I hate cars

Yes it has, over and over and over and over and over again and the same questions still pop up.

MID is nothing more than an algorithm with total engine revolutions, average trip length, and ambient conditions being the largest contributors.

Mine will say to change it at 3,000 miles if I only drive it the 2 miles to work and back because it never has a chance to get fully warm and burn off the condensation and acids. I've had it take me out to 10,000 miles when I was commuting 210 miles a day. There is no "sensor" in the oil pan to monitor oil condition. I usually set 5k as the upper limit and change sooner if the MID says so.

I've done the calculations, they're on this board, the difference in total engine revolutions between city and freeway driving. The engine will be turning less total revolutions in 10,000 miles of freeway use lugging around in top gear than it will in 3,000 miles going from 0-50mph over and over again in city driving. Engine revolutions are a far more accurate indicator of use. It takes into account idle time, high rpms, lugging around in top gear, etc, than mileage does.

After a point it no longer matters how long the oil itself can go, the contaminate load is what matters. Short trips in the winter will introduce many more contaminates than long trips in the summer and even if the oil has a lot more life left in it, you still have to dump the crap out that accumulates.

Most decent oils are capable of 10,000 miles under the right conditions.

I run a 50-50 mix of Redline 5w-30 and Redline 5w-40 in my TL. It comes out to a 12.85 cSt at 100c which just barely misses the 30wt category but it has a 4.2 HTHS which is incredibly high and will practically stop wear from occurring. It still has great cold flow. This car has had a 30wt in it almost since the beginning when it was brand new. It's had a 0w-20 when I was doing a 1 mile drive to work in 17F weather. The rest of the time it's had either a straight 30wt or a 5w-30. Now I'm experimenting with the 50-50 mix of the 30 and 40wt for fun. It's never been so quiet before, even at 113,000 miles. Still though, I'll probably do a valve adjustment since I'm off for the next couple weeks.

So, MID has no sensor, it does not know what's in it.

The MID can vary drastically depending on driving conditions, 3k-10k from my own personal experience.

Most oils will go 10,000 miles before the additive pack is depleated or it's sheared or thickens from oxidation but you still have the contaminate load that needs to be dumped.

The 20wt is driven by government fuel economy standards (CAFE). Look at the UK site for Acura recommended oil viscosities and you'll see that they recommend everything from a 0w-20 to a 10w-40 in the 2013 TL 3.7L. In the 2006 Honda Legend, Shell shows 0w-30 as the recommended oil. You'll find just about anything acceptable into the 10w-40 range for these cars in other parts of the world where the government is not mandating a 20wt. American OCIs are generally shorter as well because there's no safety cushion, if the oil sheers any thinner, excessive wear occurs. This is why I have absolutely no problem running a mix of 30 and 40wts since it falls right into the average viscosity recommendation.

nfnsquared

Interesting, since AFAIK Acura doesn't sell a single model in the UK or anywhere in Europe for that matter. Got a link?

I hate cars

It's very hard, follow closely, this one is not in the manual. Look up "Honda" on any given UK site. Next, find the corresponding car/engine. I'll give you a clue since google may be of no help here leaving you at a dead end. Look up "Honda Legend" for beginners. You might be able to figure out the rest.

nfnsquared

Ahhh, you meant:

UK oil vendor recommendations, not Acura's recommendations. Got it. Glad we got that cleared up for everyone.

I hate cars

Google must've failed you. Keep searching. I've got a family to get back to while you're "educating" yourself.

nfnsquared

^^^In less time than it took you to type that you could have just posted the link... that is, if you had one...


But as I've already said, your statement refers to UK oil vendor recommendations, not Acura recommendations. If that's not the case, feel free to clarify it for us.

Ctla4ig

I have a headache from all this information

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ just do it every 5K miles if you use synthetic and 3K miles if you conventional

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

5W20 when the MID tells you too. Its not that hard. I use Mobil 1. And I'll get about 7-8k miles per change.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ 7-8K changes depending on amount of highway/city miles....so i just stick to 5K miles LOL

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Yep.

I do mostly highway. But follow the MID.

Otacon

iTrader: (1)

This is easily the most care bear fucking forum I've ever been on.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^

its been 2 months since that post dude...let it be

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

He held in his feelings for that long.

TrustinHFDJ

Well it depends are you using syn or fully syn... next comes the weight of the oil, and lastly the outside temp, all of these factors play on how fast you need to change oil. I rarely use the oil life, which the car indicates, but in my car it is doing 642 mi per 10%. By calm I mean that I do not maintain fast accelerations, I enjoy driving really fast, I'm too kind to my first gear. I use Acura Syn Blend because I get it for almost nothing; OCI 5.5k

5-6k is the best in my opinion for the Type S, base I would push to 6 minimum.

winning_blue

every 4k or so

tihomirbg

iTrader: (1)

Twice a year. I try to do it before it gets really cold- October or November- and then March or April for the summer. What i do though- i use 5w20 during the winter and 5w30 during summer time. I also put in only 4.5 qrts and never more. The level always goes a little over maximum though which i guess is ok.

TrustinHFDJ

Really? strange, mine is barely above with 5 full qts.

RyanCHICL

iTrader: (1)

I don't drive very far for work and school, so I do a yearly OCI every July. The MID is usually around 30-40% when I change it.

makk

5/20 synthetic since second oil change in 04. Switching to 0w/30 next change. Valve train is immaculate and runs like day it left the showroom.

sauceja

iTrader: (2)

I change mine when mid says 20%. Mobil 1 synthetic 5w20 with genuine honda filters.

I drive hard...

sleeper22

I change mine at approximately 5000 miles and use a Kendall blend a local Tire Shop stocks. Oil change cost me around $20 and my oil always looks clean. I drive 60-70% highway and I am very easy on my car. Very rare for me to get in the upper RPM's so I'm comfy changing at 5000 miles.

LaCostaRacer

^ really- your oil is 'clean' after 5000 miles? There's no dark brown color at all? The only thing I have drained that was 'clean' is our Pilot's rear differential.

I just checked my Honda Pilot's oil that has just 300 miles since its Mobile1 change and the oil is a darker shade of yellow/brown than the light gold Mobile 1 is normally. The oil is not black, but it is certainly not clean compared to new.

I usually change the Pilot every 6k miles (no MID) and the oil will be dark. Even dark, the oil has still a lot of life in it. The darkness in the oil is not the only indicator of oil life but it adds comfort.

My TL is changed by MID interval which is usually around 6500 miles @ 10% MID life and it's often dark.

I hate cars

I would be nervous about an oil that stays clean for the whole oil change interval. I would be investigating the detergent level.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

yes, my oil is clean as well...it has no bolts and screws in it when I change it

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Mine is a nice dark brown color. Same as every other car I have had.

sleeper22

I'm not saying its as clear as when it was changed IHC but its not real dirty or black. It's not fully synthetic but a blend. Don't fully synthetics get darker much quicker? The Mobil 1 in my Triumph Speed Triple and all the other bikes do get dark rather quickly even though there is plenty of life left. Bikes rev much higher and stay in the upper RPM ranges usually more than cars and especially my car.

sleeper22

WOW space age protection. Cool let us know where you get this invisible oil lol?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

wat.

drumz0rz

I usually ride the MID down as close to "Service Due Now" as possible, a few times pushing into the "Service Past Due". I use full synth, and honestly I've never been too worried about it. The engine runs like the day it rolled off the showroom floor despite years of mashing the pedal to the floor.

I once had a mechanic at one of those quick lube shops (I was in a rush) tell me some BS about how I shouldn't trust the MID and should follow his stupid 3,000mi sticker instead. The MID said I had 30% left on that oil when it was changed. I trust the MID...

sleeper22

Most quick lubes are trained to take every dollar they can.

jdm_94-07TypeS

iTrader: (10)

MID in 15% so time to get some new oil!!

ff4930

My MID has been stuck at 70% for months now. I've had the car for about 9 months. Is this normal?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^do you drive the car?

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

I'm at 10%

I hate cars

It has to be seriously overfilled for foaming. Like 4-5 quarts overfilled. Same with weeping. Think about every time you hit a large bump or take a hard corner, the oil goes all over the place. I'm not sure how well baffled the oil pan is but you get a huge margin of error. The rear main would be the first seal to suffer if its from being too full. Basically don't sweat getting the level just perfect.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

Every March with Redline and an RP filter. Usually 8-9k, but I've already done ~10k since last March. Maybe I'll do it a little early this year.

BuLtL00

I also have the same question.I have an RL but pretty sure is the same.Here is some info.

Changed oil 04/2012 at 84,3xx,MID reset to 100%
Current mileage is 85,9xx,MID is 80%
Acura dealer sticker on windshield says back on 10/12 at 15%
According to sticker i am overdue,according to MID 65% away

What should i do,does oil go bad over time even if you dont drive the car much.Thanks

makk

Ignore the sticker, you can easily go till April. Oil does go bad once open but years not months.

I hate cars

It's safe to follow the MID or one year, whichever comes first. When you don't drive the car much you have to deal with a higher level of fuel dilution, water, acids, etc. The oil doesn't go bad but the total base number (TBN) goes down to where it can no longer protect from the acids.

I wouldn't pay any attention to a dealer sticker basing your oil change on time unless you've been over a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, if you just dumped it in your engine and never started it, it would last indefinitely. But driving it introduces the contaminates I talked about and all of the bad things associated with it, that's why one year is the limit even if you've only driven 500 miles.