Celica Forums General Discussion General Oil Changes With Synthetic Oil

Hey has anyone taken their car to a shop and gotten their oil changed with synthetic oil instead of regular oil? Just wondering how much the cost increase would be since I'm thinking about it. Right now the shop I go to here in Pasadena charges about $20 bux to change the oil and filter but using regular oil. I want to start using synthetic since I hear it's better for the engine. Notice any performance increases with synthetic? Any suggestions?

its about 60 when they put full synthetic in... kinda expencive...


i go to costco and buy a box (6 qts) if mobil 1 full syn and its $25 and do it myself...its way cheaper.

Oh wow. Also one more thing, does anyone here refill their oil in between oil changes? I hafta put about a quart in between oil changes, not sure if that's a bad thing since I had to do that with my old car too.

i love mobil 1 full syn ever since i put the new engine in thats all she has seen! i spend bout 28$ per change thats a 5quart can and the mobil 1 filter

Dipstick measure:
E---|---F

if ur level is at the |, its not a problem. the indicated part only shows that ur oil is ok. if ur oil shows around or at empty then add it. or else dont add it. dont even overfill it! dont try to have it exactly at full. or else if its at half, i would add a half quart, or i would just fill and check, just the way you check the transmission fluid.

Thanks. But I know how to read the dip stick...just wondering if "oil burning" is normal.

It depends on how many miles you burn 1l oil. I think 1l in 7500km (sorry, to lazy to calculate in miles)is normal.
In the car manual it says even 1l in 1000km is normal (but that is a lot).

yeah, i recently switched from regular oil to synthetic and noticed a big difference in power. I bought some $40 oil Toyota from Super Autobacs, it comes in a 4 liter container from japan. not sure exactly what it is , just know that it's synthetic. well i noticed that acceleration became sharper, more kick to it, and overall power band was stronger and smoother.

synthetic oil will reduce friction better than "natural" motor oil. and the less friction there is, the better off your engine will be.

i would get it..but its just too expensive. i go to a shop and they change my oil & filter for $11. which in my opinion is better than paying a shop $50 for synthetic or paying about $30 to do it myself.

I'm assuming your using regular grade 5W30 Oil then? Hmm just wondering if it's worth putting in synthetic if I'm just doing regular driving and not racing. I'm gonna have most of my fun on my R6/CBR when I get it next year.

Oh wow! I guess I missed that part in the manual. Well 1000Km converts to 621.1miles, so if that's normal, then I guess I'm ok. What page was that on? Thanks!

i would try using synthetic oil next time to see if i really gain anything out of it.
has anyone tried the semi-synthetic oil?

what exactly are you trying to expect by changing to a synthetic oil?

yeah, its just the normal motor oil required by my car. to me, the $$ savings is what does it...i would like to use synthetic oil, but its just too expensive for my wallet right now. one thing with synthetic oil..you can go 6k w/out an oil change as compared to about 3-4k with regular motor oil..but i'm still saving money just by doing $11 bucks every change. i'm not a heavy racer, either..just some late redlight meetings every now and then...thinking about taking my car to the track down in donaldsonville (about an hour away) though. we'll see.

synthetic is better for your engine. and its not that expensive either, if you do the change yourself.

$21 for 4 liters of oil
$5 for an OEM filter
$9 if you buy the Mobil1 filter

oil change takes 15-30 mins depending on how experienced you are with it.

so what grade of synthetic do you all use?

That's the thing, I don't have time or tools to do it myself. And plus I live in an apartment, I don't think they'd let me do it there.

I've put synthetic oil since I bought the car. Bout $50 at Jiffy Lube. I've gone months without changing it-still looks good!

triple the price of your regular oil change.ehehehehe mobil 1. thats what i use. dont know if its the best though.

buying tools isnt anything more than 10$ i think. you can do the oil change in the parking/garage, or even somewhere outdoor. it wont take nothing more than 15 minutes. instead of waiting for others do it for u, you can do it urself its just gonna cost you more. just an opinion unless ur sick of doing oil changes thats a different story

I've found that Mobil 1 makes the car run smoother, and I can get about 5-7K between changes, rather than 3K with the other crap.

Oil Consumption Rate = ounces of oil consumed divided by number of miles driven. lol

hi Guys! I've been working at a gas station and doing a little mechanic work myself. The first thing to do between switching to syntetic is to buy 10 quarts of oil . drain the old oil and fill it with synthetic . Let it run for 10 minutes . Drain the oil . change the filter and pour new synthetic oil inside. You only have to do it once while switching from crap-so-called-oil to a normal synthetic like it should be. remember that you can not switch back from syntetic to crap again. (i don't know what the purpose of that, but still...)
I've been using Mobil 1 oil with Bosch oil filter but now i'm thinking to switch to RedLine motor oil. the difference is Mobil 1 - $5 per quart RedLine is $7.5 but it is recommended by Bimmer enthusiasts rather than Mobil 1.
I tried to use an oil Addative as Lucas oil add.. but after a while i added another quart of oil as the addative burnt away.
In conclusion : if you didn't switched to syntetic oil yet you should do it a.s.a.p.!!! You get smoother & quiter engine performance as well as lower running temperature (that is very important) and better mileage!!! Do not expect gain any HP out of it but do - excelency in performance - use 5w30 or 10w30 if the temperature never drops below 40F.
I don't drive a lot so i change the oil after 10 000 miles with rough driving 7-8 thousands is a limit.
(by the way...3000 miles oilchange is a myth) can go on a crapy oil 5-6000 without a doubt.

hehe. I'm kinda sick of doing it myself, cleaning up and all. Also, we park on gravel, it's not a paved parking lot, so I don't wanna go through the hassle. I wonder tho, if I buy the synthetic oil myself will they use that instead or is that where they make $$$ also? I've only had one oil change at a shop since I got my Celi and one oil change in my old car done at a shop, the rest of the times, I would do it myself or my dad would help.

usually, a shop is not intended to make much profit off oil changes IMO. an oil change costs something between 3-6$ for a shop depending on the oil and filter their using. the purpose for a cheap oil change is to gain customers thinkin "hey, if oil change is cheap, repairs should be cheap also" they wont make too much profit off oil change, but they make profits once you take ur car there to fix. parts, labors, and all that... lot of profit there. then there comes the bs change. car overheats, they make you change the radiator and thermostat. tire change is sometimes a lot of profit also. buy each tire for 20-30$ and sell it double plus labor.
this is no bs, there are ppl that cant start there cars which just needs jumpstarting or some other dumb thing like that, call mechanic, and the shop says they changed the starter and they just spray paint it. lots of crazy shits auto/body shops do, seen lots of them.
Conclusion: When you need repair, get an estimate from few shops recommended by friends, try to pay cash, check for the work done by the shop. unfortunately there are no good mechanics out there, ones trying to rip you off worst than the other. afterall its a great type of business though.

thats a myth. you can switch back and forth. i've been doing that since i bought the car. it all depends on how much money i have when i go to buy oil. if i have money. synthetic. if i have little money, regular oil. no harm done. what matters the most is getting my oil change done at that 3k


i've seen people go without an oil change for years. car is still running. will it be running for a long time? probably not. i'll agree, that you can go over 3k between oil changes. but many companies say 3k just to be safe. after time, the oil can start to break down and lose its lubrication properties. also, just because you're using synthtic oil, doesn't mean yiou can delay those oil changes. you should keep that same oil change intervals, no matter what type of oil you use, either it be regular, synthtic or synthtic blend.

Actually once we were absolutley amazed by one Camry that came for service. There was scratching sound with engine running... guess what came from the oil pan when we unscrewed the drain bolt!!! yes! there came nothing!! absolutley no oil - the lady said she was not aware of such thing Engine oil - exists ))) the car was driven without oil - though we don't know exactly for how long = but it was in the garage because the state inspection and not the oil change !!

maf.

mobil 1 5 qrts at walmart (one jug) $18

Actually once we were absolutley amazed by one Camry that came for service. There was scratching sound with engine running... guess what came from the oil pan when we unscrewed the drain bolt!!! yes! there came nothing!! absolutley no oil - the lady said she was not aware of such thing Engine oil - exists ))) the car was driven without oil - though we don't know exactly for how long = but it was in the garage because the state inspection and not the oil change !!

maf. [/quote]

ouch... i swear a maintenance class should be required before qualifying for a license. too many car parts go to waste from people not knowing sh*t

Actually once we were absolutley amazed by one Camry that came for service. There was scratching sound with engine running... guess what came from the oil pan when we unscrewed the drain bolt!!! yes! there came nothing!! absolutley no oil - the lady said she was not aware of such thing Engine oil - exists ))) the car was driven without oil - though we don't know exactly for how long = but it was in the garage because the state inspection and not the oil change !!

maf. [/quote]

ouch... i swear a maintenance class should be required before qualifying for a license. too many car parts go to waste from people not knowing sh*t [/quote]

Honestly. Do ppl like NOT RTFM (read the fucking manual)?! Notice mafiosy said "lady"! Go figure.

Actually once we were absolutley amazed by one Camry that came for service. There was scratching sound with engine running... guess what came from the oil pan when we unscrewed the drain bolt!!! yes! there came nothing!! absolutley no oil - the lady said she was not aware of such thing Engine oil - exists ))) the car was driven without oil - though we don't know exactly for how long = but it was in the garage because the state inspection and not the oil change !!

maf. [/quote]

ouch... i swear a maintenance class should be required before qualifying for a license. too many car parts go to waste from people not knowing sh*t [/quote]

Honestly. Do ppl like NOT RTFM (read the fucking manual)?! Notice mafiosy said "lady"! Go figure. [/quote]

yeah... people always forget to rotate their tires which leads to premature wear and tear and ultimately hella bad for teh environment

redline is awesome...i went from 27-28 mpg to 30-31 mpg...from regular oil to redline...

I have had full synthetic for about 4200mi, I check my oil at every gas up, I use Mobil 1, and that shit smells and looks like the day I got it...I've never changed my oil at 3k intervals, always 5k, even when I was running regular oil (Castrol). I dont believe 3k is entirely necessary, unless you like spending extra flow. And if I am correct Toyota calls for 5k intervals anyway (unders "severe conditions"), so as long as I am warranty compliant 3k interval is BS in my book

Wondering whats the interval for Manuel Tranny Fluid Changes, really got no idea how long between intervals i just got a manuel

My book is in the car and its raining pterwise i check for sure but I had a minor service at 30k, my next I believe is at 60k and its a major service if i remember correctly

ah ok because im gonna switch to redline mt90 just wanted to know how often i would have to buy the stuff