HPL SuperCar 5w-40 for 2.0T Honda

How often are you planning on changing and how many miles do you drive
I drive about 8000 a year.

Thus far my avg fuel consumption in my usage is about 26mpg, so my 200x-oil-pan-capacity RoT would put me right around 6500 for an ODI on average.

I was thinking 5k ODI with samples until I can get a baseline.
 
Depends on how you look at it I guess. Compared to what I spend on gas, the price of HPL for what's basically a once a year oil change is insignificant.
I don't see $100 a year as anything but a rounding error when I spending that much every other week on fuel, insurance, etc.

Heck, even TIRES cost several times more than that on a yearly basis. To me, cheap oil and filters is false economy.

This is why I buy expensive oil and filters even for my old 2005 Odyssey that we still drive every day. Because a big part of why I can still drive that old van is the "expensive" oil and filters. 16 years of paid-for service and counting.

I only drive paid-for vehicles. I can't afford cheaper oil or filters.
 
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me personally i don't see why someone would want to ~$100 for 6 quarts of oil (not sure exact pricing of supercar but around there), it def isn't liquid gold but it sure is priced similarly.

countless bitoger's have ran engines to the moon with xw20 oil over the years, i get it yours is a fuel diluter but even engines that have fuel diluted are making it to insane mileage.

lets assume the avg car makes it to insane mileage with xw20 oil but does not fuel dilute, yours with a xw30 would would be enough cushion even with the fuel dilution

there is nothing to say u NEED a xw40 to reach to 1,000,000 miles

if you are serious about good protection then theres nothing to say a top of the line walmart shelf oil can't get you that, the best of the bunch at the moment seems to be any of

m1 esp 0w30
m1 fs 0w40 or 5w40
castrol edge 5w40 euro
valvoline 5w40 euro
+ whatever else i forgot about

all of these run for $30 ish give or take, meet some of the highest oil approvals and are humanly priced, u could do 2 oci's on these and even change the fillter and it would still be cheaper then the supercar oil, just food for thought
I suppose I've commingled two separate questions-- whether to run 5w40 and whether that 5w40 should be HPL.

The first question is my primary question. If I run HPL it will be because I can afford to and wish to, not because I need to per se.

I expect a modern Honda engine to go 500k plus miles on premium oils with proper care.
 
I would use a 40 grade in that vehicle. I've got a Civic with a little 1.7l NA, port injected motor that I used 5w40 in the past 3 oci. I just recently changed out the HPL PCMO 5w40 after 10k miles to HPL 0w30 Supercar just to see if there's an increase in my mpg. So far, I'm seeing only a 2 mpg increase on freeway driving, & will probably switch back to a 40 grade after I use up my 30. I had no issues running a 5w40 in that car. It also doesn't really see anything below 3k rpm, & prefer the extra viscosity. Just going 40 mph in 5th gear keeps rpm @ 2k. Like TiGeo said, their 5w40 Supercar is the exact same formula as their 5w40 Euro. However, the 0w40 Supercar, along with the other grades in the lineup, use Supercar formulation. Either way, I was told by David from HPL that shear wasn't usually an issue with their oils. Including the regular PCMO lineup. I sent in a sample of the HPL PCMO 5w40 I drained last week to wear check for analysis. It was in use for just under 10k miles, a filter change @ 5k miles & no top off with any oil the entire oci. I'll post it when I get results.
Thank you for the reply, I'd love to see the results.
 
Heck, even TIRES cost several times more than that on a yearly basis. To me, cheap oil and filters is false economy.

I only drive paid-for vehicles. I can't afford cheaper oil or filters.
You certainly have-a-way with words.
Very well said! Articulate and to the point!
 
Another point you havent mentioned: is warranty a concern? Because if so, having a 5w40 boutique oil will almost certainly raise some flags on the rare instance you may need work done.

Otherwise, if you don't mind the extra pricing, then go for it. Or go to 10w30 to have even reduced shearing since it'll have lower VII
 
Fair question. In my usage I could probably use it quite successfully. That viscosity typically makes me think of M1 and I'm not up to speed on their latest variants. Back when I ran M1 it was the tri-syn formula. Man, I miss those days.
The Mobil 1 Tri Syn formula was the last of the “true synthetic” days for otc oils. That was a great oil and one of my favorites! As @OVERKILL has told me, HPL was created with the help of Dr Rudnick, one of the M1 Try Syn developers!
 
I don't see $100 a year as anything but a rounding error when I spending that much every other week on fuel, insurance, etc.

Heck, even TIRES cost several times more than that on a yearly basis. To me, cheap oil and filters is false economy.

This is why I buy expensive oil and filters even for my old 2005 Odyssey that we still drive every day. Because a big part of why I can still drive that old van is the "expensive" oil and filters. 16 years of paid-for service and counting.

I only drive paid-for vehicles. I can't afford cheaper oil or filters.
Define “expensive” oil for your 2005 Ody…. Unless your oil change cost exceeds $10/1k miles it’s not even approaching mid-range. Please list your oil, filter, and change interval to evaluate cost per 1k. 👍🏻
 
Define “expensive” oil for your 2005 Ody…. Unless your oil change cost exceeds $10/1k miles it’s not even approaching mid-range. Please list your oil, filter, and change interval to evaluate cost per 1k. 👍🏻
I don't think I need to define expensive when you just did. I probably should have put the "expensive" in air quotes. The last 18 years have primarily been M1 (whatever variety was "Best" at WMT in my preferred viscosity), PP or PUP with an M1-110 filter. Changed when OLM hit 15%.

On the one hand, the old J35 still at its ripe old age still never needs an oil top off between changes. Never even once. That was even before I disabled the VCM.

On the other hand, the inside is HEAVILY varnished and the recent switch to VRP has resulting in tangible increases in throttle response, MPG, and in cleanliness. I can actually see the VRP removing the varnish left behind over the years.



And I think you agree with my main point: even if I used oils and filters that cost double or triple what I use, it's still just background noise in the overall cost of ownership and of life in general.
 
This is interesting-- the Honda manual for older K20As sold abroad shows 5w-40 for an engine that was 5w-20 in the USA.
1738867471937.webp


The newer K20C IMO is probably good to go on 5w-40 SuperCar/Euro. And being TGDI where these older engines were PFI and non-turbo, I think the higher viscosity is even more justified.
 
This is interesting-- the Honda manual for older K20As sold abroad shows 5w-40 for an engine that was 5w-20 in the USA.
View attachment 262329

The newer K20C IMO is probably good to go on 5w-40 SuperCar/Euro. And being TGDI where these older engines were PFI and non-turbo, I think the higher viscosity is even more justified.
I just posted my HPL PCMO 5w40 UOA from my Civic earlier. Not sure if the two correlate, but the report came back fine for a car that recommends 5w20. I've ran a 40 grade in it for the last 20k miles, & just recently put in HPL 0w30 Supercar this last oci. I've only seen a +2 mpg increase since I switched to a 30 grade, roughly 600 miles ago.
 
Some designs keep operating temperatures at a quite moderate level too.

Sorry to bump, but I think it’s warranted.

I’ve recently acquired an OBD-Link MX+ and was able to glean some insight into the car’s coolant temps, which stubbornly resist rising above 175F, with 172F being the steady state indicated temp on the hwy.

Keep in mind, that’s with a “wet exhaust manifold” design that would put much more exhaust heat into the coolant

I also recently came across a technical promotion video Honda did for the 2018 Accord with this engine, and it specifically highlight how they had paid attention to effective engine cooling.

Anecdotally, the engine runs cool. I come home from work and the lack of heat radiating off the car is pretty remarkable. With the insight of the actual OBD data, I now have evidence to back up the anecdote.

Finally, the teardown video circulating from “I do Cars” showing the incredibly clean inside of the 94k mile example of the engine also suggests that the engine runs cool enough to prevent major deposit issues, although we do not know what oil was used in that torn down engine, it seems unlikely it was HPL or VRP.


All that said, I think that a 5w40 would be unwarranted here because of the lower operating temps. I hope to get an oil pressure and temp gauge setup at some point. But oil temps generally run about 30F hotter than coolant temps, so if I’m sitting at 200F-210F oil temps, then stepping up to 30 grade no VII HPL seems like it would be sufficient a HTHS increase.

It also has me thinking that a thicker 20 grade at temp in this engine is likely more real world viscosity than a lighter 30 grade might be in another engine.

So, to cap this thread’s OP question: the lower temps suggest a 40 grade is unwarranted for daily use (thought potentially still acceptable). A good quality 30 grade should be quite sufficient.
 
I don't know of any older K-series engines pre ca;2010 outside US that specs 20visc. But I could be wrong.
That said with turbo, temps close to piston and in the turbo is what you should be concerned about, not sump temp. IMO.
 
No way I'm running a 40 weight oil on an engine recommending 20. 5W/0W-30 maybe. If you are worried about fuel dilution, change the oil at 6 month intervals. If you don't like getting under the car, buy an oil extractor. With changes at 5k or earlier, any API SN/SP oil is fine, even SuperTech/Kirkland. Out with the old, and in with the new, and profit.
 
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