Do engines change by country?

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Mar 23, 2021
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I just bought a "biblically maintained" Honda Fit with 171K miles on the clock. It was maintained by Honda dealers which has me believe it wasn't receiving the absolute best oil to be had. My other cars use no oil and I run Mobil1 Extended Performance and it gets changed once a year regardless of mileage, which is usually less than 10K.

The Fit is using about 1/2 quart or so every 1000 to 1500 miles. The USA owner's manual calls for 5w20 oil and that's it. There is guidance to be found that says to use anything else will upset the operation of VTEC and basically just ruin the engine in ways that no one but a Honda mechanic will understand. Sounds legit until you read an owner's manual for the very same car and same engine from another country, where they will allow you to run all the way up to 5w40 and even 10w40 or 15w40 above freezing temperatures. The conclusion, from what I have read, is that Honda sacrifices a bit of protection to earn that little bit more MPG on the EPA cycle. With that, I will be moving towards a full synthetic oil for high mileage cars,and probably at the 5w30 weight.

I guess I am wondering how many other cars have a thin oil recommendation for no other reason than MPG numbers and would actually benefit from a heavier oil.
 
No 1 - You really don't know unless you know for certain that your engine in other markets has the same oil pump and/or the same VVT system.

No 2 - There's no proof that the lifespan of engines running fuel efficient oils has any correlation with the lifespan of the vehicle. Basically if a FE oil causes the bearings to grenade at 375k miles vs 400k miles nobody gives a d@mn because the vehicle itself is used up at 275k miles.

No 3 - 20w oils have been used extensively for almost a generation. Zero issues related to oil weight.
 
One quart every 2K to 3K is not bad, especially for an older engine. I've seen industry specifications where they allow up to one quart every 500 or 700 miles before steps need to be taken to remediate the situation (probably an engine rebuild).

I remember reading a study done by Volvo 15 years ago, where they compared wear between 5W-20 and 5W-30, when 5W-20 was introduced. They found about 1% more wear with 5W-20.
 
For the 834th time.
And yet the forum is polluted with thread after thread like this where people just whine about the question being asked. Do you have any idea how many threads someone would have to sift through to actually get a straight answer to the OP's question? If you actually want to be helpful, maybe link the thread that you presumably know exists which answers the question of whether there are differences in specification between Honda engines from different markets. Then ask a mod to lock this one to keep it easy to review.
CAFE and foreign owners manuals are mentioned here every single day, sometimes multiple times a day, it's an obsession for some. GOOGLE search CAFE bobistheoilguy.com and see for yourself.
See above.

No 1 - You really don't know unless you know for certain that your engine in other markets has the same oil pump and/or the same VVT system.
This is probably the most relevant answer in the whole thread, but still speculative.
 
You have it right. Most dealers use cheap no name bulk oil. I used to work at a dealership not Honda though and most customers would come there and be happy to get service with “genuine fluids” well they thought anyway. Everything was bulk I would never use it in my engine. Truthfully it all came from the same tank on the truck to fill up the 0W-20 the 5W-20 the 5W-30 etc. Any brand of oil will do you good to clean that engine up.
 
And yet the forum is polluted with thread after thread like this where people just whine about the question being asked. Do you have any idea how many threads someone would have to sift through to actually get a straight answer to the OP's question? If you actually want to be helpful, maybe link the thread that you presumably know exists which answers the question of whether there are differences in specification between Honda engines from different markets. Then ask a mod to lock this one to keep it easy to review.

See above.


This is probably the most relevant answer in the whole thread, but still speculative.


What is your answer then?
 
And yet the forum is polluted with thread after thread like this where people just whine about the question being asked. Do you have any idea how many threads someone would have to sift through to actually get a straight answer to the OP's question? If you actually want to be helpful, maybe link the thread that you presumably know exists which answers the question of whether there are differences in specification between Honda engines from different markets. Then ask a mod to lock this one to keep it easy to review.

See above.


This is probably the most relevant answer in the whole thread, but still speculative.
Maybe we need all questions to be posted into a bitog search first. Then the member can sift through the replies. After they read the top 10 search results (unless there are no search results), then make them wait 12-24 hours before they can post another duplicate questions and that should grind things to a halt.
 
Maybe we need all questions to be posted into a bitog search first. Then the member can sift through the replies. After they read the top 10 search results (unless there are no search results), then make them wait 12-24 hours before they can post another duplicate questions and that should grind things to a halt.
New user, joins today and first question out of the box is one that is probably the most contentious and most asked question on the site.

Color me skeptical.
 
Yes, this is an oft repeated question. However it's one of which I find interesting and will come back to read again and again, so thanks OP for putting it up. I've decided to go 5w30 on my Kia but have posted the 5w20 vs. 5w30 question myself. I don't think there's a clear answer, my suspicion is that you'll do as good with one as the other.
 
And yet the forum is polluted with thread after thread like this where people just whine about the question being asked. Do you have any idea how many threads someone would have to sift through to actually get a straight answer to the OP's question? If you actually want to be helpful, maybe link the thread that you presumably know exists which answers the question of whether there are differences in specification between Honda engines from different markets. Then ask a mod to lock this one to keep it easy to review.

See above.


This is probably the most relevant answer in the whole thread, but still speculative.

I don’t see this post as any more helpful to the OP than the posts that you criticize.

Yes, this is a common question. Yes it causes contention and yes, the OP probably joined just to ask it.

What better forum for this question than BITOG?

OP, here’s the deal: plenty of engines will run to 200,000 miles with regular changes on any decent oil.

If you change to a 5W30, like I did with my truck that specifies a 0W20 and has VVT, you won’t notice a single difference. I see no change in MPG with the 5W30 (sucked before, sucks now, don’t care). The engine is spotless inside.

You’re good with your choice.
 
One thing I've learned from reading this website is that oil weight is not linear. A Xw20 isn't 50% "thicker" than a Xw30, they're actually pretty close. I think there is an awful lot of pearl clutching going on over this.
For one thing they are grades and not weights, so the actual viscosity lives in a band and can be anywhere in that band and still meet the requirements for the grade. So some 30-grade oils can have a viscosity (at a certain temperature) that is either close to a 40-grade or relatively far away (and likewise to a 20-grade).

You can easily find the ranges for a specific grade if you want. HT/HS is a much better indicator of the oil "performance" as it relates to viscosity.
 
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