The Great Oil Change Discussion

[bartkat]

Again what they state in the manual is just as you state "recommended". This is an old debate and holds little marit. It does not say you MUST do anything. Again, I still have yet to see anything happen using Amsoil, Redline etc. They work but people are affraid. I have posted pix of under my valve cover on my car and it is clean. The internals are great lookfor doing over 12,000 mile intervals (and you could never tell). I can go longer and will be doing that based on UOA.

So you pay $29 for a blend (group 3) oil? Dude, you are getting ripped off. IF you have an issue, slips mean nothing since it proves nothing. The factory will pull a UOA as I stated for years; nothing new.

For me, I state what UOA prove (real world safe) and not a manual written for add in the manufacure (added fluff). Again these manuals are built FOS and $$$$; not what is real world. PLus Toyota is still way behind the times on oil. Have been for years.

If you like what you are doing great. For me I want the least amount of wear etc and most bang for the $$$. I put little faith in manuals from manufactures since I know what goes into them.

You're right, it's an old debate that's been beat to death and we aren't going to have another totally redundant marathon in this forum.

[jss3426]

have 2007 is 250 awd 4dr. live in north east. time to do my oil change and would llike to know what oil i should use? mobil 1 synthetic? if what grade?

thanks

[bartkat]

Mobil 1 should be just fine.

Recommended viscosity

SAE 5W-30 is the best choice for

good fuel economy and good

starting in cold weather.

If SAE 5W-30 is not available, SAE

10W-30 may be used. However, it

should be replaced with SAE 5W-

30 at the next oil change.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=3751

[mburnickas]

have 2007 is 250 awd 4dr. live in north east. time to do my oil change and would llike to know what oil i should use? mobil 1 synthetic? if what grade?

thanks

Depends on many things here. Not going into it. If you are going to drain the oil like every 5K miles, use Walmart synthetic oil since you will get almost the same benefits as Mobil1 at 1/3 the price. It is a blend (grp3) and will peform fine for an SM rated oil. I would not use 10w-30. I would use the 5w-30 (least fav), 0w-30 or 0w-20 (fav)...weight wise.

Filter wise it is up to you. I have my reasons why I select what I do (oils and filter) but most here do not go to the detail I do.

I would do a search since oils are hot topics here as many opinions and little facts.

Oh, since this is your first post and no one else welcomed you, welcome to LOC. Just FYI, the search functionality is great (I love it). Do not forget to use it. priceless data.

[Knightshade]

If you do your own oil changes than save yourself time and trouble and put some fully synthetic Amsoil in there... you'll only need to do it once a year (unless you drive more than 25-35k miles a year).

[mfindfw]

2008 IS 350 - dealer says regular fuel, 87 octane rating. Is this right? Is premium required? recommended?

Thanks.

[is350ace]

Personally. If I pay 40k+ for a fine piece of machinery, that has 300+ horsepower... I'm not about to short-change myself on fuel quality. I know there are arguments from "penny-pinchers" that every little cent saved at the gas pump counts. But for me, if I save $1.50 per fill-up, for using 87 instead of 93, I don't see the financial difference. So, for me... it's premium only.

[kha630]

the car will run fine on 87 octane. but the car recommends premium it even says it on the gas lid when you open it. besides if you do the math its like 4-6 bucks more per fill up

genreally when i fill up its about 15 gallons to my tank. give or take but on average.

regular @ $3.00 a gallon it cost about 45$

premium @ $3.30 a gallon about $49-$50

so lets say on average you drive roughly 15k miles yearly and you get about 300 miles to the tank to be conservative you would need to fill your car about 50 times in that year.

regular gasoline @ $2250 yearly cost in gas

premium gasoline @ $2500 yearly cost in gas

these are all assumptions on driving habits, yearly estimates on mileage also it reflects gas prices in FL at the current time. so is it really worth it to you?

my point is this, my parents have owned the LS line for the last 15years give or take a year or 2 and they have only filled the ls400 with premium. they gave my little sister there 1998 lexus back in 2002 and she is stills driving the car in perfect condition with a prestine engine. also its a lexus qulaity.

i just got a 08 is250 a few weeks ago and only premium will go in it. they dont recommend things for no reason

[Knightshade]

The dealer needs to learn to read the owners manual.

Your car requires 91 octane or higher to run properly.

It will -run- on 87, but not properly.

The engine will detect knock from the low octane fuel and !Removed! engine timing...meaning less power. The sensors are probably good enough to avoid doing any damage from the knocking.

Then after a while the computer will try adding a little timing back in, and see it knock again, and !Removed! the timing again.

You probably -can- run this way for a lot of miles, but it's not a very good idea.

Generally speaking you should -always- use the lowest octane fuel that doesn't cause engine knocking (which you likely won't be able to hear while driving it but your engine can)- That is almost always the same octane the dealer recommends in the owners manual... which for an IS350 would be 91 or higher.

[tex2670]

the car will run fine on 87 octane. but the car recommends premium it even says it on the gas lid when you open it. besides if you do the math its like 4-6 bucks more per fill up

genreally when i fill up its about 15 gallons to my tank. give or take but on average.

regular @ $3.00 a gallon it cost about 45$

premium @ $3.30 a gallon about $49-$50

so lets say on average you drive roughly 15k miles yearly and you get about 300 miles to the tank to be conservative you would need to fill your car about 50 times in that year.

regular gasoline @ $2250 yearly cost in gas

premium gasoline @ $2500 yearly cost in gas

these are all assumptions on driving habits, yearly estimates on mileage also it reflects gas prices in FL at the current time. so is it really worth it to you?

my point is this, my parents have owned the LS line for the last 15years give or take a year or 2 and they have only filled the ls400 with premium. they gave my little sister there 1998 lexus back in 2002 and she is stills driving the car in perfect condition with a prestine engine. also its a lexus qulaity.

i just got a 08 is250 a few weeks ago and only premium will go in it. they dont recommend things for no reason

The differential gets even smaller if, when hurting your performance, you hurt your gas mileage too (although, I've tested it out and don't see a measureable difference, but some people do).

[Sidney07]

Why don't you just go to Wal-Mart to have your oil changed too? :chairshot:

You guys are crazy to even think of putting 87 octane in your Lexus'. But you know what, why not start by reading your owners manual?

It amazes me that someone would even consider putting regular gas in their Lexus. Why did you spend the money for a luxury, performance oriented car, only to try and pinch pennies by putting in fuel that wasn't designed for your engine?

[bartkat]

Why don't you just go to Wal-Mart to have your oil changed too? :chairshot:

You guys are crazy to even think of putting 87 octane in your Lexus'. But you know what, why not start by reading your owners manual?

It amazes me that someone would even consider putting regular gas in their Lexus. Why did you spend the money for a luxury, performance oriented car, only to try and pinch pennies by putting in fuel that wasn't designed for your engine?

What guys? I don't see anyone here recommending anything but premium gas.

[Knightshade]

Well, apparently his dealer did... but it's rarely a good idea to listen to the dealer :P

[mfindfw]

2008 IS 350 - dealer says regular fuel, 87 octane rating. Is this right? Is premium required? recommended?

Thanks.

Just bought the car, picked it up today. Only premium will be going in.

Thank you erveryone for your help.

Cheers.

[ra2833]

Hello everyone,

this is my first post here now that i own my IS250. i read quite a bit of good experieicne information and i thank you all whom share there thoughts.

a brieft discription before i ask my questions:

1. i bought my "new" Honda Accord in 93

2. after my first 600 miles i chose to change the oil and started to use Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30

3. every 7,000 miles i changed the oil and used the same brand

4. i gave the car to my sister after 300,000 miles

5. the engine sounds and runs beautifully still

Concern:

1. because i used Syntheic Oil, the engine gaskets wore out sooner than anticipated

2. the engine gaskets leak

3. i am not sure if the "comments" are valid, but it is a concern i have

4. comments = people i have actually spoken to!

Questions:

1. does Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30 oil reduce the normal life span of engine gaskets?

2. is the price to pay for increasing the lifespan of an engine normal ware and tare worth it?

Thank you

[darren07]

Hello everyone,

this is my first post here now that i own my IS250. i read quite a bit of good experieicne information and i thank you all whom share there thoughts.

a brieft discription before i ask my questions:

1. i bought my "new" Honda Accord in 93

2. after my first 600 miles i chose to change the oil and started to use Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30

3. every 7,000 miles i changed the oil and used the same brand

4. i gave the car to my sister after 300,000 miles

5. the engine sounds and runs beautifully still

Concern:

1. because i used Syntheic Oil, the engine gaskets wore out sooner than anticipated

2. the engine gaskets leak

3. i am not sure if the "comments" are valid, but it is a concern i have

4. comments = people i have actually spoken to!

Questions:

1. does Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30 oil reduce the normal life span of engine gaskets?

2. is the price to pay for increasing the lifespan of an engine normal ware and tare?

Thank you

[smooth1]

Hello everyone,

this is my first post here now that i own my IS250. i read quite a bit of good experieicne information and i thank you all whom share there thoughts.

a brieft discription before i ask my questions:

1. i bought my "new" Honda Accord in 93

2. after my first 600 miles i chose to change the oil and started to use Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30

3. every 7,000 miles i changed the oil and used the same brand

4. i gave the car to my sister after 300,000 miles

5. the engine sounds and runs beautifully still

Concern:

1. because i used Syntheic Oil, the engine gaskets wore out sooner than anticipated

2. the engine gaskets leak

3. i am not sure if the "comments" are valid, but it is a concern i have

4. comments = people i have actually spoken to!

Questions:

1. does Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30 oil reduce the normal life span of engine gaskets?

2. is the price to pay for increasing the lifespan of an engine normal ware and tare?

Thank you

Well, first of all they have come along way in the past ten years with developing both better gaskets that hold up, and synthetic oils that have gasket conditioners in it. Remember, back then alot of people had alot of misconceptions about synthetic oils. Like if you use synthetic, you had to do it early in the cars life, and you can't mix conventional with synthetic. Now we sell conventional/synthetic blends, and they have a synthetic specially developed for high mileage cars, even if you had the car on conventional oil for 80k miles.

Mobil makes a good oil. There are better out there, but for the everyday driver and average duty vehicle, Mobile, Quaker state, Valvoline....they are all very comparable in mix stock synthetics. The benifits of synthetic oils now so far out weigh the cons and conventional oils, I don't even think it's a valid question anymore.

[bartkat]

I agree. I don't think you'll have any problems using synthetic.

[djspawn00]

Go for it.... quickly... before this turns into one of those oil bashing threads.

[lexus53]

Hello everyone,

this is my first post here now that i own my IS250. i read quite a bit of good experieicne information and i thank you all whom share there thoughts.

a brieft discription before i ask my questions:

1. i bought my "new" Honda Accord in 93

2. after my first 600 miles i chose to change the oil and started to use Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30

3. every 7,000 miles i changed the oil and used the same brand

4. i gave the car to my sister after 300,000 miles

5. the engine sounds and runs beautifully still

Concern:

1. because i used Syntheic Oil, the engine gaskets wore out sooner than anticipated

2. the engine gaskets leak

3. i am not sure if the "comments" are valid, but it is a concern i have

4. comments = people i have actually spoken to!

Questions:

1. does Mobile 1 Synthetic 5w - 30 oil reduce the normal life span of engine gaskets?

2. is the price to pay for increasing the lifespan of an engine normal ware and tare?

Thank you

Purchased a 93 LS 400 and immediately switched over to Mobil 1 extended performance oil.Change every 6 months or 7,500 miles which ever comes first,and I have had no problems at all.

[JIBBBY]

If your lazy use sythetic, if your a cheap *BLEEP* use conventional....

[bartkat]

Cue the oil testing Amsoil people. :D

[bartkat]

If your lazy use sythetic, if your a cheap *BLEEP* use conventional....

How can I be cheap by using conventional or a blend when I'm chastised for pouring money down a rat hole by changing oil more often? :cries:

[ra2833]

Thank you.

keywords i will focus on are 'oil conditioners' and synthetic aware gaskets.

thank you again.

[smooth1]

Cue the oil testing Amsoil people. :D

I use Amsoil,,,what up? Am I supposed to put on my supeiriorilstic attitude and step up on the pedastal and rain down facts of immortality by lubrication?