Uh Wrong Oil used.

[nodrogkam]

Hey guys me being a moron changed my oil with a SAE rating not recommended by toyota for my car.

I used Penzoil full synthetic 5w-20 not 5w-30...Dont ask why i didnt bother to look at the oil filler cap before filling it with that stuff....it just happend. SO anyways i dont want to waste all that oil and money by draining and buying new stuff, but is this going to be bad for me? Ive been reading around on google etc. about this 5w20 stuff and its supposed to give me better fuel economy and lower emissions but at the cost of my engine life due to its lower viscosity.

I do drive my car hard at times, probably more often than i should anyways, but was wondering if i shouldnt use this oil. I mean i'd rather loose 35 bucks than loose the whole car/engine. I'm just thinking if i took this car out on the track or raced it, the lower rating wouldnt be able to handle the high heat the engine is producing causing the whole engine to wear out REAL Fast.

However I drove it around and it really felt amazingly smooth. I also did a flush before this change.

Any advice or insight into this would be great.

I have a 1mz-fe engine.

[RningOnFumes]

i say save your money, and since it's winter the oil weight will help a bit too. wait for the next interval to change

[nodrogkam]

well its lighter...so yea its okay for winter. But i am guilty of driving pretty DARN hard. Im afraid that if i get up there in rpms constantly it will cause A TON of wear. A lot more than usual. Should i be so paranoid?

[97Heaven]

You may wear out the cyclinders if you abuse the rpms.

[nodrogkam]

I completely understand racing the engine with any oil at any time is BAD for it and reduces life.

But with lower viscosity, eventhough its fully synthetic would harm the engine even more?

[97Heaven]

Well, lower viscosity oil doesn't handle high temperatures the cylinders reach, which will cause the cyclinders to overheat and eventually wear out. Higher viscosity oil will provide more cushion in the cylinders, proper lubricant and protection.

[nodrogkam]

thanks. i'll do my best to keep under 4K rpm at all costs.

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by RningOnFumes

i say save your money, and since it's winter the oil weight will help a bit too. wait for the next interval to change

Winter or summer, the engine generally runs at about the same temperature.

For most of California you can run 10W-30 no problem and probably better since it doesn't get cold. You might save 0.1 gallon of gas when the oil hasn't warmed up yet, but not much more benefits from using 5W-30 over 10W30, except in colder areas where it might snow.

[RningOnFumes]

true... didn't mean that... meant it towards teh 35 bucks he paid to get the oil changed this time...for him to wait until his next oil change to switch back

[nodrogkam]

I've actually e-mailed penzoil too to just ask. DUnno what they'll say. But until i hear from them i wont change it, unless it causes me not to be able to sleep and of course if my car starts acting funny. But again i say if it means loosing 35 bucks to save my engine, then why the heck not. All i can say is today i have learned a good lesson.

[touringcamry]

Ask at this board: http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

[nodrogkam]

Originally Posted by touringcamry

Ask at this board: http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

Thanks. I'm just waiting for approval now...

[kamesama980]

you know their going to give some half-truth cover-our-asses shpiel about how it "could" do harm. i say take it easy and switch at the next interval. if youre worried enough to email them, just change the damn oil already. and pay attention to what your buying. kinda like measure twice, cut once.

[csaxon]

I ran mobile I in the early 1970's when it first came out. It only came in 5w20 back then.
I ran it in a 1974 Mercedes 450SL in Georgia for years with no problems.

I drove the car for almost 30 years with no mechanical engine problems.

[nodrogkam]

thanks.