Originally Posted By: sticky topic
So, when you ask for advice, tell us about your car! The more details, the better. Here are the essential points:
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
3. Where you live
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
6. Whether your car has any known problems
1. 1990 Mazda Miata 1.6L, manual transmission, 83K miles
2. The owner's manual recommends an API SF or SG oil, and provides this chart for viscosity:
3. Atlanta, GA (FYI, I plan to use the same oil all year 'round.)
4. I drive it hard, with regular excursions to near-redline. (What do you expect? It's only got 115 horsepower!) I also autocross.
5. My daily drive is currently 30 miles commuting in each direction, half freeway and half city / congested freeway. By the next oil change, my daily drive will have changed to much shorter trips (e.g. 5 miles), and 90%+ city.
6. The car has a little of the lifter HLA tick that's common to Miatas, usually only noticeable after an autocross run. Otherwise, it's in excellent condition.
I'm currently using Valvoline SynPower 5W-30 with a 3000-mile OCI (which matches the previous owner's practice -- I only bought the car a few thousand miles ago) and a Fram Ultra XG7317 filter (which is a slightly larger size than OEM).
I like the Fram filters because there's hardly any clearance for a tool in the Miata engine bay and their grippy texture lets me unscrew them by hand. However, I'm a little scared of the quality (at least for the orange can or ToughGuard), which is why I'm currently using the Ultra.
I have the following questions:
1. As a general principle I like Valvoline NextGen Synthetic (I use it in my truck), but it only comes in 5W-30. Would that be better or worse for my Miata engine than the 10W-30 I'm using now? (They're the same brand and equally synthetic, so -- if Valvoline is to be believed -- the only difference is the viscosity.) I'd like to use the NextGen, but if 10W-30 is better I'll stick with the SynPower. EDIT: Also, if anybody recommends going up to 10W-40, tell me if you think Shell Rotella T6 is appropriate, since it's cheap and I use it in my other other car, a TDI).
2. Should I extend my OCI, and/or use the filter for multiple oil changes, or should I stick with the 3000-mile interval because of the high-RPM use?
3. Since my engine is so old (and designed for old oils), should I be using ZDDP additives or other things like that? (For that matter, should I be worried about 10% ethanol fuel?)
So, when you ask for advice, tell us about your car! The more details, the better. Here are the essential points:
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
3. Where you live
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
6. Whether your car has any known problems
1. 1990 Mazda Miata 1.6L, manual transmission, 83K miles
2. The owner's manual recommends an API SF or SG oil, and provides this chart for viscosity:
3. Atlanta, GA (FYI, I plan to use the same oil all year 'round.)
4. I drive it hard, with regular excursions to near-redline. (What do you expect? It's only got 115 horsepower!) I also autocross.
5. My daily drive is currently 30 miles commuting in each direction, half freeway and half city / congested freeway. By the next oil change, my daily drive will have changed to much shorter trips (e.g. 5 miles), and 90%+ city.
6. The car has a little of the lifter HLA tick that's common to Miatas, usually only noticeable after an autocross run. Otherwise, it's in excellent condition.
I'm currently using Valvoline SynPower 5W-30 with a 3000-mile OCI (which matches the previous owner's practice -- I only bought the car a few thousand miles ago) and a Fram Ultra XG7317 filter (which is a slightly larger size than OEM).
I like the Fram filters because there's hardly any clearance for a tool in the Miata engine bay and their grippy texture lets me unscrew them by hand. However, I'm a little scared of the quality (at least for the orange can or ToughGuard), which is why I'm currently using the Ultra.
I have the following questions:
1. As a general principle I like Valvoline NextGen Synthetic (I use it in my truck), but it only comes in 5W-30. Would that be better or worse for my Miata engine than the 10W-30 I'm using now? (They're the same brand and equally synthetic, so -- if Valvoline is to be believed -- the only difference is the viscosity.) I'd like to use the NextGen, but if 10W-30 is better I'll stick with the SynPower. EDIT: Also, if anybody recommends going up to 10W-40, tell me if you think Shell Rotella T6 is appropriate, since it's cheap and I use it in my other other car, a TDI).
2. Should I extend my OCI, and/or use the filter for multiple oil changes, or should I stick with the 3000-mile interval because of the high-RPM use?
3. Since my engine is so old (and designed for old oils), should I be using ZDDP additives or other things like that? (For that matter, should I be worried about 10% ethanol fuel?)
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