MoDzHuNgRy

Flame on me if you want but I've been changing Mobil 1 with the Mobil 1 oil filter every 3k miles since the TL-S was bought. Am I wasting money? Should I wait longer like......6k or so? I always changed every 3k just to make sure that it always ran on good oil. Comment please.

rmarin2

I change my oil approx. every 4k miles. I was using mobile1 but just switched to redline oil. I wanted to use a fully synthetic oil and since Mobile1 may or may not be fully synthetic anymore, I figured I would try Redline and see how it performs!

RAdams

It's completely plausible to say that an engine given organic oil and an engine given synthetic oil would have no meaningful differences in the lengths of their useful lives. The same goes for interval between oil changes (within reason). There's probably very little benefit in changing your oil every 3000-3500 miles versus every 5000. Of course going to the extreme is bad, i.e. not changing your oil for 25,000 miles or so (reference the gummed up Toyota/Lexus 3.0L V6's).

That being said, I use Mobil 1 and an OEM filter and change it every 3000-3500 miles. No real reason, though

If Mobil 1 is no longer a true synthetic, then shame on them for continuing to market it (and price it) as such. However, I don't expect a catastrophic failure because of it. $4.50 a quart is enough for me... I'm not paying more for Redline or Amsoil.

songoku

That's exactly what I use!!

chuchu

My other car is a 91 Accord with 320,000 miles on it and counting. NEVER used synthetic oil because I change it often enough (every 3-4k miles) that there's no added benefit from using more expensive Mobil 1s. I am following the same discipline with my 02 TL-S. If you feel you can afford it and it gives you the peace of mind, go for it. Otherwise, as my testament shows, it doesn't make a difference as long as you change it often enough. Hope this helps.

jmai

The first time i switched to Amsoil Synthetic about 2 months ago, I changed it at 3K. As I drained the oil, the color looked like the day I poured it in, light yellow. I'm on my second interval w/ Amsoil and i'm planning to maybe change it at 6K, depending on the color of the oil, but at most 10K. With the conventional oil, the oil would be black by 3K. I'm using Mobil 1 M1-105 filter.
The old guy who sold me the Amsoil told me he had Amsoil in his Odyssey since his first oil change and hasn't changed them even after 19K cuz he was on the oil analysis program, which tells him when he should change his oil or other problems that could occur in his engine, if any.

RAdams

What does black colored oil really mean though?

dj5

I use Mobil 1 5-30w synthetic on my 02 TL-S and change every 4000 miles. With conventional oils always changed at 3000.

Bitium

The other one looks better.

idaten7411

It is good to play safe. Even if you pile all the extra money you spend in early oil-changes, it doesn't sum up to the agony, exasperation, money and etc...that an engine swap, labor, etc...would do to you and your budget. I have used Mobil 1 since I can remember. I run the same in my Saleen and in my Type R, and it works beautiful. I interval at 3500 on the two but at 4500 on my TL-S because. So far no problems.

kennelm

I stumbled across the fact that Mobil-1 does NOT make the correct weight oil for our TL. Mobil-1 comes in 5w-30, not 5w-20. If you read the owners manual (or the oil cap for that matter), you will see that it says to use 5w-30 if you have to, but switch back to 5w-20 on the next oil change.

So, I had to give up my Mobil-1. Found AMSOil at an auto parts store for a decent price of $26 for 5 quarts. I'm open to other ideas for synthetic oil, however.

Beiruty

The correct Mobil Oil Filter for the CL/TL is M-104! not M-105.

Mr Hyde

the M105 fits just fine and as an added bonus has a bigger canister, and bigger is better when it comes to oil filters, but does the M-105 have a by pass valve like the M104?? I personally use an oversized Purolator Pure One filter on my ride with Mobil 1 changed every 5k-7.5k minimum.

VTEC

Where do u guy get Mobil fuel filter from? Is it better than Fram, that is the one i'm using.

Beiruty

I am using Purolater Pure One filter and Mobil 1 5-30...I change each 5k miles..

No FRAM!!

BLEXV6

The 91 Accord you have is one of the last truly reliable Accords and Honda product. I had a 92 Accord and sold it for my 2002 TL. It had 190,000 miles on it and still running strong, also on regular oil. Not to slag my TL, as I love it, but the quality is not the same. To bad. I probably would have not bought my TL, if I had known shortly after my purchase that my 1998 Accord V6s tranny died @ 100,000 miles.

Osofastferu

You guys might think im a little crazy but I change my oil every 2K miles. I use regular Valvoline oil. I used to use Mobil 1 synthetic, but then I heard theres no difference in using synthetic and regular oil, so i just switched.

chuchu

I forgot to mention that prior to my 91 Accord(with 320,000 miles), I had an Integra from 1987, sold it in 98 with 250,000. That car NEVER used synthetic oil as well and it was still running well when I sold it. In fact, I still see it occasionally as I sold it to a friend. And its still piling on some miles. Needless to say, my TL-S will hopefully see many happy miles with me. With that kind of history, I highly doubt that people can persuade me with the benefit of synthetic oil over regular oil if changes are consistently done every 3-4k miles. That kind of history will also make it difficult to persuade me to buy anything other than a Honda product if I have to use my disposable income.
So MoDzHuNgRy, as I mentioned earlier, if the added cost of using synthetic is worth your peace of mind, go ahead and use it. Obviously for me i'd rather take the savings, and so far almost 600,000 miles between 3 cars and not a drop of expensive synthetic oil used. Guess what, I have peace of mind anyhow.
Hope my $.02 helps.

MoDzHuNgRy

I heard rumors that it would be bad to switch from synthetic back to conventional? Is this true? With regards to the oil turning black, every time I change at 3k miles, it gets black. Maybe it's because the way I drive ! I guess I"ll just starting changing it every 5k miles using the same product.

roadman

I have been using Redline full synthetic 5w-20 and change it completely every 10k miles, BUT I change the filter at 5K. I also use the Mobil M-105, it has approximately 1/3 more size and filtering capability than the M-104 (they cost the same). The M-105 has an internal anti-blow back valve vs the 104's rubber gasket.

The oil is definitely not black when I do the change and in all likely hood may go much further.

jmai

Hey VTEC, we're talking about oil filters not fuel filters. Where I live, only Autozone has Mobile oil filters. But if u want fuel filter, I dunno.

Beiruty

Walmart has the Mobil Oil filters too.

J.T.'s 3.2CL

Hey man your not crazy. I just changed the oil in my TL for the first time yesterday with Mobil One 5w-30 super syn and a Bosch filter. I plan on changing it at every 3000 miles also. Protect your investment and give yourself piece of mind. Anyone have a comment about Bosch filters?

tdoh

Has anyone done a long-term study in order to determine if synthetic oil changes produce less noticeable long-term engine wear vs. dino oil changes, if the oil change interval for both types of oils is every 3000 miles or less?

To put it another way--how much more of a benefit does a synthetic oil change every 3K miles provide that a dino oil change every 3K miles can't provide? Unless you drive your car like a taxi every day, I would imagine the difference between the two oils at the 3K-mile oil change interval is probably negligible.

But hey, if peace of mind is what you're looking for, I can understand that; but from a economical and practical standpoint, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to use synthetic oil but change it every 3K miles (or less--yes, some people are anal enough to do it at even shorter intervals even though they don't exactly "abuse" the heck out of their engines to justify doing so).

Just my two cents...

Tony

chuchu

Tdoh - that's exactly why I never use synthetic. You negate the benefits by changing it every 3k miles. There are no significant performance pluses from using synthetic oil. Based on the many articles I have read in the past, the most documented strength of synthetic oil is its ability to hold its viscosity over a long period of time. Meaning it wont breakdown even after 25k miles. Regular oil will neither break down nor gum up within 3k miles unless you constantly drive in the higher rev range. And the V6s in the TL are not up there in the rev range, at least compared most 4 bangers out there. Synthetic oils are great if you are the type who doesn't change oil often enough.
IMHO, Mobil 1 is a waste of money IF you change your oil within factory specs. However, we ourselves can only answer how much our individual peace of mind is worth.

lawman

Where's Road Rage when you need him? Do a search. I know RR did a post informing us that Mobil 1 is indeed a synthetic.

lawman