What Oil To Use

[rockette]

Hi. I have just purchased a 2001 Camry csi with just over 200000 kms on the clock. Just wondering what oil to use? The person I purchased it from said Magnatec but I have read that the Castrol 20w50 oil I have left from my old car (festiva) will be fine. Can anyone clarify this please? Thanks.

[trentmeyer23]

Anything from a 10W-40 to a 20W-50 will be fine in the Australian climate. Any brand is fine, but you will pay more for better quality oils.

The main thing is to service often to prevent damaging sludge build up. I prefer to service at 5,000km or 6 montly intervals to prevent this; however, I would not go more than 10,000km.

[campbeam]

Suggest that you do a Google search with the term "lube reference guide" then choose the various oil manufacturers.

http://www.datateck.com.au/lube/castr_au/

Most are recommending 10W-40 or 15W-40 for your vehicle. Nulon guide mentions 20W-50.

I do a lot of short distance driving so I change my oil every 5,000 KM. If I wanted a longer oil change interval e.g. 7-10,000 KM then I would be using a full synthetic oil. However, I have found that most oil specials are for mineral oil and semi-synthetic oil so that is what I buy.Engine Oil URLs and GR4 GR5 Performance Comparison.doc

[ZZT86]

Just wondering if the oil spec is the same for both 4 & 6 cylinder? Personally I use a 5W30 weight of the Nulon semi-synth variety atm, soon to be Nulon full-syth as the 6L bottle was on special late last year for $40 imsmc so I got a few ;)

OP might need to go heavier weight oil if engine using some.

Edited April 27, 2017 by ZZT86

[trentmeyer23]

18 minutes ago, ZZT86 said:

Just wondering if the oil spec is the same for both 4 & 6 cylinder?

Pretty much.

[antik]

I use the thinnest oil possible that's still listed as recommended. For my 2.4L '03 Camry that's 5W30. It's not necessary to use a thicker 40 or 50 weight oil unless there's a specific need ie. excessive oil consumption or bad seals. Plus, your engine is going to run much more efficiently on a thinner oil.

Full synthetic oil is damn cheap these days due to sales every other week. I picked up 6x 5L bottles of Castrol Magnatec Full Synthetic 5W30 a few months back for $28 each when Supercheap had 50% off. Late last year Repco had 60% off 10L bottles of Castrol Edge 5W30 for $49.95, and that's one of the best oils you can get your hands on.

Edited April 28, 2017 by antik