2013 Civic Si (K24Z7) Oil for Extended OCI

[cjsiege]

Hi guys,

I have a 2013 Honda Civic Si (K24Z7 2.4L engine) and I would like to try to extend my oil change intervals. I've been running Rotella T6 5w40 on 5000 mile intervals and Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 before that (I couldn't find it last time so I went with an alternative, hence the Rotella). I'd like to try to get at least 10,000, if not 15,000 miles on a change. I have a Fumoto valve on my car so I can sample mid-cycle easily and see how things are going. The engine currently has just over 42,000 miles and will have its next change at 45,000 miles.

I've got a guy on Facebook trying to sell me on the merits of the cult of Amsoil, and they do market their stuff for 15,000 mile intervals. But their marketing and sales annoys me, it's super expensive, and I'm skeptical of their claims. Other names I hear often are Redline and Motul. I plan to stay with a 5w30.

Any recommendations? I've been trawling through the UOA forum but I haven't seen too many examples from this engine that would guide me and give me confidence for an extended interval.

 

[gregk24]

Any name brand synthetic at Walmart (Pennzoil / Mobil 1 / Valvoline / Castrol) should serve you well.

 

[sir1900]

Why are you not following the OLM?

 

[FlyNavyP3]

Really only a UOA can tell you if an oil or engine is a good candidate for extended use the way YOU use it. Others UOA may be a guide but I wouldn't trust them to judge a lu e condemnation limit for oil in MY engine.

Best course of action would be to select a suitable long haul lube, Mobil 1 EP, Castrol Edge or one of the other easily accessible long haul lubes, run for 5,000-7,500 and sample. That will give you a basis to either extend further or not. If you're not satisfied with the performance of one lube try another if that isn't suitable try another. If after 3 long haul lubes you cant extend as far as you were thinking it probably isn't possible in your engine or the way you use the vehicle.

There are several labs for analysis available pick one. Use the same lab for trending purposes.

Use a decent long haul oil filter, my personal choices would be Fram Ultra, Wix XP or Mobil 1.

Report back your findings.

 

[cjsiege]

Originally Posted By: gregk24
Any name brand synthetic at Walmart (Pennzoil / Mobil 1 / Valvoline / Castrol) should serve you well.


You think I can just plug and play for 15k with any off-the-shelf synthetic? I'm mostly a layperson but I'm dubious.

Originally Posted By: sir1900
Why are you not following the OLM?


Because I choose not to. I'd rather have more hands on control rather than trust a faceless system whose factors of consideration aren't well understood (but it doesn't sample the oil or base it on any oil characteristic, anyways). I usually go by mileage and reset it whenever it beeps at me.

Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Really only a UOA can tell you if an oil or engine is a good candidate for extended use the way YOU use it. Others UOA may be a guide but I wouldn't trust them to judge a lu e condemnation limit for oil in MY engine.

Best course of action would be to select a suitable long haul lube, Mobil 1 EP, Castrol Edge or one of the other easily accessible long haul lubes, run for 5,000-7,500 and sample. That will give you a basis to either extend further or not. If you're not satisfied with the performance of one lube try another if that isn't suitable try another. If after 3 long haul lubes you cant extend as far as you were thinking it probably isn't possible in your engine or the way you use the vehicle.

There are several labs for analysis available pick one. Use the same lab for trending purposes.

Use a decent long haul oil filter, my personal choices would be Fram Ultra, Wix XP or Mobil 1.

Report back your findings.


Kinda what I figured. I guess I just wanted a jumping off point or maybe some differentiation that wasn't some multi-level marketing hoopla. The oil aisle can be intimidating, after all - lots of choices! I'm curious to see what results the Rotella T6 returns. Honda specced 5w30 in this engine just a few years ago before changing to 0w20 for fractional economy and emissions improvements, so I don't think it's truly super far out of spec as far as weight. We'll see what Blackstone thinks here in a few weeks.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

How many miles do you drive in a year?

Does the car get fully warm for at least 20 mins?


Run an ACEA/ BMW LL gasoline engine oil like Motul Xmax 5w30 of Fuchs Or Pentosyn.

I would not consider "alternate fact" synthetic like Mobil 1 or Valvoline or Castrol.

Is changing at 7K miles really too much of a burden?

You need a good, large synthetic (depth) media filter too.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Or a simple solution, such as M1 0w40 or Castrol Edge 0w40 (for wider range of operating temperatures) could work. Euro cars do 15k or more on that oil without issues.

 

[zuluplus30]

I recommend you go back to using 0W-20 and follow the OLM until you spend some more time here and learn a bit more. Hearing your pouring 40W into a K24 makes me cringe. Granted you've already wasted what was left of your 5y/60K powertrain warranty, Honda specs a 20W here for a reason. Amsoil 15K-25K is a myth more than a reality from what I've seen.


The other great part about Honda's Maintenance Minder is it combines other maintenance codes with the oil changes. It knows when you need tires rotated, trans fluids, plugs, filters, coolant, etc. It's pretty ingenious.

Also, just to clarify: Honda has never spec'd a 5W-30 for the K24A/Z motors. It did for the K20A, which is a totally different animal compared to the K24.

 

[Letsrunum]

Have you had any problems with 2nd or 3rd gear? I hope they fixed their transmission problems by 2013.

It's good to see they finally upgraded the motor to their 2.4L. I was [censored] that I got their 2.0L on my 2007 SI.

 

[cjsiege]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
How many miles do you drive in a year?

Does the car get fully warm for at least 20 mins?


Run an ACEA/ BMW LL gasoline engine oil like Motul Xmax 5w30 of Fuchs Or Pentosyn.

I would not consider "alternate fact" synthetic like Mobil 1 or Valvoline or Castrol.

Is changing at 7K miles really too much of a burden?

You need a good, large synthetic (depth) media filter too.


I drive just about 20,000 miles a year. 7k changes isn't a huge burden, and the fumoto valve helps, but I'm interested to see if I can take it longer. I'm happy to hear suggestions on filters as well, although I'm moderately familiar with the big names.

Originally Posted By: zuluplus30
I recommend you go back to using 0W-20 and follow the OLM until you spend some more time here and learn a bit more. Hearing your pouring 40W into a K24 makes me cringe. Granted you've already wasted what was left of your 5y/60K powertrain warranty, Honda specs a 20W here for a reason. Amsoil 15K-25K is a myth more than a reality from what I've seen.


The other great part about Honda's Maintenance Minder is it combines other maintenance codes with the oil changes. It knows when you need tires rotated, trans fluids, plugs, filters, coolant, etc. It's pretty ingenious.

Also, just to clarify: Honda has never spec'd a 5W-30 for the K24A/Z motors. It did for the K20A, which is a totally different animal compared to the K24.


At 42,000 miles mine has yet to squawk for anything other than oil, filter, and tire rotation (what it calls A1 service, IIRC). If it pops up for other stuff I'll "mind" it, so to speak.

From what I can tell using google, there is lots of discussion about the change in oil spec for the K24 series motors. The K24 Accords of the early-mid 2000s required either 5w30 or 5w40 per the manual, as did the CR-Vs. My understanding is that this change was made solely for reasons of fuel economy (E: and emissions re: CAFE), and that 5w30 and 5w40 are both totally acceptable, especially in warmer climates (like here in sunny Southern California, where winter has yet to arrive). Some forced induction folks even run 10w30 and such without incident.

I, too, am skeptical of Amsoil's grandiose marketing claims. They do warrant their stuff and your engine for that length of time, which is nice, but I'm sure it's quite difficult to get them to pay out on a claim under that warranty.

 

[cjsiege]

Originally Posted By: Letsrunum
Have you had any problems with 2nd or 3rd gear? I hope they fixed their transmission problems by 2013.

It's good to see they finally upgraded the motor to their 2.4L. I was [censored] that I got their 2.0L on my 2007 SI.


I've yet to have any gear problems, mercifully. I am, however, due for a gear oil change, which I'm going to do with my next regular oil change. Too bad the plug is in the wheel well or I'd put a fumoto valve there, too!

Honestly, the K20 may have been the better of the motors. The K24 doesn't have VTEC on the exhaust cam because it has a one piece manifold or something such that it saves money and effort in production but that's the result. Many folks are known to swap head bits from the K20 into the K24 as a good number of them are direct bolt on. It also has a much lower redline than the K20 owing to its super long stroke, the longest of any motor of its type, I believe. And they're rated for basically the exact same output. I dunno. I hear the new 1.5T engines are making great numbers with simple retunes though, so I fully expect the 10th gen Si and Type R to be ridiculous compared to the 8th and 9th gens.

 

[bigt61]

Just run M1 EP or Pennzoil Ultra in 5W-30 - they should both do 15k as long as you're religious about keeping the level topped off. I'm also assuming you're not doing 100% stoop & go city driving with tons of idle time. If you're 50/50 city-highway you'll be fine using those premium oils.

 

[Letsrunum]

Originally Posted By: cjsiege
Originally Posted By: Letsrunum
Have you had any problems with 2nd or 3rd gear? I hope they fixed their transmission problems by 2013.

It's good to see they finally upgraded the motor to their 2.4L. I was [censored] that I got their 2.0L on my 2007 SI.


I've yet to have any gear problems, mercifully. I am, however, due for a gear oil change, which I'm going to do with my next regular oil change. Too bad the plug is in the wheel well or I'd put a fumoto valve there, too!

Honestly, the K20 may have been the better of the motors. The K24 doesn't have VTEC on the exhaust cam because it has a one piece manifold or something such that it saves money and effort in production but that's the result. Many folks are known to swap head bits from the K20 into the K24 as a good number of them are direct bolt on. It also has a much lower redline than the K20 owing to its super long stroke, the longest of any motor of its type, I believe. And they're rated for basically the exact same output. I dunno. I hear the new 1.5T engines are making great numbers with simple retunes though, so I fully expect the 10th gen Si and Type R to be ridiculous compared to the 8th and 9th gens.




It does have a nice power band. I will post a new thread to show what that 2nd or 3rd gear problem turns into and what I had done to fix their problem. It cost me $3,500 to fix it.

 

[cjsiege]

Looking pretty good so far...