GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm curious as to what oil folks are putting in their Vibe/Matrix. n
I use 5W30 Castrol Syntec or Mobile 1 Synthetic year round, always with genuine oil filters.
Usually two changes a year. One just before winter and the other one before summer.
No additives.
How'bout you guys & gals? Anything special?

Mine has Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30 with the Mobil 1 filter.

Next time I'll probably go with an Toyota OEM filter, but the same oil.

I use Mobil-1 0w-30 in both Vibes, and NAPA 41394 filter.

Change about every 6-7,000 miles or when it's convenient.

5w-20 in the second Gen Vibe every 5,000 miles. When I changed it myself, I used Castrol with a paper filter from Toyota. Now that I've moved, my days of changing oil are over and I just go to Walmart for their $20 Penzoil change. It is now cheaper for them to do it and with the metal oil filter cover on the "corolla vibe" there is no way to over tighten so I'm not stressed about others taking over for me.

Caretaker wrote:5w-20 in the second Gen Vibe every 5,000 miles. When I changed it myself, I used Castrol with a paper filter from Toyota. Now that I've moved, my days of changing oil are over and I just go to Walmart for their $20 Penzoil change. It is now cheaper for them to do it and with the metal oil filter cover on the "corolla vibe" there is no way to over tighten so I'm not stressed about others taking over for me.

I pay a nearby garage (a real garage) ~$15 to do the oil change if I bring my own oil and filter. They were silly and wrote a 3,000 mile oil change interval on the windshield sticker For Mobil 1 though. Receipt shows they put in synth blend which isn't what I supplied. Maybe the "high mileage" part confused them, or they weren't paying much attention when they wrote up the ticket and "next due" sticker.

I buy bulk 5W30, comes in a 5 gallon pail. I buy Purolator oil filters a half dozen at a time off Amazon. I can do an oil change for about $12.

People can get real passionate about oil and that's fine. I'm just not one of those people.

Bill

penzoil platinum synthetic 5w-20 in mine. i've used valvoline synpower and mobil 1 in the past. my car seems seems to like the pennsoil product the best (lower consumption, quieter valve train, less breakdown.) wix filter. i change 2x per year. about every 7,500 miles, +- 1,000. usually on the short side. changes cost me between $25 and $35, depending on how good i deal i get.

Castrol GTX high mileage syn blend with purolator filter. Im at 200K.

I go to the Toyota dealer. You can get 5qts of 5w20 conventional, and OEM filter and a drain plug gasket for about $20. I change it every 5000, which is probably too soon for me. I drive a lot so it ends up coming out looking very clean.

The Vibe lived the first half of its life getting bulk dino from the dealer or our local independent shop. The second half has been "whatever," often "whatever is on sale." The 1ZZ doesn't seem to care, it's just noisier on some than others.

Current strategy is Quaker State green bottle and a Wix 57145 (2ZZ-spec for that small amount of added capacity,) changed spring/fall which is approximately 4-5k intervals. This is one of the quietest oils I've ran in this engine and I don't see any consumption between changes. Can't beat the price either, especially when Meijer is running a sale or there is a rebate on it.

This spring's change is some Pennzoil yellow bottle as it worked out even cheaper than QSGB on sale.

I myself find that Castrol Syntec or Mobile 1 don't make my engine all that loud, but I've driven some Corollas running on traditional oil with quieter engines than mine. I was thinking of switching, but I prefer keeping the efficiency and longevity of synthetic over conventional.
Maybe I should just try a different grade of oil.
Surprising that no one adds any special additives.

Both our Vibes have gotten Penzoil conventional 5W-20 and Toyota filters their entire lives thus far. Both just turned over 66,000 miles. Oil changes every 5000 miles which ends up only being maybe twice a year. A 5 quart jug of Penzoil conventional 5W-20 is $15.47 at Walmart and I order the filters 10 at a time from TRD Sparks. Works out to just under $20.00 per Vibe per oil change.

I use the Amsoil 5w30 signature series.

gtv237 wrote:I go to the Toyota dealer. You can get 5qts of 5w20 conventional, and OEM filter and a drain plug gasket for about $20. I change it every 5000, which is probably too soon for me. I drive a lot so it ends up coming out looking very clean.

vibenvy wrote:Both our Vibes have gotten Penzoil conventional 5W-20 and Toyota filters their entire lives thus far. Both just turned over 66,000 miles. Oil changes every 5000 miles which ends up only being maybe twice a year. A 5 quart jug of Penzoil conventional 5W-20 is $15.47 at Walmart and I order the filters 10 at a time from TRD Sparks. Works out to just under $20.00 per Vibe per oil change.

Caretaker wrote:5w-20 in the second Gen Vibe every 5,000 miles. When I changed it myself, I used Castrol with a paper filter from Toyota. Now that I've moved, my days of changing oil are over and I just go to Walmart for their $20 Penzoil change. It is now cheaper for them to do it and with the metal oil filter cover on the "corolla vibe" there is no way to over tighten so I'm not stressed about others taking over for me.

Zimm wrote:penzoil platinum synthetic 5w-20 in mine. i've used valvoline synpower and mobil 1 in the past. my car seems seems to like the pennsoil product the best (lower consumption, quieter valve train, less breakdown.) wix filter. i change 2x per year. about every 7,500 miles, +- 1,000. usually on the short side. changes cost me between $25 and $35, depending on how good i deal i get.

What benefits (if any) have you guys noticed using anything other than the recommended 5W30?

FeelTheVibe2004 wrote:What benefits (if any) have you guys noticed using anything other than the recommended 5W30?

My oil cap says 0w20 or 5w20.

We should clarify that some engines spec 5w30, while later ones spec 5w20

Ahhhhhh! lol

I use 5W-20 or 0W-20 synthetic oil (whichever is on sale) in the five-gallon jug convenience-sized flavor and a premium quality oil filter.

I let my mechanic worry about it tbh. I don't know what filters he uses and such, but I know the oil is 5W (not sure 20 or 30). Car runs fine.

He actually commented how the oil was pretty clean when I last had it in for its 3,000 mile change and alternator work. It wasn't pristine but it wasn't dirty black either, it was kind of inbetween I guess. You could still see a tinge of that orange/gold color in the oil when the light hit it.

Has anyone used, or is using high milage oil?
I've read a few articles saying that the additives in that type of oil has many benefits like gasket conditioning, cleaning agents, raises compression slightly and overall good durability against wear.

It shouldn't hurt anything. It will have additives to prevent further wear and such.

Interesting, am I the only one using 0W-20? Most of the replies are 5W-20 or 5W30. I usually get Mobil1 0W-20 or Toyota Geuine 0W-20 from the dealer with either a Toyota filter or a K&N from Amazon. Change it twice a year, around every 6-7000km.

Capt.Vibe wrote:Interesting, am I the only one using 0W-20? Most of the replies are 5W-20 or 5W30. I usually get Mobil1 0W-20 or Toyota Geuine 0W-20 from the dealer with either a Toyota filter or a K&N from Amazon. Change it twice a year, around every 6-7000km.

The #W section of the oil grade denotes the viscosity characteristics of the oil in cold weather. It doesn't matter much except for during the winter.

FeelTheVibe2004 wrote:Has anyone used, or is using high milage oil?
I've read a few articles saying that the additives in that type of oil has many benefits like gasket conditioning, cleaning agents, raises compression slightly and overall good durability against wear.

I use Castrol High Mileage 5w30 in my Corolla and Vibe. I don't have any evidence its really doing me any good, but its not hurting anything either.

Capt.Vibe wrote:Interesting, am I the only one using 0W-20? Most of the replies are 5W-20 or 5W30. I usually get Mobil1 0W-20 or Toyota Geuine 0W-20 from the dealer with either a Toyota filter or a K&N from Amazon. Change it twice a year, around every 6-7000km.

I use 0w-30 in both my Vibes, but they're both first gen. I would be running 0w-20 if I had a 2nd gen.

lannvouivre wrote:The #W section of the oil grade denotes the viscosity characteristics of the oil in cold weather. It doesn't matter much except for during the winter.

If the operating temp of your engine is 140º and the ambient temp at the time of startup is 90º, it's still a cold start. There's no oil flow to moving parts, and the most important thing for your engine is to get oil flowing as fast as possible after startup. The lower the "#W" number the faster it can start flowing where it needs to be.

There's simply no reason at this stage of synthetic oil development to run anything other than a 0w-xx if it's available. I run 5W-40 in my diesel truck because I can't buy a 0W-40 locally. According to the Mobil-1 website they make one, but I've never been able to find it. If I could that's what I'd be running.

I run 0w-20w as well.
I believe you get a better quality oil at 0w, hence why it's often not included in oil change specials.

Havoline 5W-30 this time around, plus a Wix filter. I use any major brand "dino" I get on sale.
Took 11 months to reach 5000 miles last change.
I change the filter every other oil change.
Recently took the valve cover off to check valve clearances and it was very clean, not even discolored.
In August I might take a ~6000 mile road trip. For that I'll put in some SuperTech synthetic 5W-30.
Most modern SN grade "dino" oils are actually synth blends.