Chosen Oil Viscosity...?

What do the oil experts say about Pennzoil 0w-16? That’s what I plan on using but still have some changes of Toyota oil stored.

 

If you're talking about Penzoil Platinum 0W16, I wouldn't hesitate to use it, because it is a full synthetic. I have been using only synthetics for almost 30 years, and I've never experienced engine wear.
The added benefits I find, are better starting in bitter cold weather, and longer intervals between oil changes.

 

Pennzoil is underrated and I love it because it is slightly cheaper than Mobil 1 but better than most group III oil. Penzoil Ultra is GTL which has very good base oil and need less additives to keep it good. Additives are the one degrades over time not the base oil. Gas to Oil (GTL) is very clean and have very homogenous size, very close to PAO.

 

That’s a benefit I see also, made from natural gas. But people are talking about additive companies doing the leg work so I don’t know what the h..is going on. I’ll probably use Pennzoil 0w-16 and get it with a rebate.

 

Pennzoil Platinum and Ultra are regarded as one of the best synthetic oil you can find in Walmart. It is often better than Mobil 1. If I choose Mobil 1, get the SUV and Truck, it has the longest oxidation lifespan and antiwear. Do not ever add any Home chemist (Lucas, hotshot, Ceratec,etc.) additives, it will destroy the formulations and can cause serious damaged.

 

Thoughts on Costco's Kirkland oil? Says Warren on the bottles.

 

Personally can't say much about Kirkland oil but Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is excellent. Mostly used it for the last 200k km in the Civic. It didn't burn oil both with Amsoil SS and Redline HP and sure doesn't burn oil with Pennzoil UP. I'm planning to use it in the Prime too as i have a stash of it, prior experience says so far so good (Civic, sister's 2021 Prime and both my brother's CX5 and father's Turbo CX5) and the price is really good once in a while at Canadian Tire (more or less 40$ for a 5l of UP with a mail in rebate of 15$ from Pennzoil)

 

I call bullshit on Toyota's 0W16 requirement. It's because of US EPA pressure, and probably not the best thing for a long-lasting engine. Same as the 10,000 mile oil change interval. I don't understand why environmentalists think it's better to destroy a car engine prematurely in order to save a small amount of gasoline.

I found the owner's manual for the 2025 Toyota Corolla, UK edition. It uses the same engine as the 2023+ Prius, the M20A-FSX. Miraculously, you can use 0W30 in England. Here are the screenshots:

 

Hhmmm. I can't disagree. I always thought 5W-30 would be better for how I drive and the cold/heat temps here in CO

 

I agree and don't even put fuel injection cleaners in my gas tank...just fill up at my "Top Tier" gas station which has all the cleaners needed.

I have to laugh everytime I visit my Toyota dealer...always offering to do a fuel injection system cleaning (or something worded like that) for like $110....all they do is put a bottle of injection cleaning in your gas tank.....quick profit!!!!!!

 

Fuel additives and oil additives are completely different. The fuel additives which clean deposits are mostly only in the high octane forumulations, not in the 87 octane used by the Prius.

At a gas station, they typically have 3 gas grades, fed from two tanks. The medium octane gas is delivered by mixing the low and high octane gas out of the tanks.

 

That's the average person that buys a Prius (not us 1%ers who pay attention and hypermile), working in the industry...we see these affects (along with delayed oil change routines) show their ugly head eventually. I can't imagine all scored cylinder walls and potential failure we'll be seeing when these newer ones get to 200k.

 

0W16 when it’s 100F outside seems like a poor idea to me.

 

You're running >2500rpm at that speed on the highway...it may not be a very high speed for the car but it IS breaking the law. Gen 3's burn oil more when people exceed these limits, the engine is working much harder than it does at 55-65mph.

 

0w16 and 0w8 were developed in Japan. Europe and maybe Japan had longer oil change intervals years before the they came to the US.

Note the manual has the same note about going back to 0w16 on the next oil change when using a thicker oil as the US manuals do. The 5w30 available in the UK is very likely a synthetic oil, and unlike the US, synthetic oils in Europe use 100% synthetic base oils, and are not a blend.

Top Teir is a voluntary standard for gasoline suppliers. The cleaning additives in all octanes have to exceed the minimum EPA requirement.

The 0w oil is going to have a higher percentage of true synthetic oil in the blend than a 5w. The measured viscosity is actually much closer than the -16 and -20 label imply.

 

I'd say because of the tighter tolerances in modern engines, 16 weight is the lowest i'd want to go, ever. You cannot feel any viscosity difference between 16 and 20 just by rubbing it in between your fingers but 0w-8 just baffles me. If you are up on the maintenance MAYBE you'll be okay, but someone extending to 10-15k mile changes is doomed (like a college kid with a new corolla that takes 8 weight and forgets to ever change the oil).

 

Just editorial, should read 5W30. That was the gen2 spec'd oil weight for North America.

I'm really sceptical of the "necessity" to go ever thinner on the oil spec.

 

Fuel additives maybe helpful if we used low detergent fuel from Pilot, Freeway, etc. Top tier fuel station has enough detergent that keep the engine clean.
I used plain cheapest E5 or E10 gasoline from Agip/Eni, Total, Aral/BP, Shell, Esso/Exxon or whatever available.
Never need fuel additives since European gasoline generally has enough detergent with regular fuel $10 per gallon.

 

The kinematic viscosities between the 8, 16, and 20 weight oils is really damn close at operating temps. The big difference is when things are cold(which is 104F for testing), which only plays a part during cold starts.
Mobil 1™ 0W-8
Mobil 1™ 0W-16
Mobil 1™ 0W-20

The kinematic viscosity is just a measure of how fast a liquid flows under gravity. What the above spec sheets doesn't disclose is the high temp high shear(HTHS) viscosity. That measurement reflects the oil's behavior under the other conditions in the engine. The higher kinematic viscosity isn't going to protect the engine if it is breaking down faster from high shear and temps.

The ILSAC GF-6 spec Toyota is calling for are low HTHS viscosity oils designed to handle the greater abuse oils see in modern engines from turbos, high compression direct injection, and general increased forces seen in making more power per displacement than engines from the past.

Looks like GF-7 is coming out soon.

 

The kinematic viscosity has little relevance to anything. It is mostly a relic from the past SAE J300 specs before the HTHS viscosity was put in SAE J300 in the 1990s.

The HTHS viscosity is what matters for wear and fuel economy. For ILSAC oils, it is virtually always within 0.1 cP of the SAE limit (for the oil to meet the fuel-economy spec), so no real need to know the actual spec.

Even a small difference in the HTHS viscosity could make a huge difference in wear though. However, you will typically be fine with the OEM recommendation unless there is a known issue with the engine (unusual wear due to a design problem) or you drive very fast or tow.