Well, my dealer free oil changes has run out so I will be doing it my self from now on. I was at Wally world yesterday looking at the oil available and the choices were staggering. I have a 2011 Tacoma V6 with 4WD and a little over 25000 miles on it. It came with regular oil but I am thinking now might be a good time to go synthetic but I not knowledgeable enough to know if this makes sense or not. I also noticed that Quaker State has a full synthetic that was not much higher than regular brand name oils but I wondered about quality with the price being so much cheaper than other synthetics. Advice or direction needed. Thanks, miles

Mobil 1 seems to be the standard synthetic choice for most. Personally I'd stick to a good dino oil if that's what it came with. You're only driving about 12K a year, you'll trade off the truck long before you'll ever see any benefit to synthetic oil. I have a 2005 Toyota camry that's been fed Valvoline dino oil all it's life and it's got 270,000 miles on it now, still purrs like a kitten.

I agree with Crow hunter.

+1. My 2005 Taco 4WD is pushing 230,000 miles and has lived on Rotella for all those years.

Whichever oil you choose just make sure you use a GOOD filter.

I've been an Amsoil fan for as long as I've been driving but I use Toyota 0w20 and Toyota filter in my 2011 4Runner Trail Edition. It's an excellent oil that protects well at start up. It's not much more than conventional oil and at 12,000 miles a year you could get away with one oil change a year. You could do a UOA through Blackstone at 8,000 miles just to make sure

Toyota Oil is repackaged Mobil regular oil...

I'd recommend Mobil One still, even if you don't want to run it the longest that you can... nothing says you can't change it more often...I'd go with 5w20 "for the engines over 75,000 mile version"...the dominant reason of it have more ZDDP/Zinc content than the other versions available...

Gotta admit, I don't trust thin dino oils, at hot temps, but I do trust Mobil 1 at any temp...

Quaker State's 'synthetic' oil, is just highly refined dino oil, as is Valvolines, Castrol's etc....

Pennzoil ( Shudder) is the only other real synthetic they offer, which is good oil, but I can't get pass the stigma of their regular motor oil..

and as Earl recommended, invest in a good oil filter...the best oil with a cheap filter is a waste of good money... AND THE BEST FILTER DOESN'T SAY FRAM ON THE SIDE OF IT....The Purolater, is the best one Wally World carries...but a Wix Made NAPA filter is better...

Particular for women, friends of my wife's, who have no man in their life, I have recommended what huntsonora says,
once a year oil changes.... and recommend that they have it done on their birthday, so they will remember when that once a year time is....what better way for a chick to remember something than when it is connected to something about themselves....

best of luck...

Only time will tell Miles. I've used Mobil 1 in every thing I've driven the past twenty years. None have died of engine failure.

Currently driving a 2000 Tacoma I bought '99. Used the so called dino oils until I felt sure the rings were well seated then switched to Mobil 1. Have 135,000 on it now. Use the Mobil filter. No problems, if I could just get the youngsters and little old ladies from running in to me.

I am guessing if it is 0-20 weight then Pennzoil platinum is worth every penny. I run 5-30 in my 2009 but that engine has different specs then yours. I always use a toyota filter ...never a problem.

I have the same truck with 34K on it. I changed to synthetic 3k ago after my freebies ran out also!

I use 5w30 Mobil one in the 09 Lexus and 07 Tacoma, Toyota filters for both buy a case at the dealer and ask for a discount. The 5qt Mobil one at wally world is a good buy.

I change the Tacoma every 10k. I've only got 115k but will be extremely disappointed if I don't get 350k out of it.

BS. Now, if you had said Amsoil and bypass filtration, then yes, I would agree, you'd have to be a high-mileage driver to get a nickel back. I might put dino oil in my lawnmower, then again, maybe not.

You know, opinions on oil are like a$$holes, everyone's got one and everybody's but their own stinks. I gave my opinion, it might stink to you but it's certainly not BS. Of the three vehicles in my driveway right now only one of them has less than 270,000 miles on it, the highest mileage has 375,000 miles and it's never had a drop of synthetic oil in it. I might be wrong, but I'm guessing you've never come close to putting 375,000 miles on a vehicle. When you do, then come back and run your suck hole about how you have to use synthetic to get it to last through a drive to the grocery store.

And I wouldn't run Amsoil in my lawnmower.

The fact is that ANY oil and filter that meets the manufacturer specs is fine. For dino oils change it at intervals no more than 6000 miles and for synthetics no more than 12,000 miles and your vehicle will live a long happy life. If your usage includes a lot of short trips or towing heavy loads then decrease the drain intervals by 30% and all should be good.

5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic and a good filter on sale for $32 at advance right now,,, came out with 4 , 5 quart jugs of 0-20 and 4 Purolator filters for the 5.7 tundra. That's a good deal if you run synthetic.

I have a 2012 Tacoma and still under the oil change program from the Toyota dealership. I buy Mobil 1 and take it to them to put in my truck.

Of equal importance, make sure you use only Toyota oil filters. Do a study on them compared to anything else out there, they are the best bar none. Nothing compares that I have found.

No, mine stinks as well 'cause I just got done workin' out. Sorry for [bleep]' in your cornflakes, but I'm sure you'll get over it.

I use and recommend Mobil 1 in most of my rigs and change oil once or twice per year. That being said, I run Rotella T6 in my landcruiser and change about every 8 months or so.

That being said, if I was you and wanted synthetic, I'd run Mobil 1 and if I wanted dino, I'd run Chevron. Both are available at Costco and Walmart, etc, in larger bottle sizes.

I'd probably use 5w-30 or 0W-40 in lieu of the 0W-20, but as mentioned, everybody has an opinion on oil, and if you want your head to spin, go to the "bobistheoilguy.com" web site and see what the real fanatics have to say......

Sound advice, as long as the Mobil One is the extended performance variety.

Its a lot to read. But, after I read it all, I've stuck with Toyota factory filters.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...thailand-vs-competition.html#post2389585

Look up Dahl Toyota on ebay. I bought a box of 10 with new plug seals for $40.00 and free shipping.

Oil I use Mobil 1 Synth.

Id stick with Yota filters too as they are bigger than any of the aftermarket varieties I have seen.

I'm on my 2nd Toyota Tacoma. Sold the 1st one with 270,000 miles on it and it is still running great. The 2004 my wife is driving now has 90K on it. Both trucks get Valvoline 5-20 and the Fram Extra Guard filter.

I have never used any synthetic oil in any vehicle and the only engine I trashed out was a Subaru that had the crank misaligned from the original factory machining.

The rest of the vehicle wears out before the engine.
Of course,I'm one of the stupid ones that still change my oil/filter every 3000 miles.

People can bad mouth what ever oil or filter they choose or recommend any of them, but the proof of the pudding is how long the engine last. Pick any one you want that meets the mfgr's requirement and use it.

Mobil 1, 0 to-30 synthetic is excellent gun oil though.

Color me stoopid too.

I'm running dino oil (Valvoline 5w-30w) in my chevy just to prove my theory that it doesn't make that big a difference what type of oil you use. 135k and it uses about 1/3 of a quart after 4000 miles.

It's got a couple of very minor oil leaks that I need to take to care of which should reduce the oil consumption even further.

Dino oil is pretty refined these days and of course works fine. The only reason I run a synthetic in my Taco is the engine sounds a hell of alot better cranking over/firing when its below zero out, which it is on a regular basis here in balmy upper MI. If I lived somewhere warm like Colorado, I wouldnt bother,lol.

Do you have any heaters on the motor for the cold days?

Even though I run Mobil 1 in all of our vehicles, I think you'll find dino oils will protect your engine just as well. The caveat is you have to change dino more frequently. Do you want to crawl under your truck once a year or twice a year? The increased cost of synthetic is balanced out by being able to run it longer between changes. Which makes it less expensive when you place a value on your time.

Yes, but when I am at work I cant use them due to no place to plug in.

Crawling under a vehicle to change the oil in the winter is a pain in the ass. Either you freeze your hands off doing it outside or you have to deal with metling slush, road salt and gunk dripping on you if you pull it into the shop. Another plus with synthetic oil.

When it's -20 or colder and you can't plug in I find firing up the rig at lunch time makes for a happier engine when firing it up at the end of the day.

Mobil 1 it is, and the 2011 Taco is the easiest thing to change the oil in of any car/truck I have ever done. Oil filter on top where you can get to it and it sits up high enough that I can slide under. I am 6'4" and weigh 285 lbs.

I'm retired. All I have is time. My 2004 is a bugger to change oil. You have to drop two skid plates and the oil filter is located up on the side of the block that takes a contortionist to get to.
However, it only takes me 45 minutes to do it all.

No problem in the winter as my trucks are garaged in the garage/barn combo.
Still ,doing it myself gives me a chance to inspect everything under there. Instill do my own grease jobs

Forgot to add, if you want to make a toyota oil change even easier, get a piece of plastic tubing, can't remember the diameter off hand.

Pull that black plastic plug off the bottom where the filter mounts and put the tube on it. Put the tube in your used oil catch or an old can,crack the filter and let the oil drain down and into the tube, and into the catch basin.

I let my 2011 Taco sit for a while draining and there was very little oil left in the filter. I put a plastic water bottle under the filter drain but could have crumpled up a paper towel and done just as well. miles

If you would like to add filter capacity to your V6 Toyota I run a Purolator PL20195 filter It�s about 40% larger than a stock Toyota filter.

If a filter is that hard to get to, why not put in a remote filter mount? I installed one for a friends early 80s GM X Body vehicle back in the late 80s...he was severely handicapped, didn't have a lot of money living on assistance.. and GM couldn't have buried that filter any deeper.. plus it was a shotglass sized filter anyway...

he had room on one side of the engine bay, so he wanted to go extreme to where he didn't have to give the oil much attention yet not worry about it...

so I plumbed in a filter off a Peterbilt for him...

raised his oil capacity from 4 qts to like 10.... filled it with Mobil ONE....

I moved from Seattle back to MN, but I really wonder if he ever changed any of it after I left... ever...

my 88 4 Runner, that I bought new in Sept 1987, has a 2200 RE engine...

I run Mobil One, after the first 10K or so.... took a cross country trip with it last year towing a heavy trailer to New England...

I change the oil every 20 to 25,000 miles in that truck....

She is sitting in the driveway with 521,000 miles on it now...

here is the odometer when she rolled over 500K....



( for those NON believers)

here is Seafire Jr in front of it when it turned over 500K on the way home from Scout Camp....

Blocking off the radiator with card board helps the engine warm up sooner too.

Most of the (synthetic) oil now and days is nothing but highly refined dino oil. The true synthetics are generally pricey. Mobil one is good stuff but if it isn't their extended performance line its the same stuff as all the others (highly refined dino). So if your gonna use dino you could use the cheaper synthetic and change your oil less often. That's what I do. I use rotella T6 synthetic and change it every 5 thousand miles. The only reason I use rotella is cause I can run it in my bikes too. One oil for most of everything I drive.