2007 Civic SI, miles between oil changes?

[jeffie7]

My wife has a 2007 Honda Civic SI we bought it back in 2008 used with around 18K miles on the car, since the first oil change I've run Mobil 1 5W30 with either a OEM Honda filter or Mobil 1 filter M1-110 The car currently has 101K miles on it. She drives a lot for work.....

Car is driven 98% of the time on the highway and rarely sees above 4500RPMs.

So far I've been doing 7000-7500mile oil changes. I add about 1/4 quart of oil every other week to make sure its always topped off, the K series motors always seem to use a bit of oil.

Am I changing the oil too often?

I also noticed the M1-110 filter is listed as a 15,000 mile filter.

Should I

A. Move oil changes up to 10K mile mark and send out an oil sample for testing just to make sure it's ok.
B. Keep oil changes at 7500 miles and do the filter every other?
C. Don't change anything. Keep doing oil/filter at 7500 miles.

Thanks for any feedback!

Jeff

 

[HTSS_TR]

Her driving condition is very easy on oil, I would use M1 HM 5W30 with M1 oil filter for 10-12k OCI, no need to top off 1/4 qt every other week, just top off 1/2 qt every month if needed.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Go with the longer drain Mobil 1 5w30 15,000 mile oil and filter. Sample at 12,000 miles...you might just have a yearly Spring oil change with this combo.

 

[Artem]

Jeff, I had an 07 Si as well and my last UOA after 6,000 miles before i sold the car showed there is plenty of oil life left to go further. Mobil 1 is very close to the oil i was using in my Si and with your wife's driving style/conditions, i think 10k is VERY do-able.

There's a member on here "JoefromPA" that did 10-16k oil change intervals for years and his engine was spotless after 100k miles of doing so.

Here's a link to his latest UOA.

06 Civic Si - 13,000 mile UOA

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Her driving condition is very easy on oil, I would use M1 HM 5W30 with M1 oil filter for 10-12k OCI, no need to top off 1/4 qt every other week, just top off 1/2 qt every month if needed.


What he's doing is perfect. He's making sure that the oil level is always perfect. Why wait until it get LOW when you can keep adding constantly to refresh the additives?

Besides, with a car like this (and you should know, having an S2k) it's best to get under the hood often and check the oil. You never know when it could burn a lot suddenly)

 

[Bandito440]

You could give it a UOA at 7,500 and go from there. I don't do very long extended OCIs myself, but I'd probably base it on a UOA starting at 7,500. I like M1, and would probably use EP and their filters at that distance.

 

[jeffie7]

I'm all about checking oil often, even more so when its the wife's car and she has to drive 60+ miles each way to work.

In fact I check my 350z's oil every single time I take it out. Although its a straight up toy that is highly modded.....

How do you get an oil sample without draining the oil? Crack the oil filter and catch some of it as it comes out or use a small tube and suck it out of the dip stick holder?

Quote:
Go with the longer drain Mobil 1 5w30 15,000 mile oil and filter. Sample at 12,000 miles...you might just have a yearly Spring oil change with this combo.


I wish..... 3-4K miles a month would put me slightly past the 15K mark at one year.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Artem
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Her driving condition is very easy on oil, I would use M1 HM 5W30 with M1 oil filter for 10-12k OCI, no need to top off 1/4 qt every other week, just top off 1/2 qt every month if needed.


What he's doing is perfect. He's making sure that the oil level is always perfect. Why wait until it get LOW when you can keep adding constantly to refresh the additives?

Besides, with a car like this (and you should know, having an S2k) it's best to get under the hood often and check the oil. You never know when it could burn a lot suddenly)

It's good to check the oil level often, once a week or at every fill up gas tank is good maintenance practice, but top off with 1/4 qt to get the oil level to the max line on the dipstick is not necessary. I prefer the oil level at the middle of max and min lines, most owner manual recommend top off only when the oil level is at or near the min line.

 

[jeffie7]

Topping off was more so a figure of speech. I like the dip stick to be around the 3/4th mark, every 2 weeks the oil is between the 1/4 to 1/2 mark.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Artem
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Her driving condition is very easy on oil, I would use M1 HM 5W30 with M1 oil filter for 10-12k OCI, no need to top off 1/4 qt every other week, just top off 1/2 qt every month if needed.


What he's doing is perfect. He's making sure that the oil level is always perfect. Why wait until it get LOW when you can keep adding constantly to refresh the additives?

Besides, with a car like this (and you should know, having an S2k) it's best to get under the hood often and check the oil. You never know when it could burn a lot suddenly)

It's good to check the oil level often, once a week or at every fill up gas tank is good maintenance practice, but top off with 1/4 qt to get the oil level to the max line on the dipstick is not necessary. I prefer the oil level at the middle of max and min lines, most owner manual recommend top off only when the oil level is at or near the min line.


I run my cars HARD, cornering hard, etc and prefer to have the oil completely FULL at the MAX level to insure proper amount of lubrication @ high RPM / high G cornering.

 

[Oregoonian]

Why not go to Mobil 1EP (5w20)....instead of the regular Mobil 1.
Its Mobil's top-tier oil and is guaranteed for 15K.

I would run it for 12,500 +/-....and continue to continue to use the M1 EP filter (also guaranteed for 15K).

You'll save both time and $$$ with this schedule. The EP line is just three or four dollars more (per 5 qt. jug at WM), than the regular Mobil 1.

 

[Artem]

His K series engine requires 5w30.

As much as i agree that he could definitely run it further, we're all just guessing it without actually looking at a UOA.

The OP could easily do 10k on regular M1 (M1 EP would give him more room for safely and allow to go further if needed) but its best to get a UOA to confirm what we all already suspect here.

I say he samples @ 7,500 to get a good baseline and continue to use the oil if the lab backs it up. (say the lab says he can easily continue up to 10k).

The following run he can go 10k before sampling again (without draining the sump) and continue running it until he reaches a good, safe limit.

I wear mechanics gloves with a rubber glove on top of that which allows you to undo the drain plug just enough to drain some oil directly into the collection bottle. Be sure the drain plug and area around it are clean before sampling.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I like to have the oil level between 1/2 and 3/4 marks too.

Artem, there are 2 different thoughts on oil level, one is at full or slightly above full/max, the second is slightly below full but not too (close to min).

 

[rrounds]

If your not on the race track I don't see any reason to add any oil before its to the low mark. I think the manufacturer knows when you should add oil in a street car.
I also have a S2k and I check the oil every other fill up(about 700 miles) and so far I have not had to add any oil in my "S" between 7500 mile oil changes.

ROD

 

[Oregoonian]

Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
Why not go to Mobil 1EP (5w20)....instead of the regular Mobil 1.
Its Mobil's top-tier oil and is guaranteed for 15K.

I would run it for 12,500 +/-....and continue to continue to use the M1 EP filter (also guaranteed for 15K).

You'll save both time and $$$ with this schedule. The EP line is just three or four dollars more (per 5 qt. jug at WM), than the regular Mobil 1.


If you decide to go the M1 EP oil route.....I think you should do a UOA at 10K (w/o draining the oil, if possible)....just to be safe. I'm confident that it will be OK to go another 2.5 to 3k....and maybe even 4 to 5K, before doing an OCI

 

[jeffie7]

Originally Posted By: rrounds
If your not on the race track I don't see any reason to add any oil before its to the low mark. I think the manufacturer knows when you should add oil in a street car.
I also have a S2k and I check the oil every other fill up(about 700 miles) and so far I have not had to add any oil in my "S" between 7500 mile oil changes.

ROD


How does a manufacture know how high or low my oil level is?
Is it better to let the oil get to the low mark or worse VS making sure its in the middle to 3/4 range on the dip stick?