The Great Oil Change Discussion

[mghanayem]

they broke my engine cover.... $750.00 to replace....

The plastic cover between the hood and the engine? Wow, that's expensive. Did you consider going without it?

The guy at the Lexus dealership rigged it to stay back on. I asked him to rig it when they quoted me that price...outrageous

[GabH]

Hello everybody,

I am a proud owner of a 2009 IS250. I just have my first 5000 mile oil change today at Lexus dealer. While I was there, I bought a filter so next time I can have other people do it without costing me an arm and a leg. They sold me 04152-YZZA3. I understand that A2, A3, and A5 are all fit my IS250 RWD. The differences are gaskets included in the kit. Mine, A3 only come with 1 big gasket. So,

1. Which of the 3 filter have more gaskets? Don't I need 2 of them ( a big and a small ones)?

2. If I do need all 2 gasket, what do I do with mine A3 which only includes 1 big gasket?

3. Do I really need to pay extra for drain plug gasket?

Let's say I'd buy 5-10 oil filters at a time, which online store have better deals for oil filter and drain plug gasket after shipping?

Thanks in advance. :)

[bartkat]

Hello everybody,

I am a proud owner of a 2009 IS250. I just have my first 5000 mile oil change today at Lexus dealer. While I was there, I bought a filter so next time I can have other people do it without costing me an arm and a leg. They sold me 04152-YZZA3. I understand that A2, A3, and A5 are all fit my IS250 RWD. The differences are gaskets included in the kit. Mine, A3 only come with 1 big gasket. So,

1. Which of the 3 filter have more gaskets? Don't I need 2 of them ( a big and a small ones)?

2. If I do need all 2 gasket, what do I do with mine A3 which only includes 1 big gasket?

3. Do I really need to pay extra for drain plug gasket?

Let's say I'd buy 5-10 oil filters at a time, which online store have better deals for oil filter and drain plug gasket after shipping?

Thanks in advance. :)

I buy all my filters from Irontoad. Usually 4 oil filters and drain plug gaskets (80 cents) and a cabin filter at one time.

http://www.irontoad.com/Merchant2/merchant...de=2009is250rwd

[Dougbib]

Hello everybody,

I am a proud owner of a 2009 IS250. I just have my first 5000 mile oil change today at Lexus dealer. While I was there, I bought a filter so next time I can have other people do it without costing me an arm and a leg. They sold me 04152-YZZA3. I understand that A2, A3, and A5 are all fit my IS250 RWD. The differences are gaskets included in the kit. Mine, A3 only come with 1 big gasket. So,

1. Which of the 3 filter have more gaskets? Don't I need 2 of them ( a big and a small ones)?

2. If I do need all 2 gasket, what do I do with mine A3 which only includes 1 big gasket?

3. Do I really need to pay extra for drain plug gasket?

Let's say I'd buy 5-10 oil filters at a time, which online store have better deals for oil filter and drain plug gasket after shipping?

Thanks in advance. :)

RockAuto is a good supplier with good prices. Ordered some wiper refills that weren't a good fit...no problem, Rockauto credited my account full refund. Thye have every oil filter known to man.

[schitzo1978]

Hello,

I always follow the manufacturers recomendation and fill up my is250 with super gas (91 octane).

One chain of gas stations here in montreal (petro canada) also offers a 4th option which i like to call super-duper is 94 octane. It supposedly helps clean your engine and burns very cleanly.

94 O is normally a few pennies more per liter (yes we are metric for most things, yet i don't know how much i weigh in Kilos only pounds).

http://www.petro-canada.ca/en/productsandservices/314.aspx

(they call it Super Premium)

is higher octane worth it in the long run, do you get more power and a cleaner engine or is it all bunk ?

thanks all,

schitzo1978

in Montreal Canada

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

I guess it really depends on how long you intend to keep your vehicle. Obviously 94 octane is better than 91 octane, but is paying more worth it? For me, no. I usually sell whatever car i'm driving when it reaches 150,000-200,000 km. So spending more at the pump won't end up benefitting me, but the next few owners down the road ;-).

I always fill up 91, never more or less.

By the way, over here only Sunoco has 94 octane.

[bartkat]

91 or 93 octane name brand gas all has additives to help keep engine parts clean. I just stay away from off brand gas and any gas containing ethanol.

[F14Scott]

91 or 93 octane name brand gas all has additives to help keep engine parts clean. I just stay away from off brand gas and any gas containing ethanol.

Gas with higher octane than an engine needs (for its manufacturer-determined compression ratio, timing, boost in turbo and supercharged engines, etc.) does not improve performance. In fact, because the higher octane fuel is less explosive, it will actually perform slightly worse.

To maximize performance and to minimize cost, one should use the lowest grade of gas possible, without knocking or engaging the anti-knock functions of the engines. Since modern engines won't knock enough to hear (precisely because of the anti knock circuit kicking-in before audible knocking occurs), one can only follow the manufacturer's recommendation and assume that grade of gas is working properly.

Putting 100+ octane aviation fuel in one's IS won't improve performance and will only drain the wallet faster.

[bartkat]

91 or 93 octane name brand gas all has additives to help keep engine parts clean. I just stay away from off brand gas and any gas containing ethanol.

Gas with higher octane than an engine needs (for its manufacturer-determined compression ratio, timing, boost in turbo and supercharged engines, etc.) does not improve performance. In fact, because the higher octane fuel is less explosive, it will actually perform slightly worse.

To maximize performance and to minimize cost, one should use the lowest grade of gas possible, without knocking or engaging the anti-knock functions of the engines. Since modern engines won't knock enough to hear (precisely because of the anti knock circuit kicking-in before audible knocking occurs), one can only follow the manufacturer's recommendation and assume that grade of gas is working properly.

Putting 100+ octane aviation fuel in one's IS won't improve performance and will only drain the wallet faster.

What does any of that have to do with what I said?

[Sidney07]

Simple answer...no it's not worth it and can actually do harm. Just put in what the folks who designed the engine say to put in it and you'll be fine if you keeping your car for a week or a thousand weeks!

[Lucky13]

91 or 93 octane name brand gas all has additives to help keep engine parts clean. I just stay away from off brand gas and any gas containing ethanol.

Gas with higher octane than an engine needs (for its manufacturer-determined compression ratio, timing, boost in turbo and supercharged engines, etc.) does not improve performance. In fact, because the higher octane fuel is less explosive, it will actually perform slightly worse.

To maximize performance and to minimize cost, one should use the lowest grade of gas possible, without knocking or engaging the anti-knock functions of the engines. Since modern engines won't knock enough to hear (precisely because of the anti knock circuit kicking-in before audible knocking occurs), one can only follow the manufacturer's recommendation and assume that grade of gas is working properly.

Putting 100+ octane aviation fuel in one's IS won't improve performance and will only drain the wallet faster.

If using higher octane caused an engine to perform more poorly then racing fuel would not be of a very high octane.

[Sidney07]

Interesting logic Lucky 13.

For your reading pleasure :

http://chemistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offs....com/octane.htm

Old argument, old article really.

Google "too high octane" and you'll also find lots of good reading.

Addage : if a little is good, a lot must be better, right?

[bartkat]

Some states the highest you get is 91, we get 93. I don't think there's problems either way.

I'm not sure what this author means by "compression burn cycle" though.

http://chemistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offs....com/octane.htm

[Sidney07]

I could be mistaken, but it often is used preceeding "of the piston". Thus it is referring to the "power stroke" of a four cycle/stroke engine?

[terry993]

You Canadians are lucky. We only get 91 in CA, land of the super green fruit and nut politicians who don't know that more octane in an engine built for it gets you more power and more mpg. Or that too much ethanol causes fuel line and gasket repair bills. It's ok in my self powered lawn mower, because I can't run that fast behind it anyway.

Just for giggles, I put a half tank of 100 race gas in my other high performance car yesterday. That brings the blended average to a 95 you can feel in the butt-o-meter. And that tuners can document on the dyno. They sell 100 at every race track for a reason. Granted, a Lexus is not a race car, but just use what the manual says, no less.

[Lucky13]

Interesting logic Lucky 13.

For your reading pleasure :

http://chemistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offs....com/octane.htm

Old argument, old article really.

Google "too high octane" and you'll also find lots of good reading.

Addage : if a little is good, a lot must be better, right?

Right, like the article says, you want to match the octane with what your engine is designed for. In the case of Lexus that is the more premium gasoline. As a rule of thumb though higher octane does not decrease performance unless you you go way over the end and do something like start putting 118 octane racing fuel in your suburban.

Its also a "if the safty inspectors say the tap water is safe but they only drink the bottled water, you should do the same" kind of thing. Do what the experts do, not what they say to do.People like nascar have a dependancy on the best performance and they use the highest octane that the rules will allow.

[Sidney07]

"More premium gasoline"? "Rule of thumb"? Whose thumb, yours?

So if it's good enough for the Nascar experts, you want it in your car too? Their engines have 750 HP. You don't have HALF that.

Currently even the Nascar racing fuel is 98 octane.

If you want to run anything more than 93, knock yourself out. Use your "butt-o-meter", or whatever works for you.

I must respectfully disagee. And leave my Suburban out of it ;)

[bartkat]

Thread merged into the big gasoline thread. There's lots there, just take what you want from it.

[F14Scott]

91 or 93 octane name brand gas all has additives to help keep engine parts clean. I just stay away from off brand gas and any gas containing ethanol.

Gas with higher octane than an engine needs (for its manufacturer-determined compression ratio, timing, boost in turbo and supercharged engines, etc.) does not improve performance. In fact, because the higher octane fuel is less explosive, it will actually perform slightly worse.

To maximize performance and to minimize cost, one should use the lowest grade of gas possible, without knocking or engaging the anti-knock functions of the engines. Since modern engines won't knock enough to hear (precisely because of the anti knock circuit kicking-in before audible knocking occurs), one can only follow the manufacturer's recommendation and assume that grade of gas is working properly.

Putting 100+ octane aviation fuel in one's IS won't improve performance and will only drain the wallet faster.

If using higher octane caused an engine to perform more poorly then racing fuel would not be of a very high octane.

Higher octane benefits engines with higher compression, like racing engines. In an engine without the higher compression, high octane performs worse.

Stated another way: Say you had two identical engines, A and B, both with 11:1 compression ratios, designed and tuned to put out 100 HP on 89 octane gas.

Put 87 in A, and 89 in B. A's anti-knock circuit will kick in, so A will deliver 95 HP, while B will deliver its designed 100 HP.

Now, put 91 in A, and 89 in B. A will burn slightly cooler because 91 octane gas is less volitle, so A will put out 99 HP, while B will still put out 100 HP.

Now, add a turbocharger to both engines (boosting compression to 12:1), and put in 91 octane in A, and put 89 octane in B. A will be able to take advantage of the additional octane by burning hotter without detonating, so A will put out 105 HP, while B's anti-knock circuit will come on, limiting its HP to 100.

[F14Scott]

91 or 93 octane name brand gas all has additives to help keep engine parts clean. I just stay away from off brand gas and any gas containing ethanol.

Gas with higher octane than an engine needs (for its manufacturer-determined compression ratio, timing, boost in turbo and supercharged engines, etc.) does not improve performance. In fact, because the higher octane fuel is less explosive, it will actually perform slightly worse.

To maximize performance and to minimize cost, one should use the lowest grade of gas possible, without knocking or engaging the anti-knock functions of the engines. Since modern engines won't knock enough to hear (precisely because of the anti knock circuit kicking-in before audible knocking occurs), one can only follow the manufacturer's recommendation and assume that grade of gas is working properly.

Putting 100+ octane aviation fuel in one's IS won't improve performance and will only drain the wallet faster.

What does any of that have to do with what I said?

Hmm. Nothing? I didn't mean to quote you. I had intended only to reply to the thread, not to your post. I must have clicked the wrong reply button.

[bartkat]

[LEXUS IS250 AWD]

I went from a Toyota to a Lexus, had no idea Lexus dealers charged so much for a simple oil change. Friend told me to buy the filter from Lexus Parts, shouldn't cost more than $10 & take the car to a Toyota dealership for the oil change. Called up Toyota, said they'd do the job for just $35 if I supply the ISS250 filter. Sounds good to me, going in on Monday

[SW03ES]

Yep...everything at Lexus is expensive. Think about it, they bill at $100 an hour, so how long does it take to do an oil change plus the cost of the oil and the filter? Gets to $100 pretty quick.

[Sidney07]

Well, they must have a 45 minute minimum then. If you've changed the oil on an IS even a few times, you can do it in LESS than 1/2 an hour.

Those who know better will go somewhere else. Those who don't won't. Profound, I know.

[Lucky13]

Good night. Why it would take anyone more than 10 min is beyond me.