So I just picked up a 2023 Honda Pilot, which has their new 3.5L v6. As with all Honda engines, the manual specs 0w-20. But I just ran through the desert mountains @ 80 mph and outside temps hit 119 degrees--I don't trust any 0w-20 oil under those conditions. I'm also concerned about carbon deposits on valves with this new v6's direct injection only fuel delivery system. I do 5K OCIs. Can someone recommend a decent oil, preferably one that can be purchased at Amazon or Walmart? Thanks.
Hi rbk777,
I have 4 Honda Odyssey's EX-L's (8 passenger) with the 3.5 liter V6 with VCM enabled. They are speced for 20 weight oils.
I've been running 5W-30 Full Synthetic in them for years. Engines seem to run quieter with 5W-30 in them, and also the higher High Temperature High Shear of about 3.1/3.2 give me added film thickness protection when they are loaded up with 8 heavy people + luggage and we go on cross country trips including going into the mountains with long uphill grades with Air Conditioning on. This same Honda J35 engine is speced for 5W-30 and even 5W-40 in Europe / Australia.
The Walmart SuperTech High Mileage Full Synthetic 5W-30 in the 5 quart jug at Walmart is what I've decided to make my strategic choice for motor oil in all my vehicles. It is a good thick 5W-30 (KV @ 100C of 11.2). It also has a large dose of anti-wear additives of phosphorous and zinc, and a high dose of detergent (Calcium). The high dose of the detergent additive: Calcium is important to me for engine cleanliness, as the Honda J35 engines with VCM enabled have extreme hot spots on the top of the front cylinder heads, and tend to cook the oil and form deposits.
See the details on the VOA here at the highly respected Petroleum Quality Institute of America:
pqia.org
Some other "name brand" oils have additive packages with very low anti-wear additives and very low detergents additives, so I permanently avoid those brands.
The SuperTech Full Synthetic oils have been around forever, and are "tried and true" here on BITOG's members for decades, and have always had very good UOA's and VOA's. It's one of those rare situations when one of the lowest priced products is also among the best.
I do short 4k mile / 6 month OCI's (whichever comes first) with full synthetic 5W-30.
I also like to do engine flushes during the 1st 3 oil changes after purchasing a used vehicle, since the previous owner(s) might have gone longer than 5k OCI which is not a good idea in these engines. The engine flush I use is: STP Highly Concentrated engine flush @ $5.97 a bottle at Walmart. It has high ratings on Amazon/Walmart with new oil becoming very dark after running the flush, and STP says it's safe to use the flush with every oil change. It's not based on kerosene, as I won't use any flush that is based on kerosene.
This BITOG thread is from a BITOG moderator who did 5k/6 month OCI's in his Honda Odyssey and got some significant sludge (See the thread below). From several different threads and mechanics here on BITOG, I've learned that 5k OCI is too long in these J35 engines with VCM enabled. I prefer to keep the VCM enabled for the added fuel economy as I drive with a very light foot (conserving momentum and coasting a lot with my right foot on the floor using a gradual pulse and glide technique) so the VCM is able to turn off 3 of the cylinders most of the time. I'm getting an average of 27.5 MPG as calculated in my spreadsheet with Van loaded up with 8 people + AC on, which is decent for a minivan.
Did an oil change on our 14 odyssey tonight. It is closing in on 70k miles. It is my wife’s dd, so most use is extremely short drives, a mile or two at a time. We also use it for family trips of course. It has had the VCM disabled since maybe a thousand miles. These last two OCIs were Rotella...
bobistheoilguy.com
