Does xxx oil really make a difference????

[tnt89868]

I see all these comments where people I've always use xxx oil and my car is 150,000 miles or more and no problems.

Is this because engines today are just better and has nothing to do w/ the oil?

I'm asking cause my 1st car, a 1980 Honda Accord got 160000 miles before it died(5000 between changes w/ cheapest oil). But the engine didn't die, it had weird electrical problem where sometimes it was on and sometimes off and it was too expensive to diagnose in 1998 so I got rid of it.

My 2nd car is a 1998 Honda Civic EX w/ 217000 w/ oil changes at 5000 miles using the cheapest oil at the local gas station(think is flagg oil). Still running perfectly to this day.

I was just handed me down a 2005 Honda Accord LX w/ 118000 miles and still debating if I should start doing the synthetic oil.

So does oil really make a big difference? Are vehicles today that good or is it Honda? All I've own are Hondas except for a Toyota pickup that I had for only 6 months before a San Jose truck totaled it while parked.

Edit: My friend Lexus SC400 has over 400K miles w/ the cheapest oil w/ ~5K intervals also on original engine. Another friend's Lexus RX300 has 300K using regular dino oil. Both cars are running fine today.

 

[k24a4]

to the forum.

I think most would argue it is a solid preventative maintenance plan, and you seem to have that with your cars.

There are plenty of uoa's on the k24 in your 2005 Accord that show it does equally fine on dino or synthetic between 5k and 10k oci. PM me or do a search on my user name if you want to see my uoa's.

 

[k24a4]

You are also in a prime location, climate-wise, for vehicle longevity.

 

[dave1251]

The most important factor by far is the engine design and build for engine longevity. You can use the boutique oil of your choice with the most exotic basestocks and additive package it will not mean a hill of beans if the engine is of poor design or not mechanically sound.

If the PCMO you use meets or exceeds the specs outlined in your owners manual and is change at or before the OCI specified the engine should be the least of your worries IMO.

 

[Doog]

The dino oils of today are very good and will get you to 200k+ if you are changing every 5000 miles. Actually changing the oil regularly is more important than using synthetic. I use synthetic because I have 4 female drivers who might ignore my 5000 mile regimen and the syn oil will give me a margin for error.

 

[Quest]

syn oil cannot resolve fuel-related oil dilution problems, which is still an issue to lubricant oil contamination. In that sense: regular oil changes, regardless of conventional oil or syn, is the only way to go.

Q.

 

[addyguy]

Keep doing what is working for you.

The comment about climate is very pertinent - you'd never get 18 years out of a 1980 Accord up north...you'd be lucky to get 8!

 

[HTSS_TR]

My 1994 LS400 has more than 350k miles has 6-8k/6mo OCI with dino and 12-16k/12mo with synthetic. Oil filter is changed once a year, the engine is running well.

 

[Kuato]

5k on a solid dino in a moderate climate.....

 

[tnt89868]

Thanks all. So it is mostly the moderate climate then. My friend does abuse his 99 Prelude and it is at 194k miles. By abuse I mean he changes his oil at 7500 and sometimes 10K w/ regular dino oil. I'm contemplating the change to synthetic to go longer between oil changes.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: tnt89868
Thanks all. So it is mostly the moderate climate then. My friend does abuse his 99 Prelude and it is at 194k miles. By abuse I mean he changes his oil at 7500 and sometimes 10K w/ regular dino oil. I'm contemplating the change to synthetic to go longer between oil changes.


I have a F150 and Focus that I change around a 7-9K interval on whatever OCI I can find for less than 3.00 USD a quart. UOA's look like I still have wiggle room and that is from Plain Jane Formula Shell. I just do not want to extend any further I actually like crawling under my vehicles. It is a sickness I guess.

 

[Realtech214]

Originally Posted By: tnt89868
I see all these comments where people I've always use xxx oil and my car is 150,000 miles or more and no problems.

Is this because engines today are just better and has nothing to do w/ the oil?

I'm asking cause my 1st car, a 1980 Honda Accord got 160000 miles before it died(5000 between changes w/ cheapest oil). But the engine didn't die, it had weird electrical problem where sometimes it was on and sometimes off and it was too expensive to diagnose in 1998 so I got rid of it.

My 2nd car is a 1998 Honda Civic EX w/ 217000 w/ oil changes at 5000 miles using the cheapest oil at the local gas station(think is flagg oil). Still running perfectly to this day.

I was just handed me down a 2005 Honda Accord LX w/ 118000 miles and still debating if I should start doing the synthetic oil.

So does oil really make a big difference? Are vehicles today that good or is it Honda? All I've own are Hondas except for a Toyota pickup that I had for only 6 months before a San Jose truck totaled it while parked.

Edit: My friend Lexus SC400 has over 400K miles w/ the cheapest oil w/ ~5K intervals also on original engine. Another friend's Lexus RX300 has 300K using regular dino oil. Both cars are running fine today.




Better oil and engines being made today. Changing oil on time is better than any fancy high dollar synthetic. I just made a post about a friend who uses only dino (90% supertech) and his engines run perfect at 320000 miles.

 

[HKPolice]

Climate & driving conditions are the biggest factors to engine wear. Most engine wear happens during cold starts (especially in sub zero temperatures) when the oil is too thick to lubricate properly. Synthetic oil doesn't thicken as much when cold so it helps lessen wear during cold starts. Since you live in a warm climate, this doesn't apply to you as much.

Frequent short trips are also very very bad for the engine & oil because it never gets a chance to warm up properly, running rich all the time. The oil gets diluted with fuel and water causing it to thin out. Judging by the year and mileage of the cars you mentioned, they must have been doing frequent highway trips so the engines were always getting up to operating temp.

If both of these conditions can be avoided, I'm sure most engines can last 500K+ with any oil as long as it's changed according to manufacturer's recommended intervals.