Oil for 1994 Q

[30bino09]

Changing my oil myself for first time. What should I use considering it getting into summer.

[qship96]

Mobil 1 0W-40 best over the counter oil at a reasonable price

[kelvin5638]

i was told by a tech that switching from conventional to synthetic would cause an oil leak and was not recommended

[Infinitiguy19]

that only applies to bad head gaskests or other gaskets on there way some time soon the synthetic oil only reveals is sooner.

[jimbyjimb]

Car Quest or NAPA branded synthetics are around $4 a quart and, in my experince, every bit as good as mobil 1. I use 5-30.

[maxnix]

My VH45DE didn't seem quite as happy on M1 5W-30 in Seattle's mild winters. It seemed to thrive on M1 10W-30, and in TX summer I will use some M1 15W-50 blended in also.

[Q45tech]

Important to know what worse case low oil pressure reality is at worse case idle and cruise in extreme hot conditions. Once you know whether 10, 14, or 20 psi you can determine what the hot viscosity should be to maintain bearing film strength.

Some high mileage engine can deal with 30, or 40, or 50 or inbetweens in Summer.

[Jesda]

Supertech Synthetic. I swear by it.

[bretfraz]

Owners Manual shows 10W-30 for most conditions. I've used conventional and synth 10W-30's since I bought my '94 and the car seems to like it. No problems, unusual noises or strange oil usage found. Currently running Quaker State Advanced 10W-30 but most any name brand oil will work fine.

[szh]

most any name brand oil will work fine.

Very true.

Just keep the OCI low enough ... 3750 miles or less, and you will be fine with almost any brand name motor oil. FWIW, if I went dino, I would probably use Castrol GTX 5W-30 or Chevron Supreme 5W-30 - based on the recommendations of a former oil expert here at NICO.

Z

[NightRiderQ45]

i was told by a tech that switching from conventional to synthetic would cause an oil leak and was not recommended

True...if you have a lot of mileage on your VC gaskets, DON'T switch! This happened to me on my Q. I went back to dino doing 5K oci's. It's mostly highway mileage. Using synthetics is pointless if doing 3-4k oci's. Just stick with any dino that has the "starburst" symbol and use proper oci's and you will be good. I'm actually using NAPA dino 5w-30 that I found on sale for .99cents a quart.

[maxnix]

True...if you have a lot of mileage on your VC gaskets, DON'T switch! This happened to me on my Q. I went back to dino doing 5K oci's. It's mostly highway mileage. Using synthetics is pointless if doing 3-4k oci's.

No, modern synthetics have elastomers so no leaks unless your seals are already failing.

If you like a clean engine with no varnish, synthetic changed at OEM specified OCI works great. No name discount oils and lower tier ones don't have the same additives as top tier. You get for what you pay. There is no free lunch. There is a cheap lunch if you will eat tripe.

[NightRiderQ45]

No, modern synthetics have elastomers so no leaks unless your seals are already failing.

If you like a clean engine with no varnish, synthetic changed at OEM specified OCI works great. No name discount oils and lower tier ones don't have the same additives as top tier. You get for what you pay. There is no free lunch. There is a cheap lunch if you will eat tripe.

My engine is clean also! Synthetics are over sold! You can accomplish the same thing using good dino oil and using proper oci's! I typically use MC 5000 dino or Valvoline MaxLife oil, but couldn't pass up the NAPA (re-badged Valvoline) deal. It's good for my oci's so I'm happy.

Like I stated earlier, if you have a lot of mileage on your VC gaskets and seals, do not switch over to synthetic. It will clean your engine and your seals, vc gaskets will probably leak because it was failing before hand. I know of this from experience. I never said that changing out your syn oil at 3750 is bad for your engine....I just said that it's stupid to change that frequently with syn. When I was running syn, I would go 5k oci's easily. Maxnix, go over to BITOG to see how well your "top tier" oil is peforming against other "top tier" oils. Compare their used oil analysis...

[Q45tech]

It is not usually the performance of the oil that fails [assuming it doesn't get overheated and burn], it is the microscopic dirt and wear particles that the small sized oil filter cannot contain.

Dirt weight in air per rpm is the same whether 99 cent oil or $8 oil.

There is a correlation between users of K&N filters and synthetic expensive oils.

[elwesso]

agreed. Synthetics have their benefits but generally not worth it. I do like the 0w40 in the winter time especially when I was taking a lot of short trips. Anything to help on that cold crank wear is helpful!

I think its also not a good idea to constantly switch brands.. I dont have any issues with switching viscosities for seasonal changes, but constantly changing brands isnt a good idea IMO.

[NightRiderQ45]

I also agree with both of you. Synthetic is great for cold cranks! Yeah, I've been using MC 5000 for a long time, but decided to switch over to Valvoline Maxlife my last oci. That oil performed great. I had the cold crank "tick" using MC 5000, but went away using the Valvoline ML. That could be because of the syn molecules of the ML. I will go back to Valvoline ML after all of my NAPA oil is used up. I have 6 oci's stocked, so I will be using this for quite some time.

[tmak26b]

Synthetics are great. They might be more, but they offer better protection, last longer and do a lot better job lubricating. It will quiet your lifters, give you a higher margin of protection compare to dino oil. I have been racing cars for seven years, cars with synthetic oil are always the preferred choice. I personally prefer Amsoil 0W40, but they are almost $10 a quart. If your car burns oil, I dont recommend it. if it doesnt, go for it. The cost of the synthetic can be offset by the increase in change interval.

[jimbyjimb]

No, modern synthetics have elastomers so no leaks unless your seals are already failing.

If you like a clean engine with no varnish, synthetic changed at OEM specified OCI works great. No name discount oils and lower tier ones don't have the same additives as top tier. You get for what you pay. There is no free lunch. There is a cheap lunch if you will eat tripe.

Ever been to Costco and bought Hanes undies branded as Kirkland Signature? Or Grey Goose Vodka bottled for Kirkland Signature? Same product, lower price, different label. NAPA and CQ filters are made by Wix and can be purchased for less $ and their oils are Valvoline and can be purchased for less $. Valvoline at .99 cents is a great deal, but guess what? It's still Valvoline. Sometimes you don't get what you pay for, which these days is as true as you get what you pay for. I buy Valvoline period, and if it were in a NAPA bottle I'd buy alot more of it at .99 cents. Think about it.

[NightRiderQ45]

The cost of the synthetic can be offset by the increase in change interval.

Bingo!!!!!!!!! That's exactly why I said that it is stupid/waste of money to use synthetic oil and change out every 3-4k.

[NightRiderQ45]

Ever been to Costco and bought Hanes undies branded as Kirkland Signature? Or Grey Goose Vodka bottled for Kirkland Signature? Same product, lower price, different label. NAPA and CQ filters are made by Wix and can be purchased for less $ and their oils are Valvoline and can be purchased for less $. Valvoline at .99 cents is a great deal, but guess what? It's still Valvoline. Sometimes you don't get what you pay for, which these days is as true as you get what you pay for. I buy Valvoline period, and if it were in a NAPA bottle I'd buy alot more of it at .99 cents. Think about it.

Makes perfect sense to me, but Maxnix has a hard time understanding this . That's why I purchased 36 quarts of the a NAPA oil when I ran into that sale. They were also selling NAPA/Wix oil filters for .99 cents too! I loaded up and purchase 8 of those. To change your oil for $6 using quality oil is great!

[tmak26b]

For very hard use, 2000-3000 miles is the expectancy on dino oil. For synthetic, it can be 4000-6000 miles. A standard oil change is about $25 while a synthetic is about $60. So for $10 more, you get better protection, better running motor and save time. I dont see why not unless your car burns oil.

[maxnix]

Some like tripe, some prefer filet. Your choice.

I buy my M1 at Costco and my M1 filters from Joe, and I am very happy and my engines are beautiful on the inside.

[NightRiderQ45]

For very hard use, 2000-3000 miles is the expectancy on dino oil. For synthetic, it can be 4000-6000 miles. A standard oil change is about $25 while a synthetic is about $60. So for $10 more, you get better protection, better running motor and save time. I dont see why not unless your car burns oil.

I don't think many of us are driving out Q's that hard to were you have to change out dino every 2-3k max. Most of my mileage is highway commute, so i'm able to do 4-5k oci easily on dino. When I was in college, I used to change out every 3.5k though. If I were to go fully synthetic, I would definitely use Pennzoil Platinum and $5 more that SuperTech Syn. It's additive package is great!

[jimbyjimb]

I'm still sticking with the fact that the 3000 mile OCI was determined in a time when oils were crap compared to our worst modern fluid. While I believe changing the oil earlier isn't a bad thing it doesn't mean that it's necessary. I use my synthetics and go 5-8k. Maybe 4.5 if I'm feeling giving.

[Kiven422]

My last OCI was over 7000 miles, before that it was over 8000 miles. Yea I didn't do it intentionally, it just happened.

While my valve seals do leak... I have never had to top off the oil in those 8000 miles.

Synthetic? I use conventional 10W-40 with the brand that has always treated me best - Valvoline.

[tmak26b]

Most modern cars recommend a 3500-5000 miles interval on dino oil, 7500 to 15000 on synthetic now. My oil change light comes on around 10K miles while BMW and Mercedes go by a 12000 miles schedule. I probably would do one slightly before, but oil should last longer

[jimbyjimb]

The BMW and MB oil pans are larger than the Q's, and usually by 2-4 qts. That would explain a longer interval. I'm totally fine with up to even 8000 mi. depending on driving conditions with synthetic but 10 is a stretch with 6.5 qts. of oil in the pan. I change the oil based on appearance mostly, which happens to fall in the 5-8k range. I like to change it while it is still golden in color rather than thin, worn and opaque black. Valvoline synthetic seems to go 6k just fine.

[tmak26b]

The BMW and MB oil pans are larger than the Q's, and usually by 2-4 qts. That would explain a longer interval. I'm totally fine with up to even 8000 mi. depending on driving conditions with synthetic but 10 is a stretch with 6.5 qts. of oil in the pan. I change the oil based on appearance mostly, which happens to fall in the 5-8k range. I like to change it while it is still golden in color rather than thin, worn and opaque black. Valvoline synthetic seems to go 6k just fine.

Yup, it certainly helps, but the LS motors carry even less capacity than the Q, yet the computer shows somewhere between 6-10K miles in between oil changes.

[Q45tech]

"still golden in color rather than thin, worn and opaque black"

As oil ages and the light fractions boil off first it becomes THICKER and more viscous

Oil is thinnest just as it is poured from the new can, unless somehow it get diluted from gasoline. But this gasoline boils off as soon as the engine comes up to operating temperature.

[jimbyjimb]

You see , it's just not about mileage but the condition of the fluid. I wouldn't be extending my interval because Lexus says it's ok. Use YOUR OWN BEST JUDGEMENT. If your best judgement says 10k, fine, your car, your call, your experience with your car. That's my point. We can argue distances all day but the fact is the oils condition. Manufacturers use a specified distance well under wear interval to cover their a$$e$. There cannot be a specified distance since actual mileage has no effect on oil, it's the usage and the time factors. How much does it idle? Does it get to operating temp? How long is it there? How do you drive? What's the load on the vehicle? What is the internal wear? Blah and so on. All engines have different wear rates and load demands. The mileage standard is a great thing to follow if you have no knowledge base on which to determine your own acceptable interval for what you do with your car and the fluid you choose. You will never go wrong changing your oil too early. Do you have to? No. Will it prevent premature wear and tear? Yes.