Ok fellas,

First off, i am a HUGE advocate of the search feature as i have found out a tone of information on my own here and point others in the that direction first. Second, my answer might be in here somewhere already however, its deep in there and i honestly don't want to rear through tons and tons of forums right now. Does that mean i'm having a lazy moment....maybe a little

ANYWAY, my quick question is this. My MID displays seems to be on track with my oil life (i have 1800 miles and its says 70% getting ready to go to 60%) however, when i check my dip stick it seems to be a little low. I wanted to top it off, but i wasn't sure what type of oil i need to use. What exactly is this special "break-in engine oil" that i saw some of you guys talking about? Normally, i would just throw 1/2-1 quart of Mobile 1 5W-30 in there to hold me over until i get my first oil change at around 4k-4.5k (based on my track thus far) but i wanted to check on this special oil.

Probably more background info than is needed to answer the question, but ahh well

 

Honda claims that the factory fill is an oil that has special additives to ease engine break-in. For this reason Honda warns in the manual that you should not change the oil prematurely, you should give it the full first interval to work its magic. Topping off is a lot different than changing. We're talking 1/2 quart vs. almost 5 quarts. IMHO you should use any dino 5W-30 oil to top off. I've heard that you shouldn't switch to synthetic too soon. I waited until 10K mi. to make the switch.

 

Yea i read about the whole additives which is why i wanted to make sure i could top it off with almost any 5W-30 oil. I am going to change the oil when the MID says 10%-15% but just top it off until then! I will switch to Mobile 1 Synthetic but not for a long time, not good to use that until you get some more mileage on the car. I used it in my old Chevy and it ran 10x better than with regular oil.

Thanks for the input Jan! I will just grab whatever Dino 5W-30 is on sale and throw that in there for now!

 

Jordan: Im' a believer ing etting the factory-fill oil out asap, and going with a good synthetic. Not that Mobil1 isn't good, but it's now been downgraded to a Group III oil instead of the superior Group IV oil it once was (but still charging Grp. IV prices!).

If you were in Canada I'd recommend getting Esso XD-3 0W-30 synthetic in there ASAP, but since you aren't, you might be better off with Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic oil on your first oil change.

There are a few great threads here (search you lazy bum! ) about break-in opinions.

 

Just to be clear, the owner's manual specifically advises against doing this.

In fact, I'd never seen a warning like this in an owner's manual before purchasing a TSX.



Do as you will...

 

The "secret ingredient" in the break-in oil is just more molybdenum. Many off the shelf oils have enough of this not to worry.

Yes, it's ill-advised as per the manual, but its not going to blow up your engine to take it out. It's a choice.

 

Oil analysis indicates the Honda factory fill has over 500 ppm of molybdenum (molybdenum disulfide to be specific).

Mobil 1 synthetic oil, for example, meanwhile has 50-70 ppm depending on viscosity, or around 1/10 the amount.

Yes, it's a choice.

 

i changed out my factory oil when my car is 3k, and i noticed that the MPG dropped.......do you guys think this is the cause of the drop?

 

Eric, i read that article on the webite about the whole engine break in process with running harder, changing the oil at 500 miles, and then again at 1500 miles due to the metal particles and such and i have to say that, in theory, i would agree. However, i think sticking to what the manual says for me and the warranty purposes will be my best bet. I know they would have no idea if i did the work myself, which i would, but still jut a peace of mind i suppose. That way, if something goes wrong, i can say, i did what you and the book told me to! I will be waiting a while before switching to synthetic oil as well.

Do you guys think i would be safe just topping my oil off with 5W-30 Mobile 1 or Quaker State until i get my oil change? I was going to just go with Mobile 1 but figured i'd get some opinions first.

Jlukja, what exactly is "dino" oil btw?? Does it have to do with how its processed or does it have different elements in it?

 

"Dino" oil is a generic term for any non-"synthetic" oil.

More about synthetic oil...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

 

Dino oil (i.e. from dinosaurs) means non-synthetic. Quaker State or any other reputable brand with the proper weight will do. You can even buy a quart of Honda oil from your nearest Honda/Acura dealer if you want to go "by the book".

edit: rb1 beat me to it. BTW, congrats on your 3000th post rb1

 

Given you're still under full warranty, I'd probably suggest leaving it in there and topping off, if required, with Honda oil from your dealership. It's not much more $ (if any) than QS or other dino oils, and is a high quality oil.

 

Thanks rb1 and Jan, that is what i thought but wanted to make sure. Its not that i want to do it exactly "by the book" but ever since that accident, i have been a little paranoid with things, hence me getting the aspec since is made by acura and considered OEM to the insurance company. I will eventually stop playing it as safe though

Eric, i think i might just do that, thanks!

Congrats rb1 as well!

 

likewise.. congrats rb1

 

Thanks! (and also to everyone else). I guess I've been posting more recently since I finally bought a TSX a month ago.

 

Yea, and hijacking people threads because of high post counts


j/k...congrats on the new car though!!