BASISON

Hey guys,

I just wanted to know if anyone here uses synthetic oil. If so, what kind (i.e. Mobil 1 Full Synthetic, Castrol Synthetic Blend, etc.) Also, is there any harm in mixing these together? The reason I'm asking is that I just changed my oil yesterday and used 4 quarts of Castrol and 1 quart of Pennzoil Synthetic blend.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

You should be fine with the mix. One of our resident oil gurus (Road Rage) was using Penzoil Oil with one quart of Redline Synthetic (I believe that was the combo). You should stay consistant... so now that you introduced synthetic oil into your engine, you should maintain some level of it.

Personally I switched to synthetic at 4200 miles which was my first oil change. I originally was using Mobil1, but since they changed their formula about 5 or 6 months ago to a sythetic blend, I switched to Redline Oil (5w20) with a Mobil1 Oil Filter.

ChucksCL-S

How about this: my '00 TL-P has 127,000 miles on it, all Mobil 1 and still uses no oil between 5K mile changes. Still runs as strong as the day I bought it.

tls988

I use Mobil 1 0w-30 for a year now. I am still getting 28.48 MPG in the cool 30s midwest weather (over 90% highway).

TUFF GONG

My oil change log;

DATE* MILEAGE* OIL TYPE* FILTER TYPE
10/3/2001* 3010* Penzoil 5W-20* OEM
1/1/2002* 6018* Redline 5W-20* OEM
5/1/2002* 11450* Redline 5W-30*Pure-One
10/20/2002* 17777* Redline 5W-30* Pure-One


I'm sticking with 5W-30.

ymckoon

I use Redline 5-30. I think it works great! If you change your own oil, it's not that expensive. I pay $6.75 a quart and then $8 bucks for the filter.

I think synthetic is better. I'm never going back to regular.

peiqinglong

Redline oil 5w-30...can't go wrong.

ranberndt

I moved to synthetic @ 4000 miles...I have 11k now.

I first went to Amsoil 5W-30- which in my opinion is the best oil- bar none. But @ $8 a quart? hmm

I choose to change oil @ 7500 miles & that made me switch to Mobil 1 5w-30. M1 filter also. $17.88 5 Quart jug @ wal-mart.

Mobil 1 super-syn is a real sythetic & damn good.

Check www.bobistheoilguy.com VERY good oil info. Check the forum.

Randy
'03 TL-S DWP

roadman

Since 5k I have used full synthetic, first Redline 5w-20 and Bosche filters. I change the filter every 5K and the oil every 10K. At 10k miles the oil still looks clean. This last round I went with Mobil 1 0w-30 and it also looks OK at the 10k dumping.

I read someplace, maybe in this forum a few months ago that Castrol Syntec was wax based and is only a wisker better than dino oil. Do a search, there is a lot of valuable info available.

AndySara

Does anyone know what the wholesale cost for Redline or Mobil 1 is ??? (Case price, not in drums)

fender4

www.amsoil.com

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/misc/all_oilfaq.html

had my 5w30 amsoil lab tested after 10k miles, report stated to leave it in and change the filter.. I change filter at 5k and oil every 10k.
Oil cost is 0w30 $7 or 5w30 about $5 all wholesale.

NsX Pilot

if you change your oil at more frequent intervals there should be no need to use a synthetic oil .....on the tls i change it every 3000 miles so i just use the honda oil.....My nsx i use mobil 1 10w-30 and change it every three months because even thou i only put about 3000 miles a yr on that car oil breaks down after a period of time.

bozzchem

BASISON,

You've asked an excellent question. Personally, I prefer a synthetic for the VTEC engine due to it's very high redline. The beauty of the synthetic oil is its ability to withstand high termps at high RPMs without as much thermal breakdown as the conventional oil.

Since synthetics are generally not carbon based, the chances of forming "coal/coke" deposits on the innards of the engine goes down dramatically. (When carbon based oils are heated high enough, they may generate a deposit of carbon known as "coke"...NOT good.) This is especially prevelant in turbocharged cars due to the high speeds/temps the impeller generates.

The downside of synthetics is the cost.

However, my question to those who use synthetic oil would be concerning the factory warranty.

If you don't change your oil within the factory specified timeframe, regardless of how damn good the oil is, do you expect them to repair damage they'll inevitably point at your lack of changing the oil within their specified time range?

I picked up my 2003 TL-S Saturday. They recommended oil changes at 5000 mile intervals. A quality synthetic oil is typically good for more than 10,000 miles. Some up to 25,000 miles. Changing at 5,000 is bullsh!t. BUT, I don't want to explain that when I throw a rod or whatever.

I will be using synthetic oil in mine. It's going to hurt come change time due to its cost. I'll be dumping oil that is only half used so I can keep my warranty in tact.

Just keep that in mind. Then again, $45 every 6 months or so is very little to pay to keep your car in top shape!!

Synthetic will hurt your wallet but will make your engine happy. BTW, your filter choice is as important as your oil choice. Don't put $25 worth of oil in and use a $2 filter. It just doesn't make sense. Get a high quality filter. Don't let Jiffy Lube or the like install their "house" brand. It's probably a Wix filter that was defected and sold at pennies on the dollar. NOT what you want in your $30K ride.

YMMV and these are MY thoughts alone. I had a '93 Integra GSR that I ran HARD using Castrol Syntec and Fram Weargaurd filters for 80,000 miles. I never had one problem with that car!!!

Food for thought.

snapple

I plan on usiing redline all they way. Any suggertions on which brand of filter I should use for best performance.

peiqinglong

I heard amsoil oil filter was the best...if you email me, I will email you this wonderful article in which they tested all the oil filters. Also there is a bay area meet this Saturday at D&B...i hope you will attend.

AndySara

Funny.....I change my oil every 3000 miles.
When I took delivery of my car, I asked the dealer what the oil change intervals are and they said 7500.
I said "you mean 3500 don't you?"
Service advisor said, "Nope, 7500 miles and your warranty will be fine"
Odd....they would make more money off me if they just went with 3000 miles.

russianDude

Owner manual says 7500miles if you drive under Normal conditions. Thats what I would do if you drive pure highway miles.... but for 50/50 highway/city I would do it every 5K miles,

RUF87

I use Mobil 1 at a ratio of 2qt 0-30 to 3qts 5-30 in the winter, and 1qt to 4qts 5-30 in the summer.

I switched after my first oil change. After switching I noticed the engine reving easier and gas mileage went up about .6-1MPG on average.

I also change it every 7,500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. And I use the Purolator PureONE oil filter.

Ruf

AndySara

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Motor Oil:

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html

roadman

Excellant point, Remember the killer of an engine is "dirty oil" so even though synthetic oils last much longer than dino oils you still should change the filter at the recommended intervals. I keep the synthetic oil in for 10k miles but do a filter change in between at 5k and add a half a guart to fill it back up.

ChucksCL-S

Well known in the "aftermarket"; Fram filters are junk and Wix considered one of the best. Just passing on what I've heard for 25 years.

russianDude

Ever heard of PureOne Purolator ? ( www.pureoil.com)

Its excellent value for $5-6....