The service data sheet from the factory service manual. It's interesting to me that 0W-20 is not even listed as an option for 3UR-FE.
Update: 5W-30 & Heavier Recommended RoTW (7 Viewers)
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And here is report #3 of 3. This gives a back-to-back-to-back reading on the same 5.7L V8 engine for:
1. 0w-20 (Red box below) - Shell Rotella Synthetic
2. 0w-20 w/ Marvel Mystery Oil for 500 miles (Purple box below) - Shell Rotella Synthetic
3. 5w-30 (Green box below) - Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic
1. 0w-20 (Red box below) - Shell Rotella Synthetic
2. 0w-20 w/ Marvel Mystery Oil for 500 miles (Purple box below) - Shell Rotella Synthetic
3. 5w-30 (Green box below) - Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic
Heritage 2020
SILVER Star
Thank you McEagle for sharing this! I imagined it wouldn’t make a difference whether 0w-20 or 5w-30 full synthetic.
I’m in Tennessee primarily (mid-south climate) and my LC has run Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic 0w-20 (Penske Wolfchase Toyota of Cordova standard synthetic fill)) since new every 5k miles. At this point, I’ve seen enough to stick with 0w-20 since I travel all across the country—usually heading north during the summer months.
Question: Did you run the Marvel Mystery Oil based on experience/habit, or were you just curious about the additive?
Again, much appreciated.
bloc
SILVER Star
It’s good to confirm nothing went wrong but you’d really need much more data over longer intervals to truly compare their efficacy. Which should be a surprise to no one.
Personally 5w-30 made my valvetrain sound happier at all times and I haven’t had a single occurrence of the timing chain slap that happened a handful of times on 0w-20 so I’ll be sticking with the thicker stuff for the rest of my ownership. I’m even looking into slightly thicker 5w-30 versions or possibly going to 0w-30, depending on what the cost shakes out to be.
Personally 5w-30 made my valvetrain sound happier at all times and I haven’t had a single occurrence of the timing chain slap that happened a handful of times on 0w-20 so I’ll be sticking with the thicker stuff for the rest of my ownership. I’m even looking into slightly thicker 5w-30 versions or possibly going to 0w-30, depending on what the cost shakes out to be.
Heritage 2020
SILVER Star
@bloc
My belief is whatever works best for you is the best choice—and will have no impact on long term reliability as long as you stay on top of regular oil/filter changes.
Mine hums quietly on 0w-20. If I were ever to have valvetrain noise, I’d consider 0w-30 to keep the 0w for cold starts and forays to cooler climates.
Here’s a perspective (from stickitnow) although I can’t find the “study” referenced by the poster. Yes, I know the OP is mentioning a Sentra engine.
I used 0W-30 instead of 0W-20. Is it serious?
I have a Nissan Sentra 2014. I wanted to start using full synthetic oil, and the manual said I should use 0W-20. I changed both the oil and the filter (I used this one), and after finishing I reali...
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bloc
SILVER Star
The noisy valvetrain I reference is quite subjective.. somewhere between a quiet hum for some people and “we need to adjust those valves, now” to other ears. It’s a very common quirk of the 3UR and nearly everyone that switches to the thicker oil reports it getting quieter.@bloc
My belief is whatever works best for you is the best choice—and will have no impact on long term reliability as long as you stay on top of regular oil/filter changes.
Mine hums quietly on 0w-20. If I were ever to have valvetrain noise, I’d consider 0w-30 to keep the 0w for cold starts and forays to cooler climates.
Here’s a perspective (from stickitnow) although I can’t find the “study” referenced by the poster. Yes, I know the OP is mentioning a Sentra engine.
I used 0W-30 instead of 0W-20. Is it serious?
I have a Nissan Sentra 2014. I wanted to start using full synthetic oil, and the manual said I should use 0W-20. I changed both the oil and the filter (I used this one), and after finishing I reali...mechanics.stackexchange.com
Which isn’t to say damage is being done!
Just did what I hope is last 0w-20. I am at 90K miles on 2016. I will be switching to 5w-30 for 95K change. Hopefully our new car arrives around then and it has recommended 5w-30 and my old T100 3.4 v6 runs 5w-30. That just leaves motorcycle on 10w-40. The boats I think are 10w-30 for Yamaha 115SHO and 10w-40 for Tohatsu 20hp. I figure the Yamaha will do fine on 5w-30 and Motorcycle and Tohatsu get 10w-40. So economy of scale says just buy 5w-30 in bulk. I just need to figure out where to get bulk.
Happy to help! I'm a data guy, so I geek out a bit on it.
- I didn't notice any difference in MPG
- I do notice a quieter drivetrain, especially right after start-up. Definitely not a placebo effect
- I bought my one-owner 2008 LX with 157k miles on it, with a spotless service history at the same Lexus dealer the entire time. My use of Marvel Mystery Oil was purely out of curiosity and seeing some positive reports from various forums. I don't plan to make a habit out of running it, but used is as a "clean out the system" opportunity between switching from 0w-20 to 5w-30.
- From here on, I plan to run Kirkland 5w-30 (Costco) since my truck and another family SUV take 5w-30. It makes stocking up super easy and I've been pleased with the quality.
Lots of fuel dilution on outboards because they’re raw water cooled, and as such they run cooler when the water is cold. So they run on thicker oil to compensate for the potential fuel dilution. I wouldn’t run thinner oil in the boats especially if you idle a lot as they don’t get up to temps that will burn off the gas in the oil.
My 2016 LC is around 80k miles, I’m planning to move to 5w30 there as well.
I ran 5w30 in the gx and do the same in my 5.7 tundra and 5th gen 4runner. Costco oil ftw!
Fan of Kirkland Synthetic here. Same source supplier as lots of other brands and can't beat the price. I run the 5W-30 in my wife's Lexus with the 2GR-FKS (cap says 0W-20) and my Ford daily, and also buy the Kirkland 15W-40 diesel oil for my FJ60. 5k intervals on the modern cars and 3k on the 60, and no problems/clean Blackstone reports for years.
FJRanger
SILVER Star
Good to read Blackstone's reporting says everything is going well.
Blackstone really knows their clientele, the way they gush over the care of your engine is akin to getting a glowing report at a parent teacher conference for your 8 year old. I pay them for the important data but I come back for the attaboys.
Heritage 2020
SILVER Star
Agreed @Artie
I think of it as my annual physical lab blood work—except my health is a big deal to me.
When my doctor tells me my lab results look great—as if I if I would obsess that my blood potassium, sodium, hemoglobin, or total cholesterol went up/down by some minuscule fraction but is well within the good/normal range, lol!
No overall impact on health/longevity, but at least gives me hope that I’ll outlast my 200 Series.
Time to hit the gym and eat a kale salad with blueberries.
Note: I’m far more concerned about what goes into my body/health than the minuscule differences between synthetic oil weights.
To each his/her own I suppose.
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Did I ever post my blackstone 30k mile after 5W-30 switched report?
They said it yas the most perfect report they ever made. Yuge report. Put some of their best people on it…
AIMSR
Should I swap to Pennzoil or don’t bother?
They said it yas the most perfect report they ever made. Yuge report. Put some of their best people on it…
AIMSR
Should I swap to Pennzoil or don’t bother?
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Just so we are clear, this is the SECOND best report ever. I will have to look back for mine as it was last in the Blackstone annals of history last I checked.
Pennzoil UP is good hootch for readily available oil off the shelf. I'm getting into the advanced lubrication stuff for fluids as I work through the last of my Amsoil SS. Amsoil Ea filters are still some of the best I can find especially if you're part of their cult...ahem, club!
Premium Plus Passenger Car Engine Oil - https://www.advlubrication.com/collections/automotive-lubricants/products/premium-plus-passenger-car-engine-oil in case anyone wants to venture into the darkside of extended (>5k) OCI's.
Well apparent pennzoil platinum plus ultra synth is the only real full synth on the market off the shelf.
It is honestly not that much more expensive than my mob 1 “full” synth from Costco.
Make sure it’s ultra platinum and not just platinum. I usually need to order the ultra off Amazon since nobody near me seems to stock the oil on their shelves.
solid point here. I was meaning ultra platinum above with the "UP" Definitely a worthwhile distinction.
My bad that’s the one yes, ultra platinum.
Platinum plus is a big L song stuck in my head for 20 years.
Throw your Ls up
