Thinking about swapping to 0W-30 synthetic oil

OK, I do know that this particular topic can start a "hoily" war but I'm just too damn curious about the subject

Anyway - I was considering swapping to a 0W-30 synthetic (probably Mobil 1 when they have their rebates available - $13 for a 5 quart bottle just can't be beat!). Of course, this swap would only happen AFTER I finish my two free Toyota oil changes.

I live in Southern Cal, so we don't have crazy temperature variations like those folks who live in Vegas or Minnesota. For us "crazy cold" is 40 degrees and hot is about 90. Yeah we're spoiled...

The reasoning behind swapping to a higher weight synthetic is that I was hoping to reduce engine wear when the vehicle is fully warmed up and running at freeway speeds. I figure that using a 30W vs. 20W "could" contribute to that. I would expect a very small mileage hit, of course.

On the other end of the spectrum, I definitely want to use zero (0W) weight synthetics to increase oil flow at cold starts as my driving habits usually involve only turning on the ICE when I am at highway speeds. I want to make sure that the engine has oil fully distributed from those cold starts and the very thin 0W viscosity will assist in that. That's why I would not consider a 5W-30 oil, by the way.

My understanding is that Toyota recommended the 0W-20 oil to help make their CAFE averages although I would think going to 0W-30 would only involve a very small hit to their average. Also, I hear that the European standards call for 0W-30 anyway? Not sure about this one - maybe someone in Europe may chime in.

Thoughts? Ridicule? Let me know - thanks!

 

I'll probably be running my mileage out to at least 8k miles before changing. Not sure if I could wait until 10k... still used to changing about every 5k with conventional oil.

About 33% of my mileage is EV anyway so 8k is more like 5.3k miles anyway. As long as I can get Mobil 1 synthetic cheap, it won't hurt to experiment. YMMV (pun intended).

 

I have a 17 Prime so Gen 4 I assume (it's in my profile btw). I have about 1.5 years to think about it as I just had my 1st free oil change at 10.3k miles in March. I also did my own oil change at 3k miles and for that one I used Mobil 1 Adv. Performance 0W-20.

 

Hm.. it says 2017 Prius Prime under my name in the forum. We may be thinking of different things for my profile.

In either case, I think 0W-30 would be the highest I would go.

 

Yup, I have read through dozens of posts from that site. One thing you can be sure of - those guys are SERIOUS about oil. Some of them are a bit ... obsessive... but hey maybe that's just me

 

Cartridge, part number 04152-YZZA6 or 15613-YZZA6 (which seems to be the TRD equivalent according to comments on the Amazon link below).

or at your local dealer if there's any question about part numbers.

My local dealer wanted about $7.50 per filter btw.

 

Edit: Sorry noticed Mendel's reply just now...

Edit 2: One other item - go and get a 27mm socket - you HAVE to use the socket to loosen the cartridge otherwise you will probably strip out the 3/8" hole in the cap. You only use the 3/8" socket in the cap for TIGHTENING.