Motor oil recommendation for 1989 Toyota MR2 Mk1?

[Finn]

Hello guys.

This time I'm asking for your opinion on the subject of what motor oil to put in a 1989 Toyota MR2 Mk1 with a 1600 cc twin cam 4A-GE engine.

It's this kind of two-seater:

Wikipedia: Toyota 4A-GE engine

The car has appr. 96000 miles on the clock and has been in daily mixed use. I have no idea of what oil or OCI has been used but I would like to start with some short intervals just in case.

The manual states as follows:

For our weather 5W-40 or 10W-40 would suit just fine as viscosity but the API SF seems somewhat outdated requirement.

My use of the MR2 will be a mixed urban/highway use with some trackdays as well.

Any ideas for the motor oil?

 

[CATERHAM]

Those recommendations were of course for mineral oils of the day.

Any light 0W-30 or 5W-30 synthetic would be fine for your Mister Two. There's no need to run anything heavier than that.
Do you have an oil pressure gauge?

 

[Oregoonian]

If you can get it in Finland.....Mobil 1 0w40....considered by many BITOG'ers...as one of the best oils Mobil makes....and good for year-round use.

 

[bepperb]

I'm sure most would just use a 5-30 or 10-30. A modern 5-30 could handle any temp that engine will see. A 40 weight would also be fine.

I'm not sure what's more confusing, old visc charts with 7 oils or the modern 0w-20 or nothing.

 

[Finn]

No, not a separate hand-held one. My buddy, the mechanic, may have such a gauge.

 

[Finn]

Thought about the M1 OW-40 - just looking at the API SF requirement and wondering if it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too fine.

 

[CATERHAM]

M1 0W-40 would work OK due to it's high 185 VI but is it is heavier than necessary.

 

[addyguy]

Had a version of that engine in a Corolla SR-5 for three years and about 60k miles. Ran it on Pennzoil 5W-30 and Fram filter from WM every 3-4k. Buddy bought it off me, and used a similar routine and got the car to about 250k miles.

Great engine, absolutely indestructible.

 

[nleksan]

Supercharged or no?
I LOVE those first gen MR2s... Literally a road legal gokart.

Dont see many around here in good shape, so if it is I would use a robust 5w30 syn.

 

[mechtech2]

Those charts should be in the humor section.
They still keep popping up.

 

[SXE10]

My other half has the 20 valve version of that motor in her Corolla wagon. I'm running 0w-30 in it. Guess it also depends on your mileage also, but a 30 weight should be fine.
I've personally owned 2x 16v & 3x 20v 4AGE's. Didn't know a thing about oil back then & ran 10/15w40

 

[Finn]

Originally Posted By: nleksan
Supercharged or no?

It's with naturally aspirated engine - the SC version to my knowledge was never imported in Finland back in the day.

Thanks, gentlemen, for the comments and advises. I'll see what 5W-30 or there about I can find and see how the oil pressure looks.

 

[Finn]

Got the car home yesterday. It's been fun in all this snow today.

Excuse my layman's stupidness on this matter but I need to ask this:

would there be any ill effects of using a modern thin 0W-??? oil in this type oldish 80's engine? I refer to urban legends of spun bearings and such. The Mobil 1 0W-40 is on sale right now and valvetrain looks quite dirty but not with sludge.

Also, the Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 is on huge sale. Wonder if it's about the same oil as Pennzoil Ultra?

 

[artificialist]

It might not be exactly the same as Pennzoil Ultra, but it would be an extremely high quality oil that would work well in your situation.

 

[SXE10]

5w40 would be more suited for summer but I don't know that I'd use it in a Finish winter. 0w-30 or 5w-30 might be a better option depending on whats available in your market.
My partners 20v 4AGE has 93000mi(150000km) on the clock & likes the 0w-30 I run in it.

 

[teddyboy]

That chart really didn't make sense even back in the day. There was no reason that 5W30 should only have been run in temperatures below 50F. The first thing you need to decide is how often you want to change the oil. That will help guide your choice between dino and syn.

 

[teddyboy]

BTW, that's a great look 1989

 

[bds1984]

I remember seeing Shell Helix in 0W-30 and 0W-40 when I was at a Shell gas station on my way to Kuusamo from Oulu last summer. I would use either of them since it gets extremely cold there and I saw it everywhere I shopped at.