Can someone please tell me whats the difference.. besides price and all the technical stuff.. i just wanna know which one is better... the advantages?? thanks :p

 

I'm pretty sure the manual says to use synthetic, so I'm sticking with it. Soundspeed is the person to ask about this.

 

NICE WHITE TL-S:
Click on PM, then type in Road Rage as the recipient . I am running Redline 5w20...which is probably the best out there...and is beautiful in my engine

Austin519

 

Take a look at these previous posts

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...979#post287979

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=31900

Plus these other sites

www.fernblatt.com/longhurst/engineoil_bible.html

www.motorcities.com/articles/articles0001.html

For oil filters, look here

http://www.shoclub.com/lubrication-o...n-oilpart5.htm

www.ntpog.org/reviews/filters/filters.shtml

 

Here is a link to a post, that all the Maxima owners have been getting into for tests on oil life.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=100060

There is a link for a oil analysis sheet there. Going 7500k+ on mobil 1 will do just fine. There are not just Maximas being tested. Several brands. This is enough to make you decide.

 

Mobil 1, 5w-30 synthetic for me.

 

The big pro of synthetic is that it is a more durable lubricant under heat and load. And, the additives are typically better.

The advantage of dino oil is that it is less $$.

Mobil 5w-30 for me. It's easier to get than Redline, otherwise I might consider that- it is more expensive, though. I'm changing at 5k intervals now (about every 6 months for me.) I may go to 7500, if we drive a bit more- 6 months is about my threshold of pain, regardless of mileage.

Tip- whatever you use, use a 5W- (or 0W- up North in winter). 10W- is really too thick on startup for quick upper valvetrain lubrication. Of course, we'll have to wait 10 years or so to see if I'm right.

Todd

 

i think it's sort of peace of mind vs. convenience vs. price.

for my peace of mind, if you drive pretty normally (50/50 city/highway) and change your oil every 3000 miles, then go with the dino as it's cheaper every change. if you drive 90% highway then you can probably go 7500+ with dino oil. if you drive 50/50 but can't or don't want to change every 3k, then you should go with synthetic and change at 3-5k or even 7.5k.
and if you drive 90% city, you can probably change every 5k with synthetic.

i'm sure this is more than safe for oil changes though. you can probably go 5k w/ dino oil with 90% city driving, but then peace of mind goes out the window.

 

Redline 5w-20! And with a good oil filter, usually Mobil 1 or Fram, you can go 5000 to 7000 between changes. So even though it costs more, it will pay for itself through less oil changes.

 

Fram filters are crap, Stay with Mobil One M-104 or Purolator PureOne.

 

Motul 5w-40 =)

The best summer oil IMO.

 

Does anyone know whether the Acura Service Dept uses synthetic?

 

Dealer uses what ever they have at the nearest gas station.

for us, Honda , Acura dealer here use
Petrol Canada oil, Gas station branded oil.

 

really? what about the oil filters?

 

all dealer is required to use Honda Filter.

 

Synthetic Oil all the way! Motul 300V accompanied with an original Honda Oil Filter!

 

i don't know what they use for standard dino oil (for people who just drop off their car and ask for an oil change). but i think if you ask for synthetic, most places will probably have mobil 1 available.

but you can always bring your own of whatever you want to use and save a couple bucks.

 

Amsoil 5w-20 here, with Mobil 1 filter. I figured if these engines are built tight enough to warrant 5w-20 spec, I might as well use it.

Thanks for the link speedy. I'm going to try that oil & atf sample service. It looks like a good way to check on wear, as well as ascertain when it's time to change out the synthetic.

eCo

 

In all honestly no one really drives their cars hard enough for synthetic. The synthetic molecules are specially formulated to bond to your engine even when not in use. It really is only beneficial in EXTREME conditons, for instance the oh SAHARA desert of the North pole.

The MAJOR issue with oil and engines is CHANGING the oil every 5k miles. That more than anything will keep that engine going 250k miles + (Honda makes great engines).

SO just change that oil!

 

1SICKLEX:
In all honestly your post didn't really hit on the key point of syn for standard cars. Syn molecules are made to do more than what you said though. Higher lubrication ability, viscosity, durability etc. No one disputes that syn is better for your engine than dino, the dispute is HOW MUCH better (aka is it worth it). Personally, the fact that using syn means I can change my oil half as much, thus saving money and saving time (not having to do as many oil changes) is enough for me, especially knowing that I am buying a superior product (even not getting into how superior it is, which is the main big argument that makes these threads 20 pages long).

Austin519

 

I agree. Is it worth the cost. THe synthetic molecule do take longer to break down than conventional oil. SO in your case it would save u time and $$$ especially if u do not drive the car hard.

I change my own oil (I've done it in a TL too ) so I do not mind changing it. I JUST found out last week that my lex dealer uses Castrol Synthetic oil though (which is new, they used to use plain ol Penzoil).

MAYBE THAT CAN JUSTIFY THE $40 OIL CHANGE

BTW I use Castrol, never had a prob. Plus the 2 cars currently running with over 1,000,000 miles (a Volvo and Toyota Starlet) the owners insist on Castrol.