synthetic 5w20 vs. regular 5w20 - which to put in?

[leepark]

I'm planning to have my first oil change on my Camry Hybrid at approx. 2000 km. I will be putting in synthetic but my dealership only carries the 5w20 in synthetic. What is the difference between synthetic 5w20 and synthetic 0w20 was? What are the pros and cons of each? Is it better to go with the synthetic 5w20 over regular 5w20? What are the benefits?

[Mistabullet]

What is the difference between synthetic 5w20 and synthetic 0w20 was? 0w20 flows easier then does 5w20.

What are the pros and cons of each? Well they are pretty much the same except 0w20 will have less flow resistance in colder weathers.

Is it better to go with the synthetic 5w20 over regular 5w20? Yes

What are the benefits? Syntethic is better at everything. The only down side is the cost.

I'm not 100% sure on any of the above. So far that is all I know and I'm still learning this myself.

You should always use what the manual recommends. In your case I would take the lowest viscosity level your manual recommends, nothing else.


If you want more info on the workings of oil go to this website: Motor Oil

[Wizrd23]

Mistabullet has it right.... Synthetic is definitely better by leaps and bounds over convential oil... The biggest difference is in viscosity and how long the oil lasts. With synthetic you can go 6k or 8k without an oil change... you shouldn't, but you can. Also, on these new generation engines, they are more efficient with synthetic oil. In the old days you needed conventional oil because engines were not always sealed properly and the heavier weight oils and density act as a sealant. Thats no longer an issue.

Anyway, here is a thread I started several months ago when I did my first oil change and there is some discussion about what oils to get. Personally, I used 5w20 full synthetic because in Texas it never gets cold enough to need 0 weight oil... and in the summer the extra weight is good because the oil doesn't heat up as fast. Its your call. The service manual suggests 0w20. When I went looking for oil, 0w20 was impossible to find, and the excuse I was given was that due to Katrina, the refineries in Louisiana were not producing decent quantities of 0 weight. Regardless the difference in mileage is nominal.

REMEMBER THIS: If you learn nothing else... if you use synthetic, always use synthetic. Don't switch back and forth or go to conventional oil. You are just making your engines life harder. And if you look at the cost difference, you can do fewer oil changes on synthetic and the cost difference equals out.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t152030.html

[leepark]

I called a few Toyota dealerships and was told that 0W20 is somewhat rare and difficult to order. Anyway, It doesn't get very cold (rarely getting below 30* F in the winter) in Vancouver, Canada, so would 5W20 be better anyway?

Also, am I doing the right thing by getting my first oil change at approx. 2000 KM (approx. 1250 Miles)? Some are saying not to change the "break-in oil" (original oil the car came with) so fast because Toyota puts additives in it to help with the break-in process. On the other hand, some say to change at 500 and 1000 Miles to cleanse the oil of metal particles and inpurities of the break-in process. WHO'S RIGHT? WHAT SHOULD I DO?

[Mistabullet]

Call toyota they know best. Ofcourse you can always ask your local toyota dealer's service guy but i've been reading posts where some of these people are complete tards. So just call back toyota and ask them what is right. Also you can try your manual, i'm not sure if it's in there but it's worth a try!

Good luck and let us know what you ended up doing/ were told to do cus i'm thinking about this same exact issue.

[Winterpeg]

Originally Posted by leepark

I called a few Toyota dealerships and was told that 0W20 is somewhat rare and difficult to order. Anyway, It doesn't get very cold (rarely getting below 30* F in the winter) in Vancouver, Canada, so would 5W20 be better anyway?

Also, am I doing the right thing by getting my first oil change at approx. 2000 KM (approx. 1250 Miles)? Some are saying not to change the "break-in oil" (original oil the car came with) so fast because Toyota puts additives in it to help with the break-in process. On the other hand, some say to change at 500 and 1000 Miles to cleanse the oil of metal particles and inpurities of the break-in process. WHO'S RIGHT? WHAT SHOULD I DO?

I am taking in my SE V6 in the next week for it's first oil change and it has about 5700KMs on it. I will be putting in synthetic. The dealer said that I could wait for another oil change but with winter coming, it would be best to go now versus this spring.
I also own an Infiniti G35 and I did the same thing, changed to synthetic after about 6000KMs.
Have a great day;

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by Mistabullet

Call toyota they know best. Ofcourse you can always ask your local toyota dealer's service guy but i've been reading posts where some of these people are complete tards. So just call back toyota and ask them what is right. Also you can try your manual, i'm not sure if it's in there but it's worth a try!

Good luck and let us know what you ended up doing/ were told to do cus i'm thinking about this same exact issue.

I agree with Mistabullet, but just to clarify, I think he means call Toyota corporate, not the local dealer. Call Toyota corporate at 1-800-331-4331 and follow the prompts to speak to a customer service representative.

Mike

[mtnet2000]

0w 20 is what you need, just did my forth oil change and on the oil cap it tells you to use 0w20. I had AutoZone order it for me in synthetic, it is real hard to find...

[njerald]

Originally Posted by mtnet2000

0w 20 is what you need, just did my forth oil change and on the oil cap it tells you to use 0w20. I had AutoZone order it for me in synthetic, it is real hard to find...

Toyota synthetic 0w-20 was on my dealers shelf yesterday at $4.55/qt., I believe.

[ScottFern]

Originally Posted by njerald

Toyota synthetic 0w-20 was on my dealers shelf yesterday at $4.55/qt., I believe.

Thats a better price than Mobil1 and probably easier to find. I wonder if my local dealership would stock that?

[leepark]

If both 0W20 and 5W20 is readily available in synthetic, what are you going with? Why?