I feel like my car is slower after my last oil change using mobil 1 syn 5w20. Should I empty out 1/2 a qt? Or it could be the heat.

 

I would say its more likely the heat. The only way I can think of 1/2 qt of oil slowing things down causing a parasitic loss of hp would be the crank having to move throught slightly more oil in the pan. But I would not imagine that would cause any noticable power loss.

If anything its better to have it in there for the slightly longer protection you would get from it.

D

 

The oil in the pan is well below the crank.

Additionally, most hi performance cars also have a windage tray between the crank & the oil. I don know if the TL has a windage tray or not.

 

Well I thought that is why they put all that anti foaming stuff in oil and what not. But honestly on this car I do not know. I will have to look it up and get back to you on that.

I looked it up and you are correct. I suppose maybe for any oil being thrown off the crank? Anyways I still stand behind what I said just leave it in.

D

 

Just leave it in. 1/2 a quart won't adversely affect your car at all, and as previously mentioned, will actually give your oil a bit more longevity. I personally always put in 5 quarts, including part of that 5 going into my oil filter. (It's better than just throwing away a 1/2 quart every oil change. What else can you do with it?)

But, if you go and overfill your crankcase by more than 1/2 a quart, then you are asking for trouble. So if you get the Mobil 1 5 quart container and use up all of the oil, you're fine.

 

i personally would never overfill my car or motorcycle with oil due to the fact that too much oil can put more pressure on the seals....its better to be a 1/2 qt low then a 1/2qt over....

i keep the extra 1/2qt to top off the mower or wifes car or just use it up in the next oil change...no need to throw it away.....

 

Isn't there a MIN/MAX line on the oil dip stick?

What is the purpose of those lines?

 

the distance between the lines represent 1 qt...you are supposed to keep the level inbetween the lines, not over and not under...that being said, if the level was right in the middle, you would be a 1/2qt low which would be acceptable since its inbetween the lines....

 

Keeping it at the FULL mark- which should be labeled `CORRECT` is better.
A tick over in the TL is acceptable with no concern

Oil is the life blood of the engine-
When you lose any of that meager ~4.5 capacity- you lose ability to shed heat.
Being a quart LOW is a Minimum allowable level- below that, the oil pickup tube can no longer pick up the oil and send it thru the oil pump, then the filter, and on to cool and lubricate the engine moving internals,,,, as the metal parts grind and smash against each other several thousand times per minute!!
If your TL is using more than the `tick over` between changes- its using too much oil.
A little bit is normal- thats why so many of us drain the old oil thoroughly and then add 5 new qts. It will slowly use that extra over the next 5000-7500 miles.

I put extra seafoam in my lawnmower gas!

 

uhhhhh save it for the NEXT oil change or if your car consumes oil??

 

I could keep it, but it's only half a quart. Like I previously mentioned, and someone else previously mentioned, it is only HALF a quart. The TICK extra will only serve to further protect the engine. A half quart is not going to be enough to do any damage. As I also previously mentioned, any MORE than half a quart, and you are asking for trouble. But a half quart, I'll throw it in there, and reap the TICK's worth of benefit, rather than hold on to it for 3 months or however long I have to hold on to it before my next oil change. It's just my , but a 1/2 quart is not enough to damage the crankcase.

 

It wont hurt a TL~ throw in 5, and prefill the filter with new oil.

No issue of cavitation and foaming or crackshift immersion

 

Excellent point! The extra oil in the system can cause excess oil pressure.

Symptoms to watch for if you overfilled and the pressure is pushing on the seals.... oil leaks.

The TL seems to be ok with 5. My other car which also has the same whimpy oil capacity didn't like it so much and leaked almost immediately.

 

A dirty oil filter causes more pressure change than a slightly high level --- 1/2 qt over the full line~ on a TL will ever do
besides:
Pressure is not in the crankcase where the oil is stored. If it leaked out when slightly full on other cars, you have bad front or rear main seals leaking, not a pressure related issue~
Pressure comes from the engine gear-driven oil pump-- pulling it thru the filter and applying to engine oil port at specific pressure

 

The front and rear main seals were fine, it was a brand new car on its first oil change. The oil was leaking from the oil pan gasket. As soon as I drained the overfill everything was good.

3 years later no leaks.... just no more overfills either

 

Sounds like all you did was remove the oil till the oil level was below the gasket.

Did you ever tighten the bolts? Also there would still would not be any positive pressure to cause oil to come out of the oil pan gasket area if properly tighened with a good gasket. PCV positive crankcase ventilation valve handles that for emissions purposes. Remember all the oil pan really does is serve as a bucket for the oil to sit in.

D

 

Really no way to visually verify if the oil level dropped below the pan gasket, I did however check the bolts and they were at factory spec. That one half quart was drained, and 50k miles later still no leaks.

 

i always drop 5 in there.... doesnt make a diff.

 

why wouldnt you follow directions....if it takes 4.5qts of oil, then thats what goes in....not 5qts but 4.5...otherwise the owners manual would say use between 4.5 and 5 qts...

 

whats the diff??? it doesnt harm ur motor if anything it would be burned as soon as u started the motor which it doesnt..... i have 89k on the motor and the dude at acura said its one of the cleanest he's ever seen.... every V6 car ive had always said 4.5 or 4.6 qts...ive always dropped in 5 im not gonna sit there n collect .5 qt bottles like a sped n then go nuts looking for it when it's time to do oil. i wont put 7 quaRTS in because then theres probably no space for the oil pump n reserve to suck it up and circulate but i think 5 is ok even if the manual says 4.5..............best part of all....the techs at a honda dealer that i know of and 2 acura dealers all drop in the 5 quarts as well.....i dont see why they dont follow instructions.....i guess it doesnt harm it.

 

1/2 quarts is probably not going to hurt anything but I won't go beyond that. Even though there is a windage tray oil can still get above it and thrash around getting foamed up. Anti-foaming agents do help, but a whipping crankshaft can stir up alot of air into the oil which is really bad for the bearings.

In terms of the felling slower, I agree with others in that the ambient temp is more a cause. You would need alot of extra oil for you to feel any difference.

 

nothing wrong with overfilling by .5 qt, actually i would overfill my prelude by 1 qt whenever i went to the track and just let it burn off.

 

yes...legend dont u think instake temps have to do with that as well as humidity in the air....i have noticed at times the car does have a slugish tedancy in humid air.

 

Yep, humity also affects power since the moisture in the air adds to the density of the air but not it's Oxygen content. So higher humidity for a normally aspirated (NA) engine does rob power. Dry cool air is the optimum for NA engines.

FWIW Some older turbo/supercharged engines used to inject water into the engine intake to keep combustion chamber temps under control but since the engine was boosted the added humidity did not affect as much.

 

1/2 over won't hurt a thing. I always put 5 quarts in mine. The first time I checked it for foaming, there wasn't any so it's ok. No extra pressure on seals. Think about the size of the oil pan. 1/2 quart will raise the level about 1/2".

As has been mentioned, more oil can shed more heat. If you do lots of long trips or drive hard, I recommend 5 quarts. More oil also means you can go longer between changes. Look at most BMW oil change intervals and compare it to their sump capacity and you will see a trend.

 

the lil 4 cylinder (c230 kompressor) benz's use 7.5 quarts a change and they tell u every interval is 10k miles.....i still dont understand it.

 

Probably a little on the short side for 7.5 quarts because it's supercharged and stresses the oil a little more.

 

Do superchargers carry oil in their housings like some turbos do? That might be another reason.

 

Some are self contained and some aren't. I think the majority are self contained but I don't know for sure. Some of the old bolt on turbo kits used a pre filled center section with a wick that fed oil to the bearings. You don't see those around anymore for good reason.

 

Whoa haha that's crazy!!

 

Not exactly true. It IS a pressure related issue, but not an OIL PRESSURE related issue (at least not due to excessive oil).

Seals can leak because of excessive Crankcase pressure caused by a poorly functioning PCV valve.

 

True. If/when my car starts leaking oil one day, I plan on running a vacuum source to the crankcase. I know BMWs run under a vacuum. On a side note, it always amazes me how a neoprene seal can wear the crank out and not the other way around.

 

ah I put 5 qts of Royal Purple 5-20 and It feel normal to me.