BJG57

I have a 2010 TL FWD and was wondering if anybody is using Synthetic oil.
What would be the pro's or con's. Also, does fuel economy improve.
Comments?

KeithL

I used synthetic on all my TLs, if you buy vs. lease I feel it is worth the extra investment. You still need to follow the scheduled changes to stay compliant with the warranty, but seeing you are in a cold climate I believe it would benefit you. I actually used to run 0W20 during winter.

Here is a great web site about oil,


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/


There is some real good info there.

My"S"exyUA7

Mobile 1 full synthetic FTW!

copmagnet82

I use synthetic*, always have and always will in all of my cars.

Pro's:
-more stable in hot conditions (shearing)
-flows better in colder conditions

Con's;
-price

*not all synthetics are created equal as they are made using different esters

copmagnet82

BIOG is a great website, a lot of reading.

...and I do agree, buy vs lease makes a difference I always buy, so it's always synthetic for me.

Treblig

Synthetic, since the very first oil change.

Stew4HD

I wonder why the manufacturer does not specify synth!?!

KeithL

I think that would scare some customers. Besides for almost everyone regular dino oil would work fine, synthetic is just a better level of protection.

Stew4HD

That is why I asked.

Edward'TLS

My Acura dealership is using Honda full synthetic oil (not synthetic blend) for all the 4G TL's being serviced there.

Treblig

I think my dealer just started going full synth on TL's too. Now I don't have to bring on own when I go for oil changes.

BJG57

I have had my TL for about 3 yrs now, so would changing to synthetic at this stage cause any problems?

FYI : I only have about 33,000 km or about 20,000 miles on the car

Tonyware

Since we are on the subject of oil, I had a question: The maintenance minder calculates oil life based on conventional or synthetic oil?

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Doesn't matter conventional or synthetic oil, always follow the maintenance reminder.

The purpose is to change the oil filter. Synthetic oil has much longer lifespan than conventional oil, so reuse the synthetic oil if wanting to save some bucks.

KeithL

To me your car is new enough that if you plan on keeping it for years and 100K miles or more I would switch. I know that Acura mid will tend to go 6K-7K miles or more before triggering an oil change, but when I had mine usually 5K, was my limit, occasionally toward 6K and that was usually still 30%.

Oswald Vater

Yup, full synthetic on all my vehicles including motorcycles for all the reasons everyone has mentioned. I don't mind spending a few extra bucks for the extra protection and peace of mind. I'd make the switch and don't look back!

Buffa

I've always used Mobil 1 full synthetic. My previous Acura CL-S had 160,000 miles on it when I sold it, and ran as smooth as day 1. My common man proof, for what it's worth, is under the oil filler cap, what I could see inside the engine, looked identically clean after 10 years, as it did new.

As far as cost, I've always convinced myself that since I change my own oil, it works out to about the same as if I paid someone to do a conventional oil change.

copmagnet82

Realistically, most people don't drive hard enough to really benefit from synthetic oil. Most people think that if you rev your engine higher then 3500rpm. it'll break. Also, conventional oils are much better now and they last longer before there is any shearing. As KeithL said, if people heard that they would have to use synthetic oil in their cars, most of them would get a heart attack and start saying that "the car is so expensive to maintain", because they have to spend $40 on oil vs $15. Sounds ridiculous, but it's true... it's sort of like when people are deciding on a new car based on MPG's; "well this one gets 24MPG and this one get only 23MPG" ... in a long run it comes down to pennies, but people make decisions based on quite irrelevant factors.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

However, cars operating in the extreme cold and/or extreme heat will benefit from using synthetic oil.

Synthetic oil won't thicken in sub-zero temperatures, unlike conventional oil. So synthetic oil will offer fasting engine startup and better cold engine lubrication in the extreme cold condition.

Also synthetic oil is more resistance to breakdown under high operating temperatures, unlike conventional oil. So synthetic oil will offer better engine protection in the extreme heat condition.

Stew4HD

Just curious as to what extreme heat conditions the normal driver would encounter?

A synthetic blend should be good enough for the majority of drivers that change their oil as the minder tells them to.

copmagnet82

copmagnet82

Edward'TLS said "extreme heat and extreme cold" and is right in regards to benefits of synthetic oil ...but either way I assume we both, and others, feel the same way, that most people will get by with conventional oil. A lot of people don't care enough about their cars to pay attention to the oil that they are using and they don't expose their cars to the "extremes".

Edward'TLS

How about a couple hours each day baking in stop-and-go city traffic in the peak summer days with temp in the 95+ F, such as in Texas, Nevada, etc. ?

Other than full synthetic oil, synthetic blend oil is also better than conventional oil in combating extreme cold and/or extreme heat conditions, due to it's partially synthetic content.

BJG57

Are oil changes less frequent with synthetic oil.?
Also are the oil filters the same?

Blaze9

Same here, my dealer just went full synth. I was surprised at the price jump from the regular stuff.