First Oil Change, Which Oil?

[VaPrius]

How many mile did your Prius have when did you do your first oil change? What oil did you use, conventional or synthetic? If you used synthetic, did you notice any MPG increase? Which synthetic? I've used AMSOIL in my Honda CRV and did notice 2-3MPG increase.

[efusco]

Originally posted by VaPrius@Nov 6 2005, 08:52 AM
How many mile did your Prius have when did you do your first oil change?  What oil did you use, conventional or synthetic?  If you used synthetic, did you notice any MPG increase?  Which synthetic?  I've used AMSOIL in my Honda CRV and did notice 2-3MPG increase.

[snapback]151455[/snapback]

I switched to Mobil 1 Synthetic at 3000 miles. Why, I was excited about the Prius and wanted to pamper it and make sure everything was perfect from the start. The anecdotes about Increased wear and oil breakdown in the first few thousand miles made me wanna do it. Also the rumored improvement in mpg.

It probably does help MPG slightly, but you won't really be able to tell b/c the car is still breaking in and you'd get improved mpg with regular mineral oil too.

The choice is yours. Unless you're willing to extend your oil change cycles to once every 10k miles with the synthetic the cost will be higher--significantly more than any gas savings.

[TucsonPrius]

I changed it at 4500 milles. Used whatever 5W30 was the cheapest (I think it was $0.49 qt after rebate). Why? I've mostly heard anedoctal information about synthetic--you know the kind, "I've used synthetic for 20 billion miles and my engine is like new."-- and the only real tests by consumer reports should that there was no real difference between oils in terms of reducing wear. Hence, I didn't pay attention to all the advertising fluff and saw no reason to choose one brand over the other.

Now maybe there is real difference between synthetic and non-synthetic, but until I see real, quantifiable, objective tests, I'll stick with my own anectdotal evidence: "I used whatever 5W-30 or 10W-30 they put in my Honda for 14 years, half of that spent in the freezing cold north, and half in the blazing hot deserts of the southwest, and at 215000 miles, my engine ran like new."

Thanks,
Shawn

[efusco]

Originally posted by TucsonPrius@Nov 6 2005, 11:16 AM
I changed it at 4500 milles. Used whatever 5W30 was the cheapest (I think it was $0.49 qt after rebate). Why? I've mostly heard anedoctal information about synthetic--you know the kind, "I've used synthetic for 20 billion miles and my engine is like new."-- and the only real tests by consumer reports should that there was no real difference between oils in terms of reducing wear. Hence, I didn't pay attention to all the advertising fluff and saw no reason to choose one brand over the other.

Now maybe there is real difference between synthetic and non-synthetic, but until I see real, quantifiable, objective tests, I'll stick with my own anectdotal evidence: "I used whatever 5W-30 or 10W-30 they put in my Honda for 14 years, half of that spent in the freezing cold north, and half in the blazing hot deserts of the southwest, and at 215000 miles, my engine ran like new."

Thanks,
Shawn

[snapback]151512[/snapback]

Good points Shawn. I believe the same thing as far as ability to protect the engine and such. My deciding factor came down to 1)Potential for improved MPG, 2)slightly better for the environment, and a distant 3) Potentially better for engine wear/life.

I think it's pretty clear that for long change intervals that synthetic is superior, but with routine 3k or 5k mile changes there's no measurable benefit.

[TucsonPrius]

Originally posted by efusco@Nov 6 2005, 12:18 PM

My deciding factor came down to 1)Potential for improved MPG, 2)slightly better for the environment, and a distant 3) Potentially better for engine wear/life.

Evan,

I would agree with #2, especially if you increase the length between oil changes, and just change the filter every 5000 miles. I would really be interesting in seeing more research/studies about #1 and #3.

Without anything else to go on, people would probably be best off with whatever they think is best--they'll ultimately find "evidence" to support their decision completely--regardless of what they decide. There's a lot to be said for spending/saving the few bucks if it makes you happy.

Thanks,
Shawn

[The Critic]

Originally posted by efusco@Nov 6 2005, 10:18 AM
Good points Shawn.  I believe the same thing as far as ability to protect the engine and such.  My deciding factor came down to 1)Potential for improved MPG, 2)slightly better for the environment, and a distant 3) Potentially better for engine wear/life.

I think it's pretty clear that for long change intervals that synthetic is superior, but with routine 3k or 5k mile changes there's no measurable benefit.

[snapback]151513[/snapback]

1) Depends on viscosity and FMs used. A 0w-30 may improve fuel efficiency due to better flow and lower viscosity at 40C.

2) Depends. If you're running 10K drains over 5K drains, then yes.

3) Depends. In high-temperature, high-stress applications such as Auto-Xing or racing, the added film strength OF some synthetics may help. Not all. And M1 isn't one of them. Redline 5w-30 would be an example. Remember, there is more to viscosity than the Kinetic Viscosity at 100C and 40C, take a look at the HT/HS score as well. For example, RL 5w-20 has a HT/HS of 3.3, which is actually more than M1 5w-30's.

To answer the original question: That $7.99 deal for 5 quarts of Exxon Superflo 5w-30 and a STP S4967 Filter will do the job for 6mo/5K quite easily. Rarely do engines die of a lubricant related failure if the correct viscosity oil is used. More often that not, engines die from dirt ingestion from leaking intakes and neglected air filters, which ingest significant amounts of dirt that cause excessive wear to the engine.

If long drains is your goal, my suggestion would be to run conventional oil for one more 5K drain, before starting longer drains. There are many oil choices avaliable for long drains, even a good, low cost conventional or blend 5w-30 can go 10K with a good filter and careful monitoring by oil analysis. Lube Control helps lots, proven by many oil analysis results on Bobistheoilguy. Some good low-cost conventional oils and blend include Trop Artic Blend and Havoline. For a more robust oil, check out Redline 5w-30, Schaeffer's 5w-30, or Havoline "syn" 5w-30. Always use oil analysis to verify the intervals and to serve as proof that the oil is capable of doing its job.

[tripp]

Ah the things that you learn here. Great stuff. So when oil is recycled what do they do with it? Is it reused as engine oil or is it used to make plastics or both? Something else that I haven't even considered? Just curious.

[hdrygas]

I switched to Mobile 1 at 5k. I read all the argument that pushed me over is that it is synthetic and does not use imported oil. Everything we do to stop importing oil is better for us on many levels. It may be a very small thing but like the car it is a statement.

[tumbleweed]

First oil change at 3000 miles. Switched to Mobil 1 5W-30 for much the same reasons Evan did. I didn't see any improvement in fuel mileage. I will most likely keep using Mobil 1 and change oil every 5000 miles.

I like hdrygas' reason for using synthetic.

[Charles Suitt]

Switched to Mobil-1 5W30 at 10K miles and kept the level to about ¼" below the "full" dot on the dipstick. No perceptable difference in fuel mileage but I will change every 5,000 miles per the Maintenance Schedule.