Chet03TL-S

I currently have 3200miles. Looking at changing oil at 3750. Here is the quesiton. Should I continue to change oil at every 3750 with natural oil or change oil at every 7500 with synthetic? I know synthetic is less likely to break down so I figure I could go the 7500 miles. I don't really trust the natural to go that long. Maybe 5000miles. Opinions?

Also, where do most ppl buy their synthetic oil?

jbx35

I have 510 miles on mine and will do my first change at 1250 and go with full synthetic Mobile 1 or Amsoil from that point on every 5500. I wouldn't go more than 4000 on conventional oil and you could probably do 7000 without worry with synthetic. I don't think I would take it to 10K though. Just my opinion.

dboat

if this forum is like the others that you will get a lot of posts and a lot of different opinions.. so let me tell you what I do on my cars and trucks..
I change my oil every 6000 miles with Mobil 1 and a Mobil 1 filter. I believe that the oil can handle this plus the Mobil 1 filter is one of the best filters, as demonstrated by most of the studies.
I use Mobil 1 not because its the best, but because its darned convenient to buy it or to get it at the oil change place. There are other brands and they may be better, but that difference is usually at the ragged edge and frankly I dont drive my TL there very often if at all.. But those mechanics that I know also swear by the stuff as well.

Good luck
Dana

drcookie

I change the oil every 5000 miles since I got the TLS. I use stock oil filter with Mobil 1 5w30 Syn.

Cheers !!!

yield2s

you dont know it yet but you probably just started a super long debate on a very sensitive subject.
this is a great question for someone who is planning on optimising the amount of miles from thier motor, so lets go.first of all CHANGE IT NOW! From everything i've read from people who actually build import motors the taper on the rings are completly worn down somewhere between 100 and 1000 miles. and yes i know what the manual says.
I myself and many others like Moble1 supersyn,combined with mobile1 filters as well.it comes in conveniant 5qt jugs at wallyworld(walmart) for 19bucks. its not the apsolute best syn oil i think that title should go to amsoil or redline oil but thoughs are both mail order only and cost quite a bit more.
now when it comes to your change interval i think your on the right track with the recommended 7.5k. and that is really not dictated by oil as much as filter quality. most all filters will hold up to 3k miles but only the really good ones will preform thoughout the whole 7.5k.
good quality filter are STP, Bosch, and Mobile1. they're acually all the exact same filter made by the same co. I use a STP s3950 which is an oversized filter comperable to the M1-105 from mobile-1.stp =$3 mobile 1 =$12 . but whatever you do dont use an allied prod.that encompasses fram & honda filter made in america and canada.(the honda filter made in Japan are some of the best filter on the Japanese market but not advailable here).
Now im really surprised you didnt just start 2 wars by asking about oil viscosity(wieght) also. but here it is in a nutshell USE 5w30! 5w20 is less engine protection, bottom line!

happy reading interested to find others take on this, again!

njtls

i change my oil about every 6 months pretty much...does synth have any other benifits besdies longevity?...because i'd still want to stick to my scedule...how mnuch more does it cost btw?

dimsumo

I change my oil every 6 months with Mobil 1 5w-30 with a new oil filter every time.

It doesn't matter what oil you use just change it often.

dboat

You may get different opinions on this as well. But having done research papers on this as a student starting over 20 yrs ago, the basic answer IMO is yes. Syn oil tends to coat the internal parts better and stays there longer than conv oil. This thin coat of oil prevents metal to metal friction. There have been studies where race cars (Indy) were disassembled after the race only to find the honing marks still on the crank and piston bores. Also, the oil tends not to break down like conv oils, leaving a cleaner engine over time. Long term tests have shown that with proper oil and filter changes that some cars have gone as long as 100k miles and still meet the specs for a new engine. This is not anecdotal but scientifically proven. Now while this sounds all well and good, the typical owner doesnt keep their car this long and tires of its looks and the other maint items during this time, hence getting rid of the car.
Good Luck on your decision.
Dana

FidizzyTypeS

I change it every 4k miles with synthetic....it's more expensive but oh so worth the benefits.

Bear2Day

I love this topic!

I use REDLINE 5W-20, Yes it`s expensive! I use a mobile one filter M1-105 (yes it`s over sized. ( see other Thread on over size filters) . I have to buy both online(AutoChic), She gives a good price by case. I change my oil every 7500 miles. Do the math it all equals out, changing every 3500 or every 7500 miles. I take it straight to the dealership, they give me a cut rate for bring in my own oil (13.00$). As far as less protection, read your owners manual, they call for 5W-20. Look at your oil cap, it says 5w-20. You can`t go wrong by using ether Redline or amsiol. But us a good filter, it does no good to use expensive oil and a cheap filter. That`s my 2 cents. Let the war begin!

Never leave home without it! (V-1)

poom

I change mine every 3000 miles with Mobil 1 synthetic.

ABLUETYPES78

every 3000 miles...just always done this with all my cars.

tdoh

Optimizing the amount of miles from their motor? Yeah, right--I'm willing to bet that at least half of you first-owner peeps won't keep your TL/CL long enough to see how many miles you'll actually get out of your engine from using synthetic oil...

Not that I'm saying that using syn oil is a waste of money, but to say that you're using it so that you can squeeze a lot of miles out of the engine? Like I was saying--let's see those of you who make such statements put your money where your mouth is...

Bear2Day

(Not that I'm saying that using syn oil is a waste of money, but to say that you're using it so that you can squeeze a lot of miles out of the engine? Like I was saying--let's see those of you who make such statements put your money where your mouth is.)

That is the best point made today, In my 30 years of driving, I have never traded a car, truck, and van with less than 120,000. miles on it. My last car was a 1978 El Camino my father passed down to me 7 years ago. It had 160,000 miles on it. I finialy sold it to a freinds son so he could have cheap transpertation. The oil was changed in it every 3000 miles and only american high test was used. It`s still running strong today. Thanks TDOH what a great point!

VTEC11

i changed the oil in my TL with 10W-30. Already had the oil before i got the car. First oil change i drained it, then went to fill it, only to see it saying 5W-xx on the cap..

Is it 5w-30 or 5w-20.. I'm gonna change it again this weekend.. mite go with mobile 1. I know 5w-30 will get thicker, but do most of u put in 5w-20??? do they even sell that at the parts store?

fsttyms1

i change my oil right around every mont to 2 months. (in that time i have around 6000 to 8000 miles. our honda engine with regular oil should easly handle safely that many miles between chang intervals. around 115,000 i switched to mobile 1 synthetic 5w30. my car never burned 1 drop of oil between oilchanges either. what it comes down to is what kind of driving you do. is it sever or normal driving?

r10apple

I change my oil about every 6500 miles with Royal Purple and use a good oil filter like Purolator one...

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I must be one of the very few guys who change oil every 3,000 miles even with synthetic.

I'm kind of paranoid about the oil. I check it regularly and at the first sign of darkness, I change it. I kid you not, I once changed oil only 2,000 miles after an oil change... synthetic, too. Maybe I'm too paranoid. I don't know.

Steve TLS

I plan to take mine to the dealer every 3750 mi. & let them do whatever they do. Acura only requires service every 7500 mi. but I if I can afford to drive a 34K car, I can spend an extra $25.00 on an oil change every 4 months for a little insurance.

yield2s

my 02 type S just turnd over 50k last week and i WILL see at least 200K.
5W 30 is no "thicker" than 5W20, 5w30 has a better "top end" to handle more extreme conditions. If you want to use 5w20 because its printed in red on the oil cap, thats fine and more then likely you really wont have the car long enough to know what the differance would have been if you used "more protection". But if you really care than just educate yourself on WHY Honda and Ford NOW recommend a oil with less protection on the same engines that back in 01 they recommended 5w 30 on!

fsttyms1

sorry but thats overkill. darkness with oil doesnt mean its going bad.

dee diddy

just stick with what the manual says

dboat

I run 5w30 because its easier to get and it wont void the warranty. the reason for the 5w20 is to get better fuel mileage for the feds.. but in the winter I will be running the 0w30 for the better flow in cold weather...
Dana

acura_honda

My TL-P has 1500 miles and has been 3 1/2 months since I bought it new. Should I wait till it gets to 3000 miles or change it now?

Thanks.

dboat

change it now... I do mine usually at around 1000 miles..

yield2s

i 2nd that do it now! but really do a search on the WWW and read why you should do it now

Dany222

I plan to switch to synthetic soon. One question, is there a process to go through, or is it just simple as making the switch?

yield2s

the process will depend on how many dino oil miles you have on it.
The reason being is that as the dino oil breaks down it leaves carbon deposit on the engine and seals these deposits will be completly removed by the syn oil and then caught by the filter,the more miles the more carbon the sooner you should change the filter.(when i converted i changed my filter twice within the life of the oil,and i had 30k on the car). This is the reason you should not start using syn oil in a car with high miles and possibly poor internal engine seals,as the built up carbon around the seals help to prevent leekage and once its gone, well you know the rest