SamirJP

Just wondering what BRAND and TYPE of oil you guys use ??

I can't get to the dealer everytime ....oil change time comes around so I get it done locally....The place I go uses 10w 30 Castrol

babybau

I always bring mine to the dealer, just cause it is local and the price is reasonable and they wash the car for me. The dealer uses 5w 20 i believe. Not sure about the 20 but I am positive that it is 5w.

Just to let you know

samkws

the manual says to use 5w-20 and 5w-30 if u can't find any 5w-20 around...

still it's hard to find 5w-20 in the stores coz it's still new...

SL1200MK4

go for Mobile One...

2001TL4KCdude

use 5w-30 it is lighter. 10-30 is ok if you live in North Dakota, manual calls for 5w-30

power-fade

Pennzoil makes 5W20 oil

fahoumh

according to the invoices, the dealer's been using 5W30 on my mom's TL....I haven't taken mine in b/c it's still new

rayman009

does anyone do their own oil change? why waste the money and take it to some else to do it?

Austin519

Let me offer you advice...follow in the path of Road Rage, the (ha ha ha) fluids god (no please, no sexual puns). I put Redline Syn 5w20 in my car...it runs absolutely beautiful. Noticeable difference? Yes. This is the first time I've actually noticed a difference when I changed over to syn from org. The car feels so much smoother...granted I've run this car harder than I've ever run any car...so I guess that's why the difference is so more noticeable...and it's nice only having to change every 7500 miles!

Austin519

shawhite

hey austin why redline...that is racing oil....dont thing it was inteened for everyday driving....but i could be wrong....and another thing if you run your car hard i hope you are going to change your oil at least every 4k to 5k miles not the 7.5k you mentioned.....one more question....i know the oil can last past the orginal 3k that conventional oil last but what about the oil filter....In my research almost all oil filter shut off after around 3k to 4k of hard driving and now the oil is simply by passing the oil filter and all the dirt and particles that the filter use to trap is being feed into your engine.....just a question.....

stevebo

I change my own oil every 3K and use 5-30w. I use castrol with a fram filter. It saves me money but more importantly:

1. It saves me the 1.5 hours to drive to the dealer, get the work and drive home.

2. Gives me a chance to look at the engine from above and below and see that all is well.

fahoumh

it costs me like 20 bucks for an oil change.....it's not worth my time

songoku

Mobil 1 5W-30

Lrpba300

Yes, I do my own. Don't like how quick change places have done cars in the way past. Dealer is far away & time. Duing yourself Costs about $15 w/ filter. Many good oils out there, but I like Valvoline products. You can use the DuraBlend for cost savings, or go w/ the full synth. type. As stevebo said, good time to check the engine area, other fluid levels, clean &/or replace air filter, etc. I just feel better about doing it myself

PS. I agree that every day driving, you may not want to run Redline or other expen. brand, but like Austin said about pushing the car hard, use a TOP line oil to protect the engine. It's "cheap" insurance

Austin519

shawhite:
"hey austin why redline...that is racing oil....dont thing it was inteened for everyday driving....but i could be wrong....and another thing if you run your car hard i hope you are going to change your oil at least every 4k to 5k miles not the 7.5k you mentioned.....one more question....i know the oil can last past the orginal 3k that conventional oil last but what about the oil filter....In my research almost all oil filter shut off after around 3k to 4k of hard driving and now the oil is simply by passing the oil filter and all the dirt and particles that the filter use to trap is being feed into your engine.....just a question....."

Redline is syn oil. Road Rage has posted a LOT of time about syn versus org and all that. In short, this oil was developed with more longetivity to take higher temperatures over a longer period of time. In addition to that you only have to change your oil half as much (for me I'd change org every 3750 so 3750*2 = 7500) so you end up saving money for a better oil. Just because this is a higher endurance oil doesn't mean it's not as good for our cars...on the contrary, it's better. Think of it this way...standard org oil is pumped out of the ground and refined as much as they can, then put in our cars. Syn oil was chemically engineered for engines. As for the oil filter I don't know...I was going to say about every 10k miles but I am not all that sure.

Lrpba300:
"I agree that every day driving, you may not want to run Redline or other expen. brand, but like Austin said about pushing the car hard"
Well...the sheer fact that you save money for buying a better oil is enough for me...

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ht=redline+oil

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ht=redline+oil

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ht=redline+oil

Austin519

rockinTLS

Ditto, if you want something you can buy locally. I started "using" at 4400 miles.

Redline is good stuff but a bit more expensive and harder to get.

Lrpba300

I bow to RR's knowledge about oil, but even he said in that link, that "any quality syn will do longer mileage". Valvoline syn. is one step below RL in rating. For everyday driving, I think Val. (& others)are fine. For those that want the Ultimate protection, go with RL, no question. For the guy w/ HIGH mileage, that will get EXPENSiVE, even w/ longer changes. The cost per quart is higher

Austin519

rockinTLS:
They always have local places...I got mine locally.

Lrpba300:
You're right...just like premium 93 octane gas...I agree.

Austin519

evolaerok

Redline 5w-20 baby! No cold starts, smoother drive! It's expensive though, but my baby is worth it!

c32bvtec

mobil 1 full syn....5w~30w

Austin519

evolaerok:
Amen man, amen.

Austin519

shawhite

hey austin im not saying i dont agree with you that syn oil is better than conv....matter of fact i have been using syn for about 4k miles now and would not go back to conv for anything...what i am saying is that i dont believe that you should run it for 7500 mile before changing....yes the oil will last that long but the filter will not which mean you are no longer filtering the oil before it is injected back into your engine.....that i dont like....this is why even with syn oil i am gonna change mine every 5k.....but this is just my opinion....

MoDzHuNgRy

How about Mobil 1? I've been using that with the Mobil 1 filter since I owned my car. (now at 17000) And I always change it myself every 3000 miles. How much longer can I use the oil and filter for? I just do it every 3k for I can make sure the engine's always running through clean oil.

BlueTL

I use the Castrol 5w30 synethetic, every three thousand miles i change my oil my self.

Nate

Only quality **** for my baby. Redline!

Austin519

shawhite:
"hey austin im not saying i dont agree with you that syn oil is better than conv....matter of fact i have been using syn for about 4k miles now and would not go back to conv for anything...what i am saying is that i dont believe that you should run it for 7500 mile before changing....yes the oil will last that long but the filter will not which mean you are no longer filtering the oil before it is injected back into your engine.....that i dont like...."

No I know...I heard from either RR or Redline 10k miles was ok. Maybe not I don't honestly know. I don't know a lot about the topic, but I'd be interested to hear a discussion on the oil filter...lemme go hit that search button...

Austin519

Inspire

exactly what I use.... you can definitely feed the difference...

99LagunaTL

DITTO.

rockinTLS

Austin,

Maybe in your neck of the woods. I have yet to find a Redline dealer in my area that actually carries the 5w-20 non-race oil. I actually have two dealers right down the road and neither will keep it in stock or get it for me except on the usual shipments 3-4 months out. Maybe it's me but I usually don't plan my changes quite that far out and don't want to spring for a years supply.

However, once the 5w-20 becomes a bit more mainstream and dealers do carry it, I will probably switch to RL.

Rockin

Crzy Acura

this is a dumb question.. but when you have a local place change the oil, do they put in a new oil filter every time?


Oh and im, mobil 1... Might be switching to Redline if i hear good points.

Austin519

rockinTLS:
"Maybe in your neck of the woods. I have yet to find a Redline dealer in my area that actually carries the 5w-20 non-race oil. I actually have two dealers right down the road and neither will keep it in stock or get it for me except on the usual shipments 3-4 months out."

That totally sucks

Austin519

LinuxRacr

I use Royal Purple 5W30 in my MP3, and definitely feel a smoother engine. I am not going back to conventional oil anytime soon.

CKacura

5w30 is for most cars. 10w30 is for bigger engine such as SUV and pick-up trucks. BTW.Letting the dealer washes your car is a bad idea. They use old dirty rags to wash cars afater cars. As a result, your car will end up getting swirl marks all over the new clear coat. Park your car under the sun and take a look at the paint.

99LagunaTL

Yes, it is usually included. It is probably best to do a visual check just to make sure though. I've heard of stories where the filter was buried and mechanics would pass it off like they changed the filter (older Nissan SE-R's I believe). Or just watch them do it.

pianoman41

Yup yup. The '91-'94 SE-Rs were a b!tch to get the oil filter in and out. When I had mine, I did my own oil changes (as I do now on the TL-S) but I heard many stories of quick change places not changing the filter. It wasn't always because they were lazy--sometimes they were simply out of stock of that type of oil filter that particular day (which can happen to any make/model car).

If you want to make sure your oil filter gets changed, there's a real easy way if you don't do it yourself: crawl under the nose of the car (it's on the passenger side up front, just in front of the oil pan) and take a black magic marker (like a Sharpie) and write your initials on it. When you get the car back, take a look at it--if your initials are still there you got screwed if they said they changed it.

BTW, when I bought my TL-S I knew I'd be doing my own oil changes so I had the dealer throw in 10 free OEM filters. Right now it costs me about $8 to do an oil change.

SLD2000

I was using Redline 5w30, but use Mobil 1 5w30 now. I feel Redline is too expensive and does not work well on my TL

1SICKLEX

Nothing but Castrol for me and I change my own oil in all the rides. No problems, once u change it every 5k miles you should be A-okay:licka:

Crzy Acura

I hate to even ask this... BUT how do you change the oil? I know theres a plug, and you are suppose to drain it.. but is that it? Let it drain and then fill it back up? But how you know how much to put in? Sorry i know this is the dumbest question of the year.

pianoman41

It's pretty simple. I jack the car up by driving up ramps so it's easier to get under and work on. You don't need to, but jacking up the nose does help:

1. Remove the fill cap off the valve cover.
2. Remove the drain plug.
3. Once oil has completely drained, take off oil filter. It's easier if you have the right sized cup wrench to grab the end of the filter, but not necessary. MAKE SURE the rubber gasket comes off with the oil filter (and doesn't stay on the car).
4. Reinstall new oil filter. Take your finger and dip it in the old oil and put a *small* amount of oil around the entire gasket on the new filter. Retighten to about 16 ft/lbs (this is *not* very tight, BTW. You'd be surprised how many people overtighten their oil filters. This is the torque spec in the manual).
5. Replace drain plug. Install a new crush washer on end of plug before replacing. Tighten to 28 ft/lbs.
6. Add 4.6 quarts of new oil. This is the amount you need when you change the filter at the same time as the oil (as the filter retains some oil). In theory, you can never get all of the oil out of the engine when you drain it, so it may take 4.4 or 4.5 quarts. A tenth of a quart either side won't hurt. So fill up through the fill hole in the valve cover.
7. Replace fill cap
8. Wait 5 minutes to let oil settle into the pan and then check level with dipstick to make sure it is correct.

That's it. It usually takes me 20-30 minutes, and that's me taking my time. You can do it faster but the majority of the time is just waiting for all the oil to drip out. Towards the end it drips out slow. Being up on the ramps helps expedite this as it tips the car back towards the drain plug.

It can be a little messy but mechanically it is very easy to do. And while you are under there you get to check out the important parts of the car. You know, look to see if there are any fluids leaking or any tears in the CV boots, etc. Plus you can check out all those scrapes on your underbody from those low curbs and driveway entrances. Even if you're not too mechanically inclined, you can do an oil change.

bebber

I'll toss my vote in for Mobil 1 synthetic oil. I use 5W-30 and it seems like good quality stuff to me. Totally subjective, but I thought my car felt faster when I switched to synthetic oil.

Totally objective, the synthetic oils lubricants have more engineering behind them than dino petroleum oil. A good synthetic will do a better job of lubricating under a wider range of temperatures, esp. high heat. If a syn oil lubricates better than equivalent dino oil, then there will be less metal debris floating around your engine. Therefore, there will be less debris to be filtered and your filter would last longer when syn oil is used.
How long is that exactly depends on your unique circumstances.

I haven't decided for sure, but I think I'll change my oil every 5k miles from now on. It's probably more often than needed, but I'm overly cautious like that.