SSMTL04

Hey guys, I was just wondering how many quarts of oil is required during an oil change??

ONAGER

its technically 4.5 quarts but when i change the oil (with the filter) i dump in 5 new quarts.... the extra half a quart wont hurt much...
but im sure someone on here is going to tell me my car is going to die

just be sure to get a quality filter.

oh yes, almost forgot RTFM.... he he couldnt help myself

SSMTL04

yeah..i changed my oil today.. put in 4.5 quarts....i got a valvoline oil filter

Road Rage

Vavoline makes oil filters? Who is their OE supplier?

I like the Purolators (Pure One and regular) , STP (Champion, very similar to Mobil1 filters), and Motorcraft (also purolator)

pettydw

Four quarts of oil and the OEM filter put the oil level in my car exactly right. Cars vary from one to another due to block casting differences, so yours may be different.

Start at four quarts and add if necessary. Note Hondas tend to take a bit for the oil level to settle, enough so that many folks check it first thing in the morning before driving around.

You do not want to overfill, since this can cause foaming and reduced lubrication, not to mention a slight power loss.

Road Rage

Most cars can tolerate a bit more oil with no problems - it is easy to look at the dipstick to see any evidence of aeration. Many mfrs underspec the oil capacity to attract fleet sales, or lower the TCO computations. Plus, doesn't Honda spec oil level checking a few minutes after shutdown? - a portion of the oil will be in the top of the engine, so if they are good with the level being at the max point when checked as they specify, that clearly establishes a bit of overfill is OK. Oils today have fair amounts of silicone to reduce aeration foaming - but a lot of overfill is of course bad, esp if the windage gets on the crank, which will drop power as you suggested.

ONAGER

so in this case my extra half quart shouldnt hurt anything... right rr?

KJSmitty

The only technically correct answer to this question, unless answered from an individual intimately involved in designing this engine and it's oil reservoir capacities is:
"probably not, but I would only fill to the full mark".

The only advantage of overfilling/"more" oil in the pan is cooler oil due to volume and/or more oil in the event the engine burns oil. Neither of which apply when talking 1/2 quart and the TL..... Just put 4.5 quarts in and save the left over quart for the next fill.

Now, as for what "can" really happen when you get "too much oil in the pan/engine",,,.. I have built numerous race and street engines in my lifetime. All of my race engines had a "windage tray" to keep oil away from the crank. This tray not only prevents oil from sloshing onto the crank from the pan but also helps strip oil off the crank coming from the bearings etc.. When you overfill your engine, what may happen is your crank literally is sitting / spinning / making contact with the oil in your oil pan. Aeration is one thing, loss of power due to drag is another , but oil saturation on the pistons, cylinders, and rings will usually take place. If this happens under heavy loads etc., very bad things can happen. One of my first race engines was a Pontiac 455 HO. To make a long story short, we were sold the wrong "fancy" dipstick and tube for the race pan (to top it all off there was some confusion on whether the pan was an 8 or 7 qt capacity...). I ended up filling with 8qts when 7 was the max. Drove around "calmly for a few days just breaking in the engine etc., the first hard run I made it looked/sounded like the engine came apart. Strange bogging sound at higher rpm followed by massive amounts of smoke from the exaust... I got lucky in that nothing was damaged but believe it or not, it took about 1-2 hours of run time after replacing the oil (correct level) to burn all the oil out of the cylinders/exhaust system to where smoke was no longer coming out of the exhaust. The whole time I was convinced we had broke multiple piston rings etc.. On another note, my 750HP LS6 454 had no issues with a little extra over the fill mark - but that was determined by physically checking different fills and contact with the windage tray. Kinda like RoadRage mentioned, different engines/oil pans etc. may have more "margin" built in. (Oooo the memories of that fun vehicle...:-) Someday I will build another...)

Moral of the story coming from an old motor head who's "been there done that": Fill to the manufactures "full/fill" line. The benefits of overfilling don't remotely justify the cost of "possible issues". Regardless of any "safety margins", why not just follow the typical guidance, and I quote:
- "DO NOT OVERFILL".............

PDX3.2TL

Have to agree on this one. I have felt the same parasitic drag when I used to fill with 5 quarts. Under HARD acceleration it felt a shy slower and much less responsive on the low end. Just keep the .5 quarts for the next change.

TL-CrAzIe-05

Whe changing the oil, does the computer oil life feature reset itself automatically or is there something you have to do. Thanks. Also has anone looked into Torco SR-1 oil.

http://www.torcoracingoils.com/produ...sGroupIDPK=110

check it out and let me know what you think.

Ron A

You have to reset the computer oil life yourself.

Click here to find out how to reset the MID.

KJSmitty

Many people think the oil life monitor "physically" checks/senses the oil, it doesn't. It is part of the on-board computer/electronics that constantly gather data on numerous parameters taking place while the vehicle/engine is running. To name but a few it looks at engine run time, temperature variations during engine run time, rpm, stop and go driving, constant cruise type driving etc.. All of these and most likely 20 or so other parameters are interpolated by the computer program to determine oil state and life remaining. Given everything is OK internally with the engine as well as combustion etc., most of the current oil life monitoring programs are quite accurate.
So, to answer your question: no, the monitor does not reset itself. Like a stop watch, you must reset the computer so it knows the oil is fresh thus can begin computing its data (oil life) again.
The procedure for reseting the MID is within the manual - not much harder than reseting your trip computer.

As for the Torco SR-1 oil, I know nothing... Maybe RoadRage can help you there.