0W20 - Dec 2022 - Update

[Gray86]

On 12/17/2022 at 8:42 PM, AisinW said:

You do not need a racing oil for Yaris 1.33, not Yaris GR 1.6 Turbo. If you like premium oil but non racing but fully synthetic PAO, get Amsoil Signature, Ravenol VSE or ECS. Racing oil have much higher antiwear additives ZDDP family for high rpm and abuse but the side effects of most antiwear additives is poisoning catalytic converter faster. 

Amsoil and Ravenol are the only company use pure PAO, not blend PAO and group III hydrocracked mineral oil. 

It was about £4 more than the more basic oils the site (Opie Oils https://www.opieoils.co.uk) specified for the car. None of the others listed Toyota spec either. At £48 it’s a decent price for 4 litres. Using a decent oil gives me peace of mind as the wife has little mechanical sympathy for the car (I don’t think she knows what mechanical sympathy is 😜)

I’m a big fan of millers oils (and tempted to try their oil analysis (£40 I think). 

[AisinW]

Right, a few oils and engines can hadle how mothers drive their cars. Extreme short trips, jumpy acceleration even when the engine is still cold.

[Mojo1010]

On a general internet forum which has a section on motoring, a claimed retired oil designer said as long as the oil meet the spec of the vehicle then any brand is fine. The so called big brands are just marketing bs to make money. He seem to know what he was talking about with chemical knowledge. So Halfords oils are fine, I use Halfords oil as top up on previous non hybrid cars. 

 

[Wooster]

On 12/16/2022 at 3:47 PM, TonyHSD said:

The oil of my choice since 2016 is Petronas Syntium 0w20

Just wanted to add my vote for Petronas.  Took it along with me to the Toyota dealer who services my Auris with a note saying "Please use this instead of your Toyota oil."  They used the oil and didn't even comment on my request.  ebay.co.uk/323347890654

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota engine oil recommendations:

Recommendations only relate to grade and API specifications. Brand, price or whether the oil is semi or fully synthetic aren't included.

[TonyHSD]

For the oils and additives I usually talk not only as theoretical knowledge or been watched YouTube because I do read and watch indeed, but also as practical know how. I have been doing more frequent oil changes 3-5 per year on the current car since 2018 and before that on many other cars, using additives, flushes, mixing different oil types, coolants , screen washes, a lots of interesting things. Engine oil is most forgiving service on any ice car and you can literally use almost any type of oil for a short period of time without any risk of damage caused by the wrong type of oil. However on a long run using engine oil outside manufacturer recommended type, viscosity likely to cause issues. For the brands, any company has their own way of adding additives and modifiers and therefore not two oil brands are the same.

I had experimented with Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 from 2008 many different brands of engine oil 5w30, 5w40 and even 10w40.
 The best one I found was Shell helix 5w40, this oil made the engine running smoothest and freely, felt very light and quiet in all temperature ranges, the oil consumption was the lowest of all other oils.
The second place was Total Quartz 5w40, very similar to Shell hellix with slightly higher consumption. 
Now for the worst ones: Poorest performant was Toyota oil 5w30, noisiest and with highest oil consumption, became dark black in a shortest time, simply cooked and made the engine dirty inside. 
Second worst was Liqui moly 10w40 - this oil performed very similarly to the Toyota 5w30 oil, didn’t like at all. In direct comparison to Castrol 10w40 , the Castrol was as good as Shell and total. 
Third worst oil was Motul 5w40 - similar to others in the bad category, higher oil consumption and becomes darker in shorter time ( miles). 
These weren’t specified tests with data sheet results from a computer, those were my assumptions made as driving, servicing and monitoring my own car. 
The Petronas 0w20 oil, well I had this oil in and I went on Europe trip 6000 miles in 4 weeks at temperatures up to 40C° throughout Europe 2017 heatwave, the car was 50000 miles, not even a single drop of oil added on return. Not significant change in colour or appearance. Never been cooked and never made the engine dirty. Ever since I only use this brand and up until 120k miles never needed a top up between changes . Now at 232000 miles the things has changed, the car drinks oil , in winter drinks much more 1-2 ltr between changes of 10k miles (3-4 months). The more importantly is that the engine sounds healthy without any changes from when the car was new, the fuel consumption remains at its best ever numbers, and once I get inside towns I am getting close to Yaris and Prius numbers . 👌

[DerekHa]

1 hour ago, Mojo1010 said:

On a general internet forum which has a section on motoring, a claimed retired oil designer said as long as the oil meet the spec of the vehicle then any brand is fine. The so called big brands are just marketing bs to make money. He seem to know what he was talking about with chemical knowledge. So Halfords oils are fine, I use Halfords oil as top up on previous non hybrid cars. 

 

Did exactly the same as you Mojo quite a few years ago. General concenus on all the forums I read and other material was that so long as you using the right grade and spec of oil preferable from a well known name, even supermarket stuff, then it's all exactly the same and ultimately is produced in the same refineries. All the expensive stuff is just marketing hype to suck you in and relieve you of your hard earned cash.

[AisinW]

5 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Toyota engine oil recommendations:

Recommendations only relate to grade and API specifications. Brand, price or whether the oil is semi or fully synthetic aren't included.

Thanks for the info about Block Exemption Law applied in the Engine Oil. It is explicitly clear now that we can use any oil as long as within specs/certification without warranty issues. 

I think engine flush is a kind of supplement/multivitamin that may not cause any harm if it is a safe/good product and may give no benefit either if we use quality oil and  changed regularly. 

I never use any engine flush and minimal oil consumption with regular oil change in 4 cars, 3 had more than 200k miles with less than 0.5 L per 5k miles oil consumption.  Tony uses STP engine flush and has no issue either. 

In facts, BG made specificaly for dislodging piston rings on 2010-2012 2ZR-FXE engine. 

www.torquenews.com/8113/bg-products-claim-fixreduce-toyota-prius-oil-consumption/amp

 

[Davidhee58]

came cross this interesting video, not sure it is true or not.

 

[AisinW]

Yes,  certification costs some money but it is important to protect costumer from low quality oils.  API, ILSAC, VW, BENZ, BMW,Volvo, GM, Ford release certification.  Toyota, Honda, and most Asian brands only provide which API certification fit their cars.  So,  anything 0w-20 and have API SN or newer,  they are all good.  Careful with words: recommended, suitable, meet requirements. it does not mean Certified and tested by API, VW, ACEA etc. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Mobil's UK site states their Mobil 1 0W-20 and Mobil 1 EXP 2 0W-20 engine oil meets or exceeds API SN and SP

[AisinW]

The Mobil 1 ESP X2 has much lower pouring temp. <-60C and also longlife iv oil with 20k miles rating. Indication of higher PAO contents. Mobil1 advance fuel economy 0w-20 is 10k miles rating, the same as Toyota Genuine Oil. But all satisfy API SN 0w-20 and valid warranty. 

JYI, the 2009-2014 (before Sept) 2ZR-FXE has a TSB about engine oil consumption issue. Owners should really care and do oil change diligently and do shorter interval for harsh condition (short trips, towing, Extreem hot and cold temp, dusty). Toyota indeed acknowledged it and update the piston and pistonrings on 2014 Sept productions. It is USA TSB because it is freely available from NTHSA gov. Web. Europe  TSB is most likely similar because all 2ZR-FXE engines are similar in Auris. 

151699_TSB-2.pdf

[roks]

On a tight budget, this is the cheapest I've found, will this be compatible?

CHEMPIOIL Ultra 0W-20 Synthetic Engine Oil API SN Plus GF-6A

[TonyHSD]

5 hours ago, roks said:

On a tight budget, this is the cheapest I've found, will this be compatible?

CHEMPIOIL Ultra 0W-20 Synthetic Engine Oil API SN Plus GF-6A

On paper looks like it has the best characteristics. The brand is unknown to me and originality of the product when you think about price quality ratio. I don’t know. You have to try and see how it performs for yourself. The specs are perfect match for Toyota cars. 👍

[FROSTYBALLS]

Lithuanian company. 

Conflicting information whether the oil is API SN or SP, but either is OK.

[Gerg]

The supplier is now in a Northampton trading estate, the Milton Keynes address suggested on eBay is now closed.

If you ask them in advance, then you can collect from their new address in person; I asked a month back, but I don't think this is their normal way of selling.  Otherwise, delivery is/was by EVRI.... 

Seems to also sell under the name of Carousel Car Parts.

In the supplier above's last Black Friday sale, I remember they were selling Mannol oil at large discounts, e.g. 2 x 5L Mannol 5w/30 fully synthetic for under £25, delivered (not suitable for a Toyota necessarily).  I don't recall any other seller getting close to that in recent times.

 

 

 

[AisinW]

Strickly from the Laboratory Test alone, with the amount of tests and tolerance, These level of test/certifications are the top that some popular oil brand have:

1. Dexos 1 gen 2/gen 3

2. Longlife VW 508/509

Make sure it is indeed Certified  or Approval with specific Approval number,    not "recommended".   Those oil has longlife type (high quality base oil) and rated for 20k miles/2 years instead of 1 year. 

It is followed by API SP or ILSAC 6A which has more number of stringent test than API SN plus or ILSAC 5. 

The certification is listed in API website, VW and GM websites. We have list of which oil are certified. 

[klash997]

I use volvo spec "vcc rbs0-2ae" oil for our hybrid. Volvo had lots of issues with their 2000cc hi-powered VEA engines, especially in hot climates. They solved all issues with this oil. With this in mind I believe it's good enough for our low-output 1800cc NA engine.