'89 Accord - 7.5k interval - Shell Formula 5w30

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 2, 2007
Messages
28
Location
NYS
1989 Honda Accord LX-i
108,000 total miles, 7,500 miles on oil (Shell Formula 5w30).

Sump holds 4qts.

Almost all highway miles, and I baby the car (almost never full throttle, and almost always shift before 3k rpm):

AccordOil1.jpg

AccordOil2.jpg


Although
 
Last edited:
Nice engine. I think that 7,500 seems to be near the max. limit most conventional oils can go. Another 1k miles is probably doable.
 
Originally Posted By: buster
Nice engine. I think that 7,500 seems to be near the max. limit most conventional oils can go. Another 1k miles is probably doable.
+1 this is perfection and you got your moneys worth with the oil.
 
Back 20 years ago, the recommended OCI for Honda was 7500 miles for non-severe condition. This UOA shows that Honda is right on the mark, and people back then changed conventional oil at mostly 3k/3mo, even now some still do 3k OCI.
 
I did 4k changes on my 87 with Mobil 1 5W-30 and pretty much wide open throttle daily and 10+ years of autocrosses and track instruction and the car was pristine at 300k.

Rust did in the car.

This engine will last for years. Best oil filter used for quick startup was Purolator PureOne.
 
Very cool! I run my mustang in ESP, haven't run the accord; yet.
What autox class was your accord in? Any pics of her?
 
Ah, autocrossers, we're a crazy bunch! I didn't own my last Impreza long enough to do a UOA on it, but just long enough to win a National Tour last month in H-Stock :)
 
Congrats on the win!...

I hear ya, I owned a '04 impreza RS that I did events with, always a tricky car to do slaloms sections with.
 
I would credit the engine and hwy miles more than the oil. Honda has some awesome engines.

Is this some old Shell oil? The Zinc is pretty high.
 
Last edited:
The oil was probably 2.5-3yrs old, just had it sitting around.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: ZZman
I would credit the engine and hwy miles more than the oil. Honda has some awesome engines.

Is this some old Shell oil? The Zinc is pretty high.


True but there are some other stellar UOA with Shell.
 
I had an 86 Accord LX, same body style. The DX and LX on the 3rd gens were carbureted. The carbs tended to gum up around 200-225K. I always wished mine was injected, but the sunroof was not livable for me (6'7"). You couldn't get an LXi without the sunroof so that trim level was off my list.
 
Last edited:
Holy cow! The formula shell looks great...YB look out! Fantastic run. Wouldn't change a thing. This was SL oil?
 
Last edited:
I had an 88 Accord LX 2.0 carb. Put on 340,000 miles with dino oil(lots of store brand oil) and alot of WOT. One of the best sounding 4 cyl engines in it's day at WOT. Wife drove it, then handed it off to me, and then the kids drove it. Most durable car we have ever owned. What a scrapper! We would pound this thing and it would always do what we asked. Rust finaly killed the chassis(both strut towers) after 18 years. Tough little bastia!
 
Nice run. Those old accords do run a really, really long time. When I was growing up, my best friends brother and his friends (yeah, I know it sounds convoluted) were all 'into' mid-1980's Accords. They had a few between them that had high mileage and a LOT of teenage abuse, and it was only rust that stopped them.
 
Yeah! Remained tight til we sold it for $900.00 to a welder who fixed it and it's still running. Never replaced any intake manifold or head gaskets and the engine and auto tranny were unrebuilt. Never replaced the front wheel bearings either. Replaced only the ball joints/tir rods, struts/springs, alternator, choke thermostat, fuel pump and the typical brakes, tires, exhaust parts and tune ups. Even the starter was original! Most fuel lines and brake lines were hidden through the body of the car and the E brake cable was stainless steel.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top