The finest oil available for our Prius

rumpledoll --- Using an oversized cellulose filter like PureOne may be better than using a synthetic filter element filter of normal size, not sure. Probably very close.

alanh --- How much is the reduction in wear, you ask? All we know is that oil through a greater restriction means less oil gets through over time initially. Positive displacement pumps do force the oil through, although the starter motor will turn over more slowly if the oil is thicker and/or the filter is restricting more. I once spoke to some engineers to find out if a pressurized hydrodynamic oil film like that experienced above 500 rpm is really necessary to keep metal-to-metal contact from shaving a little metal off the engine parts, and the answer was "yes". This has been backed up in field tests and lab studies over many years by engineers and techs. It is also intuitively obvious, as you can picture an oil film between metal parts, under pressure. I can't remember the figures, but it was something like a 30% reduction in wear at startup using a 5w-20 compared to a 5w-30, and running dynamic ring wear was a lot better using the 20 oil, too. I'm a mechanical/aerospace engineer, but had to defer to the mountains of data from MIT and discussions with fellow engineers (tribologists) in the SAE to be sure about this specialized area.

 

You might be correct about oversized, but IIRC the pure one line also is synthetic. Guess it's like the best of both!

 

Let's hope the dealer & Toyota rep don't develop "selective" memory should you need them down the line.

 

According to the Magnuson-Moss act they cannot get out of warranty work without showing that the part caused the issue. That is, if something goes wring Toyota can't say "Aha! You used a non-Toyota part, therefore no warranty for you!" with showing that the part *caused* the issue. Extremely hard for them to do.

This is what allows non-manufacturer after market parts to be able to be sold, otherwise the maker could lock you into their parts exclusively. They can't.

Rumple

 

Instead of changing to different oils or synthetic oils and alterntive filters for the OEM filter, I decided to try using a bypass filter on our Prius.

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/23222-bypass-filter-install-3.html#post625273

I'm using 5.5 quarts of the recommended Toyota oil and OEM filter. Oil level is .25 inches below upper measurement marking on the oil dipstick.

I plan on changing the OEM oil/filter at the Toyota recommended intervals, for now.

Here are some links for reading about bypass filters;

The Importance of Engine Oil Filters

Why do we change oil

How do I eliminate routine oil changes

Why Bypass Filters

 

Has anyone tried Motor Silk? I saw part of a story on the news this morning and then went on the net to see what I could find. It looks pretty interesting....

evergreenamerica.com

 

Cross Fram off the "OK to use" list. There is yet another thread with pictures of a failed Fram on bobistheoilguy.

 

TURNBOWN - very good point indeed. i'll check the warranty information book too, but i'll bank that this statement is true.

i used to do my own oil changes, but sold my home, condo'ed it now and no chance for that. when i used to wrench, i always went with MOBIL 1. no matter what. i would change oil at a conservative 5K mark and the oil would be a rich brown-like color, had some analyzed, all with acceptable limits.

sheepdog - what's up buddy? i would take all this good advice before you, but stick with stock until the warranty is over. just to be safe, use the stock toyota filter, but you can use MOBIL 1. yes, it's NOT a factory part, but you're less likely to be put on a microscope if it looks like all stock equipment. SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS FROM THE AUTO-PARTS STORE! make copies and realize these receipts will fade in time!

let's just say i have a very good friend that is a senior mechanic/tech at TOYOTA that reminds me to keep everything nice and sane for the warranty.

ZAINO - i didnt understand zaino 3x a month until a lightbulb came on! you're worst than i am! i only NXT 2x/mo!

cheers

 

I've never understood why people run a bypass filter setup when all they have to do is get a dual parallel path remote mount. The pressure drop across the parallel path setup will be slightly less than with a single regular filter. On the parallel setup, one of the filters is a highly restrictive bypass Amsoil super-filter, and the other is a regular filter. As in an electrical parallel circuit, a small percentage of the oil will flow through the bypass filter and most of the oil flows through the regular filter. That way, you can get filtration all the way down to about 5 microns over time. A regular filter will only filter down to around 25 microns, for comparison.

 

Anyone try this oil, G oil? Seem to be a perfect match.

 

I recommend the Penzoil Platinum Synthetic 0W-20. I use it in the heat of Texas, and I have been getting better mileage than with the 5W-30 synthetic I had been using. I use a Kwik Kar franchise here that stocks this oil just fot its Hybrid customers.

 

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Eneos yet. It seems to be popular with the tuner crowd (particularly in boosted applications) and big in Japan too. Haven't tried it myself, so take that all with a grain of salt.

 

I thought that a bypass filter setup wass a dual parallel setup. I looked into a bypass filter which is great for racing or off road, heavy use etc. But some review opinions seemed to be that for everyday, normal use and extended oil changes, that the highly restrictive bypass filter could actually remove some of the beneficial additives between changes.

 

Not a good idea if your car is under warranty. Toyota engineers are smart enough to realize your will see slight MPG gains by using a lighter weight oil. They speced the oil they did for a reason, even at the potential sacrifice of some MPGs.

 

They speced a 30 weight oil (can be 0w-30 or 5w-30) and note that they did not restrict the choice to synthetic. If they restricted the spec to synthetic-only, they might have speced 0w-20 or 5w-20 instead like in other Toyota engines (and Prius engines in Japan are speced 5w-20 as well). What they are concerned about is the thinner 20 weight non-synthetic oils out there leaving deposits on the rings and upper piston crank bearings where its hot. As the Prius engine stops a lot, oil flow to those hot sections stops as well, creating a cooked-oil problem similar to that known to turbo bearings when the engine stops.

Bottom line: synthetic 5w-20 or 0w-20 is fine. To be sure, make sure the synthetic 0w-20 or 5w-20 passes the latest, full ACEA A1/B1, not the old ACEA A1-02 (year 2002 test). Also GF-4 and SM, of course. Pennzoil Platinum does not pass the full current ACEA A1/B1 test. Mobil 1 does.

 

A Bypass filter takes oil from the input side of the normal oil filter, filters it, and then dumps it directly back into the sump without going through the engine. A parallel setup routes oil through both filters, and then both filters output the fluid to the same T-fitting to enter the engine.

Since a bypass filter removes stuff down to 2 microns, the chemical additives are a couple of orders of magnitude smaller and will pass through the bypass filter like it wasn't there.

Also, from the reports I've seen, a 5w-20 or 0w-20 will get about 1 MPG better fuel economy than a 5w-30 or 0w-30 in a Prius. There have been some environmental messages out there trying to get the world to only use 20 weight oil to get an immediate boost of fuel economy worldwide. It will work but using a 20 in hot climates probably means a synthetic version is needed (not always).

 

Here is the JDM owner's manual for the Prius in Japan.
Note page 390 where they specify various oil grades including 0W-20 across all temp ranges as long as it meets the API "Starburst" certification.

I do not speak for Toyota. But my personal opinion is that if 0W-20 were readily available globally, they would recommend 0W-20 across the board because of better fuel economy & better cold start performance.

In the United States, 0W-20 was not readily available - until recently.
In fact, many Toyota, Lexus, Honda dealerships now have 0W-20 in bulk.
Primarily through Nippon Oil - ENEOS www.eneos.us

And yes. Nippon Oil - ENEOS is API approved: cOMPANY Search Results