AcuraTron

I started a debate about what transmission fluid to use, now I want to know what engine oil I should use for my 2002 Acura 3.2 TL. Does Acura manufacture their own oil? It was clear I should use Honda ATF when I was changing my trans fluid and was wondering if they have an equivalent to that for engine oil.

Saudade

As long as the oil meets the required spec, the name on the label should not matter. For engine oil, it must display the API Certification Seal (Starburst). Trans fluid should say ATF-Z1.

Preferred engine oil is 5W-30.

As a brand, I have always used Castrol in all of my vehicles.

Naturally, some will disagree.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Ummm, well, not quite disagreeing, but correcting, There is no longer any such product as ATF-Z1, Honda's new ATF spec is called DW-1.

As for oil, it is more like religion, you buy whichever brand, grade, and base oil (i.e. conventional, semi-synthetic, or full synthetic) you worship. In the case of the J30, J32, and J35 engines, as long as you change your oil on a regular basis appropriate for the type of oil used, the engine will easily outlast the rest of the car.

Iggy

thoiboi

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I highly doubt any auto manufacturer makes their own oil. I work with two engineers who have worked in the auto industry and they've told me that about 90% of anything used by auto manufacturers is provided by suppliers. Look at the name on parts. NGK on spark plugs, Klein on the injector and intake system, Denso on nearly every electrical component, etc. Granted, the auto manufacturer may design it, or be heavily involved in the design, but they don't necessarily manufacture it. Oil (and any other automotive fluid like power steering fluid, brake fluid, coolant, etc.) would certainly be no exception since it involves a pretty specialized process and equipment that no auto manufacturer would be interested in investing in. From what my coworkers have told me, the process involves contractor involvement to determine the best fluid formulation for the application, as well as the engineers designing the systems for a certain formulation. In many cases they try to design the system around existing products by fluid manufacturers since it's cheaper to purchase something already in production than come up with a new unique formulation. If not, they simply contract the fluid manufacturers to provide the specific formulation of fluid their vehicles need. I'd guess that PS fluid and the DW-1 ATF might be examples.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I can think if two OEM branded oils which can also be classified as examples:

• Honda's 0W-20 branded synthetic blend oil.
• Mazda's 0W-20 branding synthetic oil with a high molybdenum content.

To the best of my knowledge, the above two oils are unique in the industry, regardless of brand.

AcuraTron

That was very informative.

Darksyne

Any name brand oil that meets these categories will be perfect for the 2G TL's. Synthetic is always better but brand preference doesn't matter to me as I just get whatever name brand synthetic oil that goes on sale at my work.
Right now I'm currently Running Royal Purple HMX High Mileage 5W30 in my 2000 TL since it's actually a really good oil for these cars. It has the synerlec (Unlike the API Certified Royal Purple) high mileage additives to keep the old seals in shape and someone from bob is the oil guy forum did a virgin used oil analysis and the TBN was rated pretty high so it can handle longer mileage drain intervals, even though I'm still going to change it in 6 months. The generic Honda/Acura oil that you get in dealerships, I have no clue what it is, could be whatever bulk oil (Probably from Castrol or Mobil) that is just repackaged into the Honda Bottles, but you pay dealer prices for them.

thelastaspec

Adding to the ATF comments above, I was an early adopter of the AV6 swap and have had great luck with "Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic ATF". I typically use a compressor-operated siphon and suck the fluid out of the dipstick tube (every other year I clean the drain bolt magnet). I also run MaxLife ATF in a family member's 08 RDX with no issues. It's about 30$ for 5L CDN vs 13+ for 1L CDN for ATF DW-1. As I run my TL hard / autoX, I change the ATF with every oil change - for 30$ it's not a big deal.

I now only use my TL for "fun" driving and drive my Volvos for commuting.