Hi everybody. I need some good honest suggestions for what type of oil to use in my wife's car which is listed in the subject line. I am using this vehicle on an out of state business trip for a while, and her vehicle went overdue for an oil change (it's at 6,800 miles and the book calls for 5,000 mile intervals).
To give you some background, my wife had the vehicle before we started dating, and always took it to the service center/dealership. After we got married, I started doing the scheduled PM. I switched the car over to RP 5W30 because I knew it was a good synthetic oil to use, and knew we were going to be asking a lot more from it than usual. I have been running RP with either a Mobil 1, Bosch, or a K&N filter regularly. I always change the filter with each oil change.
I did not accomplish the previous oil change because I was out of town on an extended business trip. So, I asked her to give the local Firestone shop a try. They put in Kendall full synthetic with Titanium 5W30, and used an ACDelco filter. I think I'm liking this Kendall oil. I got 30 - 34 mpg on the front end of this trip with this oil which impressed me.
My problem is, what oil do I go to for the next oil change? Kendall is rather hard to find, and I don't want to go much farther without changing the oil. I've been looking at RP 5W30 (good oil, but might not give as good fuel economy), Mobil 1 5W30, Mobil 1 0W30 Advanced Fuel Economy, hunt for Kendall, etc.
Which oil/weight should I go with and stick with? I've been told that you don't really want to switch brands too often because of different additives and stuff.
This vehicle has been very dependable and economical for us. Plus, it has a surprising amount of pep, moon roof, and a nice factory speaker system. We want to keep it going as long as imagineable. It has been used for some 16+ hour long road trips, for pulling a pop-up trailer (short distances) on rare occasion, for hauling things (lawn/patio bricks, edging bricks, hay, soil, lawn mower, gas-powered tiller, etc.), as a daily commuter, and for transporting dogs for an animal rescue when we were in New Mexico. I figure putting the good stuff in it and keeping up on the maintenance will help it last longer. I tend to be leadfooted whereas my wife is mostly gentle (with a few times she's had to floor it to avoid nutjob drivers).
Mods include: removed air intake silencer/baffles, modified air intake box, added K&N air filter (couldn't justify $250+ for the full intake system), installed Class I/II 1,500 lb hitch & wiring, removed underbody plastic (under the engine) for ease of maintenance & cleaning, Optima Yellow Top battery
Notes: This engine type has been said to consume a small amount of oil when operated above 3,000RPM. I've also noticed that it somehow loses a tiny amount of engine coolant (once a year top off maybe). It uses DexCool, so I don't know if it's a tiny leak, evaporating/condensing, or what. (this is the first vehicle I've handled regularly that takes DexCool) All vehicles I've used up until now took regular EGW. (Ethlyne Glycol & Water)
Thanks in advance.
To give you some background, my wife had the vehicle before we started dating, and always took it to the service center/dealership. After we got married, I started doing the scheduled PM. I switched the car over to RP 5W30 because I knew it was a good synthetic oil to use, and knew we were going to be asking a lot more from it than usual. I have been running RP with either a Mobil 1, Bosch, or a K&N filter regularly. I always change the filter with each oil change.
I did not accomplish the previous oil change because I was out of town on an extended business trip. So, I asked her to give the local Firestone shop a try. They put in Kendall full synthetic with Titanium 5W30, and used an ACDelco filter. I think I'm liking this Kendall oil. I got 30 - 34 mpg on the front end of this trip with this oil which impressed me.
My problem is, what oil do I go to for the next oil change? Kendall is rather hard to find, and I don't want to go much farther without changing the oil. I've been looking at RP 5W30 (good oil, but might not give as good fuel economy), Mobil 1 5W30, Mobil 1 0W30 Advanced Fuel Economy, hunt for Kendall, etc.
Which oil/weight should I go with and stick with? I've been told that you don't really want to switch brands too often because of different additives and stuff.
This vehicle has been very dependable and economical for us. Plus, it has a surprising amount of pep, moon roof, and a nice factory speaker system. We want to keep it going as long as imagineable. It has been used for some 16+ hour long road trips, for pulling a pop-up trailer (short distances) on rare occasion, for hauling things (lawn/patio bricks, edging bricks, hay, soil, lawn mower, gas-powered tiller, etc.), as a daily commuter, and for transporting dogs for an animal rescue when we were in New Mexico. I figure putting the good stuff in it and keeping up on the maintenance will help it last longer. I tend to be leadfooted whereas my wife is mostly gentle (with a few times she's had to floor it to avoid nutjob drivers).
Mods include: removed air intake silencer/baffles, modified air intake box, added K&N air filter (couldn't justify $250+ for the full intake system), installed Class I/II 1,500 lb hitch & wiring, removed underbody plastic (under the engine) for ease of maintenance & cleaning, Optima Yellow Top battery
Notes: This engine type has been said to consume a small amount of oil when operated above 3,000RPM. I've also noticed that it somehow loses a tiny amount of engine coolant (once a year top off maybe). It uses DexCool, so I don't know if it's a tiny leak, evaporating/condensing, or what. (this is the first vehicle I've handled regularly that takes DexCool) All vehicles I've used up until now took regular EGW. (Ethlyne Glycol & Water)
Thanks in advance.
