hello! i just picked up a used 04 TL and was wondering what oil should I use?
I'm not sure what the previous owner has put in it but would anyone recommend me to put Synthetic oil in from here on out? or could I get away with regular Conventional Oil?

 

Yes good ol Dino oil is just fine.

 

I'm sure if you searched you would probably find many posts on this topic. It's up to you on what to use. Regular oil is fine. If you live in an area that has extreme temps (ESP low temps in winter) then perhaps synthetic will give some more startup protection. A synthetic can go longer between changes

 

Not. This. Again.

 

Canola, Grapeseed or my favorite, Coconut.

 

you could switch back and fourth without any harm.

 

Whatever is on sale and meets spec. I change oil every 3 months (7500 miles) and I can always seem to find M1 and/or Penzoil Ultra on sale sometime in that 3 month span....

 

Walmart always has Mobile 1 for dirt cheap, that is what I use in my TL and the wife's V6 Camry.

I love and have used Amsoil also but it is a bit pricey and probably a waste of money.

In the end, oil is oil and unless you're building a track/race car, any oil changed on time will be just fine.

 

Bro why you spend so much money on oil.... get some vegetable oil... works best!

 

I've used NAPA's own brand of synthetic 5W-20 which is really Valvoline SynPower with their name on it and a NAPA 51334 filter which is a WIX with their name on it for 228K miles now. Still has full power and flies.

FYI, at 93K, the head mechanic at Acura of Manhattan, Tony, was under the hood and called me over. He had the oil cap off, pointed into the opening, and said "See How Clean That Is?, That's Because You've Been Using Synthetic Oil".

'Nuff said!
.
.

 

No, that likely just shows how clueless Tony is when it comes to oil....

 

^

I have a valve cover gasket leak. I'm at 201k miles. Never had a valve adjustment done until now. Indy tech says intake valves are off.

Here's my heads at 201k miles using regular Dino oil its entire life:

 

I wouldn't expect anything else if you were diligent with your oil changes, which I'm sure you were.

 

Loose, I assume? How far out of spec?

What about the exhaust valves? They weren't tight?

 

I use synthetic oil, but ONLY because I live in an area where temperatures can get down to -40° or so in the winter, and winter lasts for 6 months. Startups are noticeably easier with synthetic under those conditions and I get better fuel economy (not as viscous at startup).

If you don't live in such an area, regular oil is fine.

 

If you are doing your own oil changes, why not just get Mobil 1 full synthetic? Costs less than $30 after taxes, and I've been doing the mail in rebates for the past 2 quarters, which gets me $30 back on 2 jugs and 2 filters.

 

I didn't get the exact numbers but he said both intake and exhaust valves were out of spec. A few by 4000th's if that makes sense?

 

Couldnt agree more

I use regular workplace bulk oil. On Hondas I use 5w-20. Other vehicle I've own Ive used 5w-30

 

ok synthetic to buy extra margin when you can't (no time or something goes wrong) do an oil change yet. Dino oil is fine if you follow the MID, if you decide to run synthetic then mind as well get a premium filter just in case you need to hold on the oil change.