dj5

Castrol won a lawsuit which allows all oil companies to call Grp III oils 'full synthetic', so Mobil changed their formula to be cost competetive. Mobil 1 Extended Pefromance is the old fully synthetic formula. I purchase the 5 quart 5w30 containers of Mobil 1 Extended at my local Walmart.

I hate cars

Here's a good reason for going with a great "real" synthetic oil right from the start.... 76,000 miles on Amsoil ACD and the last change is Redline, mileage at the time of the picture is 77,000.

lldknyll26

i just purchased 5 quarts of mobil 5w-20 along with M104 oil filter. big diff btwn M110 and M104 ??

94eg!

Not really. M110 is the copy of the updated/redesigned small Honda filter. It can make oil changes a little easier since it's smaller and offers better grip and is easier to maneuver out of tight spaces when full of oil.

It took me a while, but I think I'm coming around to like the smaller filter size a little better. Some newer Honda's don't fit the larger 104 filter (07+ Civic Si is one of them)...

webmastir

wow, that really put that into perspective 94eg!. thx

I hate cars

The oversized filter fits the TL with ease. I run it because there's less chance of going into bypass and if I accidentally go over my OCI, there's less to worry about.

94eg!

No biggie! I have a 79k mile 03 Honda Element that's been running any old random 5w20 "Synthetic" since it's third oil change. Oil was changed every 6 months regardless of mileage. I've run a bit of everything, from Royal Purple to M1 to Penzoil Plat. It's so clean inside the valve cover you could eat off it (if you don't mind cancer ). If your going for clean, there's no need for high price synthetics. I feel they are more for racing aplications...

I also have a B18C Integra Type R motor swap from Japan in my Civic with unknown mileage. Valvetrain is completely spotless as well (checked last weekend) and I've been running it hard for a couple years now. Its a street car for me so I only use the inexpensive walmart synthetics. It's nice to have a half insane hot-rod that still gets 36mpg...

Moral: No worries about buildup from Group 3's. Cheap synthetic is where it's at...

dj5

Do you think Shell Oil needs your money more? Shell is the second largest oil company after Exxon.

Shell owns Pennzoil
BP owns Castrol

You can thank Wall Street speculators for driving the price up to $5/gallon last year. Not saying the oil companies didn't benefit from all the speculations though.

I hate cars

Well, let's see pictures. You're so busy following me around to disagree that you're arguing that a grp III will do the same cleaning as a IV and V. Not sure if you want to go there.

The TL has spent summers in Vegas and Phoenix and been run hard in those. I would rather have the premium syns for those temps.

Cheap synthetics may work fine for you, however, I want the protection of a real synthetic and I can afford the extra $20 every 6 months.

FWIW, I run dino in the GN because the OCI is only 1,000 miles or 1yr. I closely monitor oil temps and they never go above 200 degrees. I can get away with dino because everything is so closely monitored and it doesn't get taken out on really hot days or really cold days. For a daily that gets beaten up all the time where you can't control the conditions, a syn gives you much more of a safety margin.

94eg!

Okay. I'll get pics down my filler caps of the three "clean" cars as best I can. Poor old CRX is very brown under the valve cover. 190k miles of dyno will do that I guess. I've been on M1 HM10w30 for 19k miles now, but it just isn't getting any better inside. At least the car's still running strong...

BTW: All 4 of my cars spend all year in Vegas, so that's a non-issue as well...

I hate cars

On topic, do you think the CRX would look better under the valvecover if you used a top syn?

I just went over many pics of Hondas using various oils at various mileage to get a better picture of how mine compares. I found one with very similar mileage with dino that looked about the same but most were pretty brown, not that it makes much of a performance difference. The V6 models in particular seem to be very easy on oil.

It seems that dino is much more sensitive to going over the mileage limit. From the data I found, it would look ok, they went over the OCI by a few thousand miles and it got varnished.

SouthernBoy

While you're at it, don't forget to thank the biggest screwed up organization there is for things; the government.

94eg!

Honeastly I doubt it, though it is possible. From everything I've been researching, the detergents in any oil are only good for preventing varnish & buildup. Not so great at removing it.

I've thought about using that AutoRX stuff to reduce/remove the brown, but it's awefull expensive and you need a few bottles. I haven't simply becuase I imagine I'll be rebuilding this motor someday as I'm slowly working up to this skill level as an at-home mechanic. So far, the timing belt & water pump is furthest I've gotten into a motor. I have done a few motor swaps, but haven't pulled one apart yet...

I hate cars

I meant if you used syn from the beginning of it's life.

If you get bored and want to try some cleaning just for the heck of it, Redline seems to work exceptionally well since it's an ester base oil. It also doesn't require as much detergents. However, Auto Rx is a mix of 4 different esters as far as I know.

You'll catch on to basic engine building quickly as long as you have good common sense. The tricks you learn from other people or in my case you blow things up and learn from it.

94eg!

Oh I see. Yes I certainly think running synth from the get-go would keep varnish & buildup away (along w/ proper OCI). At least from the experience with my 79k mile 03 Element.

Unfortunately I don't know if time will tell (at least on that vehicle). The Element is only a 4 seater, and my family is quickly out-growing it. I really don't want a Pilot or Odyessy as replacment, but I'm sure it won't be up to me anyways. Element was only good for 22mpg average the way my wife drives...

94eg!

Well I must say my hats off "I hate cars", for such a great photo. I had no idea it was so difficult to get light into the cylinder head.

Here are my pics. All cars run random cheap Group III synthetic from Walmart:

TL @ 30% oil life on MID (35k miles)


Element 79k miles:


Type R motor unknown mileage.

I hate cars

Not bad!

Out of the 20 or so I took, only 2 or 3 were worth posting.

94eg!

I still can't believe how spotless it is inside the R motor. I almost can't wait to get in there and start screwing with stuff (could do with a valve adjustment). I just wish I could convince my wife to let me do a valvetrain upgrade! Unfortunately it's pretty costly to squeeze more power out of one...

YeuEmMaiMai

gotta call BS on that one lol I drove a '82 carburated chrysler 5th avenue to 280K miles and my uncle drove it another 105K to 385K on straight up dino oil changed every 3-4K miles

synthetic is not needed in a daily driver..........it's all advertising designed to get your $$. I have never had an engine die due to oil related isuses and I use regular dino oil.

The only time I use a synthetic oil is when the engine spends most of it's time at or near redline (like my scooter 9K plus rpm to go 60mph) becuase in that case a synthetic does offer a real advantage when it comes to high heat load.

I hate cars

It's not BS because you can cite ONE example. Sure, cars go very far on dino oils. The same car in syn is going to be in better shape at the same high mileage.

I've torn plenty of these things down and one of the huge advantage of synthetics is much less carbon and varnish in the ring land area. You'll never see this by looking through the valvecover, you have to tear them down so people like you can make the smart comments without knowing what goes on inside.

And once again, I've seen less wear with dino than Mobil One in my GN through teardowns. If I switched to synthetic, it would only be Redline or Motul.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

any thoughts on valvoline full syn 5W-20??? just recently i started using group iii syn oils.....

i have tried penn plat and valvoline....wanna get mobil 1 this time around !!!!

is mobil1 extended performance (group iv i believe) better than mobil1 high mileage.....???

94eg!

The only way to know if it's better for you is to get oil analysys done before and after with different oils.

No worries with group III in my opinion...

I hate cars

UOAs are worthless in showing wear. I have first hand experience with this. They are great for showing how much life is left in the oil, coolant leaks, or sheering. The wear metal ppm means absolutely nothing. If you post on bobistheoilguy you will see my experiences over there.

94eg!

Just realized my TL pictured above is at 47k miles, and not the 35k I posted. Man how time flies...

Too bad were not allowed to edit our own posts...

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

you can but not after more than 5 mins of posting !!!

so what oil are you currently using in your TL ??

94eg!

Penzoil Platinum 5w20 in the TL & Element
Q Horsepower 5w30 in the Type R
Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w30 in the CRX

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

i have 110K miles on my TL and am thinking Mobil1 High Mileage 10W30.....till now i was on Penn Plat and Valvoline 5W20.....

Just a quick question Mobil1 High Mileage 10W30 or Mobil1 Extended Performance 10W30 ???

94eg!

I would just stick with the cheaper synthetic 5w20. They are actually all great oils and have no trouble lasting as long as the MID says.

I would only use a "High Mileage" oil if I had a problem with oil dissapearing (which my CRX does). You don't need the extra seal conditioners if everything is in good shape. They make the seals swell which I think may cause different wear on them which means you cannot go back (not 100% sure on that though).

And only go with the M1 Extended performance if you plan on doing extended drain intervals (1 year or more)...

Just my opinions:

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

damn man !!!! what the hell is "oil disappearing"....does it mean oil leaking or some LOL....

the minute i feel i know what am doing, dudes like u and IHC come along and use some terms which make me feel useless LOL

yeah am using all original seals....this time around i ordered some magnetic drain bolts for tranny and engine.....but yeah either am gonna stick to penn plat or get mobil1...

btw i change my oil every 7500 miles regardless of the time !!!! and i do drive a lot....

I hate cars

This is something I've thought about too but never seen any papers on.

Personally I wouldn't use anything with extra seal swelling agents until I actually have a leak. On the flip side I've never heard of the HM oil causing a leak. Keep in mind PAOs have to have more of the seal swelling agents because the base oil will not keep them in shape like the other groups will.

I hate cars

Have you ever thought about Redline 5w-20, 5w-30, or 10w-30? It has a very high HTHS, the 20wt version will protect like a 30wt but flow like a 20wt. The 30wt version will flow like a 30wt and protect like a 30wt.

It's not needed in the TL but if you want the absolute best base oil (grpV ester), and an extermely robust add pack (tons of Zinc and Phosphorus, plus Moly), and something that will keep the engine and ring pack area spotless, Redline is where it's at. This is one area I've seen Redline really accel from personal experience. The ring lands (space on the piston in between the rings) gets carboned up due to the sheering and super high temps even with a good PAO (grpIV) oil. With Redline upon teardown you can barely tell the engine has been run. It's a huge difference in this category even compared to a full PAO. Keeping this area clean will insure no ring sticking which shows up as better compression and oil consumption.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

am actually debating to be honest !!!!

you told me about redline a while back and its just the availability and the price is what keeps me away from it....i dont mind spending an extra 40-50-60 bucks on my car on a monthly basis but just the availability kills me.....u know what i mean !!!

I hate cars

Totally. It's complete and utter overkill but it makes me feel good. I like the mail order oils. You don't have to leave home to get it, place the order a few days before you're going to change and it shows up at your door.

On a side note, I take care of my sister's maintenence for her and now my mother's since my father is in Iraq and I scored on the Pennzoil Platinum. I have 50 quarts so I should be good for 2.5 years on both cars. Paid about the same as I did for one oil change with Redline in my car.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ you not helping me there LOL !!!!!

BTW HATS OFF, FOR YOUR FATHER !!!!

94eg!

***edit. Sorry, somehow I posted on the wrong thread...