Thanks for all your reply guys.
Oro...that product looks interesting, will keep it in mind.
i had tried a Mobile 1 oil a few years back and found it to work more smoother and quieter. It was Mobil 1 Super 1000. I will try to look about for it, but seems harder to come by these days.

Leeper, I understand what you are saying about what analysis will show vs what opinion people might give on a product. You maybe right, but if someone is asking for an opinion on what people have found, have helped their situation...then so be it. No one is for ing you to reply, but if you decide to answer, at least have the courtesy to answer the question.

 

Only reason I'm running Mobil 1 Syn is because it's what I've always run.

But I'm very interested in what ya'll are running.

Haven't tried valvoline yet.
I'm at 160k miles.

To anyone following along, please don't be afraid to post.

This is a forum to share ideas, like it should be and no you don't have to be an oil expert to have an opinion, it's all good and OK! Lol.

 

On our RX330 (years ago when it had 70k) I was using Mobil 1 5W30 and a UOA showed high(er) iron and the additives were depleted at around 7,500 miles (No question the 3MZ-FE is a bit hard on oil)
-On other vehicles, had always used Pennzoil, but decided to use Mobil 1
-After that, went back to Pennzoil, my normal 5,000 mile interval and UOA's looked better.
-Just went over 304,000 miles with Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage 5W30.
--Our 88 Camry was at 352,000 miles with Pennzoil before a rear main oil seal leak made it not worth repairing (engine/tranny were solid).

I am not sure there is much difference between the major brands
-Any quality synthetic (even boutique) meeting the proper API specification, changed regularly will serve you well.
-My $.02.

 

DIY?
How much did you pay for oil?

 

I like Mobil 1 but I’ve never been impressed with the plain 5w30. Its got a mediocre HTHS rating (3.1 I think), and not a lot of the higher-end synthetic bases in it. It’s blended to meet the less-demanding “Energy Conserving” guidelines and it is biased towards tiny/incremental mileage gains vs. maximum anti-wear ability (most all 5w-30s are. Not all, but most).

Odd data point: The one OCI I ran with Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30 in a 1mz-fe, the car used twice as much oil as with other synthetics I run (mainly M1 10w30 HM). We are not talking about big numbers overall. Since forever, the car uses ~16 ozs of oil in a 7,500 mile OCI. (Car is at 334k now and I find that remarkable). In short, the oil level drops to 1/2 way down from Full to Add on the stick. With PP it will go through a full quart in that period. This is not a reason to NOT use the oil, just a very odd observation I have made with that oil. I have never been able to figure out why, and I’ve asked some REAL oil expert and they weren’t sure.

For the OP, I had another thought on an oil selection you might contemplate. Consider “Euro” labeled oils for your engine and climate. Besides the 1mz and 3mz in the family, we also do have a 2GR-fe I maintain. It’s a GS 350 awd. Not my driver; I drive it rarely, but maintain it and track it and am familiar with the issues with the engine. My climate conditions are different (no cold weather at all) and I try to always run the M1 10w-30 HM in it. If i were in Montana like you I’d likely go with the M1 Euro 5w-40. It’s not an overly thick 40, but it is robust with high quality base stocks. Any “Euro” labeled oil will generally be more robust as the ACEA ratings many performance euro cars are recommended require a 3.5 HTHS, which is only met by the the most very robust 30 weights and any 40 (or higher). You could use another brand; Castrol, etc. all have 5w-30, 5w-40, 0w-40, etc. “Euro” oils. They should have an “ACEA A3/B4” rating on the back.

I’m not saying you should dump the Valvoline at all. It’s just a thought going forward. I don’t know if you have oil use issues like some of these engines develop (ours does - presumably because of the low tension rings). The higher anti-wear characteristics are helpful insurance against this problem.

 

Xrx...yes i change my own oil usually around 6000-7000 k kilometres MAX.

oro....i often find that with mobil 1 ( i think the synthetic one...can't remember the high milage one), it does consume a bit of oil and need to add between oil changes.
as far as euro oils, one place I remember carried Agip for a while. If not i can find liquimoly. They are quite expensive though. I've seen some of the other basic brands that have a euro mix as well.
here in Canada, we have a big chain store (Canadian Tire), and they carry their own brand label. It seems that their oil is made by Shell (from Europe i think)? It's not that bad and affordable.

 

Omg.... leaving the house this morning, i saw it was about -5 celsius outside. I had parked outside last night. When i started the car, besides the engine being "cold" there was a type of "oscillation/drone" in the cabin (along with valve ticking noise). It was present for about 5-10 minutes of driving. I also noticed that it took engine a bit longer to warm up too. The thermostat and coolant had been changed just over a year ago with oem parts.
i think i might change the oil to something else.
also, years ago, on an older camry i had performed an engine "cleaning". I emptied oil and filter and put in about a gallon of this cleaning fluid in the engine...run it for about 15 minutes, then drain, change filter and put in new oil. I don't know if i should do this on the rx? Would it maybe cause more harm at this point (248 000km)?

also, would changing oil wait help(i use 5w-30 as per manual).
thanks
fab

 

I wouldn't use that cleaning procedure. IDK how far you go between oil/filter changes, I do our rx about 3000-3500 miles. I also use M1's euro M1 0w-40 w/ a 16oz bottle of Lucas zinc additive. The 2gr has a more mechanical noise, 3 chains, roller rocker arms & being a all alloy engine vs the mz3 running a t/b which runs queiter then the 2gr...

 

Felix... I didn't do the cleaning procedure. I ended up getting some motomaster full synthetic 5w-30 oil. I change the fluid and filter usually every 5-6000 km.
so what you are saying, is the way and materials used for the engine, it's normal that it makes these noises/drone when cold?

 

The brand or grade of oil had nothing to do with the warm-up time - guaranteed. Motor oil regardless of grade has about identical specific heat capacity. Meaning it takes the same amount of energy (via waste heat from combustion) applied to it in order to get the temp up the same amount. Coolant influences warm-up time more (higher specific heat and double the volume once thermostat opened) and if things were slower, it’s just because the coolant and oil were starting from a lower temperature. The best-practices way to warm up a car is to start it, let it idle about 15 seconds to get oil flowing, then start moving. Keep the revs under about 2k until you see the temp needle swinging up (not necessarily to normal temp, just moving towards it). This means the oil is warm and you can now drive normally.

This gets the car up to operating temp the fastest without undue wear or abuse. It reduces the fuel dilution and washing down of cold cylinder walls/pistons when bone cold and that is a big part of wear. The (even lightly) loaded engine warms VERY rapidly whereas an idling engine can take forever (and do a lot of damage).

At 248 k kms I would no obsess about an engine cleaning unless you strongly suspect abuse or real neglect. I have done a lot of engine flushes like that over years and it has it’s place, but only on the more marginal cases and there’s not a lot to be gained on a well-maintained, healthy car. I would run Lubegard blue/biotech in it for an oci as a slow cleaner. It will work well at that with little effort or risk.

If you are running Valvoline full syn 5w-30 (this oil below), just go with it. It’s a very decent synthetic. There are somewhat better ones for the money or a small bit more (at least easily available in the US to us). But this is not “bad” by any means and it’s already in the sump. If you want insurance, put in 10 to 15ozs of Lubegard.

This is what you are running (This is from Canadian Tire’s website)?

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/v...7.html?rq=5w30

I’d run that w/o worry. In fact I mentioned I AM running the 10w-30 of it in a car right now because I got it on a good sale.

 

I'm running this oil
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/p...p.0289357.html

Is it as good as Amsoil 0W30? No. It hasn't been super cold yet but I can still tell the cold flow performance isn't as good. I don't know exactly what the "Euro" formulation means too lazy to check. I think I like it a bit better than Valvoline.

 

I think you would be a good person to ask.

When I went up north for holiday it was freezing temps.

I described a lower engine knock until the car started to warm up, approx 5-10 mins.

Scared the hell out of me
Not really a knock, more like a tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...

I don't get that when I run Mobil 1 so does this mean some oils flow different and starve for oil when it's freezing out?

Does the ticking do damage?

 

Oro... the cold statup procedure you mentioned is what i do in cold startup. Gets the car to temp quicker than just idling.

that was the Valvoline that i used. I didn't want to risk anything, so i did another oil/filter change yesterday. I put in the motomaster brand.

https://canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motom...-0288715p.html

i took a short drive after and seemed smoother. Will see in a bit when i start her up on a cold morning.

margate... i think that ticking noise is the same I'm getting.

fab

 

How cold was it?

Motomaster oil is usually made by Shell.

 

Lex2k.... was around -4 celsius in the morning.
yes the motomaster is made by shell.
so far i find the engine running a bit smoother.