adversary

My 3 month old TSX is sitting at 40% oil life. Is synthetic oil worth it? I never go past 4k RPM. Is it recommended or can I just get away with regular oil. I plan on keeping this car forever.

nj2pa2nc

From personal experience-I just use regular oil. I think just having oil changes is the benefit. My 06 tsx, bought new, will be 4 years old 11/17. It now has almost 115,000 problem free miles. I do mostly highway driving.

MrOtocinclus

^ +1

jchan2

In the TSX you should be fine with regular oil. My parents have used nothing but regular in my old 1999 Honda Civic and it is still being driven daily by my younger brother with 147,000 miles on the odometer.

Of course, you can switch if you'd like, but there's no need to if you don't want to.

pulp350z

I use regular in my TSX. Daily driver. Honda 4-Cylinders are bullet proof.

Now in my 370Z I run synthetic because I pound the shit out of it.

DJMcGee

Mobil 1, because I want to, not because it is necessary

09TSXTech

No need for synthetic oil if you change your oil on a regular basis.

My last car was a 90 Civic Si with over 260K miles on it, regular oil change @ 4000-5000 miles interval.

Synthetic oil is more stable and last longer than conventional oil, however, your maintenance minder wouldn't know the difference and will inform you to have an oil change at the regular interval.

Colin

^^ Also, many feel that synthetic should not be used too soon. Our lead tech recommends 10K to insure proper break in. Overkill? Probably, but better safe than sorry... especially when you're going to deviate from what the manual suggests.

LuvMyTSX

Stick with regular oil and keep up with the maintenance and you should be just fine. I had 6.5 years and 70k miles on my 04 TSX using regular oil, before trading last month. The car was running great.

Rocket_man

I switched after 10K but didn't really see much difference. Maybe a perceived difference. My 2000 BMW had synthetic and it only required changing at 15k. And the oil still looked new.

For more than any human being possibly needs to know about oil....

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

beware, you can waste a lot of time there.

TSX Zommer

Some cars require synthetic. My 05 passat required it. If you don't use synthetic it will burn oil and kill the engine. Now with the TSX I would ONLY use synthetic if the manual says so but if it doesn't than using either one wont make a difference.

lightjak_tsx

thanks

Iceman

I park my car outside in a cold-weather state, and I use Mobil 1. Cold starts in winter will wear out your engine if you just use regular oil. I change the oil every 5k miles.

its rayden

do you have references to support that? i've never heard of that before.

Iceman

From that noted automobile authority, Yahoo:

•Better low temperature performance. Synthetics flow freely at subzero temperatures, pouring easily at -40 or -50 degrees F. where ordinary oils turn to molasses. This makes for easier cold starts and provides faster upper valvetrain lubrication during the first critical moments when most engine wear occurs.

http://autos.yahoo.com/maintain/repa...ques120_1.html

pulp350z

From Wikipedia:

Advantages

The technical advantages of synthetic motor oils include:[citation needed]

• Measurably better low and high temperature viscosity performance
• Better chemical & shear stability
• Decreased evaporative loss
• Resistance to oxidation, thermal breakdown and oil sludge problems
• Extended drain intervals with the environmental benefit of less oil waste.
• Improved fuel economy in certain engine configurations.
• Better lubrication on cold starts
• Longer engine life

[edit] Disadvantages

The disadvantages of synthetic motor oils include

• The lower friction may make them unsuitable for break-in (i.e. the initial run-in period of the vehicle) where friction is desirable to cause wear. Improved engine part machining has made break-in less critical than it once was, though. Many modern cars now come with synthetic oil as a factory fill.
• Potential decomposition problems in certain chemical environments (industrial use dominantly)
• Potential stress cracking of plastic components like POM (polyoxymethylene) in the presence of PAOs (polyalphaolefins).
• Synthetics do not hold lead in suspension as well as mineral oil, thus caution is advised when the engine is run on leaded fuel.[citation needed] As an example, leaded fuel is still commonly used in aviation (avgas).[17]
• In July 1996, Consumer Reports published the results of a two year motor oil test involving a fleet of 75 New York taxi cabs and found no noticeable advantage of synthetic oil over regular mineral oil.[18] In their article, they noted that "Big-city cabs don't see many cold start-ups or long periods of high speed driving in extreme heat. But our test results relate to the most common type of severe service — stop-and-go city driving." According to their study, synthetic oil is "worth considering for extreme driving conditions: high ambient temperatures and high engine load, or very cold temperatures." [19]
• Synthetic oils are not recommended in automotive rotary engines.[20]

I consider my driving style extreme (in my Z) so thats why i use it.

Iceman

Here's another reference, from Canadian Driver:

Vehicles subjected to Canada’s cold winter starts experience more engine wear in a couple years than a California vehicle may in a couple decades of starts. Fuel injection has helped, but we can also do things to reduce engine wear. Use the right oil, plug in block heaters before cold starts, and drive with a light throttle until the oil is warm and lubricating well.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2003/0...ld-weather.htm

Tannis

Since I stomp all over my TSX I only use synthetic. Yes, you can use regular faithfully. I wouldn't say anything against it. But there are advantages to using synthetic. Besides, if you buy a car like this, you should treat it well... Not just getting by. Also citing a post above, the tolerance and machining on these cars are so close I can't imagine any negative impacts from the use of synthetic at the first oil change. Does it say 10k in the manual? I don't remember seeing that.

VQPower37

i personally feel like regular oil has come such a long way compared to maybe 10 years ago. same is true for synthetic. but why im saying this is that reg motor oil is so good, if the car doesnt require synthetic, i would say there is no need to throw your money into something that may not provide you with any additional benefit

s40 driver

I agree. I use quality gas and enjoy synthetic oil in my vehicles. Although I haven't had my first change in the TSX, I plan to use synthetic.

Also, nice signature :P

pinatubo

Why can you just use whatever indicated in the User's Manual?

Old Skule

I'm a new member and new Acura owner that found this site very helpful. I wanted to make everyone here aware, especially new Acura owners, that when you buy a car from Acura the dealer is advising that you MUST use synthetic oil. They want to sell you a maintenance package that offers offers this service at a discount, if you use synthetic oil this is a good value. The problem is the car does not require synthetic oil. I am referring to the TL.

nj2pa2nc

what dealer is that?

Old Skule

The Acura dealer in Tampa, fl. I am a new acura owner so I wanted to buy from a reputable dealer. I am surprised they are advising this. I initially bought the package and am looking for a full refund from them.

nj2pa2nc

just wanted to clarify that as not all acura dealers would do that. what is included in that maintenance package and how much?

K100Fran

My dealer included free oil changes for 4 years and they use the synthetic that the owner's manual states to use. I'm fine with that, free is a good price and of course they give it a nice wash before returning it...

nj2pa2nc

nice-is it 4 yrs unlimited mileage-is there an amount of oil changes you can have in a year. I average between 25,000 and 30,000 miles a year driving so I was wondering.

jchan2

I think this is because newer Acuras/Hondas have gone to 0W20 which is a synthetic grade. Also, a lot of newer Hondas that are rated for 5W20 can switch to 0W20 and I think there was a dealer bulletin about that (though I'm not certain). Back when my parents still had the Odyssey, the local dealer put in 0W20 at one of the oil change intervals. Didn't notice a difference, though.

I was at the dealer in December and had the Schedule B done and I'm fairly certain they just used regular oil.

K100Fran

It's 4 years/50,000 miles. They aren't the closer dealer to my house, but they're pretty close to work and have a decent loaner car/pick up drop off policy.

HeavyDuty

Florida Hwy Patrol 5.0, bought 3 yrs old w/65k miles. Drove it 12 years & 50k miles...a Quarter Mile at at time. =)

Tore it down to install GT40 heads, the cylinders & lifter valley area was like brand...new.

Mobil1

YZ450

Your engine must hate you if you don't go over 4k rpm!!!

pinatubo

If you keep going at or over 4k rpm, your ave. mpg will probably be 15.

scout27

My 2011 I-4 wagon specifies 0W-20. I've never seen that viscosity in dino oil - just synthetic. I just use Mobile 1. That being said, a good grade of regular oil would be OK if you just change it often. I'll just stay with the synthetic 0W-20 that is specified - should help the cold starts.

09TSXTech

That's because Honda 0W-20 engine oil is a full synthetic formula.

http://www.honda.ca/parts-accessorie...oil-and-fluids

On The Run

Maybe I just get this way from waking up on top of a gigantic pile of cash, but I generally see the cost difference between regular oil and synthetic oil as negligible. Considering we're talking a car you're planning on keeping forever, why not treat it like you love it?

Professor

I've said this before in one of the million oil posts. My friend did his thesis at RPI on oil breakdown. Even crappy Quakerstate was good for about 11,000 miles. But when it started to breakdown, it happen quick... like 500 miles.

Syn is good for 15000 miles without question. Even with the higher price of syn, you'll come out much better over time.

cmalberto

Do they even make a non-Syn that 0-20w? I didn't think it was an option due to the specs. I suppose you can use non-syn occasionally but then your change intervals would probably decrease as well.

--Mickey

Acura_Dude

That is good news.

cosmicflash

It appears as already mentioned that 0W 20 only comes in a full syn at this time. From the charts and manual the 0W 20 is new for 2011 where the 5W 20 historically has been the oil of choice since 2002. Since 5W 20 has been around so long there are several brands and types available. This was also the new Ford grade for 2001 as well.
Looks like the 0W 20 is really quite new.

LaCostaRacer

You don't need to go with a synthetic- especially if you're in the camp of changing the oil every 3-5K miles. That interval is likely to be a waste with a conventional oil and a large waste with synthetic.

I go with a synthetic because of the added life it offers and the fact that it sticks better so those cold starts get less wear/tear than a conventional gives before getting to full oil pressure. I follow the MID for change intervals and am comforted in knowing that I can go to 0% with no concerns using a synthetic if I want to. I usually chicken out and change it in the <5% range.

One economical compromise is to go with a Synthetic Blend (Motorcraft is highly regarded) which gives you many of the benefits of a full synthetic with a price break. You can get Motorcraft at Walmart. Don't skimp about changing the filter each time- I personally use Purolator which beats Honda's Fram-based filters and is often on sale.

The other thing I do is place a couple of magnets on the filter too. I cut a filter open and sure enough there was a little metallic crap hanging by the magnet.