Best oil to use in Tundra w/ 150k miles on it

I have sent samples in from a 3.4. I will do the Tundra once I am a few synthetic oil changes in.

I really hate rebates. Companies that do rebates make me look into switching brands.

Walmart mobil1 box-O-oil seems to be one of the better prices going right now.

 

I also am not thrilled with the stupid rebate dance/gimmick, particularly the mail-in kind where I have to spend a stamp and send in my original receipt. The fill-rate of those is probably 50% honored and 50% never received. For instance, I bought 20 qts of Mobile 1 and Castrol and am getting $50 back in rebates, and the effort was nearly nothing. Complete an online form and submit a picture/pdf of the receipt.

I am okay with the minimal effort and excellent tracking of online receipts, where there's $20+ dollars involved as these oil rebates are. Otherwise, Costco motor oils are inexpensive and probably every bit as good as the leading brand names.

 

Costco oil has had some good reviews and is readily available and inexpensive. I plan to use that, and change oil more often vs Mobil 1.

 

Anyone use 10w-30 or 10w-40 on the first gen? If yes did you notice anything? Is it acceptable to use 10w-40?

 

Not something I would do unless I had no oil to use. Probably safer in the summer than the winter obviously.

 

I use 10w-30. No problems here.

 

Oh boy, here we go again

Depends, where are you, hot climate or cold climate? You may want to change viscosity depending. Heavier viscosity if you're in super hot areas. Lighter if in areas that see ultra-freeze temps. 5w30 is the 'optimal middle'.

I personally use Mobil1 Extended Performance 5w30 full synthetic with the OEM filter which kicks every other filter out there's ass, hands-down.

But just to put this to bed, RTFM. Here, I'll do some legwork for you. This is directly taken from the Owner's manual. The book is there for a reason, friend!
(It's also downloadable online)

 

I’m in Texas, gets pretty hot here, just curious to hear what y’all think. Lately I have been using 10w-40 and no issues, truck runs very smooth.

 

I'm up in Amarillo.

 

Does the High Mileage version of these oils help at all?

 

I’m pretty positive opinions vary. I have continued using Castrol GTX HM Full Syn 5-30 just like previous owner.

I believe in many of the HM oils. Have not sent in for testing and probably won’t but I believe in it.

• Phosphorus Replacement Technology to help extend the life of the emission system
• Superior dispersancy that fights sludge build up
• Exceptional oil burn-off protection exceeding industry standards*
• Seal conditioners to help reduce leaks
• Advanced additives that minimize engine wear
• Improved fuel economy

 

I think it would be interesting to see. Currently I'm using Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic High Mileage and lab reports comes back pretty good.
Got a deal on Valvoline Advanced Full Synthetic (not High Mileage version) so for the next 3 oil changes, I'll be running the Valvoline and wonder what the oil analysis says. I know it's not a Pennzoil to Pennzoil, but general consensus is that oil is oil and if changing it using manufacturers oil change interval, it would be all similar.

 

I never assume ppl know specifics, so I'll say it. Number before W is the cold viscosity, number after w is hot viscosity (at temp). Higher the number, the more viscous/thick the oil is in each state of cold or hot. (if memory serves)

It's my belief the hot viscosity number is more important to get right. While weather can radically impact cold viscosity, engines are only going to get so hot before they overheat and stop running, it's only going to get so hot, thus so viscous. Higher viscosity could, in theory actually create more heat.

I'd personally stick with what the manufacturer recommends. But I've seen plenty of cases in my life where people in ultra cold areas swear by 5w5 - 5w10 lighter than what the OEM recommends, and I've also heard guys in ultra hot areas swear by running oil 5w5-5w10 heavier than OEM reco.

I distinctly remember reading one mechanically savvy in Alaska saying he'll only use 0w20 in V8s similar to our later model 1st gen Tundras versus OEM reco 5w30. I personally think it's a little extreme and wouldn't go below 0w25, but that's just me.

I would say, it's your truck. Don't take my advice, I'm not a pro. My uncle used to build high-end drag engines in Vegas, he could calculate all this based on engine tolerances so it's something I'd usually toss at him for advice. We lost him to Covid last October.

Debatable. I think the big plusses revolve around seals and leaking, and environmental perks. I've owned very few vehicles with a drivetrain at 150k+ on the clock without rebuilding the engine for something or other (note: mostly GM vehicles) so I've never bothered with the old car/high mile oils.

 

And actually, I finally found the link I was trying to find earlier.

https://blog.amsoil.com/a-beginners-guide-to-motor-oil/

Amsoil has a good blog on this topic. About halfway down the page they give a pretty rainbow chart showing ranges. Here's another huge one.

https://www.motorstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Viscosity-Chart-PNG-.png

 

Getting ready to do oil changes on my Tundra, my son's 4Runner and my other son's Tacoma this weekend so last night I went to wallyworld.com to get the Mobil1 full synthetic high mileage stuff. They had a "rollback" thing going on and I suppose that it was some kind of website error but.... they had 5 quart jugs for $24.37 each or a 3 pack of 5 quart jugs for $.99. So I, of course, ordered 5 of the 3 packs and paid $11.30 after shipping. Then I realized that these Toyotas will probably run forever and I'll probably always need oil for them so I went back and did it again. And then I did it one more time. So all told I've got about 56 gallons of oil coming and I paid less than $35 for it. I reckon that they realized their error when it was flying out of inventory because it was fixed a few minutes later.

I will keep a couple boxes of the stuff, the rest is going to my buddy who has a fleet of trucks for his air conditioning business.

 

Nice. Eight oil changes for $35. What a bargain! That's a little over $8 + $5 (filter)= $13+ each and my last oil change averaged about $50.

Strangely, I've seen that happen with Rogaine marked down from about $50 to $7 each. Stuff flew off the shelf in about 5 minutes.

 

Might check your math there.... or my math. Or maybe not put 7 gallons of oil into your motor.

 

Haha...why was i thinking quarts?

So 56 * 4 = 224 quarts ÷ 7 = 32 oil changes for $35. 35/32 = $1.09 per change. Very sweet!

 

I agree with sticking to to what the manufacturer says but Using 10w30, 10w40, 15w40 etc.. is perfectly fine and is not going to cause issues. The important thing is “change your oil”.

 

Can someone breakdown the mileage to oil "protection type" (meaning standard, extended performance, or high mileage) please?

I have an 02 with 68K miles...Im not oil smart. The Mobil 1 website says I should be using 5W-30 Extended Performance. Just wondering what the engine milage recommendations are for each type.

 

Extended Performance is advertised for up to 20,000 mile oil changes.

If you keep your oil changes at 10,000 miles and below, then regular Mobil 1 5W-30 is the way to go. If you plan to use extended oil change intervals (10,000 to 20,000 miles), then the Extended Performance is the product you need.

High Mileage oil is mostly marketing, but the product is fine. If your truck is leaking oil, it might help. But don't count on it. You can use it, or not. No big deal either way. Mobil has High Mileage version of regular and Extended Performance, so you can have the 10,000 mile version or the 20,000 mile version.

 

Excellent explanation. Thanks!

 

And just to add to that perfect explanation, I personally don't feel like getting under my truck and popping the skid plate off every 7.5k-10k miles. I'd rather do that every 13k-15k miles. So I spend the couple extra bucks on the Extended. If I was more interested in a shorter 10k-or-less cycle, I'd totally buy the cheaper synthetic in the left-hand of your pic.