black_tl

I use Mobile 1 and change the oil every 5k

plutonium239

biker

Only on my bike. On the cars I use dino oil at 6 mo. intervals regardless of milage (it's always less than required)

tyipengr

I ran Mobil 1 synthetic in its past three forms ("Race Proven", Tri-synthetic, and SuperSyn), in my Integra at it's first 3K oil change and changed it every 3K after. Thats expensive... 4 quarts times prices that ranged from $3.50/quart at the beginning to about $4 a quart now (from Costco) per oil change. Later on I extended the drain intervals to 5K to save $$$.

Now with extended drain intervals it is pretty much a no brainer to run on Synthetic. My dad's '98 Mercedes was one of the first cars to have an extended 10K drain interval but alot of MB dealerships screwed up because MB didn't tell them to run synthetic so they tossed in regular ol' dino oil and alot of cars got f'd up because of the heavy sludge build up. I'm pretty sure Honda isn't as bad as Daimler-Chrysler but w/ extended drain intervals, using synthetic doesn't cost as much as it used to.

I personally justify the cost by doing the work myself. Costs me $16 for the oil and $5 for the OEM Honda filter = $21 per change. Less than a San Francisco quick lube's cost by half, and it is M1 synthetic as opposed to dino oil.

tyipengr

Listen to the manual. 5W-30 is what you need. 5W-20 is used to get prettier mileage numbers but people tell me it makes their engines sound like shit which = BAD. Anyways, I personally can't find 5W-20 around my area.

gfd1182

hey guys how much quarts of oil do you put in the tsx?
thanks im a new tsx owner

darth62

Personally, I can't see any benifit at all to using synthetic. I put 160,000 miles on my past ride. Changed the Oil every 3 - 5,000 miles. Not only did I use conventional oil, I had all the oil changes done at Jiffy Lube. I'm willing to bet that, if I did the same for the TSX, I'd have just as much luck.

The only change in my routine since I got the TSX is that I have the oil changed at the Honda dealer down the block, instead of at Jiffy Lube.

kurt_bradley

Dealers in no way are required to supply Honda oil as their standard offering. At that, one of the dealers in Central Texas uses Quaker State (don't ask me why, I'm very against this practice) as their offering, and makes you request Honda oil. As for the part about Honda recommending against synthetic, that's bullshit. Honda recommends one of 2 oils for their cars: Honda (in the proper specification to your car's engine) or Mobil 1. That's it. They recommend one conventional oil and one synthetic. Mobil makes the standard Honda oil (as mentioned by me earlier).

D_Nyholm

Check out www.bobistheoilguy.com and also consider getting a blackstone test on your conventional oil. It may be good for 3000 miles, but when you miss that oil change and all the additives are broken down, you are getting extreme wear on your motor. WIth a blackstone test from a G35, it was recommended that we change every 3700 miles, with the synthetic, it was recommended that you can go up to about 6000 miles with no ill effects.

To each his own. The educated consumer is always the better one.

teg_to_bike

Why are people changing their synthitic oil every 5K miles? I figure it should last at least 10K miles or one year. Synthetic oil is used in my mom's 325xi, and the oil change interval is 15K miles or one year.

D_Nyholm

People change at shorter intervals because that is what is needed in their conditions. Just because the manual states that you can change it every 15K or 3K or 7.5K doesn't mean that is what is right for you. That is an average. Do yourself a favor and get a blackstone test done on your oil, you will then know what is right for YOUR car, not the general publics car.

iamhomin

Mine's perfect @ every 5000 miles.

TSX Hokie

Amsoil 0W-30 Series 2000. Good stuff, but expensive as hell ($100 for 12 qts). Fuel economy is definitely up after switching though (got 32 MPG on my last trip to Cleveland).

dzuy

hell yea i use synthethic. mobil 1 !!!!

DEI99662

I use Mobil 1.

TSX 'R' US

I'm switching over to synthetic on my next oil change

hata_teru

Mobil 1 here

Andynolife

Motul here .. ~~ but im thinking should i change my oil every 5000 KM or 8000 km ??

TSX 'R' US

heh...can I change my vote?

just changed to synthetic a couple weeks ago

sauceman

8000km is what Acura recommends.

dom

sauce, driving habits will determine this. I personally don't go more than 6000km's and I use synthetic. Reason, alot of my driving is short trips and stop and go traffic. If you don't give the car a chance to warm the oil (which is what happens on short trips) you'll develope sludge. By changing the oil more frequenty you can avoid that.

So if your constantly doing hwy driving and rarely take short trips in the car, 8000km should be fine.

sauceman

That's kinda subjective domn. I would think that if their 8000km schedule is the severe conditions schedule they would take into account the worst case scenarios like yours or some other aggravating factors.

IMO, especially with synthetic, you shouldn't ever have problems with a 8000km interval, but playing safer than sorry isn't wrong either for sure.:tumbsup:

dom

Exactly, an oil change 2000km's sooner isn't going to break the bank. And the peice of mind is well worth it. Not to mention resale. If a buyer sees records that show frequent oil changes it will help tremendously.

But I'm still not sure manufactuers take short trips into account whne they suggest maintenace intervals? I'd like some more info on this.

sauceman

Me too... Justin or Kurt Bradley maybe?

gogozy

plus no all synthetic oil are equal, some oil are rated extended drain and some don't. short trip increase moisture and fuel content in the oil which shorten their life, but 5000km is only ~3200miles, i think good synthetic would survile 5k miles.

many of you probably already knew, that many oil labelled as synthetic are not trule synthetic (ie, only Mobil1, and a few are the true synth) you may want to consider this when calculating interval.

majormojo

According to this article, at least some of them do:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=8794

lukatmyshu

Anyone want to post a quick howto on changing your TSX (with specific examples for the TSX?)

Fibonacci

I had my first oil change at 3600 miles. Use Mobil 1 - every 6k at Jeffrey Acura. Call me anal, but I prefer to have my service done at the dealership - I get my money back when I resale.

When I was poor and in college, I used AMZOIL in my used 85 prelude - it got me thru school and I put over 200k and beat the living piss out of that car. Fond memories of that short shift 5-speed.

kurt_bradley

I agree. They try to take into consideration all driving styles when it comes to setting intervals. They may make the different schedules (severe & normal), but they do consider that occaisonally you'll drive differently.

majormojo

I thought this thread used to be a sticky...

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3512

sauceman

Better yet, it's in FAQ.

ClutchPerformer

Short trips are one of the criteria for the "severe duty" service schedule.

So... yes?

kurt_bradley

Right. If you drive less than 5 miles frequently, you aren't getting the oil up to its ideal temperature before you let it go back to rest in the oil pan.

TSXTuner

From amsoil test data, Mobil 1 data is included

amsoil tests

TSXTuner

Needed :
Hydraulic Floor jack, jack stand, 10 mm wrench, 17mm wrench.
Drain Pan. Funnel. Paper towels.

Fast Orange pumice hand cleaner.

Get new oil drain plug washers from the dealer, these are one use
and are supposed to be replaced each time.

Oil filter wrench, for small size filters - I recommend taking
one of your new filters to the parts store and get the exact fit
end cap tool.
Ratchet tool for the oil filter wrench, usually 3/8 drive.

( I recommend K&N brand filter HP-1010. AJ-usa.com has good price with free
shipping. Mobil 1 filter is good from local store. )

Jack the car up from the drivers side front wheel, from the lower control arm
or from a heavy section of the main frame rail from a location
just rear of the front wheel. The - in the A of the lower control arm is a good
jack point for the hydraulic jack.

Place another good quality jack stand under heavy the main frame rail at a location just rear of the front wheel.

Never go under a car with just the hydraulic floor jack.
Also have a jack stand(s).

Remove the access cover and remove the oil drain plug.
( after oil has stopped draining,
you can pour through 1/4 qt of regular oil to help flush out what
sits at the bottom of the oil pan )

Remove the old washer from the oil drain plug, discard.
Intall new washer and tighten the oil drain plug.

Place paper towels on the plastic panel below the engine
to catch oil that will come out of the oil filter.

Remove oil filter, from below the car. It is at the rear of the engine.
The exhaust pipe is near, I do not do this on hot engine.

As soon as the oil filter is free, turn it upward to reduce oil spillage
and lower the filter out.

Contrary to urban legend, engine does not need to be hot.
Engine just needs to be started once right before the oil change so that
bearings have been lubricated. When you retstart,
the oil filter has to fill up first before bearings will get oil pressure again.

Clean the oil spillage from the engine and plastic panel under the engine.

Fill the new filter about 1/4-1/3 full of oil. Spin the filter holding it to the
horizontal to saturate the filter media. Add as much oil as possible without
spilling out when the filter is held horizontal for installing.

Smear a film of fresh oil on the oil filter's rubber gasket.

With some oil in the filter, install to the engine.

Screw the filter on until you feel the rubber gasket contact.
Then hand tighten 1 full turn more. Hand tighten only.
It will take considerable force to hand tighten.

Intall the access cover.
Remove jack stand and lower the car.

Install exactly 5 qts of new oil.

Jog the ignition key and spin the engine but kill it as soon as the
engine catches and starts. Do this twice. This is to fill the oil filter.
On third start let it run confirming the oil warning light goes out immediately.

Kill the engine. Wait one minute. Check dipstick oil level.
Start the engine for a few minutes. Check again for leakage at the
filter and drain plug.

I have seen professional mechanics leave the drain plug finger tight,
once a wrong oil filter come out of the right box,
and all oil dumped out immediately.

Check and recheck every step.
And look again for leaks at the filter or drain plug.
And recheck oil dipstick level.

TSXTuner
PWP auto no navi
Comptech springs
Red K&N CAI
Hondata heat gasket
Throttle bypass mod
Polk db650 door speakers ( 4 )
Comptech rear sway bar
DC sports header
M3 style lip spoiler
18" Kazera Rims with Fuzion P225/45R18
SilverStar high beams

Ellas9

I don't use synthetic. Why? I've seen Honda engines (F22, H22, 1.5, 1.6) leak oil under full synthetic (I think these guys put in Castrol Syntec). I think your better off changing your oil every 4-5K with Castrol GTX over the use of synthetics. Other than the above downside, I have no proof of the upside of synthetic usage which some in this thread have written. I'm really only interested in better protection during cold starts...any studies out there that prove this exists with the use of synthetics? That would convince me to forgo the great deal at Walmart of 10 dollars for 4.4L of GTX 5/30!

excited

http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/content153.aspx

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/at_001121.htm



Excited

CCColtsicehockey

I do only cause I am sponsored by Valvoline SynPower

kboosman00

Mobile 1 Oil and Chevron gas. "Nothing but the best" for my baby...lol

waTSX

Switched to Mobil 1 at my last oil change, roughly 12,000 miles on the odo. Cheap insurance as far as I'm concerned.