Changing from Mobil 1 Synthetic 5-30w to Motorcraft 5-20w

From the discussions in this thread, http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=31461&, you better off sticking to 5-30 weight oil.

 

saechaka, I don't claim to be the oil expert. Like you said before, M1 is just another Group III mix of synthetic oil. I personally don't think switching brand will do any harm. Actually, I'm going to switch to another cheaper alternative.

If you look at the use oil analysis (UOA) reports posted in the link, some people have driven over 10k with M1.

For other UOA reports, you can go to Bobistheoilguy website, http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/pos...UBB3&page=0. Those reports can give you a general idea of how well certain oil/engine/filter combination holds up. Everybody's condition is different, so it's hard to tell you what OCI you should use. UOA is the way to go.

 

Sounds like you are already doing the right thing and should stick with it. I had used motorcraft 5w-30 for many years in 94 Taurus, from new, it is good oil. Looking inside oil fill it looks clean as new after 13 years. Everything else falls apart on it, but not the engine. I switched to Trop artic this year, it seems to be the same oil, not sure though. I personally would be skeptical of going outside the factory 5w-30 recommendation because of potential dealer warranty excuses. I would never go over 5K with the MC regardless. I plan on sticking to 3K changes.

 

Motorcraft also makes a 5W-30 synthetic oil too. It is much harder to find than the 5W-20 oil though, and I don't know about the price difference. But maybe with a bit of searching you could get a good supply.

I really don't know why you would want to switch when the Mobil1 had been working fine up until now. You can also buy the Mobil1 in 5qt containers at WalMart which lowers the price from the individual quarts. I think that would still be cheaper than individual quarts of Motorcraft 5W-20 too.

And finally, many people have used the 5W-20 oil with good results, but if I lived where it was hot I would want to stick with what Toyota specified.