lilusadude

I recently purchased a 2004 TL with an automatic trans. The car has 122k miles on it and the previous owner said he used 5w30 Valvoline Max Life oil the last year that he owned the car. He claimed that he switched from 5w20 to 5w30 because of the severe Dallas, Tx heat. I am about to change the oil for the first time and I wanted to hear some thoughts on which weight oil to use. I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and our coldest parts of the winter will be in the 20's and the hottest parts of the summer will be near or above 100. I saw on a Acura tech bulletin that the engine in this car will accept 0w20 oil.

http://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B101100.PDF

I guess my concerns are:

1. Will 0w20 be acceptable to use in an engine with 122k miles? (Will it begin to burn the oil because of mileage?)

2. Will 0w20 be acceptable to use in the extreme summers of Louisiana?

3. Should I go back with 5w20 or 5w30?

4. Does high mileage even affect which weight to use?

Thanks for any suggestions

Bearcat94

Here's the chart:





Been posted before.

As a matter of fact the whole oil discussion has been beat to death.


It comes down, basically, to one thing:

There is what Acura recommends and then there is what anyone else believes.

The "believers" have to justify, whether with actual knowledge or hearsay, why their thoughts differ from Acura. Sometimes they change their minds.

And yet Acura's official recommendation - for the car they designed and built - remains.

94eg!

Despite it being really hot in your area during the summer, the oils operating temp should remain the same under normal driving conditions. The TL cooling system is outstanding. 5w20 or 0w20 per Acura's recommendation.

lilusadude

@Bearcat94

I guess the search bar is not working properly because I tried searching for this topic and could not find anything dealing with my concerns (or maybe I just don't know how to use it properly lol). I did find several opinions on different brands of oil but nothing on the subject of using 0w20 in an engine with over 100k miles. My search continues...

Scottwax

I grew up in Phoenix, now live in Arlington (20 miles west of Dallas) and I wouldn't consider Dallas "heat" excessive at all after growing up where it routinely hits 115-120 in the summer.

I bought my '04 Accord from my Dad, he's always run the recommended 5W-20 oil (same as recommended for the TL 3.2). I've put about 8000 miles on the car, no oil burn off that I can see from the heat. Oil level never changes.

Bearcat94

FWIW: my point wasn't "search" (although to many certain topics do become tedious; that's not a shot at you, just a fact of forum life).


My point was what you will end up with is a bunch of opinions - some based on knowledge, most based on hearsay (and a few based on "conspiracy theories") - and only ONE official recommendation.

lilusadude

115-120!?!?!?! Holy hell! I thought 100 degrees with 100% humidity was bad here in Louisiana but 115-120 in Phoenix sounds worse!

I think I'm gonna stick with 5w20 full synthetic instead of messing around with 0w20.

Scottwax

Humidity is a lot lower but everything there is black top, no clouds, no wind. Basically when you are outside, you are stuck on a black surface in the full sun.

We hit 110 this summer in the Dallas area, 71 total days that it hit 100 or higher (normal is 16), and I work outside (have my own detailing business) and road bike. 105 felt pretty normal by the end of the summer!

Bearcat94

At "typical" operating temps the "20" in 0W-20 and 5W-20 is exactly the same.

The differnce between the two is in COLD temperature viscosity. The climates you guys are talking about (Dallas, Phoenix, Louisiana) don't get cold enough to require (or even suggest) an 0W-xx oil.

http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

chas22

I have owned Hondas for 20 yrs+ and now have 4 Hondas and 1 Acura. Everything gets 5w30 in the summer and winter. Not worried about gas mileage as much as lubrication.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Got to go with new ideas, time for a change to 5-20 or 0-20!
I remember years ago when the manufacturer recommended a 5-30 in our new car, but I was concerned about lubtication with the to me 'lite weight oil", but being the V-6 was under warranty thought I'd go with that viscosity and with 180,000 trouble free miles we sold the car. You'll find the same with 5W-20.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

5W-30 in the heated seasons.

0W-20 or 5W-20 in the cool seasons.

Is the best way to go