engine oil 2007 2.4L

[jdr37]

I recently bought a high milage 2007 Sonata (210K) 2.4L that runs great. There isn't any oil leakage nor does it seem to be burning much if any but I have no maintenance records and have no idea what oil has been used or what the best oil would be; i.e., syn, weight, etc. I live in central Florida and most of my driving will be short 5 to 15 mile trips with an occasional 25 to 100 mile trip.
Suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks,
jdr37

[MikeCStig]

I would say if the mileage is high, a synthetic is definitely a good idea. Or a specialized high mileage oil. Castrol GTX comes in a high mileage formula for example.
As far as weight, the manufacturer often suggests 5w-30, but there really isn't anything wrong with running 10w-30, that's what I usually do. It just seems to coat everything a bit better.

[Stealthee]

Originally Posted by MikeCStig

I would say if the mileage is high, a synthetic is definitely a good idea. Or a specialized high mileage oil. Castrol GTX comes in a high mileage formula for example.
As far as weight, the manufacturer often suggests 5w-30, but there really isn't anything wrong with running 10w-30, that's what I usually do. It just seems to coat everything a bit better.

I disagree. If mileage is high synthetic can be a very bad idea. Running synthetic in a high mileage engine can cause some of the "gunk" from conventional oils to break up and cause many leaks. Also "high mileage" oil in most cases are just a marketing gimmick.

My opinion is to run whatever is on sale with a good filter (read not orange can Fram crap), and change the oil every 3-5k miles. With your shorter trips you will probably be better off going every 3k miles.

I bought my Grand Prix with 123k miles on of the clock with no real clue how it was maintained before. I've now got just shy of 180k on it and have only used the "high mileage" oil if it was on sale and the car still runs as good as the day I bought it with no additional oil usage.