I have a 2000 LX470 with 55,000 miles on it. I have always had the oil changed at my dealer every 5,000 miles.

Is it too late to switch over to synthetic oil? I plan on keeping it for 200,000 miles and do not mind paying a little extra, but are there really any benefits? I live in Southern California, so I do not have to deal with cold winters, etc.

And advice is appreciated.

 

Should be fine as long as you use the Mobile 1 with SuperSyn for older vehicles.
I have 126,000 + miles and still going strong.
Wife used regular oil from the dealer to 60,000 miles and then I switched her over to Mobil 1.

 

If you drive alot, I would reccomend changing ever 4000 miles. You can check your oil to see if its still yellow, light brown is ok. I would change when its light brown in color.

 

Is it proven that synthetic oils contribute to a long lasting engine?

Seems to me that by conforming to manufacturer specs in our maintenance plans you'd get your engine to last just as long. Sorry to come off strong, but I do not believe in spending extra money when it is not warranted or "recommended" by the vehicle manufacturer. In vehicles such as the Porsche Boxter where there's over 13 quarts of oil flowing through it at any given time I can see why you'd want to put the best oil inside the vehicle, BUT this thread was started by someone with an LX470, not by a high revving sports car enthusiast.

Just my opinion,

 

I use Mobil 1 synthetic in all my vehicles. It improved my MPG's by 2 MPG's in my 2001 Chevy Tahoe. I've not checked my 03 GS430 yet. I also use the best filter avaiable and am able to go 7500 between changes. I think I'll go only 5000 on the Lexus because I drive it less than 1000 per month.
Best Regards..........Bob

 

You will be fine. It is never to late to switch unless there is major crude over oil seals and they were covering up leaks in the seals. The leaks would happen over time. If you switched over to synthetic it (oil) would clean un the crude sooner and you would have leaks sooner. That is why people think that synthetic oil causes leanks; which, is false.


I only have the Es300 and installed 100% synthetic oil at 42,000. Now have over 70K with zero problems and I have had it tested twice just to see what is up with engine and see if all is good inside. Results came back great with over 12,000 miles on oil. I usually go around 15,000 to 17,000 on (1) complete oil change and (1) oil filter at 6 months. I had used that oil for over 8 years and the results are nothing short to perfect.

Regular oil is fine but why put 40-year oil technology in a $40,000 car? I would never! Hell, I use synthetic oil in my Kubota BX22 tractor. I refuse to put anything but 100% synthetic oil in my items. I spend to much $$ on these to put regualr oil (Wal-Mart) in there

Oh, Mobil 1 is good but the price I feel is too high for every 7,500 mile drains. Mobil used to do the 25,000 miles on oil but they stopped ($$$ maker). For the oil I use is about the same and I can go much longer and the results are amazing.

I have used and do use the oil in gasoline cars, diesel and other items. My 1994 GSX-R1100 is perfect inside pushing over 140 HP and the inside of the engine looks brand new. You would not get that with any other oil. Only did drains every fall before storage....

This is not a sales pitch but Mobil 1 is not the best for the price. I would get either Amsoil or L.E. L.E is not 100% synthetic but very good.

***The low drains are a joke and I have the results over the past 8 years and boy the stuff works. These results ANYONE can do ONLY if the engine is running as designed.

But as I am sure people will say this-and-that, but I know what the results were between Amsoil and Mobil Delvac in my diesel .Mobil was not to good......

 

What I would do is go 1/2 and 1/2 then switch to 100% synthetic. THough technically once you change the oil every 3-5k you cool. Synthetic can take harsher conditions as well as it bonds molecularly to the engine so there is always oil between seals etc.

We have a ES and a SC with over 200k miles and no sludge, engine problems. We change the oil ourselelves using Castrol. I change the oil in the GS and use reg/synthetic from time to time. No engine problems at 107k miles.

 

I switched to synthetic (Mobil 1) in my previous car and haven't looked back.
As stated in previous posts, there is improvement with fuel savings, wear and tear on the mechanical parts, and does allow a slightly longer change interval (4-5k vs the traditional 3k) in oil changes.
Always change the filter with each oil change and use a good quality filter.
The selling point for me is being in New England, synthetic provides a better lubricant for extremely cold winter startups.

Try it, if you don't see a noticeable improvement or your gut feeling is you don't like it, then go back to dino oil on your next oil change. It won't hurt to try it.

steviej

 

My first Lexus was a pre-owned 93 LS400 with 54,000 miles. I used Mobil 1 until I traded it with over 95K miles. The engine was fine and didn't burn any oil between oil changes.

 

Jayson- if you stick with the Lexus specifications, your car will be fine, no one doubts that. Some of us just want the extra protection and performance (hp & mpg & smoother running & longer lasting) offered by synthetics. That is why I have been using synthetics in all my cars. The engine is smoother, quieter, and has more mpg. Some people say it gives you more power, but it is negligible. I don't care about adding more horsepower, I just want to keep my engine running its best.

Lange- I started putting synthetics in my GS at 60k miles. I have been doing this ever since and now my car has 187k miles. I have encountered no problems.

 

I have a 1995 ES300, and I just switched it to Mobil Semi-Synthetic oil from regular oil at it's last oil change at 115K miles. Car seems to start up better, and overall runs a bit better with it.

 

what about oil that costs 85 cents at the dollar store?

 

uh............

85cents?
that's even worse than a $1 oil.
You get what you pay for.

 

I have heard that once you go syn. you can't change back, you have to use it forever. Is that true, or can I switch back to regular after a year or so?

 

Two words.... Castrol Syntec

Forget the Mobil.... besides they just came out with the new mix (tri- something or other I think) and all over the internet people were saying it was worse that their previous formula.