Mobil 1 for an '00 Civic EX

[greenjp]

Howdy folks. Got married and the wife brought an '00 Civic EX with her. It's got about 92,500 miles on it right now. It's had dino oil changes regularly, usually at 3k but occasionally up to 4k or so, since she bought it. No problems to speak of.

This coming weekend I'm gonna swap out the filter and run an Auto-RX treatment on it. So after the clean and then the rinse phase it'll have about 96,000 miles, at which point I'm gonna go to Mobil 1. I've got 4 qts of the 5w-30 that I'll use for the first fill. I'll probably do a 5k change on that and get an UOA to decide if I want to go longer on subsequent fills.

Is the 5W-30 a good choice for the long run? Any reason to use the 0W-20, 10W-30, etc instead? Thanks,

jeff

 

[Schmoe]

Yes, that is a good choice of oil but you got to reason with yourself and reach your own conclusions to this? Why? If she's been running dino every 3 to 4K, stick with that regimen. I don't think you'll drastically increase the longevity of the engine by switching now. Like Dad always said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I mean your looking at roughly 5 bucks a quart for the oil, at least 20 bucks for the UOA. Are you planning on selling the car soon? Wanting to take it to 200K? There are some good dino's that can go the 5K mark, no problem. I you looking at long OCI, say 7.5 to 10K? Are the driving styles going to drastically change? I just don't see any advantage in the switch at this time. Especially if the engine is fine and not burning oil or anything.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

I second Schmoe's advice....why not find a good groupII/ Group III blend and stick to a 3000 to 4000 mile interval.

The engine is probably in great shape with the current maintenance... I don't see much to gain.

I would think that the Motorcraft 5W-20 for $1.42 and a good filter would be a great combo for the money with a 3750 mile OCI

If it uses oil with that weight then try a 'high mileage' oil in 5W-30 [ or 10W-30 if its really high temps where you live ]

Or just switch to the $19.00 Mobil 1 5 quart jugs of 5W-30 and run 5000 to 6000 mile OCI.

I'm also tempted to try the Auto-RX ....but the cost of the Auto-RX, the UOA, and switching to more expensive syn oil seems like a pain for the wife's car.

You'll do a lot of work and spend money...and risk getting blamed for any future engine problems.

You are married after all

 

[greenjp]

hey Schmoe. Good questions all.

Definitely hoping for 200k+ miles out of this car. My other cars are a '92 Saturn SC with 185k and an '03 Saab. I'm hoping to have the Civic for a long time to serve as a beater when the Saturn eventually kicks it.

Reasons for switching? Mainly two; hoping for some improvement in longevity and the modest amount of time saved by going a bit longer on the oil. I do oil changes and other stuff myself.

There's certianly arguments to be made about the value of using synthetic over regular, but I'm not too worried about that. At worst I could be spending a few too many $$$, but even then it's not too much. At best the engine will suffer less wear on the short errands she runs in it, handle the cold starts in the winter better, and stay cleaner internally. There's my thinking.

jeff

 

[TR3-2001SE]

This is how I justify synthetic. I run it 6000 miles instead of the 3000 miles I use to run with regular oil. It comes out about the same price and I believe you get a cleaner engine long term. Price of two oil changes with dino 1.60 quart 4 quarts = 6.40 plus tax = 6.82 plus filter = 10.82 x 2 = 21.64. Mobil 1 3.84 quart 4 quarts = 15.34 plus tax = 16.42 plus filter = 20.42. Even if you get an oil on sale the price is still close the equal and you get much better protection in my humble opinion. I did the dino oil changes at 3000 on my Toyota for 250,000 miles and was not impressed with my results.
Will report back at 250,000 miles on my Miata with Mobil 1 changes.

 

[RF Overlord]

quote:

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Originally posted by greenjp:
Got married and the wife brought an '00 Civic EX with her. This coming weekend I'm gonna swap out the filter and run an Auto-RX treatment on it.

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So you just got married and you're doing an oil change on your honeymoon?!

Sorry, jeff, I couldn't resist...

 

[White 03]

quote:

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Originally posted by RF Overlord:

quote:

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Originally posted by greenjp:
Got married and the wife brought an '00 Civic EX with her. This coming weekend I'm gonna swap out the filter and run an Auto-RX treatment on it.

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So you just got married and you're doing an oil change on your honeymoon?!

Sorry, jeff, I couldn't resist...

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Do you mean he will fit right in here?