GC 0W-30 - 5k Miles - 02 Toyota MR2 Spyder

[J_Sap]

I have been a long time lurker on this site and decided to finally sign up and start adding something positive to this community and really expand my knowledge of oil beyond the basics.

The car is stock and runs with an OEM Toyota oil filter which is changed every oil change and a TRD air filter (which will probably be reverted back to a paper filter soon for better filtration). I purchased the car used about 2.5 years ago at 77K and have done OCI at every 5K. I know from the service log that this car previously had all of its maintenance done on time with a dealer. I do all my own maintenance and I have always used the Toyota OEM oil filter but as for oil I started with synthetic blends and moved to full synthetics at 95K. I didn't know about the difference between oils until recently, my last oil change before the GC was Mobil 1 5W-30 and I replaced the GC with Lubro Moly 5W-40. The GC has been in my car for about 3 months now.

I sent this batch of oil in mainly because I started hearing a slight ticking noise from my engine and wanted to see if it was my rod bearings that had gone (this happens to a decent amount of MR2 owners so I wanted to be more sure if it was this or not). I was relieved to see that my engine is good shape.

 

[badtlc]

I'd recommend either extending the OCI or switching to a cheaper oil, unless it is turbo charged. You aren't even beginning to push that GC.

 

[spasm3]

Low lead and copper, your bearings look fine! i bet you could go 10k miles! tbn is still 5.9 wow!

 

[J_Sap]

I plan to push out the next oil change, but what would my TBN have been on new GC?

My engine does NOT have a turbo, just NA. I don't abuse the car or engine that much, it gets about 80% highway at 70-80MPH and I do accelerate faster than most other cars but I go easy on the engine until it is warmed up. My goal with oil is not to see how far out I can push an oil change but to protect my engine the best I possibly can.

 

[JeffGoji]

No point in running a synthetic in that application as it isn't even close to any sort of extreme operating condition and you're not interested in performing extended drain intervals.

I would switch to a quality dino oil like Mobil Clean 5000 or Castrol GTX and spend the money saved on beer.... But it's really all about what makes you sleep easy at night.

 

[JCC]

I've had two last generation MR2 Spyders and some experience with the engine. The long stroke stresses the con rod bearings and Toyota's manual says to not use high revs (7000) often. I think your oil choice and habits are fine considering how really rare and desirable these cars are. The noise you're hearing could be from needing a valve adjustment. Toyota says every 60k miles if remember but nobody does it. If the noise is more irregular then check for a worn serpentine belt idler bearing.

 

[J_Sap]

Thank you JCC, I will look into a valve adjustment on the car.

There are many reasons I run synthetic in the car, the first is for better protection and less sludge; another is my engine revs a lot higher than most other cars, even ones with the same engine like a corolla. When I am cruising on the highway at 70-80MPH the RPM's of the car is 3,500-4,000 in top gear; and during acceleration it stays at high RPMS as well. It is a sports car and while I don't drive the car like I am an 80 year old I also don't drive it like I stole it. I enjoy the car and take car of it, and in return I get to have a lot of fun in the car.