Oil Viscosity For 2zz-ge Engine - Corolla Ts

[CTS03]

In our Corolla’s manual (p.288-289 of the English 2003 version) there are two tables with the recommended oil viscosities (SAE) for (1) the 3ZZ-FE and 4ZZ-FE engines and (2) the 2ZZ-GE engine.

You can distinguish a very important difference only for SAE 5W-30: The maximum temperature for use with the 2ZZ-GE engine is 10°C (50 Fahrenheit), while it exceeds 38°C for use with the 3ZZ-FE and 4ZZ-FE engines!

There is no difference of temperature range for SAE 10W-30, 15W-40 and 20W-50.

Do you think that SAE 5W-40 would be OK for temperatures up to 40-45°C? This is the only synthetic oil provided by Toyota Hellas!

[CTS03]

No reply! So let me put my question in a different way:

What synthetic oil is used by Toyota dealerhsips in your country for the 2ZZ-GE engine of Corolla TS?

Do they use any SAE 5W?? oil? If yes, is this supposed to be good also for the summer?

I guess any country has temperatures above 10°C (50 Fahrenheit) in the summer.

[CraigR]

Use either of the following for optimum protection

Motul 300V Power Racing 5w-30 or Silkolene Pro SS

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

[dimitrios]

gia sou file, theleis na rwtisw stin antiproswpeia ti ladi vazoun sto corolla ts?avrio pou tha paw tha rwtisw.

ta leme

dimitrios apo yaris club/corolla club

[CTS03]

Use either of the following for optimum protection

Motul 300V Power Racing 5w-30 or Silkolene Pro SS

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

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@ GraigE

5w-30 is recommended for our engine only up to 10°C (50 Fahrenheit) outside temperature, according to our manual. This is not good for any country and it is unthinkable for Greek summer!

I checked the Motul oil specs: There are important differences for engine operating temperature and dilution of oil between the group of {0w-20 and 5w-30} and the group of {5w-40 and 10w-40}.

The viscosity specs of {5w-40 and 10w-40} seem to be comparable and both differ substantially from 5w-30.

So, perhaps fully synthetic 5w-40 would not be bad, and this is used by Toyota Hellas.

@ Dimitrios

Yia sou Dimitri. Toyota Hellas and its dealerships provide only fully synthetic 5w-40 but I doubt that they ever considered the unusual requirements for the 2ZZ-GE engine. The best oil for 2ZZ-GE should be fully synthetic 10w-30 but it is not provided by Toyota.

Apparently their decisions are based on other criteria (size of stock, cost and available suppliers) and not what is the optimum choice for mechanical reasons.

[dimitrios]

do you have any problems with oil consumption like the mr2 has?

I will ask today and tell you what oil they use here for your car.

[oilman]

Yes, 5w-40 is fine. In fact it's what we recommend for UK climate and all year round use.

Cheers

Simon

[CTS03]

do you have any problems with oil consumption like the mr2 has?

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I did not notice any level drop for fully synthetic 5w40 used between 7.5K-15K km. I noticed though grey smoke from the exhaust at the lift point.

For semi-synthetic 10w40 used between 15K-22.5K km (actually loaded by Toyota w/o asking my preferences) the oil level dropped ~40% of the full distance between the high-low level marks.

I decided to use it again for the 22.5K-30K km until it becomes clear what is the right oil.

I think oil consumption may be confused by effects such as disolution of gasoline into the oil, etc. I remember intense smelling of BP 100 in a first oil change. The lower viscocity oils should be easier for gasoline disolution.

Overall, the real problem is that Toyota service stations are not alert for specific service details of the Corolla 1.8TS. It is straightforward to treat it like a 1.4lt Corolla (95% of their work). So, we need to predict and check everything or ... relax and leave it to a good luck.

[CTS03]

Yes, 5w-40 is fine. In fact it's what we recommend for UK climate and all year round use.

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Thanks. Could you please tell me what you would recommend for Greek climate, which means from -10°C to 45°C.

[oilman]

Yes, 5w-40 is fine. In fact it's what we recommend for UK climate and all year round use.

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Thanks. Could you please tell me what you would recommend for Greek climate, which means from -10°C to 45°C.

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I would suggest that a synthetic 10w-50 or 15w-50 would be more suited. Synthetic being the key as it will withstand higher temperatures.

Cheers

Simon

[CTS03]

Could you suggest any brandt names? I think Mobil 1 could be easily found for 15w-50.