High Mileage Honda switch to Mobil 1

[KSTAR321]

Hi All!

I have a 1994 Honda Accord non-vtec that I would like to switch over to Mobil 1. I have owned the car since new and it has always had regular oil changes on conventional motor oil. The car now has 212,000 miles on it and I have replaced most of the engine oil seals with the exception of the rear main. I have used Chevron Supreme 5w30 for the last 43,000 miles or so and the car burns no oil between the 3,000 mile change intervals.

I plan to take this car on a long trip, approximately 7,500 miles, this summer and would like to switch to synthetic for the convenience of a longer drain interval. Am I asking for trouble to switch such a high mileage engine? I would appreciate any and all responses!

Thank you - KC

 

[Dave Hess]

You can switch to Mobil 1 no problem in a high mileage Honda.

Chevron Supreme can last 7500 miles (mostly highway) in a Honda no problem.

 

[bar1]

I've never seen a car develop leaks when switching to synthetic but other high-mileage-car owners have.
Dino, blend or synthetic, a car with that age/mileage will develop a leak sooner or later..

 

[m2200b]

I'd just keep with what you're doing or use a blend like MC or Trop Artic.

You could have your oil changed during your long trip and stay with dino. I'd do the cleaning with AutoRX if all your seal changing aren't part of comprehensive rebuilding to get the most out of the motor on the trip.

 

[williar]

Our VW/Audi dealer used 5w30, usually Castrol, in the 1.8t oil changes. Worked OK, for a while. Should be OK for a short rinse.

 

[ruking77]

quote:

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You can switch to Mobil 1 no problem in a high mileage Honda.

Chevron Supreme can last 7500 miles (mostly highway) in a Honda no problem.

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I would tend to agree with this. The 2004 Honda Civic has a oem recommendation of 10,000 miles with conventional oil, 5w20. Unless it has changed radically, I would guess your oem recommendtion is indeed 7500 miles, again with conventional oil.

I have gone 10,000 miles OCI's with conventional oil but have made the switch to Mobil 1 0w20. I personally think the 10,000 mile is over kill with the Mobil 1 0w20 and have no concerns running 15,000 to 20,000 miles OCI's after the meager warranty period of 36,000 miles.

 

[Palut]

I've got a '95 Accord w/VTEC. I switched to synthetic around 120k miles, no problems. I only got leaks when I AutoRxd it. I've had decent 5k mile used oil analysis, and a 3k mile used oil analysis of almost all highway that looked like virgin oil. I'm soon going to Pennzoil High Mileage 10w30 for 7500 miles OCIs to try to stop that leak.

I think that you could use a conventional oil and be absolutely fine going on a 7500 mile trip.

Here is my used oil analysis of 2200 highway, 600 city miles. Highway was all 70+, many long stretches of 85-90. Even one 60-90 minute stretch at 95-100 mph! That's 4k rpm right there! LOTS of revs climbing mountains too!

 

[thooks]

Change the oil before the trip, and keep using the Chevron. Change it after the trip. You will be fine.

I've got a 1995 EX with VTEC. 139,400 miles on it. I've only put 6,000 miles on it. The previous owner did not know what maintenance meant. I'm sure it has seen it's share of 7,500 mile OCI's.

 

[Blake Sobiloff]

KSTAR321, modern dinos like the Chevron Supreme you're using, can easily handle 7,500 mile OCIs in a properly functioning engine. As thooks said, assuming your engine is functioning well you can change before the trip and then after the trip and you'll be fine.

 

[KSTAR321]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I think that I will continue to use conventional Chevron Supreme 5w30. – KC