What's the right oil for '94 I4?

[wahed3001]

94 Camry I4 auto with 129K miles here. I went to the dealer for the first time for an oil change and they put regular 5w20 in it. I'm wondering if that's the best oil for that engine at that mileage. What do you think?

[xtremeskier97]

I wouldnt put anything THAT thin in your car if you live in Arizona. 10w30 would be better...and is the most common.


Ive always used common sense myself. The hotter the oil is..the thinner it is. The colder the oil is...the thicker it oil is. So..if you live somewhere hot...use thicker oil. If you live somewhere cold...use thinner oil. If you live somewhere HOT in the summer and COLD in the winter...then use thicker in the summer and thinner in the winter.

In my RX-7 living in VA...I used 20w50 in the summer and 10w30 or thinner in winter.

For the most part...10w30 should cover all you need.

[PhatRoyale]

Is there anything wrong with the car? Burning oil? Smoking? If not, I would go with a high mileage formula synthetic, but if you have been using dino in the past with no problems, I would just stick with that.

[wahed3001]

I got the car just a month ago and that was my first oil-change on it. I don't know whether it's used to regular or synthetic but so far no leaks or burns. I took it to the dealer for the oil-change so I could get the free '25 point inspection'. I'll take the car somewhere cheaper for future oil changes or will do them myself. I'll stick to dino since I'll be putting auto rx in the engine sometime in the future. So you're saying 5w30 is ideal for this engine? Which brand should I go for? Thank ya all!

[uibalnme]

The factory recommended oil viscosity should be printed on the oil cap itself. My 96 5sfe oil cap has 10W30 printed on it, so that's the oil I use. As for brand, since your sticking to dino, I'd suggest Mobile. That's what I was using before switching to Royal Purple. You could also use 10W40 in your car during the hot months, since you live in Arizona. I wouldn't use anything higher than 10W40. Thicker oils reduce fuel economy if the engine wasn't designed to use it. Low-viscosity oils flow better than high-viscosity ones—the lighter-weight fluid is easier to pump and circulates faster through the engine. Low-viscosity oils also maintain a lower oil pressure, but the oil pump delivers a greater volume through the galleries than it would with thicker oils. Heavier oils also tend to operate at higher temperatures because the oil pump has to work harder to force the lubricant through the system. So, the added pressure increases the temperature. In the end, high-viscosity oils maintain a higher oil pressure, but the pump delivers a smaller volume of oil.

[Stillrunning]

Helpful site:

http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm#Introduction

I think 5W-20 is to thin. Your manual probably says 10W-30; check it. If you're in Arizona and concerned about heat then use the spec'd viscosity range in synthetic. You'll never know the proper change interval without oil analysis.

[Heat]

What's the right oil? Whatever your owner manual says, which would be 10w30 (or 5W30 for cold climates).