Hkshaitian

Well going to do an oil change on my high milage tl-s on friday. Should i use synthenic high milage 20w-50 or just conventional 20w-50?

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

20w?

wtf?

5w-30 here.

Acura_TL_02

uhhhh factory hondas use 5w 20

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

RSX-S use 5w-30



anywho.. we can use either 5w-20 or 5w-30

Hkshaitian

i said 20w-50 cause of the higher miles.

CG2PROJECT

lol 20W-50? haha you're full of fail.

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

Yea, re-check those #'s man.

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

higher mileage or not. our engines are built strong. ppl with over 200k still use 5w20 5w30.

jzhu625

iTrader: (2)

i'm with 161K miles i'm using 10W 30

01tl4tl

the first number is flowabilty measured at 32F so get the 5 for normal temp areas
the second number is at 200F and for the TL best engine protection use 30
so 5w30
the 5-20 was to make the car get a tick of a mile per gal better in CAFE testing, a program they have changed now
5-30 is what you want and nothing higher

The TL is not an ordinary car and the engine is barely broken in at 100k miles
Just make sure the water pump timing belt job is done

01tl4tl

either type oil is ok to use- many like fully synthetic mobil1 `extended`. or penzoil platinum

Hkshaitian

Full of fail? Yea ok. Thank you sir

fsttyms1

20w50 is way to thick. The highest i would run is 5w30.

Hkshaitian

Ight. Thanks.

Gfaze

There's no need to run thicker oil just because the car has high miles. Engines do not wear out anywhere near as fast as they used to in the old days partly because of better engine technology but also because of better oil technology.

:ibheruns20w50anyways:

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Watch it.

chaiwala

ask here and get a better answer than "full of fail"

www.bobistheoilguy.com

Personally, I would use any High Mileage(HM) 5w30. My favorite is Valvoline MaxLife 5w30. Lots of goodies in it. Great additive package with lots of anti-wear additives(zinc and phosporous), aggresive detergent profile(calcium and boron) and best of all it has seal conditioners that keep seals pliable so they don't crack or become brittle. It is a synthetic blend(probably 30% synthetic, 70% conventional) and priced right too

Other great oils, Pennzoil HM 5w30 and Motorcraft 5w30. Don't use a synthetic. If you are good about changing your oil in a timely fashion, you would be throwing money away by using synthetic especially on a HM engine.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

since when is using synthetic oil "throwing away money"

it DOES have benefits you know

chaiwala

Ofcourse synthetics have a benefit. They flow better in the cold, are more shear stable, have a higher flash point, less susceptible to sludge, longer life(extended oil change intervals), purer base and on and on.

In the OP's case, he lives in orlando, Florida so I doubt he'll have to worry about starting his car in -35 degree weather, where synthetics shine. Secondly he has a high mileage car where many people switching to a synthetic have oil leaking problem because the synthetic naturally tend to clean and open up seals that were plugged before. Third, he doesn't drive a race car or a turbo where he will sustain high temps for a long time. There are reasons why Jiffy Lube and quicky oil change places are so successful, because 90% of the population can care less about oil and what goes in their cars. People who walk in to a JL or service center and request an oil change get what ever the 10 gallon drum of conventional oil they stock. Many of these cars keep on ticking without a problem for many hundred thousands of miles. People need to understand that if they drive an everyday car its NOT the type of oil that is important but its keeping up with oil changes religiously that will give them a long lasting clean engines.

I have a 1997 Honda Civic EX that has over 200,000 miles fed whatever conventional oil is on sale and a supertech filter every 5000 miles and I just adjusted the valve lashes and when I opened the valve cover, I could read all the honing marks and numbers, the cam lobes showed no pitting and rocker arms were clean as a whistle. No sludge to be found anywhere. This was all the way in 1997 when conventional oils were not the same high quality oils that are today. If you use a API rated SM oil changed in a timely fashion, any Acura engine(except RDX due to turbo) will outlast the car itself. That is just my honest and humble opinion. YMMV.

The whole synthetic vs conventional oil debate is similar to talking about religion, at the end it is all opinion and everyone is right because no one knows the right answer otherwise it wouldn't be a debate.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

aside from the rest of that stuff i dont have time to read lol.

point taken... its opinion... but this is the first time i've seen anyone debate synthetic vs. conventional in any form at all.

to each their own. most people who are too lazy or dumb to change their own oil end up paying more for conventional at shops to get it done then pricier synthetic cost most of us who change our own...

how the world works though i guess.

fsttyms1

I switched cold turkey at 100k on my motor and never had a leak issue. It had 220k on it when i pulled it out for my swap. I ran 15k intervals on it. Switching now isnt a waste of money.

ChampionFiyah

I have a 99tl w/navi with 170,000mi, and i use Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5w30, just has the tranny rebuilt, spark plugs changed and car is running good. I never had a engine problem. go ahead and do the fully synthetic, get the big Mobil 1 jug from walmart, make sure you use a quality filter too

chaiwala

Seriously, go to www.bobistheoilguy.com and you will find a plethora of reading on syn vs. conventional debate. Enough to keep you occupied for a day or two. I have been a member for 5 years now and I am truly addicted to a point where my family members think I am weird because I take an oil sample and get it analyzed to cutting every oil filter that I pull out of all my engines. It has become an expensive hobby I guess.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

meh, synthetic works fine.

like mentioned above.. buy it in the big jug container and its acutally not pricey at all. it goes along side with debating super unleaded or regular... sure the car will run fine on regular.. but it feels good to know you have the best fuel/oil in your car possible.. even if its not doing much if anything at all.

piece of mind goes a long way with my vehicles...

niju321

no probs with syn in my car either...whats this about mobil 1 being downgraded, and only mobil 1 extended performance being as good as the "original" mobil 1??

01tl4tl

read the threads regarding lawsuit on base oil used in synthetics and one company librally interpreting the meaning and still claiming to be the good stuff~

result was the old m1 with higher quality base oil is now called M1 Extended
and the plain M1 on shelves uses a cheaper base oil like others do...semi synthetic or blends
Have to read all bottles very carefully
They all work, its a matter of whats important to you in your choice
but thats why the old m1 is now called extended- there is the short answer

Hkshaitian

Well i did my oil chage yesterday. Used Synthenic 5w-30 and the car runs a whole lot smoother. Gonna change my spark plugs next.

01tl4tl

which oil and filter did you choose?

for plugs use NGK Iridium or Iridium IX - no other brands!!!!- they are 10 bucks each and the TL requires them.

Definetly seafoam the intake vac port method a week before spark plugs- gives them a clean home to work better in!

01tl4tl

check tire pressures - that makes cars run smoother too~

assclown

iTrader: (1)

what are your thoughts on pulstars? i heard they have good gains on them but never heard of them on a TL. i know they are quite expensive...

Hkshaitian

They had a special at my job(autozone) Vavoline synthenic and a fram tough gaurd filter for 27.99

01tl4tl

pulsestars were tested on a few ziner cars and found ~not to be a great deal for us~
On a conventional ignition car they work wonders,
on the TL with its coil on plug ignition- there isnt much to improve on,,,

the same 1 mpg gain can be had with the correct NGK plugs

vepspatel

5W 20 Only

fsttyms1

you can run 5w30 as well with out any issues. (seeing thats what the car was originally designed to run)

wilp99

my mini uses 20w50, it does share the tranny fluid with motor oil