Oil

My '98 Camry has 121000 miles on it. What is recommended as far as the proper weight of oil for short trips mostly 10 miles or less a day? I’ve been using Castrol 5-30 synthetic up to now. Is it worth the extra cost?

Personal opinion. Use conventional 5W30 and change at 4K miles. Has worked for me when my commutes were in that range. If you don’t extend your oil change interval, my opinion is that you are not getting your money’s worth out of the synthetic. For this kind of short hop driving, consensus appears to be to change more frequently due to contaminants, arguing against a longer interval with synthetic.

Thanks…I needed an extra thought on the short driving experience.

I agree with jayhawkroy. I wouldn’t spend the extra money for synthetic oil, but I would change oil according to the “severe service” maintenance schedule.

Synthetic oil is a great choice if you see very low temperatures in the winter, as it will flow much better. If you live in moderate climates using conventional and changing it often can be a good strategy. Since you make lots of short trips a change interval of around 4K or less miles would probabaly be ideal.

Once again, thanks for the input, I"ll go cheaper oil more often.