did the search but no one ever talked about this...

what advantages or disadvantages woudl i see using 10w-40 rather than 5w30/20

thanks

JON

 

also since acura knows about the badd tranny....do you think i can get a free fluid swap cus i have 11k miles and checked the fluid yesterday and as i suspected brown ....no trace of pink...looks like clean used oil.....any suggestions.? thanks

JON

 

In a new motor like our TLs, I'm of the opinion that there is no benefit to using 10W-xx of any type. The oil is much thicker at startup, and this increases the time till the valvetrain is completely lubed. Gas mileage will drop slightly with 10W oils, as well. I'd stay away.
I'd say your max oil protection will be afforded using a good 5W-30 synthetic and high quality filter. I like the Purolator Pure One filters.

As far as the tranny fluid, I have no idea what they'll do, but brown isn't good.

Todd

 

I absolutely agree with T Ho. However, I use Amsoil filters (and oil).

As far as tranny fluid, brown is not a good sign. I changed mine at 7k and the fluid was very dark. It blew at 9.1k.

I've had other makes of cars that had pink fluid after 50k.

 

thans t-ho and fla-tls....so...you changed your tranny fluid at 7k and it still blew?, if so...do you really think its worth it to change it...if the tranny is destine to fail anyways? also...what real benifits do you see from using synthic oil compared to regular...i talked to this guy today and he was really knowledgeable about cars....and he said only benifit was syn. bonds to metal...thus giving better protection to engine startup., but the disadvantage is once you go synthetic you can never go back, cus if you do you will damage the engines gasket and over time you will see leaks and stuff....what do you guys think?
thanks

JON

 

With a flush, I think you can go back to conventiona. I thought I may want to go back, but once I switched, and saw that my synthetic (Red Line) was running the car 2 ticks cooler on the temp guage (ha, and some people say that syntetics don't lubricate) I was sold, I will never go back...it may cost about1.5x as much per change, but I can go almost 2x as long, and the oil comes out cleaner than conventional did..used to change every 3k, now every 5k.

 

Personally, I've adopted the philosophy that if I find the tranny fluid to be brown, I will not change it more often than the interval required to maintain my warranty. After all, why would I want to prolong the life of a tranny that is under warranty and apparently having mechanical problems? The worst thing I could do is prolong it's life long enough that it fails just beyond my warranty period and not be covered (now with to 7 yr/100k it's not that big of a deal). Even so - I don't think flushing helps.

What benefits do you get from synthetic oils?

1. Longer drain intervals
2. Lower ash content and higher flash point (oil holds up better under stress and doesn't soot/sludge up the engine as bad)
3. Better flow characteristics in cold weather (not such a big deal here in Orlando)

The comments from your friend don't appear to be correct. It is not true that once you go to synthetic you can never go back. In fact, many mid-priced oils sold are actually a blend of conventional and synthetic; if the statement were true, how could you blend the two and not expect seal damage. Many years ago there were problems with synthetics where seals would go bad, but this had to do with the formulation of the oil. Modern synthetics have additives that take care of the seal issue. I don't think synthetics actually bond to metal. He may be thinking of Slick 50, or some other engine treatment. Synthetics simply flow better at lower temperatures - so they get to the metal faster after cold startups.

That's my $0.02...

 

Here are two good sites with information about common misconceptions about synthetic oil:

Mobil's site

and Amsoil's site

 

He may be thinking of those high-zinc content additives that reduce scuffing (often at the expense of corrosion). Slick 50 is a waste of $$. PFTE is a particle that ends up in the filter. In some cases, the filter will clog, and run on the bypass all the time. How's THAT for protection!

You can switch back at any time. It's not really a big deal. Synthetics will tend to make an engine leak more than it otherwise would, but most modern engines I've seen it used in are still bone dry on the outside. My old '80 Z28 motor- now it leaks a bit from the seals, because of the synthetics. It's not attacking anything- it's just able to slip by some older seals.

Not a big deal in any case. There isn't a drop of oil on the outside of the Acura's motor, after 14k on synthetics (5W-30 Mobil 1).

Todd