A4NoMore

What kind of oil does Acura put in the TSX? Should I go w/ synthetic oil? Is it really better for the engine? Inquiring minds...

rb1

I like synthetic, but only because it suffers less breakdown over longer change intervals. (I also drive a turbo motor, and synthetic has a higher flash point and this helps avoid coking of the oil in the turbo. ) If you like in a very cold climate, synthetic flows better at lower temperatures, too.

Dino oil is fine if you change it every 3,000-5,000 miles depending on how you drive.

buffalo-tsx

Dino oil is fine if you don't love your car, me personaly will only use mobil 1 full syn. It helps alot, i have herd some crazy stories about how syn. has helped peopel out when their car has gone all crazy etc. You spent 27 k on ur car be nice to it and it will love u back.

SAZABI

Me using Mobil 1. oil change every 5000 km.

gonova

IMO synthetic oil is the biggest rip-off to come down the pike in a long time. If you change your oil every 5K miles, conventional oil is all you'll ever need.

Changing the oil every 3,000 miles and using synthetic oil is a waste of money and resources. Pennzoil advertising that you need to change the oil ever 3K isn't for the good of your car - it is so they can sell more oil. The TSX is designed to take conventional oil at 5K or 10K intervals depending upon your driving. If it makes you feel better to go every 3,000, it's your money, but don't fool yourself into thinking that it is better for your car.

rb1

Dunno. My 88 Integra still had full compression at 200K miles (and practically zero maintenance issues) after drinking fresh dino oil every 3000 miles.

yuhoo22

I have never had a problem using only dino oil every 3k miles either on my 92 accord with over 105k. Still smooth as hell...

kenk25

i used dino oil also and change it every 5k for my 92 nissan nx. it has 197k so far. not sure if i want to change my tsx every 10k per the manual

SAZABI

Well, definitely it is not necessary to change oil 5000 km when using synthetic oil... , BUT it is not "no difference" or "waste" as you claimed. I can notice the change (e.g. color) even after driving for a week after oil change.
and... 5000 km is not a very short period, it is like 3 months for me. I think I can afford 50 bucks (canadian dollars) every 3 months for oil change.

jlukja

Unless you are really burning up the racetrack with your TSX, or something is seriously wrong, the change in the color of your oil after one week is just the remenants of the old oil left in your engine mixing in with the new oil.

Brad

I treat my cars with respect. Frequent oil changes with dino oil every 2500 miles work for me. Two of my former Accords hit > 200,000 miles and still ran well with no engine problems. My most recent Accord had >110,000 miles (or maybe 120,000 by now), and it runs fine. There's absolutely no telling that dino oil is lacking in quality, usefulness, or functionality. It's a proven lubricant that gets better all the time. And nor does it indicate that I "love" my cars any less than anyone who have freely chosen other materials--except for perhaps salad oil

My TSX's first oil change will come at 5,000 miles and every 2,500 miles thereafter. I'm open to synthetics, but for now it's dino oil.

majormojo

I understand your point SAZABI, but keep in mind that a change in colour doesn't necessarily indicate that the oil is "dirty" or that there is a reduction in the function or performance of the oil. It's normal for all oil types to turn a darker brown (or even black) colour over time even though the oil is still performing well. Amsoil has an interesting little article on this topic:

http://www.oilsandlube.com/oil-color.htm

tsXgtp

I hope you beleive that syn's put out more wheel HP than dino oil b\c it is true. Personally I will never use dino again. I really felt a difference in throttle response when I changed to syn in my Grand Prix. It also helped me hit 14.61 stock. I personally change the oil only when the climate changes. 2 times a year.
Everyone, do yourself a favor. Try Synthetic. Spend $20 for a 5 quart jug at Wal-mart and get a $2 Supertech filter (which just happens to be one of the best). Use it for 5k miles and judge for yourself. If you can't justify another $10 for the touch of added performance, protection, and longetivity then conventional is for you. Bottom line synthetics are superior.

For the user of Mobil 1 Full Syn, do you notice that the oil burns in the engine a little more than usual? I read that it is a little thinner than rated. When I use it, I notice I lose .25 of a quart as compared to Castrol.

rb1

Come back with your conventional oil dyno vs. the synthetic oil dyno (same oil weight) that shows synthetic produces more wheel hp and maybe I'll reconsider, but I claim this is

majormojo

And no cheating on the syn dyno by adding a bunch of 5HP stickers to the car either. Those are even more effective than syn oil for increasing power.

SAZABI

It varies. few of my friends who drive RSX (similar engine to TSX). Use the same oil (Mobil 1). The burning rate is very different. For my TSX, already used mobil 1 for 3000km. I check 2 days ago and no significant loss of oil.