ah, one of the great mysteries of life. I guarantee you will get as many different answers as you get replies
On how often to change - on my '96, I change my Mobil 1 every 6k, and it is still honey-golden in color even then. On my friends '98, it is black after 2k (the 'sludge' problem on the '97 - '02's I assume). How does your oil look after 3K? Also depends if your driving is considered 'extreme' or not (whatever that means
).
On weight: When I was in Phoenix, I would use 5-30 in the cooler half of the year, and 10-30 in summer, due to the extreme heat there(think ave temp around 115). Now that I am in SoCal, I use 5-30 year-around. Of course, this also depends on your driving conditions. Really hard use, you may want to bump up to 10-30. I drive very short distances, so the lighter 5-30 will give me just a little bit more protection driving a 'cold' engine. Does your engine use up oil (burn or leaks?). A Heavier oil usually helps. Mine does not at 126K.
Really, neither one is going to make that much of a difference. Just take these ideas (plus what others will probably post), and you will need to make up your own decision based on your factors. Hope I make it to 160k+ too!!!
A thread i found over on the Camry forum:
synthetic 5W-30 or 10W-30?
Linear Mode
