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People ask me if they should use synthetic oil in their new trucks, and I always answer "It depends." Synthetic oil is better than regular oil for a lot of different reasons. Synthetic is a better lubricant, it maintains its integrity at high temperatures, it is usually pure without any contaminants, and it won't become sludge even when it's abused. To many people, the obvious benefits of synthetic oil mean that they should start using it in their new truck tomorrow. However, it really depends on how you take care of your Tundra. First of all, are you zealous when it comes to changing your oil? In other words, if the manual says to change your oil every 5000 miles, do you have the oil changed at 4999.9? If you follow an oil change regimen, chances are you won’t benefit from synthetic oil. Synthetic oil is highly resistant to breakdown and sludge forming. However, most regular oil won’t breakdown unless excessive time and/or mileage passes between changes. Because most the benefits of synthetic oil over regular oil don’t show until the oil is subjected to adverse conditions, you really won’t see any benefit from synthetic unless you stress the oil. If you are the type that might forget an oil change (shame on you), or if maybe you don’t get to changing your oil right at 5000 (or within 500 miles of 5000), then you can buy a little insurance against engine damage by using synthetic oil. For example, think about a person who only drives 3,000 miles per year. They may go more than a year without changing the oil in their car. As oil ages, it's effectiveness decreases, and if it gets old enough it will break down and the motor will no longer be protected. In this case, synthetic is the logical choice. Also, if someone accidentaly goes past the recommended 5,000 mile oil change interval without changing the regular oil, it will start to "fall-apart" and the engine will be at risk. If you or someone you know might forget an oil change, synthetic is a good way to limit your risk. There's one other big benefit to synthetic oil, and that's heat resistance. If you subject your oil to lots of heat on a regular basis, than synthetic might be the oil for you. Situations that generate lots of heat include any time the engine is running but the vehicle isn't moving, or it is moving very slowly. In these situations, there is little or no air circulating to cool the engine and things get hot. Regular oil may start to lose it's protectant properties in these situations. So, if you spend a lot of time idling or in stop and go traffic, synthetic is for you. Also, extreme conditions like high elevations or high air temperatures will also create high heat in your engine. These would be other circumstances where you would benefit from using synthetic. The last example of a high-temperature use that would benefit from synthetic oil would be racing. Hopefully, if you’re racing, you’re using the best oil you can and changing it often. There's quite a bit of advice out their about using synthetic if you drive in a big city with lots of bad traffic, or if you only drive short distances. As far as traffic goes, it's all relative. If you're maintaining an average speed of 20mph in your commute, you're ok to run regular oil. As for the short distance advice, I can't stress enought that no oil will protect your engine from the damage of a three mile trip once a day. Engines are supposed to ran for a few miles before you shut them off, otherwise oil doesn't circulate properly and you will see premature engine wear. My advice to you is to drive farther if you can. If you do decide that you would see some benefit from running synthetic oil, be conscious of “synthetic blends”. While many manufacturer’s have a synthetic blend as their standard oil, the term synthetic blend is not regulated. Any mixture of regular and synthetic oil is considered a blend, even if it’s just 1% synthetic and 99% regular. If it’s not a manufacturer provided oil (i.e. Motorcraft, Goodwrench, Genuine Toyota Motor Oil, etc.) then it could be a very low percentage of synthetic in the oil. Some companies will state the percentage, but you’d be surprised to find that big names like Valvoline, Penzoil, Quaker State, etc., have very low percentages of synthetic in their blended oils. Finally, what is Toyota's official stance? They don't have any problems with synthetic, only they don't recommend it for most people (which is exactly what I say to anyone who asks me). Bottomline: Unless you’re subjecting your new 2007 Toyota Tundra (and the oil that’s in it) to extreme conditions, save money and use regular oil.
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About the Article Author
About the author: Jason Lancaster has been working in the car industry and with the Toyota Tundra for the better part of a decade. Find more Tundra Info at his website, www.tundraheadquarters.com. Get a unique version of this article from our tundra info article directory
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