Conventional or Synthetic

[scgoodie]

I have a 2012 Yaris and wanted to put synthetic oil in it. There was nothing in the manual even mentioning synthetic so I emailed Toyota Engineering. They said that the 2012 Yaris is designed to use conventional motor oil and that I should not run it with synthetic.
I have a friend who has a 2007 and runs synthetic and hasn't had any issues. Any ideas?

[xnamerxx]

With the sheer amount of oil testing they do on these cars I wouldn't even begin to worry about conventional vs synthetic.

I've run synthetic since 30k miles and I've got a touch over 100k on the ticker.

Basically Toyota Engineering's response should be read like this, we rated the motor for conventional and not synthetic so anything outside of the rating is not recommended.
How you should interpret that is, conventional was good enough to get 10/100k out of the engine you shouldn't need more than that. If your like me and your engine sees a tougher environment than a typical car, synthetic probably isn't a bad idea.

[scgoodie]

Thank you

[esse10]

Don't waste your money on synthetic conventional works just fine as long as you keep changing the oil at the regular intervals, put a good brand filter though. my two cents on this. fyi I have other vehicles with 200k miles using conventional and still going. good luck man.

[RedRide]

Originally Posted by esse10

Don't waste your money on synthetic conventional works just fine as long as you keep changing the oil at the regular intervals, put a good brand filter though. my two cents on this. fyi I have other vehicles with 200k miles using conventional and still going. good luck man.

Exactly.

One issue that is hardly discussed is no matter what kind of synthetic oil you use, the filter still should be changed as often as with dyno oils and all the contaminants from blow by, etc still build up.

Synthetics may be a bit better for a high performance engines but are a waste of money for an econo engine like in the Yaris....IMO.

[fnkngrv]

Originally Posted by RedRide

Exactly.

One issue that is hardly discussed is no matter what kind of synthetic oil you use, the filter still should be changed as often as with dyno oils and all the contaminants from blow by, etc still build up.

Synthetics may be a bit better for a high performance engines but are a waste of money for an econo engine like in the Yaris....IMO.

So getting 15k miles out of a single filter and round of AMSOIL synth is waste of money? On the contrary it will take some smokin good deals to get a better bang for the buck, but I digress seeing as how there are too many oil threads on this forum and others.

[RedRide]

Originally Posted by fnkngrv

So getting 15k miles out of a single filter and round of AMSOIL synth is waste of money? On the contrary it will take some smokin good deals to get a better bang for the buck, but I digress seeing as how there are too many oil threads on this forum and others.

Since the advantage of running synthetics is under adverse conditions, do you really want to leave a filter in for 15k mils under those conditions?
What makes you think that there is any less "blow by", which is the cause of most contaminants, with synthetics ?

[Hershey]

I can get SHELL synthetics under $3.40 a quart or Pennzoil synthetics less than $4 a quart . Not much more than many conventionals . Fine if you wish to use a conventional or a semi-synthetic . The engine seems to be quieter with a full synthetic . Especially at interstate speeds . SHELL conventional can be bought under $2.50 per quart .

[tooter]

My Yaris is so cheap to own and run, I go first class with Mobil 1, change every 3,500 miles, and have a magnet in the drain plug which catches everything ferrous.

[TOLMACH]

Originally Posted by tooter

My Yaris is so cheap to own and run, I go first class with Mobil 1, change every 3,500 miles, and have a magnet in the drain plug which catches everything ferrous.

Where did you buy this magnet?

Thanks

[tooter]

Originally Posted by TOLMACH

Where did you buy this magnet?

Thanks

I had a small cylindrical neodymium (really strong) magnet and simply drilled a hole in the drain plug with a drill press and glued it in with JB Weld. Small magnets are readily available on ebay at very reasonable prices.

At every oil change, I wipe off the extremely fine black metallic residue attached to the magnet. That's the thing about magnetism, there is no size limit on the ferrous metal particles attracts and captures. The residue is so fine that when you rub it between your fingertips, you can't even feel it.

Magnets on drain plugs are common aftermarket items installed on motorcycles where the transmission and engine share the same oil reservoir.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

I've been using Amsoil ever since year 2 of owning my car new. There was a year where I using MANN oil filters because Amsoil temporarily discontinued their EA oil filters for the Yaris, but I changed those every 7,500 miles. With the Amsoil EA oil filter, I just changed it (and the Amsoil engine oil) every 1 year since I never drove more than 13k miles a year.

I also used nothing but Chevron gas, and clean out the engine once a year using Seafoam. I just checked my PCV last week, and it was still in very good condition, even after 90,500 miles on it. Rattled freely, and I just cleaned off the little build that was on it. My engine compression when I checked it around 70k, I believe, was near new specs.

I think Amsoil has served me and my car very well. I'll continue using it.

[fnkngrv]

Originally Posted by RedRide

Since the advantage of running synthetics is under adverse conditions, do you really want to leave a filter in for 15k mils under those conditions?
What makes you think that there is any less "blow by", which is the cause of most contaminants, with synthetics ?

I have no response...other than you also made a comment that installing an adjustable rear spoiler/wing on a fwd is a misguided idea.

[fnkngrv]

Originally Posted by scgoodie

I have a 2012 Yaris and wanted to put synthetic oil in it. There was nothing in the manual even mentioning synthetic so I emailed Toyota Engineering. They said that the 2012 Yaris is designed to use conventional motor oil and that I should not run it with synthetic.
I have a friend who has a 2007 and runs synthetic and hasn't had any issues. Any ideas?

Last thing that I have to say on it for you in this thread is that as long as it meets API standards then you are fine. Hearing that you received a correspondence from behalf of Toyota Motor Corp actually telling you this leaves me to pause because that is pretty ballsy to say the least...whomever actually clicked "send" is lucky they have a job still because they could cause Toyota to have their ass brought back into the courtroom again. At least the responder wasn't stupid enough to actually say that it would void your warranty.

For your decision you can just reference below on it and make your own choice. There has been plenty of arguments for both conventional and Synth for the last 30+ years in automotives.

http://autos.jdpower.com/content/con...motor-oils.htm

[RedRide]

Originally Posted by fnkngrv

I have no response...other than you also made a comment that installing an adjustable rear spoiler/wing on a fwd is a misguided idea.

You're taking comments out of context now to bolster a "misguided" position without even addressing the post you responded to??

As you said you, "I have no response to that....."
How about addressing the issues at hand instead of spending your efforts in trying to kill the messengers.

[UberSilver]

Are you the type of person thats going to keep your yaris for 10~15 years, exceeding 200k~250k miles? If so, than 100% go synthetic! But if your going to sell/trade in your Yaris at 4~7 years, you wont need synthetic.

Originally Posted by scgoodie

I have a 2012 Yaris and wanted to put synthetic oil in it. There was nothing in the manual even mentioning synthetic so I emailed Toyota Engineering. They said that the 2012 Yaris is designed to use conventional motor oil and that I should not run it with synthetic.
I have a friend who has a 2007 and runs synthetic and hasn't had any issues. Any ideas?

[YarisSedan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnetic-Oil...8628e5&vxp=mtr

[YarisSedan]

I too use a magnetic drain plug and have been running synthetic since 10k miles. I change my oil once a year and use either amsoil or royal purple whichever happens to be the cheapest at the time and a K&N oil filter. When i drain my oil out it still looks clean.