My first application of German Castrol.....Prelude

[rearviewmirror]

I was just browsing @ BMW of Austin for a ///M car happened upon a 1998 Honda Prelude VTEC w/ 40,000 miles! Someone had traded it in the day before and it was off to the wholesaler on Monday so I bought it cash on the spot, they gave me a smokin' deal. How can you go wrong with a nearly 10 year old Honda w/ 40k on it?

On my way home I bought new Denso plugs, air filter, and 6 quarts of German Castrol 0W-30. I hope this oil is a good match for the 2.2 liter VTEC engine. Any thoughts?

 

[wgtoys]

Nice find on that Prelude! I'm running GC presently in an Acura TSX which has an engine sort of similar to the Prelude and it seems happy with it. Next time I will probably go back to a different 5W-30 synthetic though as GC runs a bit on the high viscosity side for my taste.

I would keep a close eye out for oil leaks. Sometimes putting a synthetic in an older engine which previously had conventional lubes might show up oil leaks which were previously undetected.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Looks like you got a great deal! Love the Honda preludes. Take care of them and they will take care of you, for a long long time. I personally think the GC might be a tad thick for that motor, but I doubt it's going to hurt anything. I would've recommended something like Havoline Synthetic, Valvoline or regular Havoline DS.

 

[MrCritical]

Find out when the timing belt was changed. ASAP.

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Just curious...what did ya pay for the Prelude?...when I was a teenager I always wanted the high horsepower Prelude...What were they called...V-spec?... It's been so long ago...

 

[rearviewmirror]

I doubt it's ever been changed. Since the car is getting to 10 years old I'll probably have it changed at 50k miles just to be safe.

 

[rearviewmirror]

Quote:

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Just curious...what did ya pay for the Prelude?...when I was a teenager I always wanted the high horsepower Prelude...What were they called...V-spec?... It's been so long ago...

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I paid $7800 OTD. They've had some different spec preludes in the past, the Euro Type SH had a 2.3 liter engine that was quite nice.

 

[gedcruise]

Rearview,
I'll second Thirdeye on GC maybe being a little thick for a Honda, as it has given about a 5% reduction in fuel economy (in the first 1600 miles) over anything else I've recently had in our '99 Accord, an engine fairly similar in its design principles to that of your Prelude.
BTW, I have always liked the last generation Prelude. You are fortunate to have found a nice, original, low-mileage one. Absolutely change the T-belt ASAP. No reason to wait until 50K, unless you like to live dangerously.

 

[ThirdeYe]

I thought they weren't required to be changed until 90k? Or was it different for the Prelude? Age would have something to do with it though, so I would change it just to be on the safe side. Then you won't have to worry about it again for a while

 

[ThirdeYe]

Quote:

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Just curious...what did ya pay for the Prelude?...when I was a teenager I always wanted the high horsepower Prelude...What were they called...V-spec?... It's been so long ago...

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There were the Prelude S, Prelude SE, Prelude Si, and Prelude VTEC. In Japan they also had the Prelude SiR. However, for the last generation they had just the base and SH.

 

[rearviewmirror]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... I never thought in a million years (around the time the dinosaurs died who gave me GC) that GC 0w-30 would be too think for a VTEC Honda engine. I should have gone w/ what I know, Mobil1 5W-30, the same oil I use in my 4Runner.. Oh well in 4k miles I'll go to Mobil1. I've no idea what the fuel economy was prior to the GC, but I know it's doing quite well. We've been driving the ---- out of it and the fuel gauge hasn't moved. More to come....

 

[Cooper]

Well, in 1998 there was only the Prelude and Prelude SH, they both had the H22A motor, which is a pretty good motor. I had this exact car a few years back, and it burned some oil with 5w30 Castrol Syntec. That is what I used in it. I would recommend doing an Auto-RX cycle, just for the age of the engine, then going with something a little thinner than the GC, maybe PP 5w30, or Amsoil ASL 5w30. Can't go wrong with either. I would stay away from the Castrol Syntec, just from my personal experience with that motor. Not saying it isn't good oil, just didn't work well for me. I ran other oils that didn't burn of so fast, just don't remember them all. Pre-BITOG days.

 

[rearviewmirror]

Quote:

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Well, in 1998 there was only the Prelude and Prelude SH, they both had the H22A motor, which is a pretty good motor. I had this exact car a few years back, and it burned some oil with 5w30 Castrol Syntec. That is what I used in it. I would recommend doing an Auto-RX cycle, just for the age of the engine, then going with something a little thinner than the GC, maybe PP 5w30, or Amsoil ASL 5w30. Can't go wrong with either. I would stay away from the Castrol Syntec, just from my personal experience with that motor. Not saying it isn't good oil, just didn't work well for me. I ran other oils that didn't burn of so fast, just don't remember them all. Pre-BITOG days.

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I'll most likely go to Mobil1 5w-30 after this interval, just so I don't have to keep two different oil types around the house.

 

[gedcruise]

Actually, the later T-belts called for a change at 105K, but also after a specific number of years.
Now the T-belt in this lovely old Prelude may be good for another 50K+. The price of finding out for sure is simply not worth the $500.00 or so it would cost to have it changed, or the <$50.00 in good quality genuine Japanese parts needed to do the job yourself.

 

[MrCritical]

Honda's with timing belts broken at hwy speeds or high revs are not a pretty sight.

 

[VK56VD]

Sweet ride you landed on. Clean Preludes are very hard to come by these days not to mention the fact that it only has 40k on it. Do one run of Auto-RX with dino and run M1 if that's you're preference. Don't extend the OCI's for to long if you'll be revving it often. And don't forget to keep you're eye on the oil level, as hitting the VTEC will burn it up quick in the Honda engine.