CJITTY

Hey Folks,

Well, after reviewing many posts on synthetic oil, I went ahead and changed my oil in my garage yesterday utilizing Mobil 1 Full Synthetic. I'm using 0W-20 as recommended on the Mobil 1 website for Honda's, Acura's and Ford vehicles that normally require 5W-20 weight.

I bought the new Fram "Xgard" or something like that high capacity filter made fir synthetic oil. Filter XG3593A

I must say, the car does seem to run smoother and more quiet now. It seems like my acceleration is smoother and slightly quicker too. Now, instead of every 3K miles, I am going to a 7K mile interval between changes.
Acura said it was cool and told me that I could go 7500mi with that set up if I wanted to. But, I feel more comfortable with 7K intervals.

Stats:

6 pack of Mobil 1 synthetic at Wal-mart was appx $22
Fram 7500 Mile Synthetic Oil filter $9
4.5 qts used in change.
15 minutes to do the job in my garage.
Not bad, the cost evens out if I stayed on a 3K mile interval with regular oil. Plus I like working on my car. I don't trust the oil change shops after they almost destoyed my old Accord by not checking for double gasket on the oil filter and it flushed oil out the bottom of the car.

Overall, I'm pleased with synthetic so far, just thought I'd share for anyone interested.

Severin

Do yourself a favor and drop the fram filter; for the same money buy a much better filter such as the K&N or Mobile1. That fram is analogous to buying a top of the line Hyundai.

Even with synthetics I only go 4500 or so between changes; old habits are hard to kick.

ncelk

Congrats on the switch.

I agree with you 100%. I become sold on the Mobil 1 OW20 after we starting using it in our Pilot 20k ago.

I am going with a 5k change interval on the TL and the Pilot and staying with the Honda Filters.

Both vehicles do seem to run a bit smoother with the synthetic.

yield2s

That M-1's some good stuff. I use the 5-30 as I'm in a bit warmer climate and frequent V-tec often. That 0-20 gotta be some good stuff for those MN winters

spl1011

I switched to Mobil 1 0W-20 last week as well. I also am using a fram filter, not the super-dooper X series or whatever, but one below it. Same stuff if you ask me.
This is my first oil change since I bought it from the used car dealer and they put straight 10w30 in the thing (morons). Much smoother, esp. at start up and the engine just purrs.

a few days ago I just put a K&N in. Nice. The engine seems quieter, must have helped get the air in it.
The p/n for the K&N box OEM box filter is 33-2178. It seems thinner and frankly flimsier than the old honda one I replaced. that thing was just dirty and nasty!

Good luck, and synthetic rules!

Chet03TL-S

Had M1 5w-30 and a K&N Oil Filter installed last week. Car does feel smoother and revs smoother. Like everyone said. Next oil change, drop the Fram and get a Mobil 1 or K&N Oil Filter

sc354

I live here in Toronto where it may often drop to about -5C or about 23-24F. Do you guys suggest I use 0W-20 in the winter and 5W-30 when it's warmer?

right now it's quite cold out (-5C) and I'm currently running some 5W-30 in it. Should I change to the other type of oil next oil change or is it ok to run 5W-30 all year round???

FidizzyTypeS

I just switched this week as well to mobil synthetic....

fsttyms1

i switched to moible 1 synthetis around 100k i run 5w30 pretty much year round now with change intervls around ever 2 months (or 8000+ miles for me). the engine is much smoother like the others have said and am extremely happy that i switched.

CJITTY

Anybody know where the best place to get a Mobil 1 filter? What is the part number for our cars?

I like Fram's sure grip filters, makes changing the filter a snap. I've been using fram for a long, long time and all my vehicles have lasted well beyond 100K miles. What makes the Mobil 1 filter so much better? Just curious. Higher oil flow capacity, better filter, etc.

I'm a K&N fan too. Got the drop in air filter. Got on the highway today, sport shifted down to 2nd on the on-ramp and punched....good golly miss molly, that mutha luva TLs took the hell off. People coming up behind me on the highway caught up to me in traffic and where looking at the car as they passed by like WTF, damn that car is fast. Dumb asses couldn't tell I had a TLs because I am de-badged...the mystery car LOL!

russianDude

autozone sells them. If you dont have autozone in your area, your only choices are from internet: www.autozone.com, www.autobarn.com... its $12, and if its from internet you have to pay shipping....

You need to read some filter studies, do a search on this site and you will find many links with information. the conclusion that FARM filters and Honda filters are not good. Mobil1, Amsoil and Purolator(only $6!!) seem to be among the best.
you can go to www.mobil1.com and read more info about Mobil1 filters. Besides, it goes really cool when you have Mobil 1 filter with Mobil 1 SyperSyn oil

Severin

The K&N oil filter has a nut-head on the end of it for really easy insertion/removal; all you need is a ratchet and 1" socket.

Click here for the K&N oil filter page

CJITTY

Hey, now that's a sweet set up. I think I've seen those before with the ratchet. Well, I think I'll go on everyone's advice once again, Mobil 1 or K&N filter it is! I do like the mobil 1 with mobil 1 filter idea. Hmmm..just makes plain ol sense.

I am moving back home to Denver this Thursday and plenty of Autozone's there. Plus, I can use my 10% military discount too! WOO HOO!

Vicman17

Dunno if 0W-20 is available in Canadia. Probably not yet.

5W-30 is OK to use year round. We fall under the "extreme weather" category so change the oil often even with synthetic.

dee diddy

haven't seen 0W Mobil 1 in vancouver. only 5W, 10W and 15W. i've seen Amsoil 0W, but i can't justify spending that kind of money. it rarely goes below 0C here, so i'm leaving it 5W.

but is it recommended to go 7500 or 7K miles on a filter like CJITTY plans on doing with his Fram X2? that's a lot of mileage on one filter. wondering if acura is telling you to go longer to increase the chances of something screwing up, so you'll hafta bring it into them to get it fixed.

russianDude

whatever your manual says is correct. Just keep in mind that 7500 is ONLY under ideal conditions when you are driving 99% time highway. If your driving is not like that, it should be changed before 7500... and if your driving is the worst case, then 3750

edgalang

I've been doing the 7,500 mile interval since 15k. I have 53k right now and the car still runs smooth. As long as you have the proper filter & oil, extended drain intervals is completely possible. Mercedes does their oil changes every 10k using Mobil1 0w-40 and the Mobil-1 filter. Amsoil & Redline is even better than Mobil-1, so do the math. Once I reach 60k, its nothing but 10k intervals for me.

r10apple

Synthetic is great stuff! I used to use Mobil 1, but switched to Royal Purple about 20k miles ago...I use Purolator Pureone filters as they are easier to find than the M1's around here...

vandy786

Excellent choice. However, do yourself a favor and go with the oversized Mobil 1 filter (M1-105). It's only like $2 more and provides better filtering. I know what you mean by "the car feels faster." I felt the same thing. Even if it's all in my head, I know for sure that my car is redlining faster with synthetic. Very happy with Mobil1 and I change my oil at about 7500 miles too.

russianDude

Mercedes engines run a lot cleaner than Honda's.

Southern

Mercedes engines (which have the 10K oil change intervals) hold 8.5 quarts of oil. Compare this to the 4.6 quarts of oil that Acura has then based on milage (7500 for Acura, 10K for Mercedes) Acura has more miles/quart of oil.

vandy786

Please explain...

russianDude

Well, 10K oil change intervals are also for 325 BMW which holds about 5qt.
My point is that its not only the oil and filter, its also the engine which makes the oil dirity. some engines don't make oil dirty as much as others.
so you can't apply mercedes/bmw oil drain interval on Honda's engines. you need to to an oil test.

Deity42

I'm running on 5W-30 Castrol Syntec with a Bosch filter. I don't want a Fram, but I can't justify spending over ten bucks on an oil filter. Car runs fantastic.

dee diddy

well as per this oil filter review:

http://elabfcsvrt.fdu.edu/Oil/

the guy recommends Fram's X2 filter cuz of it's heavy-duty construction and metal end caps vs cardboard for all other Fram filters. he ranks this up there along with M1, Amsoil and K&N filters. plus he also tested it with M1 oil and said it was still working fine at 5k miles. i'm thinking of trying this out next time cuz it's rated to go up to 11k kms (~7k miles).

AznBalla

I was talking with a few of my buddies and we came upon the subject of using Synthetic Oil... He said that if I went Synthetic, there was no going back... Made me kinda uneasy... Anyone have any info in this??? Thanks!

russianDude

Castrol syntec was ranked the worst synthetic oil. you should use Mobil 1, and if you have spare money go with Amsoil.

Vicman17

It's because you would feel a "difference" once you switched. The engine is noticeably smoother, and once you got used to that feeling, you would wonder why you didn't do it sooner. For a few bucks more per oil change, the peace of mind is worth it.

sc354

I completely agree. However vicman, I'm kind of in this bind with our van right now. We are going for 2 week to florida and will be driving down. Generally with all the driving, and when all is said and done, we do about 7000km which is too much for conventional oils.

I was wondering if it would be ok to use synthetic oil this time around so that we don't need to get an oil change in florida, and then when we come back, go back to regular motor oil??? I will be using a K&N filter for it also.

Let me know

Thanks

Southern

SC354,

Synthetic oil is compatable with conventional oil so there no problem switching back and forth - you could even mix the two with out any problems.

I switched to synthetic oil in my van mainly because it is not driven much (9000 miles/year).

sc354

ok thanks a lot for the reply. I think I will put synthetic in this time around, only because when I'm on vacation, I don't want to think about cars...well maybe the A-Spec, but especially not a POS Windstar!!!

Vicman17

IMO change the oil with regular oil before the trip and Synthetic after the trip. The 7,000 kms would be OK for the trip but you would want to get trid of the oil after that with all the contaminants after the trip.

russianDude

Ok, feeling an engine run smoother is genearlly a myth. People have this tendency to feel good about things which cost a lot of money. Its more psychological effect.

Second, synthetic oil only makes sense if you plan to keep your car after 100K miles, potentially even going after 200K miles.

I can guarante you that you won't have any oil related problems before 100K miles using regular oil and 3-4K oil change intervals.
If you plan to sell your car before 100K miles, you are wasting your money.

Myself I use synthetic because I plan to drive this thing to 200K miles.

sc354

The issue that comes up is, if we're travelling 7k km, then the conventional oil will begin to break down passed 5k km. The last thing I want to happen is break down on our way back from florida. Whatever, we leased our van and personally we don't care what happens to it.

I think I'll go with synthetic before we leave for florida, and then put conventional motor oil once we get back to tonroto. I'm also going to use the K&N HP-2009 oil filter. May as well have the engine perform well when we're on our trip.

russianDude

you kidding me, 7k km = 4375 miles.
You can go on conventional oil 4375 miles without single problem, especially if you are taking a long trip on a highway.
And if you are leasing a car LOL - you must be really crazzy wasting your money.

dee diddy

man that's crazy. i think you've been reading too much into synthetics giving you a negative mindset vs conventional oil. 7000 km aint that much at all for conventional. in canada, it's recommended to change conventionall oil every 6500km for stop n go city driving. that's the "severe condition" schedule in the manual. the "normal condition" schedule calls for 12000km and that's for highway driving which i'm sure you'll be doing a lot of, so i don't know what you're so worried about.

russianDude

I dont lease, thanks god, but if I had, I'd change my oil as least as possible, just enough not to void my engine warranty.(7500 miles), using regular oil.
nothing will go wrong in the first 3 years of owning your car even if you change oil every 7500 miles.
its lease, i wonder why people care... they already raped you with lease... now you gonna waste even more $$$

Southern

I would never consider "over maintaining" a car a waste of money even if it is a leased car. If anything the few extra $ spent on synthetic oil will give you (SC354) a piece of mind on your trip to Florida.

sc354

firstly, I would prefer not to make useless trips to the dealer, just because I decided to get lazy. Secondly, there's a 90% chance I will be buying out this car at the end of the lease. This is right now considered "my dad's" car, but I have driven it about 18k of the 20k km that we have on it, so I consider this my car. So far, I haven't had to pay for any repairs up until now, and my dad was nice enough to get me the extended warranty on the car, even though I will be buying it out at the end of 3 years. We got the 5 yr. 130 000 km warranty from acura, and that's with roadside assistance. That cost my dad somewhere in the 1250 dollar range. So I would rather take care of the car from new, rather then start messing around with this stuff at 100 000 km.

Chet03TL-S

Well Synthetics are a good way to go. Go with Mobil 1 and a good filter. I chose K&N Gold Oil Filter HP-1004. With the bad rap Castol Syntec is getting, I do agree that Syntec is mostly crap if you have the Made in the USA on the back. The bottles labeled Made in Germany are true synthetics. The Made in the USA ones are highly refined conventionals marketed as synthetics. So if you get German Castrol its a good choice.