Oils and filters

[balbrec2]

I am familiar with the BITOG website and much useful info can be found there concerning oil and filters. The one thing I didn't find there however relates to the 1ZZ-FE engine in the corolla. I often hear about engines being easy or hard on motor oil. Does anyone know how the 1ZZ-FE engine is on oil.
Currently I do 5K oil changes w/ filter. I normally use whatever national brand
of oil ( mobil clean 5K or motorcraft semi syn) that is cheapest. No store brands for me thank you. I also use a purolator premium or pure one filter.
I only get about 10K miles on the car every year and the driving is combination expressway and suburban/ city roads. Temperatures range from 0 F to 90 F. I never notice any condensation or other visible contamination the my oil. My question is can this engine with my type of driving go 10k on a synthetic oil such as mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum if I use a high quality filter such as mobil 1. I like the idea of only changing the oil once a year (before it gets cold out. I would be using less oil ( good for the environment) and the cost overall would be about the same, but it would also be less work. Engine has 55k mi and uses no oil .
would appreciate any learned thoughts on this . If you don't know please withhold commenting.I will be out of warranty starting with my next OCI. thanks.

balbrec2

[olbus]

My thought is that these engines do work hard. After 5000 mi. I change my wife's Corolla oil and it looks reddish. On my 4 cyl. Tacoma after 5000 it's still a dark golden color. Use Mobil 1 in both. Toyota filters in both. I don't know why it changes color so much in the Corolla, but I thought maybe someplace in the engine gets pretty hot. Still runs fine at 72,000 miles but personally I wouldn't extend the oil change interval. If you get an extended life oil and change filters you should be ok at 10,000. No scientific evidence on this so I probably shouldn't have said anything. Still if somebody knows why the oil turns so red I'd like to know.

[Axxis8203]

not sure i would trust a semi-syn to 10k. i run mobil 1, penzoil platinum, or valvoline synpower (depending on what has the best price when i'm shopping for oil) for 10k/6mo intervals with Pure one filters.

that being said, the only true way to know if you can safely run your current oil to 10k is to do your own UOA. reason i say this is because then you'll know what that particular oil, combined with your engine, driving conditions, and driving style can stand. UOA's are very helpful for getting a relativey accurate baseline, but when it comes to stretching out OCI's, you need to verify that your oil and filter combo is right for your situation.

[wernermeister]

learned "thoughts":

Europeans have similar temps, and they go 20,000km (about 12Kmiles) as a standard interval.
I tried that on my 1990 Toy Camry with synthetic oil: oil was def. still OK (Royal Purple at that time), but the Toyota oil filter, after cut open, definitely showed signs of severe brittleness! Could have been the placement right there next to the exhaust....but still

So, my "thinking" went to use a good synthetic (today it's Mobil 1 from walmart due to cost) for about 10K, and I change the filter on the Corolla every 5Kmiles.

Based on "other's thoughts", short trips every day is definitely not basis for extended oil changes. For that people use regular mineral for 3 - 5K in my circle.

Happy driving

[balbrec2]

I heard that the 1ZZ-FE engine was back spec'd for 5w-20 for 2006 and newer. Can anyone verify this? Has anyone used it instead of 5w-30?
If so have you noticed any difference in performance or fuel usage? I am considering this change also in addition to going full synthetic for an extended drain interval.


balbrec2

[Bitter]

get UOA's done to tell you how long you can go on your engine, every engine is different.

[DAVEGU]

Originally Posted by Bitter

get UOA's done to tell you how long you can go on your engine, every engine is different.

UOA = Used Oil Analysis ? This was a guess on my part.

And where does one get a UOA?

[Axxis8203]

blackstone labs will send you a free oil collection kit, i believe the actual cost of the oil analysis is about $20. there are other companies that do it but blackstone is the first to come to mind.