Which one does better "cleaning"? Whenever you see those claims by companies such as Pennzoil about cleaning 46% better then so and so, they always have a star saying something along the lines of "in an application with 5w30". Does 5w30 clean better? And if so, I am thinking about doing a run of ARX, and my Honda is specd for 5w20. IF 5w30 cleans better, should I use it for the short ARX run or just stick with the 5w20
5w30 vs 5w20
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don't worry, your engine is clean enough. "cleaning" is just marketing ploy aimed at our human obsession with "keeping clean".
Even the Bible talks about "clean" and "unclean". Don't waste money on ARX. I am running a 95 Dodge Colt Mitsubishi with a 1.5l
12 valve FI engine. The engine has never been subjected to a "cleaning", and it runs like a top. Does not use a drop of oil,
is totally quiet, and powerful, with 175,000 miles on the clock. Never had any engine work, just regular oil change. Never had any cleaning whatsoever of any kind, except for occasional FI "cleaner" poured into the gasoline. "Engine cleaning" will just clean out your wallet, but the motor will not notice any difference. All of the critical areas of the engine are where two pieces of metal come very close together. The continuous movement of oil through this little gap is what keeps it clean. With proper oil changes, engines are by nature self cleaning, by design. Honda is made by Japanese: the Japanese are experts on tiny powerful gasoline engines, because the island has NO oil reserves at all - everything has to be imported. The Japanese make these engines as a matter of national pride - in fact, if they build a bad engine, the engineer would commit Hare Kare, in order to save face, and prevent national disgrace. So say your thanks to the Japanese, and save your money.
Even the Bible talks about "clean" and "unclean". Don't waste money on ARX. I am running a 95 Dodge Colt Mitsubishi with a 1.5l
12 valve FI engine. The engine has never been subjected to a "cleaning", and it runs like a top. Does not use a drop of oil,
is totally quiet, and powerful, with 175,000 miles on the clock. Never had any engine work, just regular oil change. Never had any cleaning whatsoever of any kind, except for occasional FI "cleaner" poured into the gasoline. "Engine cleaning" will just clean out your wallet, but the motor will not notice any difference. All of the critical areas of the engine are where two pieces of metal come very close together. The continuous movement of oil through this little gap is what keeps it clean. With proper oil changes, engines are by nature self cleaning, by design. Honda is made by Japanese: the Japanese are experts on tiny powerful gasoline engines, because the island has NO oil reserves at all - everything has to be imported. The Japanese make these engines as a matter of national pride - in fact, if they build a bad engine, the engineer would commit Hare Kare, in order to save face, and prevent national disgrace. So say your thanks to the Japanese, and save your money.
Oh, and I use a Frankenmix 5w25, 50:50 Motorcraft semi synthetic 5w20 and Super Tech synthetic 5w30. For your application, I would use either
5w25 or the very excellent semi synthetic MC 5w20. I find using a Frankenmix satisfies my psychiatric obsessive compulsive disorder, and my engine seems to love it.
5w25 or the very excellent semi synthetic MC 5w20. I find using a Frankenmix satisfies my psychiatric obsessive compulsive disorder, and my engine seems to love it.
not everything is entirely true from the above post. I do agree that oil will do some cleaning, but nothing like auto-rx or another product will do.
how many miles on your vehicle IMHO? What type of Honda? type of driving it gets
i would stick with 5W20 if that is what it is specd for, unless you have consumption or burning issues then I *might* step up to a 30 grade
i will agree that MC 5W20 is an excellent oil
how many miles on your vehicle IMHO? What type of Honda? type of driving it gets
i would stick with 5W20 if that is what it is specd for, unless you have consumption or burning issues then I *might* step up to a 30 grade
i will agree that MC 5W20 is an excellent oil
at my next oil change i should have around 52,500, it's a civic, and i'd say its about 50/50 as far as hwy vs city.
A 170K+ truck i had got 3K conventional oil changes faithfully, but still benefited from a double ARX run. It too ran like a top prior to the cleaning, but over many years an owner just doesn't notice the slowly disappearing performance of the engine. ARX it with the factory recommended viscosity.
Just use a short run of Marvel Mystery Oil of up to 5 hours should do it. Be sure to ONLY RUN THE ENGINE GENTLY with MMO in the crank case. After 5 hours of operation, drain the whole mess, and you will be done, for another 100,000 miles. Or just drain a quart of oil, and replace with kerosene, run for 15 minutes at idle, and drain the whole mess. I prefer the MMO method, it's a little gentler, and there's less chance of ruining the seals. Other people have used SeaFoam, but to me this is basically just the same as kerosene. The advantage with SeaFoam is that it costs a bit more, and people think that if they pay for something, then they get what they pay for. Unfortunately, the other thing that is true, is that a fool and his money, are soon parted.
Or just skip right over putting garbage like that into your engine and get some Auto RX.
Civics will rust well before the engine goes. Use the spec'd oil, maybe get a bottle of ARX if you want, and enjoy your fuel-sipper!
Oh, at 52.000 miles your engine is just a baby. If it's being run 50:50 hwy city, I double there is any scum in it at all. What I would do, is: check the oil. If there is room for a full bottle of MMO, then pour it in, otherwise, drain a little oil, and then pour in full bottle of MMO. Run engine for 5 hours, GENTLY, ONLY, then do full oil change. Check which side oil drain plug is on, and drive up ONLY ONE CAR RAMP, so car will be tilted TOWARDS the side with the drain plug. Allow oil to drain out, for a full hour. Then fill with nice MC 5w20. Your engine will love it. It will be difficult to determine how much "cleaning" was actually done, but at least you will know that if your engine was not "clean" before, it certainly will be now. You might get an idea from the color of the drained oil. Remember, most of the scum will be coming from non-critical areas of the engine, and the most critical parts, between two moving pieces of metal, were probably fairly clean to start with. However, if anything significant happened, you might notice a slight change in the way the engine runs.
Repeat every 100,000 miles, or five to 10 years, whichever comes first, and depending on how satisfied you were with the first "treatment".
Repeat every 100,000 miles, or five to 10 years, whichever comes first, and depending on how satisfied you were with the first "treatment".
i do recommend MMO in the gas tank but not really in the crankcase, although it is written right on the bottle that you can but the speculation is that it thins the oil out severely.
If you do it for a short interval like scoobie says you would probably be ok, but out of all the products out there auto-rx will be the safest.
as long as you do sensible oci's you can run any quality oil and be fine.
If you do it for a short interval like scoobie says you would probably be ok, but out of all the products out there auto-rx will be the safest.
as long as you do sensible oci's you can run any quality oil and be fine.
Oh, and one other point, I actually have THREE Dodge Colts, all 1995, and all manufactured in Oct 1994(true). This is true.
One, has 30,000 miles, one has 120,000 miles, and the third has 170,000 miles. The 120,000 mile car was exposed to brutal cold starts in Northern Ontario, and uses slight amount of oil. The engine is still extremely powerful, it always starts instantly, and runs like a top. The 170,000 mile car lived in Southern Ontario, does not use any oil at all, was changed every 3000 miles religiously, was NEVER cleaned, and runs BEAUTIFULLY, EXACTLY THE SAME as the Colt with 30,000 miles. I really cannot tell any difference between any of my Dodge Colts, despite the mileage differences, but the one with 170,000 miles, I repeat, runs BEAUTIFULLY. The 120,000 mile car has NO RUST ANYWHERE, despite long northern winters with VERY LIBERAL USE OF ROAD SALT, because it was oil sprayed annually. The 170,000 mile car, has slight rust, BUT THE REAR BUMPER HAS COMPLETELY RUSTED OFF, and there is ONLY A PLASTIC SHELL, where the bumper used to be. This car was NEVER oil sprayed. The 30,000 mile car has significant rust, was NEVER oil sprayed, and will require some body work, I estimate about $1500 dollars worth. Moral: change your oil, DO AN ANNUAL OIL SPRAY, and DO NOT WORRY, your car will last forever, WITH NO CLEANING WHAT SO EVER. If you really must thought, an MMO treatment should be more than enough. What MMO will do is make the oil EVEN THINNER, so that the FLOW RATE will increase, and the natural cleaning power of the oil will be that much more effective. Please read the following, and exercise due caution:
On the other side of the engine block are those additives which will cleanse your engine, not coat it. Stuff like Bardahl, Rislone and Marvel Mystery Oil claim they can make your engine run quieter and smoother, and reduce oil burning. These are products which contain solvents or detergents such as kerosene, naphthalene, xylene, acetone or isopropanol. If used properly, I suppose these products will strip off your Teflon and zinc protective coatings! But unless you have a really old and abused car, you probably have no need of stripping away sludge and deposits from your engine. Thus, you probably have no need for these wonder cleaners. If you overuse such products you can damage your engine by promoting metal to metal contact.
If you use a synthetic oil, such as Mobil 1, you are advised not to use any engine treatments or additives. Mobil claims that
The use of an engine oil additive is not recommended, either by Mobil or by virtually any vehicle manufacturer. In fact, it may void your new-car warranty.
One, has 30,000 miles, one has 120,000 miles, and the third has 170,000 miles. The 120,000 mile car was exposed to brutal cold starts in Northern Ontario, and uses slight amount of oil. The engine is still extremely powerful, it always starts instantly, and runs like a top. The 170,000 mile car lived in Southern Ontario, does not use any oil at all, was changed every 3000 miles religiously, was NEVER cleaned, and runs BEAUTIFULLY, EXACTLY THE SAME as the Colt with 30,000 miles. I really cannot tell any difference between any of my Dodge Colts, despite the mileage differences, but the one with 170,000 miles, I repeat, runs BEAUTIFULLY. The 120,000 mile car has NO RUST ANYWHERE, despite long northern winters with VERY LIBERAL USE OF ROAD SALT, because it was oil sprayed annually. The 170,000 mile car, has slight rust, BUT THE REAR BUMPER HAS COMPLETELY RUSTED OFF, and there is ONLY A PLASTIC SHELL, where the bumper used to be. This car was NEVER oil sprayed. The 30,000 mile car has significant rust, was NEVER oil sprayed, and will require some body work, I estimate about $1500 dollars worth. Moral: change your oil, DO AN ANNUAL OIL SPRAY, and DO NOT WORRY, your car will last forever, WITH NO CLEANING WHAT SO EVER. If you really must thought, an MMO treatment should be more than enough. What MMO will do is make the oil EVEN THINNER, so that the FLOW RATE will increase, and the natural cleaning power of the oil will be that much more effective. Please read the following, and exercise due caution:
On the other side of the engine block are those additives which will cleanse your engine, not coat it. Stuff like Bardahl, Rislone and Marvel Mystery Oil claim they can make your engine run quieter and smoother, and reduce oil burning. These are products which contain solvents or detergents such as kerosene, naphthalene, xylene, acetone or isopropanol. If used properly, I suppose these products will strip off your Teflon and zinc protective coatings! But unless you have a really old and abused car, you probably have no need of stripping away sludge and deposits from your engine. Thus, you probably have no need for these wonder cleaners. If you overuse such products you can damage your engine by promoting metal to metal contact.
If you use a synthetic oil, such as Mobil 1, you are advised not to use any engine treatments or additives. Mobil claims that
The use of an engine oil additive is not recommended, either by Mobil or by virtually any vehicle manufacturer. In fact, it may void your new-car warranty.
Before you decide anything read up in the "oil additives" section of this forum. As for me I am going to start a Auto RX run here in a few months when my next Oil Change is due.
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