Oil for Daily Beater Camry

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Apr 7, 2017
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Location
Mississippi
2007
No leaks
4 cyl.

Don't want to drop the dime on M1 EP or any top shelf oil

Trying to choose between ST 5w 20 or 30 and QSUD 5w20/30.

ST is rollback @ Wally for 14.37 per gallon and QSUD is 17.97. So the burning question is, is QSUD 3 bucks and change better than the ST in my application?
 
It's a "beater"...don't know why this is a question. Just buy the Supertech and don't worry. [censored]...I've used ST quite a number of times in my non "beater" Subaru and (as expected) never had any issues whatsoever.
 
You don't mention the oci but...If it's just a beater than use Supreme 5w30..not that Supreme's a "bad" oil only worthy of a "beater" (I've ran it 5k miles many times), it's just incredibly cheap for a syn blend.
 
I'm not sure why people don't just buy the good oil when it goes on sale. It's cheaper than Supertech at the everyday price. Black Friday is coming up, Pepboys usually has some discount on oil, usually like $14 for 5 quarts of the good synthetic stuff so that's cheaper than Supertech. Plus when Mobil 1 had their rebate earlier this year, at one point it was just a little over $10 for a 5 quart jug and the limit for 4 jugs.
 
ST is what both my Camry's get, used to do conventional in the '99 and synthetic in the '11 but with the recent price drop both are getting synthetic.

I keep forgetting to stock up when Mobil goes on sale. I don't go into parts stores often, but usually a decent reason comes up on a monthly basis to run into Walmart for this or that.
 
Is $3.50 per OC really going to bust your budget? If you really want to step up to QS that's one less Starbucks or trip through the Colonel's drive-thru or one beer in an establishment until your next OC.

I find myself doing this every once in a while when standing in the oil isle, worrying about 2 or 3 bucks, then I slap myself, blame BITOG, grab some oil and carry on.

Best choice, grab the ST then hit KFC!!
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Synthetic ST is so cheap right now-if you don't have a stash, I don't know why you would buy anything else!


Agreed. ST Syn 5-30 (or 10-30 in MS) for 10K intervals.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Is $3.50 per OC really going to bust your budget? If you really want to step up to QS that's one less Starbucks or trip through the Colonel's drive-thru or one beer in an establishment until your next OC.

I find myself doing this every once in a while when standing in the oil isle, worrying about 2 or 3 bucks, then I slap myself, blame BITOG, grab some oil and carry on.

Best choice, grab the ST then hit KFC!!

...‚...‚...‚.. right on!👠(just remember, eat the chicken and put the lube in the engine...not the other way around!)

.. and you're right. For most folks, $3 is not going to change their way of life. If it does, well.. you probably got bigger fish to fry than "what" lube to buy.... But, a penny saved is a penny earned say tightwads like myself....‚
 
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What do the UOA's from other similar Camry's look like in the UOA section?

IIRC, Toyota I-4's, Honda K24's, and 60-degree GM V6's and 3800s, amongst others, appear to be so 'easy' on motor oil that with a good synthetic, filter replacement per manufacturer's spec, proper attention to the oil level, and appropriate overall maintenance supervision, oil changes can easily and safely be at extreme intervals, ie: 50k+ miles. Which is a lot cheaper than dumping the cheapest dino you can find every 5-10k. And a reduction in intake air contamination and the problems induced (ie: throttle body contamination, IAC passage clogging, intake plenum and valve deposits, etc.).
 
How much oil is it using?

Edit: just saw that you said no leaks. It's fairly common for the 2AZ-FE to suddenly start consuming oil around 100-150k miles due to carbon/varnish forming in the oil control rings and piston drain holes.
 
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Originally Posted by Speak2Mountain
151k


With just some reasonable care I'd expect another 150K out of it easy. Do you know did the other owner use conventional or synthetic in it?
 
generally speaking any oil that meets the requirements and changed at the proper intervals with a decent oil filter should serve you well...that said, I can many times find full synthetic oils on sale and/or with a rebate that undercuts the price of most of the regular dino oils I've seen...

Peace of mind is a big thing for me and if your vehicle has any special requirements choose accordingly...does the vehicle stay parked outside in all sorts of weather?...do you need it to start up and go every time (who doesn't)...do you need the motor to last and last???...of course you do

good luck with your choice...no need to go "top shelf" on everything but it can be done when you plan ahead...I like M1 oils and only buy them when on sale and when they have the rebate...the same with a recent but of the Shell Rotella Truck oil...on sale with the rebate it was less than $1.00 a quart for full synthetic that meets or exceeds the needs of my Dexos 1 Generation 2 vehicles and my Ford F150...YMMV

Bill
 
Never never call your Toyota a beater, and always put the best in it, I promise you that Camry will start every single time you need it if even halfway maintained. Your non beater might let ya down but the carmry will be ready to roll. It deserves mobile 1 at the very least. I am kicking myself right now for not buying a Toyota this year for my winter BEATER. Was out looking at Yaris, matrix, echos, etc every day for months and the deals I kept missing due to work, by the time I got off they would be sold. Anyway after months of this I seen this little dodge neon 2002 model,1600 bucks and absolutely mint looking 40,000 original miles. I bought it thinking this will get me through this winter. It has already let me down, still kicking myself for not sticking with my original plan. A Toyota.
 
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