quote:
Originally posted by slickpeters:
I have an 02 Civic. Both Honda dealers in my area here in florida use 5W30, even so 5W20 is specified. I asked them about it, and they said in the hot temperatures, they would not use 5W20, only 5W30. I have been using M1 5W30 since 5,000 miles. Now have 19,000 miles. I Run it one year (12,000 miles) with a new filter at 6 months. No problems, same mileage, 35mpgs, smooth, quiet, runs beautiful. I used to worry like you guys, but not anymore.
More of this EPA CAFE nonsense! So some Honda dealers are leery of the 5W-20. Cost has nothing to do with it, they pass the "extra" cost of a 5W-20 along to you.
I find it VERY contradictory that Honda, or for that matter Ford, does NOT recommend a xW-20 outside of North America.
Indeed, according to BP Lubricants, the very same Honda motor in Europe should run their premium synthetic Visco 7000 0W-40.
In Europe and Australia, the Honda temp chart includes 10W-40, 15W-40, 15W-50, and 20W-50 oils. There is no mention at all of ANY xW-20 oils.
You can bet Honda has done extensive testing in hot climates to include viscosity ranges like that. Indeed, for the H22A1 and H22A2 motors, you should NOT use a 5W-30 over 0 C or +32 F.
You would think that, especially in Europe, Honda would recommend a 5W-20 to help save the driver money, as fuel costs are 3X to 4X here in North America.
Since everybody claims 5W-20 or 0W-20 oils offer superior protection at running temps, then folks running WOT on the Autobahn must only be using 5W-20 or 0W-20 oils in their Honda's and Ford's.
Or for that matter folks running expensive BMW's should switch to a 5W-20 to lower their engine wear.
I would also be caught between a rock and a hard place running a Honda or Ford. I wouldn't want to use the xW-20, except maybe in cold winter, but if I used the "wrong" viscosity, so much for my warranty.
I suppose once the warranty is up, I would switch to a heavier viscosity for summer or hard use.
Although UOA gives you one snapshot of what the motor is doing, it doesn't tell you everything. If you have an oil creating sludge, varnish, or carbon, that usually does NOT show up on a UOA.
I do UOA on my fleet and although it's great for establishing trends, its primary goal is to determine when an expensive synthetic HDEO should be changed. Some Cummins owners have performed religious UOA only to uncover wear problems or deposit problems.
Only a complete engine tear-down will reveal how an oil is behaving in the Ring Land, Crown Land, etc
Jerry
