My brother wants to do an oil change on his 93 Civic. I suggested he try either GC or Esso XD-3 0w30. His reply "that stuff is too thin" I tried telling him that a full synthetic 0wXX is not too thin, and for his engine with 385000 kms it would probably be a good oil for the coming winter months. Help me change his mind!
Help me convince my brother that a full synthetic 0w30 is not too thin!
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Baseball bat?
Print out the spec sheet from Esso's website on the internet and show it to him.
Note to him that the kinematic viscosity of the 0W30 XD-3 is higher than that of the manufacturer-spec 5W30, and similar to that of 10W30. With the advantage of superior cold pumpability.
If you want to get further technical, tell him that Honda now recommends 5W20 for similar engines, and that's definitely a 'thinner' oil.
Note to him that the kinematic viscosity of the 0W30 XD-3 is higher than that of the manufacturer-spec 5W30, and similar to that of 10W30. With the advantage of superior cold pumpability.
If you want to get further technical, tell him that Honda now recommends 5W20 for similar engines, and that's definitely a 'thinner' oil.
Everybody who have a brother driving a 93 Civic with 358000 km should listen to him.
Refer him to this site and have him look at the viscosity chart and have him do a search.
Does he think that the 30 part is what makes it too thin, i.e. he wants to use a xW-40 oil, or is it that he thinks the 0W part is too thin but would be happy with a 5w30 or a 10w30?
He thinks that 0w part is too thin. He likes to use a 5w30, no one brand in particular.
Perhaps tell him this way: the lower the W number, the quicker it flows to the top of the engine, thus protecting the valvetrain quicker than a higher number. So 0w is better than 5w or 10w in winter. IMO, 0w is as good as it gets. Plus 0w has less resitance than 5w or 10w oils at cold temperatures, offering a tad bit better fuel economy.
Good luck!
Good luck!
55 ,with the mileage on the Honda we should be listening to your brother.
What is so notable about 235 K miles? A thread not so long ago had dozens of cars in the 200-300K range, and several beyond that.
I'd respectfully disagree with that. The Hondas do call for thin oil to begin with. If you assume that a slightly thicker oil might be good for an engine of this age, then perhaps the GC would be best. From about a zillion sources you can easily find, this stuff specs out as nearly a 40 wt when hot. Unless the engine has gotten really, really loose (where it would probably be belching smoke anyway), he won't need to shift from an in-spec 30 wt to a heavy 40 or above. No, the GC or other heavy 30 would probably do just fine.
As to the original question, first show him the 100 deg C CSt rating of GC (way above Mobil, for example) and then its HT/HS, which is about 3.6. If that doesn't convince him, he's beyond reason and you can stop trying.
Oh yeah, one more reason to give up on your crusade and let your bro make his own decision: that car is going to die sooner or later, and with that many miles, it could be at any time (or maybe not for another 10 years...). But if it happens anywhere near when you added your chosen oil, it won't matter if an alien crashed his flying saucer into that car, it's demise will be your fault. Beware. . .
I agree w/ ekpolk. If the car breaks, doesn't matter what, its YOUR fault. I have a brother like that. Borrowed his chevy s10, that had been sitting in the driveway. Air pressure at 15 lbs, got it up to 32 lbs. Shocks gone all around, replaced with Monroe Magnums, much improved ride. The AC when running you could hear the bearings scream. Throwout bearings on clutch, noisy. Who knew when the oil was changed last, I did an oil change. Even washed and waxed. When he got it back, he had the nerve to complain it drove worse than before, and it never did any of that other stuff before. If he is that clueless, backoff from his problems.
I'm trying to convince him to give Esso XD-3 0w30 a try. I can see a bunch of advantages in using this. 1. It's a full synthetic. 2. Being a diesel oil it should help keep the engine clean internally. 3. Price, 21.49 a jug at Walmart, almost certainly cheaper at an Esso bulk dealer. 4. Being a 0w synthetic, it will flow faster on a cold start helping protect the engine. 5. I believe diesel oils have better AW abilities than normal passenger car oils. See, at one time he was considering runnig Mobil 1, but didn't have the cash on himself. The synthetic XD-3, as far as I can see, has almost all the benefits, and in some cases more, than Mobil 1, and it's cheaper to boot! I'm sold on this stuff myself, although I have yet to use it.
XD-3 is under $15 for a 4L jug at Esso. If this was your car I would say by all means go for it. But it's not your car and if anything goes wrong, even if it's totally non oil related, he's going to blame you.
You've offered your opinion/recomendation to him so I wouldnt push the issue any further.
You've offered your opinion/recomendation to him so I wouldnt push the issue any further.
What the world needs is more “oil evangelists”.
All I do is make a comment like “I understand that 0w30 provides better start up protection and is still 30 weight when the engine is hot”. Then I shut up.
If the other guys engine goes 300,000 miles with his program I tell him “that is great”, if his engine craps out at 80,000 miles I tell him “that is too bad”.
All I do is make a comment like “I understand that 0w30 provides better start up protection and is still 30 weight when the engine is hot”. Then I shut up.
If the other guys engine goes 300,000 miles with his program I tell him “that is great”, if his engine craps out at 80,000 miles I tell him “that is too bad”.
ugly 3 about nailed it shut with ekpolk II providing the hammer....although the car doesn't have that many miles and switching shouldn't harm a thing, a brother is a terrible thing to waste....
Just let him know you are smarter than him by referring him here, that is if he doesn't think you are completely nutz.
Just let him know you are smarter than him by referring him here, that is if he doesn't think you are completely nutz.
He is your brother.... You grew up with him... You know he never lets intelligent thought interfere with what he believes...
Seriously just explain to him that "W" stands for Winter and only refers to the Cold Pumpability of the oil at 30 below zero (Celcius). It has nothing to do with viscosity at any reasonable operating temperature.
You could look up the viscosities of the two oils in question at 40°C (104°F) and 100°C (212°F).
Gene
Seriously just explain to him that "W" stands for Winter and only refers to the Cold Pumpability of the oil at 30 below zero (Celcius). It has nothing to do with viscosity at any reasonable operating temperature.
You could look up the viscosities of the two oils in question at 40°C (104°F) and 100°C (212°F).
Gene
Of a truth,he was a wise man who said,"Thou shouldst not decide till thou hast heard what both sides have to say".
What your brother is using in his Civic regarding oil and filter ?, and what is the OCI ?
Toomanywheels: We all know that he is not breaking any records at 385k Km but you have to agree that he is doing somehting right. BITOG is a great place to learn but it's far from being like a extended warranty on your engine even if you follow the 1 zillion recommendation you find here
I'm sure that you can find high milleage engine own by peoples that have no clue about lub.
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