Royal Purple 0w-20 Oil Change

I bet you'd get all that info from your car's owner's manual.

 

I see! The feedback you want is from folks who have used royal purple?

Well, have never used it, but I guess, if the specification of 0W-20 meets what's in the manual, and you're comfortable with the manufacturer of such an oil, use em.

There are alternatives for almost anything in the world right now, as long as they meet the design specifications of the application, I see no problems.

Let's wait for other inputs and see what they say!

 

I've read just about every Gen 4 post - and don't recall any mention of Royal Purple.

 

Let's flip it back on you: why do you want to use royal purple?

 

My brother used to use it on his TAXI, reckoned it was worth the extra cost - but he'd do 600,000km in the vehicle in 5 yrs - I don't keep a car much longer than the warranty time - so TOYOTA's oil suits me fine.

 

If it's a top grade synthetic oil and meets the specification laid out in the manual, then there should be no problem. I wouldn't change it too early, your signature doesn't show your location, but every 10K miles is about right unless you're driving under harsh conditions.

 

First thought here is that a 1.8 liter engine, 2016 Gen 4 Prius needs 4.4 U.S. quarts to fill to spec capacity. This spec applies to the very similar 1.8 engine, Gen 3 also. The 3.5 quart "suggestion" is a Priuschat spec for the 1.5 liter, Gen 2 engine, and is a few ounces shy of filling to the top mark on the dipstick. I believe 3.8 or 3.9 is the factory spec for Gen 2.

Regarding RP, if you are in the U.S., their API rated 0w-20/5w-30 have traditionally been sodium add pack, leading oil geeks to note they look very similar to Valvoline Synpower. The non-API line (HPS?..) is more of a typical moly based, low-sodium pack, typically used by the other majors - Castrol, M1 and Shell in their API rated lines. Although debatable as to whether RP or any of the boutique oils are superior to the major brand names, it's fine oil and will do fine in a Prius. Personally, I subscribe to the 5,000 mile OCI interval in any Toyota 4-cylinder. I believe 10,000, or even 7,000 mile OCI's in these engines contributes to, or is the entire reason for the sticky control ring consumption they can be prone to. Modern synthetics can easily do 10,000 miles in these engines and show zero engine wear, but I'm not convinced the oil's high temperature/high shear (HTHS) can resist cylinder temps well enough to avoid carbon coking of the low-tension control rings when run out much beyond 5k miles. But this is certainly another topic open to endless (with no clear answer) debate. Given the potential for consumption issues, I change the filter at every oil change, too. It's entirely possible Toyota has come up with a bomb proof oil control ring solution for this most recent version 1.8, making long OCI's and filter runs possible without ramifications, but it's way too soon to have meaningful data.

Final thought: I've never run RP, but even RP states that the purple dye wears off quickly and it then appears as simply...just another oil. I'd think a boutique priced, purple oil should stay purple...

 

The oil fill is actually closer to 4.4 quarts. I'd buy a 5 quart jug from Walmart so there's some left over to top off. Your "maintenance reminder" light will come on every 5,000 miles, but you only need to change the oil/filter at 10,000 mile intervals, assuming you fill with 0W-20 grade oil. Change the filter with every oil change. Don't forget about replacing the drain plug washer! You'll also need the proper oil filter wrench. Amazon is your friend, they have all you need...and I'm not affiliated with them, BTW.

 

I don't think the Prius engine works hard enough to warrant Royal Purple. I used it in my motorcycle, but that was a much more stressful situation (about twice the HP per CC of displacement). I'm able to get the Toyota 0W20 and the filter for a reasonable price just around the corner at the Toyota dealer. I suspect that their oil is re-branded Mobil One since the label says it's distributed in South America by Exon/Mobil.

 

There has been some discussion of Royal Purple for Gen2/3.
I would consider using it in special cases like excessive oil loss, but so far nothing makes me move that way.
I mentally think of it as ACEA A1/B1 and A5/C5 which means it would hold viscosity without breaking down. It is hard if not impossible to see ACEA A1/B1 in a 0W-20 but Royal Purple may do it, although I am not sure they go thru the expense of the certitification,,,I think the they might say it would meet it if they wanted to test it.

 

To me, it sounds like paying more than necessary for little or no improvement. Of course, I could be wrong!