mdb007

So Acura says 5w-20w? I have run mobil 1 for over 10 years and feel 20 is a bit on thin side with synthetics and my friend is a Honda and Mercedes tech says the same. He also races on the side so knows his stuff. My maxima 3.5 used 30 weight and use that in all our cars, Is anyone running that in their TL? If so any huge change in mpg? I did a search of the forums but didn't turn anything up.

Thanks
Bill

Reorge

Use exactly what is listed in the owner manual. The bearing clearances are set during assembly for use with that weight.

mdb007

Thanks I appreciate it.

csmeance

5W-20 provides great protection for the 3.5L motors and works great in almost all temps the car will go though. Going to 30weight may reduce oil consumption (if you have any) and may reduce MPG slightly but if the car is running fine and not burning oil you should stick with the 5W-20.

Newer auto makers are switching to even thinner oils:
https://www.mobil.com/english-us/pas...xxmobil-1-0w16

so going thicker is more than likely counterproductive with tolerances getting tighter in the industry.

mdb007

Yeah i just read the new camry's have that 16w oil! Yes there is no burning on this motor so when i do the next change will stick with the 20w. Also how many miles do you get out of an oil change? With the acura computer monitoring the oil and telling you when to change just curious. I usually do 8-10k with the mobile 1 and have had no issues on 4 vehicles. I have 2k on this car so far and it is at 80% and has been for the past 1k miles, plus about 80% of my driving is highway at a constant speed. On my daughters 15 Optima you can set the interval between 5,10 and 15k which I thought was cool.

thoiboi

why do you feel that?
Since when did racing cars equate to auto engineering?

You didn't search very hard...
https://www.google.com/search?q=site...hrome&ie=UTF-8

vtec260

I have used a few leftover 5W30 jugs in summer months and go back to 5W20 in winter. No noticeable change in mileage with heavier oil and still burns oil at similar rate as 5W20. I use 10W30 to top up 1/2 litre here and there as well with no issues. All oil used are synthetics, BTW.

Kinuto

mdb007

Thoiboi, When I searched oil weight on threads here anything but turned up and I don't have the excessive oil consumption so doesn't apply. I did not do a google search, which yes would have turned up what you posted.
And gee I have no idea what auto racing has to do with engineering, so go ahead and turn off your antilock brake system and just pretend it didn't come from racing.. Also how many racing engines have you built in your life?

Yeah I thought so...

wayver

I was using 5w20 like the manual instructs, but when I took the car in for the takata recall, the dealer changed my oil and put in 5w30. I was annoyed that they didn't put in the correct weight, but after researching a fair bit I believe there should be negligible issues. I plan to switch back to 5w20 next oil change.

Mac5

If it says 5w20, then why use anything else....

mdb007

I'm just old school, used to run a thicker weight in my V8's years ago and was just curious if anyone her ran it. 5w-20 and 5w-30 are near identical on viscosity/temperature graph and 30 has a better shear quality at higher temps/rpm's under certain conditions. And you do see a decrease in mpg as well using thicker weight.

Anicra

5-20 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum usually with an Amsoil filter

Kinuto

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

FWD. Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0W-20.

Following the auto manufacturers recommendation isn't always the best route in my opinion. However, with oil weight, I've decided to stick with the weight they indicate. I only switched about a year ago, previously using 5W-30. But like csmeance mentioned, the engine was designed for a specific weight. I used to be with the persuasion that a thicker oil would provide better protection, and that the thinner stuff was one of those "short term gain long term loss" things. I figured the manufacturer only recommended the light stuff to get better mileage, but likely reduced the lifetime of the engine because it didn't offer the same protection as a heavier weight. But based on a lot of info from independent mechanics, which have no vested interest in the automakers agenda, using the recommended oil weight is the way to go unless there's some extenuating circumstance like oil consumption. And possibly for some older engines. But for modern engines, thicker doesn't always mean better protection because thinner oils flow easier and can more easily "reach" places that thicker oils won't as easily (on the microscopic level of course).

Kinuto

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I usually go a bit longer than that. I don't keep track of mileage very well. I just rely on the minder. Usually I wait until the 10% mark or so. A good synthetic should go longer than the normal 7500 miles anyways. And I use the 20,000 mile Mobil 1 filter which should have more than enough capacity especially since the engine runs pretty clean. The oil is barely tinted brown after 5K miles or so and consumes no oil whatsoever. From what I've been told, the maintenance minder is set for 7500 miles as a default but adjusts based on other factors such as start/stop traffic, engine RPM's and temperature. I don't know how much of that is true but either way, I rarely change it before it starts bugging me with the "service due soon" message.

Kinuto

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I don't know much about Nissan engines but I doubt it would need oil changes every 3K miles. But oil changes aren't that expensive if you do it yourself. If you're concerned she's being tough on it and you plan on keeping it for a long time, it might not be a bad idea. I'd probably only use budget synthetic in it. Like the Walmart Supertech synthetic. That way it's cheap insurance. I have a 2009 Honda Pilot with 240K on it which burns a bit of oil, along with my wife beating the crap out of it. I change the oil every 4K - 5K miles since about 90% of the miles are city and suburban, not to mention a good amount of short trips. And by the time she gets to 4-5K miles, the oil is about 6 months old anyways. She doesn't put nearly as many miles on it but they're "hard" miles.

The TL on the other hand, is probably 70% highway and almost never takes short trips where it wouldn't have fully warmed up. I use it for Uber during the weekend where it sees an additional 400-700 miles per weekend but never cools down or even shuts off unless it's for a bathroom break or a passenger taking their sweet time after I've arrived That kind of driving doesn't wear out an engine nearly as fast as all that city driving and short trips. And her immediately gunning it out the driveway and down the street when the engine's stone cold

thoiboi

So if you trust his recommendation so much, why did you come onto an online forum to ask for opinions

mdb007

It's a always good to get other opinions just like you would from a doctor and to get a consensus. And also as a moderator do you always insult people who come here with legit questions?

mdb007

Kinuto, I did my oil changes on my 07 Maxima at 10k but sometimes sooner depending on the look and smell. But took it to 182k miles and it burns no oil. For city you might want to change sooner 5-7500k. I run my cars 80/20 hwy so can go longer. I just found out this year there is a lab down the street from my work that will test oil for $20, my father-inlaw had his tested from his 41 Hudson with a 455 in it, so am thinking about having it tested after my next oil change of Mobil 1. I have run that stuff for 10 years and never had an issue. However I run the Fram synthetic filters. I used a mobil1 on my nissan and on my wife's car which takes a canister style and the one side was partially collapsed this past spring so went back to Fram for both.

mdb007

Losiglow,

thanks for the info on the maintenance minder will watch to see when mine kicks on. mine just kicked down to 70% after about 2300 miles so the math seems about right when i should change in that 7-8k range.

Kinuto

mdb007

You're welcome! We are also in the same climate range so the engines run cooler in winter. I try to do all our cars oil in early November so I don't have to change again till April. A couple years ago we had 2 weeks of 5-10˚ and my unheated garage was cold on that concrete floor.

thoiboi

Second opinions are great. But get them from places that make sense.. I go to my doctor to ask about that skin condition I have on my backside, I don't ask my local barista for example..


I asked you why did you feel that someone that builds 'race engines" opinion on oil weight mattered to the laymen. Are you racing your 4th gen? is he racing J37's? It was a total non sequitur.. I'm sorry that you felt like that was an insult

Anicra

Never worry about Thoiboi, after all he has red and green fog lamps on his ride. It is always Christmas when Thoiboi is around.

andysinnh

I had to chuckle when reading this response, as I'm about as "old school" as they get on here, and actually ran Arco Graphite 10W30 in my 79 Cutlass when new since it was the "oil of the future". In hindsight, not so much. :-) And while having lots of V8's over the years - and the occasional 4-banger - I found that higher viscosity oils have their downside, especially in NH winters where listening to the car turn over like it has maple syrup inside is a real treat.

But specifically to this thread, modern oils are so similar in terms of behavior to the type of driving we do in our daily driver vehicles that changing viscosity from a 20 to a 30 W (assuming synthetic), or moving from a 0W to a 5W, doesn't make a lot of difference, and actually going thicker doesn't really help. That's why I stick to the recommendation on the oil fill cap. I'm one of those exceptions that has a '12 SH-AWD with the 3.7L that doesn't use a drop of oil between changes - and I use whatever synthetic oil that WalMart has on special the week I need it. After 53 K miles the behavior is identical. Only thing I do is run the old "A01" Filtech Honda Filters rather than the A02 Fram Honda Filters. Not sure it makes a difference, but I just try to snag those if I can for my inventory.

andy

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Honda has gone to Fram as their OEM provider? Wow. I hope that isn't true. Fram filters really are crap. There's probably a dozen or more videos on YouTube of Fram filter dissection showing that they're literally the worst oil filter you can buy. The exception are their higher end lines such as their Tough Guard and Ultra Synthetic which seem to be better, up toward the Mobil 1, Bosch, ACDelco, etc. in terms of build quality. I'd hope that Honda opted for those types of builds rather than their standard filter.

andysinnh

Fram has been making the A02 variant of Honda oil filters for 10 years or so - the A01 is the Filtech one. Check out this video to see the comparison .

DouglasM

I just picked up a 2010 TL with the Technology package with 31k miles and switched from the Honda Oil & filter to Mobil 1 5w20 & filter.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Well I'll be. I never would have figured.

Probably a good idea. Based on the video above. The pass-through valve alone is enough to consider another filter that actually uses a spring based valve. I've heard stories about the Fram filter media coming apart, presumably from the pass-through valve not working correctly and the oil pressure eventually rupturing the filter media since it can't get through the pass-through valve.

Some have used Fram all their life and never had a problem. I myself used Fram on my old Camaro and '93 Accord with no problems. But after seeing the internal workings, I think spending the extra $5 or so to go with a quality filter like Mobil, Royal Purple, Bosch or ACDelco is a no-brainer.

mdb007

I may try 30 weight in summer and 20 in winter, I usually set up my changes on the cars for late November and April. Our 04 Odyssey calls for 20 but i thought the valve-train was too noisy. So have been running Mobil 1-30 weight since 09 and have 183k miles with no issues or excessive consumption. I also have had zero issues with the Fram synthetic filters but had a Mobile 1 partially collapse on my wife's regal, not good!

mdb007

Yeah i think we'll just agree to disagree. A mechanic who has 2 decades of experience working on GM, Honda and now Mercedes, plus races on the side' wouldn't know what he is talking about, LOL

Jrc6MT

I am currently using Penzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 due to oil consumption, but it hasn't seemed to make a difference so probably going back to a 5W-20 at the next oil change