ajay60610

Have a 2009 RX-350 AWD with 116,500 miles.....is it worth the extra money to get an oil change using full synthetic oil SAE 5W-30[6.4 quarts] or is a synthetic blend just as effective...thanks.

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Depends on your usage and oil change interval. If your car is heavy stop & go traffic with little highway miles, I will always recommend full synthetic. But if you do very regular changes then a synthetic blend is fine. Personally, for any car luxury or not, the more you spend on maintenance the less trouble you have down the road so I'm a believer in full synthetic Mobil1 for all my cars.

ajay60610

Okay thanks for your help

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

Go full syn ifyou wanna keep it for long...

evident

full syn, i wouldnt ever put in anything else. Been using 5W-20 Mobil 1 since 20K miles and switched recently to pennzoil platinum. It barely burns any oil at all.

jpw

Just chiming in here. I also use nothing but Mobil-1 full synth. I've read that synthetic blends aren't really worth the money. The cheapest place I've found is Walmart, which beats Costco for the price.

BlackLexRX

Definately full synthetic, Mobil1, and Wallyworld where I've been getting 5qt jugs for 26$ I've been using their High Mileage 5w30 with their additive packages that help remove any sludge and recondition seals. My RX loves it.

mandyfig

Synthetics are now not as expensive. Get full synthetic all the time.

numbafree

178k miles on my 330. my oil is dirty black, by 1800 miles. so I change my oil every 1500 or 2000 miles. because of this change interval, I have down graded from full syn to 5 qts for $14, havoline or chevron. I am a redline gal, motul for motorcycles, but I am not made of money. I like mobil 1, but for $25 for 5 qts vs half that (I commute 60 miles a day, so I change my oil about once a month, I just the filter every 2 oil changes). I personally think as long as you change the oil before it gets gross, or 1 calendar year, you are good to go.

so far so good.

BlackLexRX

Makes sense to me. IMO once you run a vehicle north of 175k, just stick with what works.

lexsc4

I only use Mobil 1 high mileage 5-30. 5 quarts jug cost $22-25 on sale. And use 1.5 quarts of cheap Walmart Supertech at $2.75 per quart. Changed oil and filter at 6k miles interval. Also I usually buy 10 OEM oil filters at a time from reputable eBay seller at around $4.5 each since I use the same filter for my 08 Avalon and my wife 08 RX350.

RedGemini

That's overkill. Dark oil early in the interval means the oil is doing part of its job, holding contaminants. It's when oil is still fairly clean looking after a couple thousand miles is a sign the oil isn't very good. I'll keep using full synthetic, and change it every 5-6,000 miles. At that rate, the cost is a wash. You're spending $42 in oil, plus filter, over 6,000 miles. An oil change special at Advance or Autozone for full synthetic can be had for $30 - $35, and sometimes includes a premium filter.

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

I agree, with full synthetics, dark does not always mean the oil is exhausted. With conventional dino oil, different story but oil has come a long way since the 80's. I used to use conventional oil at 2500-3000 mile intervals but have since switched to full syn at 5-6K intervals with a OEM or high performance oil filter, not sure I buy into the 10K miles that many cars use today.