| cworrall |
Yes I have a brand new 05 Pilot, but I have a question about my second car. It is a 1991 Accord EX Wagon with 74,000 miles and it is due for an oil change. I am looking for a recommendation on what type of oil. I am thinking about switching to Mobil 1. Is it worth it
for the older car or is there a better type of oil. I see the high mileage oils, and I am wondering if they are just a gimmick. I like Mobil 1, and have read on the Redline or Amosil.
Currently using Castrol 10w30. My thoughts were to switch to
synthetic.
Any help would be much appreciated. I plan on keeping this car for a while because it gets such great gas mileage.
Thanks |
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| rockman19762001 |
| Why switch now! I had many cars that have gone well over 150,000 on conventional oil. Castrol 10w30 is very good and should keep your Accord Wagon going for many more years. The only problem I have heard about switching to a full high quality synthetic like Mobil 1, with 74,000 miles on the odometer, that many times they remove sludge that has not been removed over the years and can clog your oil filter. The mechanic I use says switch to the synthetic then change the oil filter out about 500-700 miles later this will keep it from clogging up. Then return to your regular oil change interval. |
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| mixxmstrmike |
every x-amount (3000 or so)? If you do, then I really don't see any benefit on changing your oil to a synthetic. From my personal experience, I have a 1990 Integra with 188K miles and everything has been working fine, except for the usual wear and tear replacements of timing belts and water pumps. I have not had any oil-related issues/problems and I've been using 10w-30 (Quaker). Another friend of mine has a 1988 Honda Accord with over 250k and still runs well... again, using only 10w-30.
Just my 2 cents worth,
Mike |
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| cworrall |
I was just wondering if there would be any benifit? From the looks of it there is no need. I will just keep the same interval and regular maintenance. Thanks for the info.
Craig |
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| chas22 |
| I own a 96 Integra, 99 Accord, 04 Pilot and 04 Tl Castrol dino all the way, with oil changes every 3,000 miles |
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| Bugshu |
Motor Oil has 3 jobs to do in your car.
The first job is to lubricate your engine and protect against wear.
The second job is to clean your engine.
The third job is to cool your engine.
Synthetic oil has several advantages over regular oil. One of the main advantages is that since it has more molecular integrity its able to hold performance across a wider spectrum of engine demands and allow more basestock and less additives.
A 0W-30 synthetic oil can hold its viscosity well even in low temperatures and of course in higher temperatures so you dont have to add viscosity improvers to compensate for O Winter antifreeze additives and performance. To explain a bit better, oil companies take motor oil and add anti freeze so you can get 5 winter performance or even 10 winter performance then they have to add viscosity improvers (plastics) to get you back up to a 20 viscosity or 30 viscosity oil.
Honda often uses 5(W)inter 20 (viscosity) oil so the viscosity spread is somewhat reduced over a 5W-30 oil.
Anyway, synthetic oils such as Redline and Amsoil will resist thermal breakdown and shearing and perform well in cold winter conditions naturally without additives needed. You are getting a better oil that needs less additives to do its job and it costs a good bit of extra money. A good synthetic will resist breakdown in high temperature conditions and flow better in low temperature conditions and its worth the money. Because the oil doesnt breakdown as quickly, most users of synthetic oils such as Mobil 1, Amsoil, or Redline will run their cars a minimum of 5000 miles between oil changes and often 7500 miles or occasionally 10,000 miles.
As far as protecting your engine goes a synthetic will do a slightly better job than a traditional oil but under normal and gentle driving conditions it may or may not be dramatic.
Synthetics do a far better job of cleaning engines than traditional oils. Oil can only hold a certain amount of additives. As synthetic oil needs less additives to maintain oil integrity more additives can be added to assist in cleaning engines. Mobil 1 has a good amount of calcium to neutralize acids and detergents to keep your oil clean. You are starting with a higher quality and cleaner oil to begin with and that helps as well. Amsoil claims high cleaning capability as well and Redline is made from esters which are natural cleaners.
Synthetic oil is far better at resisting thermal breakdown and maintaining oil integrity than traditional oil so at high temperatures the oil can pull heat away from your engine rather than breakdown, deteriorate and turn to sludge.
Changing oil is a personal matter and you will find many opinions. My opinion is that it doesnt pay to run an expensive car on the cheapest oil. I find that synthetics repay some of their cost in extended use and I feel comfortable going 6000 miles between oil changes which mitigates some of the added cost of the synthetic and eliminates some of the vehicle downtime of having to change oil with frequency. So for me its worth it.
A person who drives their car gently and modestly and takes good care of it and changes their oil religously at 3000 miles can get reasonable performance out of a traditional motor oil.
If you change to a synthetic then Id clean your engine before you did it. If you dont change to a synthetic then Id recommend that you clean your engine once per 100,000 miles as a precaution.
The only engine cleaner that I recommend is Auto Rx. And it costs $25 per bottle and is worth every penny.
You can find out more about Auto Rx here:
http://www.auto-rx.com/
If you are going to do an oil change then Id recommend going at least to a 5 winter oil at this time of year and running your car 1500 miles and then adding Auto Rx and running it another 1500 to clean your engine. Just change your oil at this point in time and then change your oil again after 2000 miles and switch to the oil of your choice.
Id recommend you clean your engine before going to synthetics. It wont do you an amazing amount of good to put a high quality cleaning oil into a dirty engine. Auto-Rx is a wonderful product and winter is a wonderful time to run it.
Your car will thank you.
Happy Piloting All,
:cool:
Bugshu |
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| Sunday Rider |
Bugshu,
Thanks for a very good detailed explanation. Sounds good to me. |
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| cworrall |
Thanks for the detailed explaination. I will check into the engine cleaner.
Craig |
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| timchen |
mineral oil could eat into engine seal and gasket and form a compound. That's no problem if you keep using mineral oil, you still have seal there.
While synthetic oil has much better cleaning power, it treat your seal compound as dirt and cleans it. The result depends on how much seal/gasket hasn't been eaten in yet. It's up to the year of car not mileage. If you only have little seal left then you may see oil leak very soon. If you still have lots gasket left, then well, you are fine since synthetic oil won't eat in gasket as fast as mineral oil |
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| Daryl Baines |
Cworrall,
Have you thought about a preventive maintenance program using 3oz of Auto-Rx at each oil change. I have been doing this program for over 3 years and I don.t have any sludge. |
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| ericsgr |
| I spoke to the master mechanic at the shop where I used to bring my car (dont live in the area anymore) This guy really knew his stuff and was an excellent mechanic. He said that you really should NOT switch to synthetic if you have been using conventional oil all along. The synthetic stuff does clean out the gunk that is stuck in there but guess where all that loose gunk ends up?..........IN the engine. He said unless you start out with synthetic........stay away from it. If you have been using conventional for a long time then just keep using conventional. |
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| N_Jay |
quote:
Originally posted by ericsgr
I spoke to the master mechanic at the shop where I used to bring my car (don't live in the area anymore) This guy really knew his stuff and was an excellent mechanic. He said that you really should NOT switch to synthetic if you have been using conventional oil all along. The synthetic stuff does clean out the gunk that is stuck in there but guess where all that loose gunk ends up?..........IN the engine. He said unless you start out with synthetic........stay away from it. If you have been using conventional for a long time then just keep using conventional.
Yes, that is the CONVENTIONAL wisdom (Pardon the pun), much repeated, never substantiated.
Having taken apart many engines, there is simply not that much "gunk" in a normally maintained engine. If it were to "wash out" it would end up in the pan, if it was in the pan it would end up in the pump, and then the filter.
Synthetic oil does creep better and WILL leak through a seal that holds back conventional oil. Is it that the conventional oil is gunked up around the seal, and the cleaning action starts the leak, or is it just the flow properties of the synthetic oil.
I go with the later BECAUSE, I have had seepage from NEW, not GUNKED up engines when using Synthetic oil. |
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| pjb3 |
quote:
Originally posted by ericsgr
The synthetic stuff does clean out the gunk that is stuck in there but guess where all that loose gunk ends up?..........IN the engine.
Actually it ends up in the filter. Synthetic is good way to clean an engine because it cleans so slowly, in fact so slowly that it would take multiple oil changes to see any difference. |
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| netman88 |
quote:
Originally posted by pjb3
Actually it ends up in the filter. Synthetic is good way to clean an engine because it cleans so slowly, in fact so slowly that it would take multiple oil changes to see any difference.
hmm.. I always would if there's a real difference at all then. |
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| bluefin |
| Am I the only one who thinks the 3000 mile change is a bit excessive? I've always followed the manufacturers recommendations of 7,500 miles (give or take) and never had a problem with conventional oil. Sold my last 90 Integra with 180k with no issues. |
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| N_Jay |
quote:
Originally posted by bluefin
Am I the only one who thinks the 3000 mile change is a bit excessive?
Nope!
But the worry warts are more vocal. |
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| jackkpts |
| I have a couple of brother-in-laws that still do 3K miles oil changes. I started doing 4,500 changes back in the early 90's and went to 5K after the Consumer Reports study. Their reasoning is "it's cheap insurance". So I respond with "then why not 2K miles changes, or 1K changes?" They cringed when I told them I did 6K and 6.5K changes with Penzoil Platinum and am now going with 10K - 15K changes with Amsoil. |
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| ejthomp |
quote:
Originally posted by N_Jay
Nope!
But the worry warts are more vocal.
I purchased a 96 Chrysler 3.8L minivan new. Changed oil every 5-7.5k miles. Never less than 5k miles. Used any brand of oil and any brand of filter.
My buddy was a synthetic or 3000 miles guy and cringed every time I talked to him about it. He called me dumb, crazy, stupid until I made it to 100,000 miles with no trouble. He quit talking about it after 150,000 miles. After 200,000 miles he started to rethink his philosophy.
Eventually he was right though.... the engine gave up (timing chain) at 254,000 miles. :2: :2: The engine on that minivan was great, everything else could have been better though! |
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| dgipalo |
quote:
Originally posted by bluefin
Am I the only one who thinks the 3000 mile change is a bit excessive? I've always followed the manufacturers recommendations of 7,500 miles (give or take) and never had a problem with conventional oil. Sold my last 90 Integra with 180k with no issues.
For most people, it's gross overkill. For folks driving < 2 mile trips in subfreezing temps, doing the 10 minute 'warm-up' prior to driving, or sitting for 1/2 hour at a time with the engine idling as they wait for the kids to get out of school, it may be appropriate. Getting oil analysis done is the best way of determining the state the oil is in at drain point.
One things I wish cars had is an hour meter - that way you'd change oil at 150 - 200 hour intervals, regardless of miles traveled. Oh, wait a minute - that's the maintenance minder, isn't it. :D |
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| deparson |
Keep in mind that some high end autos that have real oil quality monitoring systems are going 15,000+ miles between oil changes!
The 3,000/3 month myth is strictly a marketing line designed to get you to waste your time, money, and oil resources. It is as bad as the dealer's $500 30k mile 'check up'!! |
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