General oil consumption question...

[Tegger]

Hi, I just joined. My car is a '91 Acura Integra with 263,000 miles on it. Owned since new. Oil has always been Castrol GTX 5W-30, filters always OEM Honda. Both oil and filter are changed every 1.5 months or 2,500 miles. I upped that from 2 months/3K a few years ago. Over the past year I've done careful measuring of the car's oil consumption and have discovered it to be consistently about 2,200 miles per US quart. I thought that was good, but I've since had people telling me that's NOT good, that I should bee seeing consumption quite a bit lower than that. I'm a bit disturbed to think I've been doing something wrong all these years. Opinions? So I ask the experts here: Considering the car's history, should I be experiencing much better oil usage than I'm seeing? The car's never had a UOA.

 

[JAG]

My opinion is that that is quite decent given the engine's mileage. Don't mess too much with success (don't switch to synthetic now). At most, I would maybe try a high mileage oil and see if that lowers the consumption, which I'd view more as improving something decent than fixing a bad problem. Good job for making it last this long!

 

[Mitch Alsup]

I think the 263K miles on the clock, running strong, and still getting 2200 miles/Qt already shows you that you can't be doing anthing wrong to that vehicle. It can be argued that you could get similar milage and consumption with longer OCIs, but, really, these results speak for themselves. No reason to mess with success at this point in time.

 

[Tegger]

Thanks for the quick responses. One reason this has become an issue is that a Toyota mechanic I know (and have no reason to distrust) told me he's getting 9,000 miles per quart out of his '83 Toyota Starlet with 280,000 on it. Compared to that, my car's consumption is pretty lousy.

 

[JAG]

Even though I'm not a cynic, I'd take your mechanic's claim with a pound of salt. While it may be possible, that is extremely uncommon. Plus even some good mechanics like to boost their reputation with amazing stories. Even if it's true, don't let that cause you to think your consumption is bad.

 

[surfstar]

Many different engines has different amounts of consumption. Certain Honda engines burn more oil than others. Your's is not high; its not nil, but its not high enough to indicate serious malfunction especially at that mileage. I would think you can go a little bit longer on your OCI (oil change interval) especially if you need to replace a quart every 2200 miles, you could go 5k miles without any concern. Side question for you: have you ever had to replace your catalytic converter?

 

[michaelc80]

I have to agree with the others that your consumption is really nothing to be concerned about. I also would follow surfstar's recommendation of longer change intervals. And by the way...

 

[Tegger]

Thanks to all for their replies. I feel much better now. To surfstar: The cat is original but the O2 sensor was replaced once. When the car was emission tested at 246,000 miles, it passed easily. You can see my results here: http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/misc/91_integra_emissions.html I'm a bit reluctant to extend the change interval, but then I did change it every 3K until fairly recently in the car's life.... I'll be getting my first UOA soon, which would tell me more. I just need to choose between Dyson and Oil Analyzers Inc. Dyson advertises here, I notice, while OAI seems to have something to do with Amsoil.

 

[VelociRacer]

Tegger, you've been lurking at USENET far too long, welcome to BITOG. Fellow Canuck here with a Honda obsession myself. My 99 Civic D16Y8 (SOHC VTEC) has about 144k miles on it. Consumption was non-existent until about 80k miles on the clock. Since then it's been a consistent 2,500 miles per US qt. Since new until 115k I was running Mobil1 @ 5k OCI. Then started AutoRX with some Esso XD-3 15w40. Now nearly at the end of an oil brand/weight experiment. I've tried these oils @ ~3k OCI: Esso XD-3 15W40 HDEO AMSOIL AMT Synthetic 10W30 Havoline 10W30 Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic 10W30 Castrol GTX High-Mileage 5W30 (2qt/4250k) Havoline Synthetic 10W30 Valvoline Synpower 10W30 Still to come: SuperTech Synthetic 10W30 TropArtic Synthetic Blend 10W30 Meijer High-Mileage 10W30 Castrol GTX High-Mileage 10W30 I've observed no significant difference in consumption, even with a new PCV valve, air filter, and home-made PCV catch can. Auto-RX did increase my compression numbers as much as 25psi for Cyl#3. What I do notice, however, is that my driving style pretty much controls consumption. I drive about 80 miles/day, mostly around 80mph (3,750rpm). Consumption increases above 85mph (4,000rpm). And I do notice a hazy spray from the exhaust between 6,000-7,200rpm (rev-limit) with certain oils (eg Valvoline SynPower). Recently I've slowed things down to about 70mph to see if things improve, not that I care at this point. My mileage certainly jumped from 32mpg to 38. So I am glad about that. Anyway, worth noting that Castrol GTX HM 5w30 did cut the consumption in half for the first 1000 miles, then I take a comptession test, add LC20, and for the next 2-3000 miles consumption was up again. So maybe without LC20 GTX HM could've held up better. When it's all said and done, I think I will stick to TropArtic Synthetic Blend 5w30 for $1.48/qt (Detroit) and top it up @ 1k, 2k of a 3k OCI (1qt total top-up). Good luck and thanks for years of support on USENET and Honda FAQ. PS. BITOG can be quite an obsession. Just read about those with hundreds of quarts in their secret stash. Beware of the BITOG bug!

 

[Tegger]

Hey, VelociRacer! I was wondering where you'd gone to. I've frankly been reluctant to change oils. I have this superstitious idea that the Integra has somehow gotten "used" to the GTX and might rebel at something differnet. Silly, I know. Your observation of a sudden increase in oil usage is interesting. I've seen something very similar with mine. It's only been in the last year that I've paid very close attention to the consumption to the point of actually measuring it, but it seems to have been pretty consistent for many, many years. I do remember oil usage at one time being non-existent, and suddenly becoming aware that it was using it quite a bit faster than before. I didn't bother to record anything though, and just topped up as necessary. The GTX High Mileage oil is most interesting. Where did you find it? Does Crappy Tire carry it? I guess I can check tomorrow. Nice meeting you again.

 

[VelociRacer]

Try GTX HM 5w30 for at least 2 OCIs. The fact that it is GTX should lessen the anguish over switching oils. I work around Detroit and have the privilege of buying oil at the local WalMart. They sell the 5qt jug for about $13. I really liked the way it made my engine sound especially @ startup, and the initial, albeit temporary cutting of consumption over just one OCI. Be sure to let us know of your findings if you try GTX HM.

 

[racer12306]

i would not be concerned with that amount of oil consumption with a car that old. the guy with the toyota must be an exception because i know only a few new cars that can claim those kind of numbers. might want to give the HM oil a shot as suggested earlier. i have personally seen (although not in my car) HM oils reduce oil consumption. but rest assured that 1 qt/2200 miles is not that bad at all.

 

[Tegger]

OK, I'm convinced. I'll stop worrying about the 2,200 per quart. <--Smiley: I'm happy now. I checked out GTX HM oil at Canadian Tire. Regular GTX is $17 Cdn for Castrol's goofy Canadian-market 4.4 liter bottle. HM is $22 for the same quantity. OT: What *is* this with the 4.4L thing? 4.4L isn't an Imperial gallon, and it's not a US gallon. It's...nothing. Oil used to come in 4 liter jugs, which is close enough to a US gallon that I could just dump the whole thing in there. Now I have to drain off half a quart before I put it in. What I've decided to do is to get an analysis from Dyson when I change out this last batch of regular GTX, run three or so changes with HM, then get another analysis.

 

[paulinfiji]

In only 4300 kms (2687 miles) from December 1st to this present day, my 2001 Honda Prelude engine consumed 3.5 litres of oil. I'm not concerned at all. More info below. Total kilometres on vehicle: 62,300 Original fill: 3.8 litres of GC and a litre of Esso 0w30 Make up oil to date: 3.5 litres (1.8L of Havoline, 1.2L of GC, and 0.5L of Esso XD-3) VTEC activation since Dec 1st: 17 to 19 times Redline: 4 times (two times on first gear and 1 time on 2nd and 3rd)

 

[Quest]

Your oil comsumption pattern sounds about right (well within range of being "acceptable"). All engine consumes motor oil (you must have oil getting to the 1st and second compression rings in order to properly lubricate them, while all other things being equal). I personally wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you, simply stay on with what you have/you've been doing and be happy. AutoRx it to get a bit of extra life if you want to.

 

[BlazerLT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tegger: Hi, I just joined. My car is a '91 Acura Integra with 263,000 miles on it. Owned since new. Oil has always been Castrol GTX 5W-30, filters always OEM Honda. Both oil and filter are changed every 1.5 months or 2,500 miles. I upped that from 2 months/3K a few years ago. Over the past year I've done careful measuring of the car's oil consumption and have discovered it to be consistently about 2,200 miles per US quart. I thought that was good, but I've since had people telling me that's NOT good, that I should bee seeing consumption quite a bit lower than that. I'm a bit disturbed to think I've been doing something wrong all these years. Opinions? So I ask the experts here: Considering the car's history, should I be experiencing much better oil usage than I'm seeing? The car's never had a UOA.

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Have you ever replaced the PCV valve?