5w-20 Pennzoil Ultra, 9278 mi, 09 Honda Fit Sport

[Pajamarama]

• Sample taken at OC
• The oil used was the old formulation of Pennzoil Ultra which was discontinued over a year ago. Not sure exactly when. I have about 2 more OC's worth of it.
• Filter used was PureOne PL14610 replaced with a Fram ToughGuard. (Do we still argue over that here?)
• Yes, OCI was over a year. Wife uses the car and makes short trips (under 10 mi) just about every day. Took a long time to get up to 9k.
• TBN and viscosity appeared to have benefited from 1 qt of makeup oil about 9 months into the OCI.
• Yeah, Al is still a little high. Maybe b/c of the short trips?
• Not planning to extend the OCI much further than this if at all. Maybe 10k as a nice round number.

As always, any thoughts, comments, questions, etc are welcomed.

 

[demarpaint]

Have you considered giving PU 5W30 a try? The report isn't really bad, but maybe 5W30 might yield better results? I'd give it a try.

 

[buster]

Al is concerning but I don't know what the cause of that would be. (Not the oils fault).

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: buster

Al is concerning but I don't know what the cause of that would be. (Not the oils fault).

Wonder if there could be a connection between Si & Al? 19 PPM Al is a little high, usually it's pistons, but I wonder if the cam journals in the head are a potential source too.

 

[CT8]

5W-30

 

[Pontual]

22ppm at 9k miles isnt that much, in a high aluminium engine... Black Stone had to say something, so, the Al. Nontheless Id go 5w30 also, even though I believe it is possible to be start/warmup wearing.

 

[dgunay]

I'd use thin 5w30 like PP, or M1.

 

[KCJeep]

Oil looks fine but I'd bet a good 5w30 would cut that aluminum in half.

 

[Falken]

I think some Fits throw off a lot of piston skirt. I am going to stick to twice a year OCI I guess. Wish my whole stash was 5W30 at this point

 

[Rolla07]

Im curious to know why everyone recommends 5w30? Is that somehow going to reduce the AL? Personally I'd just cut down to a bit shorter interval to see if it drops a bit on ur next OCI. Obviously you can go to 5w30 afterwards if its still high. Dont they recommend 5w20?

 

[Pajamarama]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07

Im curious to know why everyone recommends 5w30? Is that somehow going to reduce the AL? Personally I'd just cut down to a bit shorter interval to see if it drops a bit on ur next OCI. Obviously you can go to 5w30 afterwards if its still high. Dont they recommend 5w20?

Yes, Honda recommends (mandates?) 5w-20 for the Fit. I believe it has also been back-certified for 0w-20 for my year's version as well. I thought of this very same question myself when I saw the results. Let's say I have a 9000 mi OCI with 21 ppm of Al (which is basically what my results are). Would 3 x 3000mi OCIs with 7 ppm Al each somehow be better? I mean, is it 6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other? I don't know.

 

[zuluplus30]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07

Im curious to know why everyone recommends 5w30? Is that somehow going to reduce the AL? Personally I'd just cut down to a bit shorter interval to see if it drops a bit on ur next OCI. Obviously you can go to 5w30 afterwards if its still high. Dont they recommend 5w20?

His Al is high in all 5 of his last OCIs, from as short at 5800 to the current 9200 sample, so he's already completed the shorter interval route. Time to bump up to a 30wt and see if it cuts the aluminum down.

 

[sdude2k2000]

I don't believe this is the oil's fault at all. Something is happening because the Flashpoint is all the way down to 365 as well (and all previous UOA's are 400 or less). Possible fuel dilution issue that isn't being picked up? Probably related to the short trips, but I could make the argument that a lighter oil would be better during your short trips -vs- a heavier weight as others are recommending. I don't think a 30-weight would have much effect, but you could try it and see. My opinion --- do the good 'ol "Italian Tune-Up" on that thing once every week or two! Get it up to operating temp and jump on it a little. Take it for a 30-min drive on the highway/interstate to evaporate out all the fuel/moisture in the oil sump. Those Aluminum numbers aren't great obviously (and they haven't been for a while)... so if you plan on keeping the Fit for the long haul, you need to break the short-tripping habit a bit.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yes, there is several % of fuel present that blackstone isn't catching because of their useless calculation. Has been since the very first UOA. I'd cut it back to 1 year max.

 

[Falken]

Well, to be fair, 5W30 being "thicker" would hold up to OP's short tripping fuel% a bit better...

 

[ltslimjim]

Short-trips are harder on oil, but living in Atlanta you don't have as many "severe" cold trips. So, maybe that is one reason the TBN isn't depleted; aside from 1 quart added during the interval. Going into the winter now I doubt it matters as much, but at the very least perhaps cap the OCIs to 1 year at this point? Also, people seem to be looking at the ppm to miles, but if you consider time in service instead; from his first UOA to this most recent report, the Al ppm per Month has decreased in every report: 4.6 2.7 1.8 1.4 In that sense anyway things appear to have improved at least with regards to time in use. Combine that with the fact most of the trips are under 10 miles and it's not hard to understand why the Al readings are elevated in his UOAs for this engine. Thoughts on ppm / month improvements compared to the ppm / mile? PS: Is the '09 when the Fits got a more aggressive valve-train compared to the '07/'08 models? I know the '07/'08 models were easier on oil overall seemingly. READ: See my topics created history for 07 Fit Sport UOAs.

 

[alarmguy]

Its not all that bad a report. I have to agree with the post above. Assuming you want to make this engine last a long time, why not follow the owners manual at the minimum? 1. Your owners manual calls for oil changes at least once 1 year. Why go further if you want the best for your engine? 2. Honda doesnt care if its synthetic or conventional and for me personally, I rather use a good conventional and change at double the interval, 2 times a year. 3. Anyway, Im just suggesting changing at Hondas recommended interval, me personally its not to much care for my vehicle to change the oil twice a year just knowing its really good for the engine as the industry agrees, repeated short distance driving is torture for oil. I can see from some posts some people dont think it gets real cold or you have a winter in Atlanta! Ha! I thought that when I moved to South Carolina!

 

[bigt61]

IMO, 22ppm over a whole year and 9k miles is nothing. Especially with a harsh winter and short trips. I'd keep doing what you're doing and use up your stash. In a few years, when that's gone, you can bump up to 5W-30. Your engine is not going to be wearing out anytime soon at this rate.

 

[Pajamarama]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy

1. Your owners manual calls for oil changes at least once 1 year. Why go further if you want the best for your engine?

Actually, my Fit has an oil life indicator built into the digital info displayed on the dash. It counts down in 10 percent intervals from 100% to 20% (where the service light comes on). Beginning with my first report, I have changed the oil before Honda's oil life indicator every single time. I think if I changed it when it got down to 20% I'd be looking at a 11k+ OCI. I definitely respect your opinion, but I don't understand how changing it even more frequently would be in line with Honda's recommendations. I think I'm going to play around with 5w-30 in my next OC. Maybe not the whole amount, maybe 50%, I don't know. I think as a short-tripper, this car may just be destined to shed slightly more Al.

Originally Posted By: alarmguy

I can see from some posts some people dont think it gets real cold or you have a winter in Atlanta! Ha! I thought that when I moved to South Carolina!

Yeah, we're not Minnesota or Alberta but it does get somewhat cold in winter. I think we had a full week last year where the temp never got above 32 F/0 C. As I get older, I realize what I took for granted growing up in SoCal. Thanks for your comments!

 

[double vanos]

PJ: years ago Bill in Utah ran a series of UOAs on his Toyota Corolla which showed little difference wear wise between Dino and syn in the crankcase. I realize that this is a Toyota vs Honda thing, but they're not exactly dissimilar either. You could do twice a year oil changes with PYB in the correct spec and see what happens. Personally, considering the driving environment and length of time in use I agree with big61 that you have little to worry about.