0W-20 and 5W-30

This is good detective work. Even more decisive would be to see if those same part numbers applied to 4Runners delivered to destinations where the owners manual specs 5w30.

 

That's nuts!

 

Ummm... this statement meant to be humorous?

 

https://youtu.be/mbx63L-R-aU?si=691CdwHR7LB4VMMC

 

Not at all. I have seen it claimed, either in this thread or in one of the dozens like it, or in one of the many videos linked to therein, that though US models are spec’d for 0W20, there are different bearings in them than in foreign models that compensate for the thinner oil. If we could determine that is wrong, that definitively foreign 4Runners which are spec’d for 5W30 have the same bearings as domestic 4Runners spec’d for 0W20, that would finally lay to rest the debate about whether it is safe to run 5W30 in our domestic 4Runners.

Or maybe I’ve just been hitting the eggnog a little hard.

 

The 2010 owner's manual says this:



So xW-30 oil is OK. For 5th gen's 1GR, Toyota added water jacket spacers to eliminate hot spots; that's what made the xW-20 oil safe for "non-extreme" usage. Conversely, xW-20 oil is unsafe to use in V6 4th gen 4R and 2nd gen Tacomas.

4th gen:


5th gen:

 

I live in the high desert, a few days/yr it might make it into the teens but usually in the the 30’s/40’s during the winter. 5-30 (warranty) in the 5th Gen 4R and seems fine. I run Rotella 5-40 in everything else…. truck, old 4R, 2 SxSs, 2 ATVs and my pressure washer. The old 4R has 250K+ miles and burns a shot glass of oil every oil change.

 

So we will end this discussion(or not hahaha) 0W20 or 5W30! the answer use 0W30 all the great benefits on cold start from the 0W rating and the 30 weight @ running temperatures Merry Christmas 4Runner!5,4,3,2,1,go.

 

^On sale for $43 CAD for 5L jug: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/...-synthetic-engine-motor-oil-5-l-0289357p.html Good enough for Porsche, should be acceptable for 4Runner lol.

 

Yes saw that, Walmart has/had mobile one 0w30 for 35 canuck dollars bought a few jugs (yes i know i said i would stick to what the oil cap says ) Look like you can get Pennzoil cheaper @ Wally also 40$ for a jug @ reg price.
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/Mobil-...]&classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L3006&from=/search

 

That clip just showed up in my Youtube feed also, and I watched the whole thing. I actually learned a lot. Once I get closer to 60k, I'm switching to 5w 30. It will suit my use case perfectly.

 

We moved my daughter to Tucson in August. She has a 2019 Rav4 with 38k. I think her next oil change will be 5w 30.

 

Only synthetic blend 5W30 is being sold by dealerships. It appears Toyota does not have full synthetic OEM 5w30 for the US market.
Back to the drawing board finding the best 5W30 now.

 

Thats exactly what he said.

 

From the video:

"Now here's the twist you probably weren't expecting. Viscosity isn't the whole story. Additives matter more. A premium synthetic 0w20 with strong base oil can outperform a cheap conventional 5w30. Detergents, anti-wear additives, high-temp stability......that's what keeps your engine alive."

My takeaway from this statement is that if you use cheap oil like Kirkland Signature that barely passes the API rating then you should be using 5w30.

If you're using a quality 0w-20 under normal conditions, your oil performance will exceed the cheap 5w30. For extreme conditions, a quality 5w30 is more appropriate than a quality 0w20.

 

The oil flow only provides a motive force to move the cam's. There position is controlled by the ECU and the loop closed by the CAM sensor. The only way oil viscosity could possibly affect that would be too low of oil pressure not creating enough hydraulic force to move the cam's. If anything thicker oil will cause higher pressure.

Even as such the difference between 20 weight and 30 weight is pretty small at temperature.

But my question still remains; how can viscosity of an oil affect a VVT cam position? We don’t even have variable oil pumps. It’s chain driven. Cmon guys

 

Toyota made around 1.5 million 5th gen 4Runners. How many of them had engine failures due to the oil type?

 

There's no way to know the answer that.

But it doesn't change the fact that some oils perform better for not much more money.

If you're trading a vehicle in at 200k, then you can probably get away with using cheap oil.

If you're planning on going beyond 200k, I'm going to bet on the higher quality oil doing a better job in terms of longevity.

 

I am planning to go beyond 300k since I am already beyond 200k. So should I be switching to 5W30 or stick to 0W20, both higher quality versions of course.

 

Since you plan on going high mileage with it, I think you should use higher quality oil no matter what.

0w20 vs 5w30 depends on your climate and/or driving habits.

 

I’m pretty sure we would be hearing about engine failures here. People come here to complain about their tires losing air. They would surely tell us about their engine seizing.

 

The vast majority of people here trade before 200k miles.

 

Also, I'm not talking about catastrophic engine failure due to use of Kirkland Signature.

I'm just betting there would be fewer oil related issues (like oil consumption and/or oil burning) on higher mileage engines when using a higher quality oil with a good additive package.

 

Yes but new members join all the time just to talk about their issues.

 

Maybe you're right, but I'm not willing to take that bet on my vehicle.

I'm ok spending an extra couple of dollars per quart on an oil that goes further than meeting minimum spec.

 

The single-VVTi 1GR has been demonstrated to go 98k with no oil changes https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2008-tundra-1grfe-v6-engine-dead-at-98k.232540/

 

Why do you stick with Toyota-branded oil?

 

I don't! I used it for the first time this past oil change at 210k just to try something new and actually preferred it over Mobil, Valvoline, Pennzoil etc. My engine appears to run smoother and quieter. Could be placebo.
I am going to run Valvoline Restore and Protect next and then for the next 20k miles as required by Valvoline. BITOG members swear by it's performance.

 

Two days ago I changed the oil in one of our 4Runner’s and used 5W-30 Valvoline Restore and Protect. So far I have noticed that the engine does seem to run quieter than it did with 0W-20. I’ll give it another oil change with the same 5W-30 then send out a sample for evaluation.

Here is one more video that Lake posted this morning with regard to this very topic.
https://youtu.be/1OI2sXdrpdA?si=YSni7HFh6tlezJ2A

 

If you really looking for it to work it's magic run it for 4 oil changes. How many miles on your 4runner?
I will run 5W30 next, Mobile 1 ESP.