EricL

Ok, here's a challenge!


If anyone can find me a bottle of the Honda Engine Break-in oil (claimed to be used by Honda/Acura in our engines), I'll have it tested?


What I'm looking for (without any result), is a bottle made by Honda/Acura for topping-off any cars with the "mystery break-in" oil....


Any takers -- bottle must indicate that it is Honda/Acura break-in oil and must get Honda/Acura to state that this is the "stuff" that goes in our engines...

HellaWhat

hahahahhaha

ElegantTL-S

:sqnteek:

Generationz

i know you mean this post sarcastically however what is the reward if we do find it??? also i thought it was just an additive and not neccesarily different oil however i could be wrong but i do believe i can get my hands on ths so called mystery additive so what do i win???

ElegantTL-S

hehe...yes...i'm sure i can get my hands on this also... *grabbing tools, ready to go to dealership late at night* lol!

Zapata

Good luck. Unless you are going to break into the plant in ohio or wherever our engines are built you aren't going to find "bottles" of this stuff. Remember honda builds the engine and then runs it before we get to drive it.

Slimey

Maybe you can vie for a tour of the factory and hope that they give out free samples at the end of the tour. Sort of like when I went to that beer factory...

digitalgm

They gave you motor oil at the end of a beer plant tour... man, you got screwed!

AdamR

Slimey

No wonder I've been so confused...It tasted good though!

digitalgm

yes can I have your "10W-40 Lager"

MikeS 18

Here you go.

http://www.tommorganracing.com/produ...s_honda_4.html

$11.95 plus shipping

What was the big deal about finding this, wiseguy? :P

Eggplant-EX

It just surprises me at so many of us that just scoff at the Owner's Manual telling us to leave the original break-in oil for 7,500 miles...

I seem to be the few that did. I did on my new 98 Accord as well and did not have trouble with it at all.

IMO

blazerbob1

I was told by my Acura dealer to change the oil at 600m! Hey, whatever I did cause wanted to treat my baby right!

Slimey

What did they say to justify this? It's not stated anywhere in the manuals. Did they pay or you pay for the oil change? That was one of my points on the other thread. Why would Honda/Acura make recommendations for 'inaccurate' oil drain intervals? I fail to see a reason in giving elongated intervals if there really was some adverse outcome from it. They would have nothing to gain for the risk of increased warranty work.

vuduvida

Here's some info I found. This comes from Acura's OwnerLink site ( http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/Mainten...qs.asp?faq=oil ):

Why should I wait to change the oil the first time?
Your Acura engine was delivered with an oil that is specially formulated for new engines that have not yet developed their "natural" wear patterns and may contain minute particles from the manufacturing process.
American Honda strongly recommends this special oil be left in the engine long enough for these wear patterns to develop, usually until the first maintenance interval specified in your Owner's Manual, based on your specific driving conditions.


Here's a quote from an Acura rep that I read on a NSX forum:

"At the time of production, the original oil used in all Acura automobiles has additives to seat internal bearing surfaces. This oil is designed and intended for use withing the first 12 months or 7,500. Unfortunately, we do not provide this product for sale in the retail market."

cnatra

Interesting.

I remember reading about the break-in oil etc.
The service guy where I bought my car recommended
3750mi for 1st oil change & it was free.
They used Quaker State

Shawn S

DITTO for me.

Shawn S

Technique

Ya, I left mine in for like 8,000 miles, and now that I run synthetic, I only change it like every 10,000-12,000 miles... I bet my engine will last an easy 200,000 miles, but I'll sell the car long before it hits that...

All this changing oil every 3,500 is sorta like putting premium gas in a car that only needs regular. (Yes, I know, our cars NEED premium, and I do use premium)

mr tl

one of the local acura dealers here carry break in oil. i forget if it says honda on it, but they use it when they re build an engine

i dont understand why anyone would doubt the people that built and researched your car...

also, there is no 'normal' honda oil. dealers use quaker state, castrol, whatever is easier for them to get. at least thats what ive been told

EricL

So, here's what I've done lately...


I called 4-dealers in my local area and…


1. Asked if I could buy the "Honda Break-in Oil." Sorry, couldn’t find any. If someone just says, “so what?” I have to ask, “what oil do you put in a the replacement engine? It doesn’t come with oil in it – does it?” (Read on, all of the folks said they just used the 5w-30/5w-20 (the 20 or 30 changed depending on who I called).

2. I asked all of the dealers and parts departments about what to do with a CLS with its break-in oil being a quart low and the mileage being below 3000 miles. They said, "Just put in the Honda oil that they stock" (All of them said this). It is interesting to note that three of the folks that responded, asked how many miles I had on the car and mentioned that they weren’t sure about what to do if the car had less than 500-1000 miles on it (Interesting – possibly?)

3. When I asked if a "replacement" engine came with break-in oil in it. I was told NO by every dealer and parts department that I contacted (perhaps they were all wrong – they said it, I didn’t).

4. When I asked what type and kind of oil they [Acura] put in a replacement engine, they said they used the same old Honda oil that they had in the parts department. I asked if that was the oil that I would use for a 10,000 mile or higher oil change and all said YES… Hmmm…


So, if any of you ever are sure that your engine will never be broken-in correctly with OUT the Honda break-in lube. Don't ever destroy or break your original engine -- it probably will be filled plain old Honda 5w-20/5w-30 oil that is stocked at the Acura dealer. (I asked why they didn't put in some kind of non-detergent oil and was told they were told to just put in the "Plain Oil Honda Brand oil). (Note: I didn’t call every dealer in the world, just dealers within my “area” and all gave me the same info…)

If this stuff is so important for the well being of their engines (new or replacement), why isn't it available for topping off new engines that use a bit during break-in or for replacement engines)? (I guess Honda and Acura engines never break [unlike the transmissions')...

And a little article from Amsol about 5w-20…

http://www.desertsundirectsales.com/ford5w20.htm

They following is on Amsol’s site (if you disagree, feel free, I didn’t say this…)

” New for model year 2001 and Newer: Ford and Honda specify 5W-20 motor oil for most all cars and light trucks.
Ford and Honda disguise the real reason by telling customers it is better for their vehicle. DON'T BELIEVE IT! Ford even went as far as to print "Use 5W-20 oil only" in bright yellow on the oil filler cap.
They are NOT looking out for the customers’ best interest. They are looking out for their best interest which ultimately results in more profit for them while all you end up with is less protection (outside of average operating conditions) for your engine and an engine which could possibly wearout sooner. Read on to learn the TRUTH behind 5W-20 and beware because more OEM's may be doing the same thing in the years to come.

Does anyone realize that Honda/Acura also told me that they only recommended XL rated tires back when I purchased my car and that there would be “problems” if they were not put on the car.
The story is now different (everyone was complaining about having to buy such a limited range of tires for the car…)

Doesn’t any of this make people wonder about all of this?

EricL

1. They folks I called in my area actually carry "Honda brand oil". By the bottle and by the case!

2. The “pros” I know, who do engine rebuilds, usually select a “light weight” non-detergent oil. I'm going to just presume for now that there is Honda break-in oil available "somewhere". The question is -- why did all of the folks I call, say they couldn't get THAT specific oil for topping-off or for rebuilding. If it is of such importance, than why would someone NOT make it available for the car. And if the do, why are so many dealers in my area complete convinced that it is not available...


Please check again:

http://www.overboost.com/story.asp?id=472&ref=recycler

(About the middle of the page)

"Speaking of The Fast and the Furious, this is the S2000 driven by Rick Yune’s intrepid character, Johnny Tran. In "real life", it’s owned by RJ De Vera and sports many of RJ’s own high-performance parts. Valvoline was fortunate enough to scoop up the car for their display, and how appropriate, as Valvoline is the OEM supplier for Honda-brand motor oil in some parts of North America"


Link for "genuine Honda filters, motor-oils 5w-20, 5w-30, etc:
http://www.hondaautoparts.com/sale.php3

A couple of the many "Honda" labeled oils (and other fluids) on sale:

Slimey

EricL - more good research.

It just leaves me with the feeling.

No answers - just more questions.

EricL

I'm going to toss out a guess... This is just some wild conjecture, and it is just a "theory"...

1. I'm assuming that Acura has been getting more-and-more calls from Acura CLS/TLS owners who, in general, really want to take "super" care of their car. They are probably doing a lot of, "Can I put synthetic oil in my car?, 'Yes!' ... so, when can I toss my synthetic oil in? 'Check you manual ... hang on ... wait for your first service interval...'"

2. So, now some on the Acura folks are concerned about someone driving at freeway speeds and never reading their owner's manual. They drive their kids around town and drive on the freeway with nary a step down AND the engine loafs along at 1200 rpm [with a few brushes up to 2500]... IMO, that is not a great break in and the engine is probably not going to be "broken-in" (despite the original 500-1000 mile interval. (just my conjecture and opinion here...)

3. So, let’s say, some of the friends, associates, and other/or folks who like the "protection" of synthetics, say (to the person above), "Hey, you better get some great synthetic oil in your car... you should get the best oil you can buy" But, this particular engine has NOT been run very hard and only has the equivalent of a 100-mile break-in (compared with some " break-in weenie").

4. So, now erring on the side of caution, Honda/Acura says, "do the least harm" and decides to trade a little more wear (long life == buy a car sooner) against not enough wear (car burns tons of oil and is a warranty issue). They didn't have the notice on the website about leaving the break-in oil in for the 2001 cars, but now they do. The 2001 manuals don't have the notice, but I have to believe the people who are now reporting differently in their 2003 manuals.

--my own opinion [feel free to posit something else] --

Acura goes on the side of caution and worries about having some super slick synthetic oil that meets the "requirements" but is very, very slippery and actually does its job "too well!" Perhaps Acura is just using some break-in oil with a ‘EP’ “extreme pressure”/ "high pressure” modifier to withstand high loads (from people [and dealers] beating the shit out of the car from day one). (So, the oil allows wear, but protects from “cowboy”, “demo car runs” with a car that someone may get as a “new” car…)

Finally, instead of putting up some break-in rules to rival the instructions for flying the LEM, they just opt for a “middle of the road” explanation (a simple answer).

Break-in oil – I have no doubt that they use “some kind of break-in” oil. The question concerns the why and how they changed the website and where they came up with the “numbers” they did… (And “special and “break-in” oil can mean many things…)

-- The above is researched conjecture, and is only my opinion --