Recent content by Ballbearing

I would say the higher engine temps for a long period must burn off any moisture and unburnt fuel that accumulates with cold and stop start running.

I've let the oil level go below the bottom dipstick mark before and got away with it.I think theres a bit of a safety margin built in by most engine makers.Not something i would do on purpose though.

Well fwiw i have used a semi syn 10w40 in my H22a with 100000 km and it looks similar to the bottom pic and if anything cleaner.I do mainly short trips and low ks per year and change the oil every 4 to 5 months.

Also varnish on the valve stem seals causes them to go brittle from reduced contact with the oil.

I'm another who uses gloves to do oil changes,usually plastic gloves that a gardener would use though i do use the throw away latex ones sometimes.Even if used oil is harmless,with gloves on either way its not a problem.

Well i would'nt bother if it were mine,just stick with conventional oil.It will work just fine in a car such as yours.As for the colour,sounds alright to me,most oil goes dark brown with a few miles on it.

Yup,thats as i understand it.0w rating of oils is a bit confusing, you think its a thinner oil at start up temps than a 5 or 10w but it is'nt necessarily so.Maybe it would be better if the cold end was measured at say 0 degrees c and not 40.

I too always prime my oil filters,even when they are mounted on an angle.If you are quick enough you can get the thread started without losing too much oil.The oil may be unfiltered but straight out of the bottle it should be clean.Although look into the bottom of the 4 litre plastic jugs after...

I run my car under the same conditions as your girlfriend and i use a 10w40 blend and change it every 5 to 6 months, much as Patman suggests.

I think they are usually towards the high end of their viscosity class as in a high xw-30 or 40 weight,with a seal swell additive.Not sure that there,s much else thats different.

Yup,i think so.40 or 50 weight will protect an engine better than any of these 20 or 30 weights will over the long haul,as in 200k miles over 10 years.These heavier oils are good once the engine is up to temperature,but not so good when you have to start up in temps below say -10c. Then you...

I use a Castrol oil called "VMX" in my H22A Prelude.Its a semi synthetic 80w gear oil,for 5 speed manual transmissions as the name suggests.Seems to work well enough but i have'nt tried Honda MTF as its double the price like most things from Honda dealers,so i cant compare it.VMX does'nt seem to...

FWIW Check the Australian Castrol site.Theres a similar lube match for cars bikes trucks outboards etc.It gives recommendations very different to those in the USA. http://www.castrol.com.au/lube_guide/index.html

Ray H Yeah, well i understand how an engine doing high rpms will tend to consume more oil,vtec or not.But some people have suggested that the vtec system itself uses up the oil.Not sure where i saw this,either here or on honda-tech.com. Quick_lude I drive it 2200-2500 miles in 6 months.If it was...

My 94 Prelude H22A1 with 92000km on the clock uses virtually no oil at all.I change it every 6 months and in that time i do around 3500-4000 kms,so not that many ks on the oil but in that time the level will drop 1.5-2mm on the dipstick.I use semi synthetic 10w40.A previous 3rd gen 1990 Prelude...