto). I'm set for LIFE w/ this one. no joke

 

145k miles is not sufficicently old to justify going to 10w40 in my opinion. I believe the stock weight of 5w30 (not 5w20) should serve you fine.

There are guys boosting their stock motors with more mileage than that. I definitely think you are safe on the stock drivetrain with 5w30.

Based on the title, I expected to hear that you had 250k+ miles.

 

I use Mobil 1 10w30 (synthetic), and I have 80k on the motor.

 

i have 230K on my car and im just switching from 10W-30 to 20W-40

 

I take from all this that moving up to 10w30 (Mobile 1) from the lexus advised 5w30 at 120k miles would be acceptable in Florida Heat?

 

man you guys respond quick. Ill be stickin to 5w30 for a while Thanks everyone, made my decision a lot easier!

Anyone else feel free to chime in if you'd like

yEEEEeeee

 

I have 185K miles, and use conventional 10w-30.

 

I wanna see some pictures

 

i have 245k and i still use 5w30

 

The owners manual also says to change the oil every 7,500 miles. Would you do that as well? I think not. 5w-30 is meant for newer engines (low millage like 40-60k or less) I'm using 10w-40 in summer fall and 10w-30 in winter / spring.
Castrol GTX

 

You guys might want to read up on what those numbers on the oil containers mean.

the thickness of the oil is the second number. The first number is how thin it is when cold. If you live in a warm climate, get the 5w. Get the 10w or higher if it is cold where you are.

Choose the actual thickness based on what is required for your car. There is no reason to get 10w30 living in a warm climate when 5w30 will give you more protection on cold starts as it's thinner.

 

I think you meant the opposite.

For colder climates, go with 5w as opposed to 10w. For warmer climates, go with 10w as opposed to 5w.

But since the manufactor recommended 5w-30 for a wide spread of climate, it would be the safer choice. But if you live in the extreme cold, or extreme heat, then you can probably change the grade to suit the environment.

 

Are you sure your manual recommends 5W-20? I don't believe Lexus recommended 5W-20 for any of their vehicles until recently, and that your car was originally spec'ed for 5W-30 or 10W-30. Go with any quality 30-weight oil.

 

http://www.maintenanceworld.com/Arti.../HowToRead.htm

Check that link on what all the numbers on the label mean.

 

thanks for that link lxsdude, i think that should clear up a lot of questions.