What do folks think if this hypothesis regarding 3.7 engine oil consumption?
01-31-2016, 07:44 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
What do folks think if this hypothesis regarding 3.7 engine oil consumption?
Found this on the MDX site. Not sure if correct but it could explain the difference some folks see in oil consumption:
My 07 does not burn a single drop of oil. The following is what I learned from one of my knowledgeable friends. The J37 we have is derived from J35. J35 use cast iron engine sleeves. When Honda made J37 by enlarging J35, it got rid of the cast iron engine sleeve and started using high silicon aluminum as engine sleeves because it has to thinner. So J37 is both more powerful and lighter than J35. I was told J37 is the only Honda engine or even the only Japanese engine with this sleeve. (I am sure about Honda, not super sure about all Japan engines. In this sense, the 2014 is a step back.)
One consequence of using high silicon sleeve is that its break-in process is different. For J35 and other engines with cast iron sleeves, you want to break in smoothly, i.e., 4000 rpm or less in the first 1-2k miles. But for high silicon engine sleeves, you want to break in more violently, so that the piston ring can smooth out the silicon particles. Otherwise, the silicon particles are going to deform the ring. A lot of high end German cars use this kind of sleeves so you sometime hear that you want to drive hard to break in them. Same applies to J37.
So if it is not broken in right, it will burn some oil. The plus is that high silicon aluminum is much harder so even though it burns some oil, it will last a lot longer than cast iron. Our car was broken in by my wife, who drove it pretty hard. So sometimes a more careful driver like u and me is actually not rewarded. Strange, isn't it?
My 07 does not burn a single drop of oil. The following is what I learned from one of my knowledgeable friends. The J37 we have is derived from J35. J35 use cast iron engine sleeves. When Honda made J37 by enlarging J35, it got rid of the cast iron engine sleeve and started using high silicon aluminum as engine sleeves because it has to thinner. So J37 is both more powerful and lighter than J35. I was told J37 is the only Honda engine or even the only Japanese engine with this sleeve. (I am sure about Honda, not super sure about all Japan engines. In this sense, the 2014 is a step back.)
One consequence of using high silicon sleeve is that its break-in process is different. For J35 and other engines with cast iron sleeves, you want to break in smoothly, i.e., 4000 rpm or less in the first 1-2k miles. But for high silicon engine sleeves, you want to break in more violently, so that the piston ring can smooth out the silicon particles. Otherwise, the silicon particles are going to deform the ring. A lot of high end German cars use this kind of sleeves so you sometime hear that you want to drive hard to break in them. Same applies to J37.
So if it is not broken in right, it will burn some oil. The plus is that high silicon aluminum is much harder so even though it burns some oil, it will last a lot longer than cast iron. Our car was broken in by my wife, who drove it pretty hard. So sometimes a more careful driver like u and me is actually not rewarded. Strange, isn't it?
02-01-2016, 01:07 AM
#2
Found this on the MDX site. Not sure if correct but it could explain the difference some folks see in oil consumption:
My 07 does not burn a single drop of oil. The following is what I learned from one of my knowledgeable friends. The J37 we have is derived from J35. J35 use cast iron engine sleeves. When Honda made J37 by enlarging J35, it got rid of the cast iron engine sleeve and started using high silicon aluminum as engine sleeves because it has to thinner. So J37 is both more powerful and lighter than J35. I was told J37 is the only Honda engine or even the only Japanese engine with this sleeve. (I am sure about Honda, not super sure about all Japan engines. In this sense, the 2014 is a step back.)
One consequence of using high silicon sleeve is that its break-in process is different. For J35 and other engines with cast iron sleeves, you want to break in smoothly, i.e., 4000 rpm or less in the first 1-2k miles. But for high silicon engine sleeves, you want to break in more violently, so that the piston ring can smooth out the silicon particles. Otherwise, the silicon particles are going to deform the ring. A lot of high end German cars use this kind of sleeves so you sometime hear that you want to drive hard to break in them. Same applies to J37.
So if it is not broken in right, it will burn some oil. The plus is that high silicon aluminum is much harder so even though it burns some oil, it will last a lot longer than cast iron. Our car was broken in by my wife, who drove it pretty hard. So sometimes a more careful driver like u and me is actually not rewarded. Strange, isn't it?
My 07 does not burn a single drop of oil. The following is what I learned from one of my knowledgeable friends. The J37 we have is derived from J35. J35 use cast iron engine sleeves. When Honda made J37 by enlarging J35, it got rid of the cast iron engine sleeve and started using high silicon aluminum as engine sleeves because it has to thinner. So J37 is both more powerful and lighter than J35. I was told J37 is the only Honda engine or even the only Japanese engine with this sleeve. (I am sure about Honda, not super sure about all Japan engines. In this sense, the 2014 is a step back.)
One consequence of using high silicon sleeve is that its break-in process is different. For J35 and other engines with cast iron sleeves, you want to break in smoothly, i.e., 4000 rpm or less in the first 1-2k miles. But for high silicon engine sleeves, you want to break in more violently, so that the piston ring can smooth out the silicon particles. Otherwise, the silicon particles are going to deform the ring. A lot of high end German cars use this kind of sleeves so you sometime hear that you want to drive hard to break in them. Same applies to J37.
So if it is not broken in right, it will burn some oil. The plus is that high silicon aluminum is much harder so even though it burns some oil, it will last a lot longer than cast iron. Our car was broken in by my wife, who drove it pretty hard. So sometimes a more careful driver like u and me is actually not rewarded. Strange, isn't it?
02-01-2016, 09:42 AM
#3
Intermediate
Interesting theory. I drove both 6 speeds hard from day one (the 2010 had 104K) and now have 54K on the second one. Neither has consumed oil. 2 data points don't make a trend, but it is interesting.
02-02-2016, 10:50 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
Plausible but not a "smoking gun". Honda/Acura uses a plateau honing process for the cylinders so break in is not as critical as it used to be. Also many people that have this issue claimed to have babied their engine early in its life.
Mine started burning about a half quart every 5k miles when odometer was at 35k. It has now stopped at 55k which tells me it was not wear causing my burn. The only thing I'm doing differently since 35k is adding MMO to the oil and Chevron Techron to the gas 500 miles before an oil change.
Mine started burning about a half quart every 5k miles when odometer was at 35k. It has now stopped at 55k which tells me it was not wear causing my burn. The only thing I'm doing differently since 35k is adding MMO to the oil and Chevron Techron to the gas 500 miles before an oil change.
02-03-2016, 02:39 PM
#5
2010 TL SH-AWD
Plausible but not a "smoking gun". Honda/Acura uses a plateau honing process for the cylinders so break in is not as critical as it used to be. Also many people that have this issue claimed to have babied their engine early in its life.
Mine started burning about a half quart every 5k miles when odometer was at 35k. It has now stopped at 55k which tells me it was not wear causing my burn. The only thing I'm doing differently since 35k is adding MMO to the oil and Chevron Techron to the gas 500 miles before an oil change.
Mine started burning about a half quart every 5k miles when odometer was at 35k. It has now stopped at 55k which tells me it was not wear causing my burn. The only thing I'm doing differently since 35k is adding MMO to the oil and Chevron Techron to the gas 500 miles before an oil change.
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Reorge (04-16-2016)
02-03-2016, 07:04 PM
#6
Instructor
Thread Starter
The above mentioned hypothesis implies that babying it early on would actually make the oil burn worse. It's counter intuitive.
02-05-2016, 02:19 PM
#7
Burning Brakes
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