I am thinking of switching from regular motor oil to full synthetic. The car has 58,000 miles is a 2007 Toyota Corolla. Is it practical or not, and what are t advantages or disadvantages of doing this
Practical, harmless, more expensive, and you won’t notice any difference.
It will affect your drinking budget. That’s about it.
Absolutely in agreement with Texases.
Keep maintaining your Corolla as outlined in your owner’s manual you’ll have a few hundred thousand more reliable miles, probably many more. Your engine will outlive the car.
… and certainly any BMW
(thought I’d put some fire out with gasoline)
The only change you will notice is a declining bank account.
Yep fully agree. Especially if you thought you could extend the oil changes by using it. Just stick with what you are doing.
I’d stick with the mineral oil and the recommended change intervals from Toyota. Leave the synthetic oil for those that require it. Using synthetic in a Corolla is not going to extend its life as long as you change the oil at the recommended intervals.
I respectfully disagree with the crowd. Synthetic oil may not be necessary, and for many drivers that own a car for 5-10 years and then get rid of it, it will probably suffice. So will probably doing the minimum in a lot of other situations in life.
But if synthetic oil wasn’t a little better, it wouldn’t be required in turbocharged vehicles, and it wouldn’t be factory fill in many high end and performance cars.
If you use synthetic, you may notice no difference, depending on your driving habits and climate you live in. But if you do use it, you might notice slightly better mileage, a smoother running engine, easier cold starts in cold climates, less oil consumption, and years down the road a motor that runs as good as when you got it, with no sludge in it. You will save what, $30/year maybe by not using synthetic?
You can always try it and switch back if you notice no difference, or use it just in winter months to ease the cold starts.
Unless you drive very high mileage where normal oil change intervals become expensive, even with non synthetics, it really doesn’t pay (even just more $30 a year) to spend more then the minimum on a quart of oil. Even VIP store brand is certified and will do the job. This is especially true with a Corolla where 5k oil changes and the motor may out last the body or your boredom with the car.
If you are not using the Corolla as a Taxi, police car or towing heavy loads up steep hills, driving 50k a year or have stock in Exxon or other, it’s a waste of money in my very humble opinion.
Other then oil changes, service on most components are 100k on your car. If you feel you are neglecting it, wash and wax it more often and meticulously clean the interior regularly to realize real savings over long term.
If regular oil is changed every 5,000 miles or so, there will be no, zero, nada difference for a car that does not require a synthetic. Regular changes will prevent any sludge or wear issues. And synthetic will not make an engine run smoother.
I would use synthetic in any engine that calls for it, any turbo/supercharged engine, and any situation with extremely cold weather.
Thank you everyone for the information.
I switched to syn. (royal purple) in both my car(2008), and truck(2000). great results.
people have rode in my truck notice a difference. quiter, smoother. no other work done.
in the car my mileage seems to increase…
“But if synthetic oil wasn’t a little better, it wouldn’t be required in turbocharged vehicles, and it wouldn’t be factory fill in many high end and performance cars.”
If non-turbocharged and non-high end & non-performance cars would benefit from synthetic oil, I would think that it would be recommended for every vehicle (unless you suspect a conspiracy among oil producers).
I think the key to the majority’s opinion on this issue is that if you always change your oil when the vehicle’s manual states that you should, there will be no difference in engine wear. However, if you don’t follow your manual’s recommendations, using synthetic oil might make a difference. It may be difficult to prove however.
The benefit of synthetic oil is that it allows longer intervals between oil changes. I change oil (myself) every 10,000 miles and once per year (the periods seem to occur synchronistically), using Mobil1 Extended Performance and a Mobil1 oil filters.
A few years ago i went 20,000 miles and two years because medical problems at the time prevented me from swinging myself under a car. I considered taking the car to a garage, but the German in me persuaded me it was better to go 20,000 miles and to do the job myself rather than hand it over to an American mechanic. I use a torque wrench to torque the oil plug and oil filter to specification (44 N•m (use crush washer) and 12 N•m respectively), and I use a pipette to deliver exactly 4.2 L of oil (whatever that is in American “quarts”). As you might expect, all of my torque wrenches (HAZET, of course) are calibrated in N•m.
More than 50% of all drivers in Germany use synthetic oil. I am biased, of course, but I think the average German driver has more technical savvy than the average American.
American drivers are all above American average.
Thought you knew.
“American drivers are all above American average.”
That is why they all drive SUVs.
But if synthetic oil wasn’t a little better, it wouldn’t be required in turbocharged vehicles, and it wouldn’t be factory fill in many high end and performance cars.
I disagree with “oblivion” “Synthetic” is not a measure of quality, rather it is a description of the type of oil. It is not better for all uses. In most uses it is as good or better, but frankly there is next to nothing to gain by using synthetic oil in a car that does not need the special attributes. For example, as I recall synthetic oils can handle higher temperatures, than regular oil. If your car never gets that hot (as would be true for most (all?) cars that do not call for synthetic oils) nothing would be gained and you may end up paying more for the oil without any benefit to youl
@JosephEMeehan: “Synthetic” in this case, IMHO, is both a type of oil and a measure of quality. Just as oak is a type of wood, but also a higher quality than pine.
While conventional oil will do, I like to give my vehicles something a little better. I can go a little longer between changes, maybe I get a little better mileage, and if something happens where the engine runs hot or somehow part of the oil is lost, it is probably a little more likely to survive. Also, when I had the valve covers off of my >200K mile car, there was not the slightest trace of sludge or deposits.
To each their own.
I also subscribe to the synthetics are a waste of money in most cats theory. The exception being cars/trucks being run in the extream. Such as turbo charged (the turbo generates a ton of heat), heavy towing, high reving, taxi/police car service.
I also feel extended service intervals are bunk, look at mini and BMW owners who followed the 15,000 mile change interval and now have slugged up motors and very expensive lawn ornaments. Just because the oil can go 15,000 does not mean it should. I have 125,000 on my car, been running 5k oil changes since I got it two years ago. I dropped the oil pan yesterday and found not one trace if sludge. That was with regular oil and lots of short trips ( I only work 3 miles from home).