I used to own a Toyota Vios 1.5L 1NZ-FE and always use 5W-40 viscosity engine oil for that car. Normally the oil were recommended by workshop people and myself also not so sure about what engine oil suitable for the engine.

Now I have a Corolla Altis with 1.8L 1ZZ-FE engine and this time I would like to carefully understand the use of engine oil for this engine. According to the owner's manual:
So, according to the owner's manual, 5W-30 engine oil is suitable for my engine NO MATTER which brand it is? The workshop that I regularly visited is M-Power in Penang Island, and they recommended me this brand of engine oil:

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/xlf.aspx


Anyone heard of AMSOIL company before? How is their engine oil performance? Is this engine oil fully synthetic or just semi synthetic?

Another issue is about the engine oil capacity in the engine. Because of that product is coming with 1 US quart (946ML/0.95Liter), I actually plan to buy 4 bottles for my car. Now the owner's manual write there:
After that I do some research around the internet, some people says 3.5L is enough for this 1ZZ-FE engine. Last time my Toyota Vios 1NZ-FE engine always have extra engine oil left and the workshop people returned it to me because of the oil is come with 4L packing.

This post has been edited by oec88: Nov 13 2010, 02:45 AM

AMSOIL engine oil very famous la, dont need to worry .. one of the best .. seen many good reviews about it .. 5W-30 is fully syn .. ya your 1.5L ZZ 3.5litre enuff already ...

AMSoil XL is a really nice, tried before, but just a bit expensive..

I got quote from the workshop, 1 quart for RM38. I still not so sure are they offering me the XL model or not. Because I search around the internet, the XL is about RM37 per quart.

Is your Altis brand new? Why not just stick to Toyota?

TS,
Technically most car manufacturers would recommend some particular brand or type of oil b'cos it was used during their reliability testing. So its natural to advise customers to continue tat type of oil. But in real world, it would be quite safe to use any brand/type as long as the recommended standard (SAE, API SL etc) n viscouscity is d same as the stated in the manual.

As for the amount of lubricant needed, as long as the level of oil is within d dipstick range (level taken after oil has been filled, engine has been run for d oil to fill d line/filter n additional top up if needed has been done), its safe not to follow d exact amount stated in the manual. U wouldnt wan to overflow ur tank rite?

This RM / litre price range is still acceptable gua...at least for me.

Dude, ur mechanic recommending u very nice engine oil. At least u dont have to worry about wheather this oil imitation or not.

RM152 for 4 us quartz, should be ok because this oil really good .. some is over rm200 for 4 litres

Yeah it is a brand new Corolla Altis pre-facelift model, just bought it in June and now hitting 10,000km mileage. Reason I don't stick with Toyota workshop is because of they take too long time to service my car (approximately 2 hour) and I am not allowed to enter to the workshop to see what are they doing with my car due to the safety rules. The labour charge is one of the biggest issue, which cost RM60+/- for just changing engine oil and oil filter exclude the part cost. Some people say Toyota workshop will help customer to check all the common stuff in the car, like lightning, tyres and etc. These common stuff I can perform the checking by my own.

That is the reason I quit Toyota workshop and stick to my regular visiting workshop. I have a Toyota Vios, bought in 2006. After the 10,000km service in Toyota workshop, 15,000km mileage I already move out from Toyota workshop. So far the car has no major engine or technical problem, everything is just fine because I've change the oil often.

After reading your post, I feel secure a lot. There will be no worries for me in the future when purchasing an engine oil.

According to my mechanic, he said previously there was a Subaru owner (I expect is Impreza) bought the AMSOIL 0w-30 fully synthetic oil, which cost RM220. When driving on highway, the owner call back to the workshop and complimented the engine oil. The owner said this engine oil make his car feels more "lighten" when step on the pedal.

5W-30 is not 100% fully synthetic, it is just semi-synthetic. RM152 for a semi-synthetic oil consider as quite expensive, a premium engine oil. It should be okay for me since it can last up more than 10,000km mileage.

For more reference, here:
http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html
This is where I recently find out about engine oil study, inside contains useful information that suit your needs.

http://www.searchforparts.com/important_ar...h_taxi_cabs.php
This is where the proof of AMSOIL that is the best oil.

One of the best engine oil, but don't be confused with copycat Amoil...

I always believe that a product which blows the trumpet the least loudest, is always the better one.

So I dont have faith in AMSOIL, because they have too many advertising claims.

If I were you,and car is out of warranty, I'll choose Caltex DELO 400. No mega advertisements.
Google more about it.

oec88, I still believe you should send ur car for service in UMW.
Else u may lose all the warranty on the parts.

Had a customer, acceleration pedal was not working properly after a minor accident. A brand new vios, 3 months old.
UMW only allow warranty claim if all the service record etc, all good.


4 litre 5w30 semi-synthetic for around RM150++?
That's actually not cheap, make sure u spend on a good engine oil.

I'm using Pennzoil 5w30 semi on my Toyota, around RM100 for 4 litre.
I changed it at 5k km though, not at 7k km as most people do for semi-synthetic oil.

Suddenly pop out two comments, again I am confusing. Anyway, I've already ordered the engine oil today, estimated reach to the workshop around Tuesday, will service my car on Wednesday or Friday.

So far from the internet review, hardly can see bad review about AMSOIL, but I can see most of consumer compare AMSOIL with RoyalPurple.

About Toyota warranty, as I said my previous Toyota Vios jumped out from Toyota workshop after 10,000km mileage service. I still able to claimed my dashboard sound noise during 70,000km mileage and they still do the warranty job for me. Until today I don't know whether Toyota has change their warranty scheme or not. Most of people jump out from Toyota workshop after the first two compulsory service because of the labour charge and part cost.

if can find this in Malaysia, i will pour this instead.
Petronas Syntium 7000 XS 0w-30
Syntium 7000 <-- click there for more info

Motul Power 300V or Xceed 8100.

previously i used Torco Sr-1 for my altis also G10. The oil last till 8K then can feel underpower compared to Toyota Fully which around 5K then you can feel the difference. But then, i service my car every 3 mth or so, so i stick back to Toyota because afterall the car still under warranty. Another 35K Km to go or 1 more year after warranty expires.

My vios mileage around 200km . Bought 2008. E spec..is there any issue if I use 0w-20 engine oil? Fully synthetic.

Better just use more common viscosities and a bit thicker like 10w40, 5w40 or at least 5w30 and monitor the oil consumption.