so what Synthetic oil to use?

[InFuMoUs]

I dont know Dave. Dont always believe the hype when they say "gas saving". To really tell what benefits you're gonna get, you would need to get the oil analyzed cuz like Greg mentioned everyone's car, driving style and environment aren't the same. I think gas and moisture affect the oil characteristics as well. So if you wanna try a different oil then by all means go ahead as long as its 0w-20, 5w-20, or 5w-30.

[striktlyaccord]

What company are people here going through to get their oil analyzation kit and then getting their oil analyed?  Is it expensive?

[InFuMoUs]

Blackstone labs. The kit is free. They send you a kit, you put ya oil sample, send it back to them with a payment for $22.50 (that's the cost to do the analysis), wait for results. Here's the link ---> Oil Analysis Test Kit

[clapton924]

Here's some questions.  I usually always run Mobil 1 5w-20 full synthetic.  But, everytime I buy my batch I get torn between trying their semi-new "gas saving" 0w-20 brand, or their extended performance 5w-20 brand.  I already kind of understand the possible benefits of 5w-30 in our cars, but does anyone have a factual say when it comes to the different choices that Mobil 1 offers?

0w-xx oils are designed for really cold-starting conditions.    

The truth is this: 99% of people using a synthetic oil (PP, M1, etc) will notice no difference gas mileage, engine performance or wear whether they use 0w-20, 0-w30, 5w-20 or 5w-30 oils. Buy whats on sale and forget about it!

I would feel completely fine using regular old Pennzoil (non-synthetic) in any Honda engine with a 5K change interval.  The quality of motor oils has improved drastically over the last 20 years.  Practically all motor oils today are detergent oils...the days of sludge are really a thing of the past.  Plus, engine gunk/sludge is often the result of a poorly made engine and not the oil.  Honda engines are so well designed you could practically run them for 100k on cooking oil!

[thisaznboi88]

sooo Bump from the dead. I just bought some puralotor pureone filters on amazon 2 for 9.99. And going to get redline old. want it basically devolve any crap that was in the motor that was left over from the first 2 owners. I will tell you how that goes.

[CYANiDE]

I just changed mine from Mobil 1 5W20 full synthetic to Valvoline SynPower 5W20 full synthetic. I heard Valvoline is kick ass stuff

That's what I'm using right now. So far so good!

[CrackerTeg]

You guys should read this if you haven't already:
http://elitecm.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1901

[gargantula99]

What's Everybody's take on Honda Oil?  Just got a coupon in the mail for a $19.95 oil change and after reading this thread I'm switching to dino oil.  Torn between Going down the block to the castrol place and getting GTX and just getting a Honda oil change.

[Mike]

Honda oil is fine. Generally over priced but, its okay

[timot_one]

I've been using Mobil non-synthetic oil.  I think Paul uses Castrol non-synthetic on all his builds.

[gargantula99]

Good to know. Thanks for the input.

[gargantula99]

The question was brought up on the TCC site about switching back from synthetic to conventional oil and whether once you use synthetic you can't switch back.  My response was as follows:

"I think that used to be back in the day, when synthetic oil had additives that would expand the seals.  I don't think they use those additives anymore.  Once you switched from Synthetic to regular oil, the seals would shrink again and your engine would leak oil like the Exxon Valdez"

To the best of anybody's knowledge, am I correct in my statement?

[slipkord]

You can go from Syn to reg oil and vise versa. Why do you think they make blends? I’ve always been told it makes no difference. I run Mobil 1 syn in my S2k.

I actually ran Syn in the Accord and back to reg oil for awhile, when it got $100 to do a damn syn oil change lol and then I went back to Syn. 150+ miles later, no issues

[gargantula99]

Right, that's what I thought. So I am correct. Thank Jer.

[ryans7thgen]

I have run Mobil 1 5w-20 from when I first got the car in 03 w/ 8mi on it til around 90k.  I then tried Royal Purple and loved how it ran.  Engine got noticeably smoother.  Ran that until about 140k.  I now run O'Reily's 5w-30 synthetic.  This is due to several things  It meets the same standards as other synthetics, costs a lot less, have not noticed a difference between it and Mobil 1 as far as performance, car does go through about a quart every 5k, and have seen several articles that show that most generic brand synthetics are just a good as the name brands on bench tests.
I still feel that Royal Purple is better but is just to expensive right now.  Might use it before track days only.  I am now going to a 3k interval due to the extra heat and wear of being boosted.
As for oil filters, I go with only Honda oem.  They are made by Filtec, Honeywell, Fram*, and Toyo-Roki.  Most are Filtec.  If you want to know for sure, it is stated on the filter.  They have to meet Honda's standards and have never done me wrong.
*Fram is owned by Honeywell, not sure why some are labeled one way and some the other.
The way I see it, if I want to know how my oil is doing I will pull off my valve cover and look at the condition of the head.  When I pull the head off my wife's boosted 89 Prelude last year to do a head gasket, I was stunned at how clean it was.  It was spotless.  It was not this clean when we put it in 40k earlier.  It was this clean because we change the oil methodically every 3k.  We use Honda dino oil every time.  To me that tells me that now days it is more of how good you are at sticking with the change interval than whether you are using the most amazing oil on the market.
Just my .02.