My plan, what do you think?

[deven]

I bought a 2009 Acura TL in May and right now the car sits at 1058 miles. We all know that Honda recommends keeping the factory fill oil in use till the maintenance minder tells you to change it.
There has been quite a few threads on how long people here keep their factory fill in use on a brand new car. I for one have always changed oil on new cars by 1000 miles without fail.
This is my first honda product and keeping the factory fill in for the whole duration of a oil change interval on a brand new car is very uneasy thing for me and as you can tell this car sees a lot of short trips(3 mile round trip to and from work)since I have put only 1k miles in more than 3 months!!
Here is what I have come up with. I just ordered Redline 5w20 online and I also bought Redline's break-in oil additive. Once they come in I'll be putting in 5 qts of RL 5w20 and 1/2 a bottle of the break-in oil. This way I can duplicate, some what, the break-in oil found in new honda engine. I will be usinga Fram XG7317 oil filter with this oil. I will follow the OLM from now on. So what do the hard core BITOGers think of this?

 

[gfh77665]

Use something other than a Fram! Napa Gold works good for me.

 

[StevieC]

Run the Honda FF. to 2K miles, then dump and use the Redline stuff for no more than 5K miles.

Then use whatever syn you want with the maintenance minder.

 

[ArtDart]

If you are going to change out the ff early, and I couldn't help myself either, I would do some shorter dino changes before going to RL. I am holding a quart of RL 5w20 in my hand right now, and on the side, it says "Not for break-in of engines-allow 3000 miles"

 

[cafasco]

IMO...follow the owners manual. I think it says 10,000 or one year. 7,500 should be fine I would think or 1 year, which ever comes first. There is a reason why they don't want you to change it...

 

[BuickGN]

I think that's an awesome plan. You have 1,000 miles so 99% of the break-in is done. You picked an oil with lots of moly like the FF has, and you're dumping the FF early. I think it's a perfect plan.

If by chance you start worrying about running a syn so early (which I wouldn't), just drive it a little harder. There's nothing that's so slippery that it prevents break-in.

 

[BuickGN]

I forgot to mention that I waited until 5,000 miles to change mine on my nearly identical but smaller J32 in my TL. Of course everything is fine( no consumption, noises, etc.) but I really wish I would've done what you're doing.

If you get a chance, let me know how you like the new car.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: deven
So what do the hard core BITOGers think of this?


Fine plan for you. Your engine won't really care.

I highly doubt RL mixed with RL break-in additive will even come close to duplicating Honda FF and my my point being that your engine won't care.

OTOH, since everyone gives me [censored], technically some will say you are violating your warranty. If something, IN YOUR ENGINE, coincidentally lunches, you my friend, are on your own.

 

[ThirdeYe]

BTW someone said not to use the Fram, but the Extended Guard series that you bought is a very good oil filter. Don't worry about it and run it. I have a bunch of XG7317s and I wouldn't hesitate to use them. Personally, I would skip the break-in additive and just run the Redline when you reach 3k.

 

[KLowD9x]

Why not use the correct Honda filter?

Honda makes a good filter.

 

[deven]

Originally Posted By: BuickGN
I forgot to mention that I waited until 5,000 miles to change mine on my nearly identical but smaller J32 in my TL. Of course everything is fine( no consumption, noises, etc.) but I really wish I would've done what you're doing.

If you get a chance, let me know how you like the new car.


BuickGN, thanks for the vote of confidence on my plan. In reality it is a compromise between what should be done and I am willing to do. Time will tell I guess but I am not worried because I have never seen a honda engine with an oil related issue.

Since you asked, I really love this car. After researching for a long time, the biggest complain with the 3rd generation TL's were two fold, the serious one being the transmission and the lesser one being all the rattles in the car. The transmission, I can't address as it is way too soon to know if this will be a problem. As for rattles, I only have one so far and that is the steering wheel creaking while going over significant bumps. Other than that this car is built like a vault. I owned a 2006 Lexus ES330 before this, and with the hesitation issues and numerous rattles and wind noise this is a welcome change!

I have driven the 3rd Gen. TL and it definately seems quicker than my TL. This has a lot to do with the fact that the 4th Gen. TL weighs nearly 4000lbs and the 3.7L V6 is slow from a stop but once rolling, it is a beast!!

A lot of people knock this car due to its aggressive exterior looks, especially the 3rd Gen. TL owners because they look at the car as a boat but let me tell you, the all wheel drive combined with the awesome ELS sound system, I can care less what the exterior looks like because the inside is like a concert hall on wheels! The best sound system I have ever heard and I owned a Lexus with Mark Levinson sound system!!

Pablo, I really respect your input too. I agree with you, especially on oil that do not meet API specs. Too many anal people wanting to follow by the book. Well, I on the other hand don't care about specs, I know that Red line oil just like Amsoil is a tried and true oil, I would not care if it is API SM rated or not. All I care is the fact that it not only meets but exceeds API SM requirements and if I do have a problem it won't be because of the oil.

I have seen many UOA's of Honda factory filled oil and what I have seen is that the FF oil is laced with moly with slightly elevated ZDDP levels. All I am trying to do is mimic this with the RL 5w20 with break in additives for a good measure. I understand that Redline doesn't recommend using their oil during break-in but on their website it specifically says that the break-in additive can be used with conventional or synthetic oil because it increases the friction aspect to seat the rings perfectly. Personally, I think the rings are seated already and this is over kill but doing it this way kind of give me satisfaction that I compromised yet it is a win win situation for me. Thanks for all the comments, keep it coming!

 

[FZ1]

I think it's a dumb idea. Be smart. It's a $30,000 new car with a warranty. Take it to the dealer for all, in warrany, oil changes. Then it's the Dealer's/Honda's fault if you need warranty work. You can take your own oil to the dealer if you want. The warranty compliance documentation is right there in the dealer's records.

 

[HARTZSKY]

Well, like just about all threads these days, you have some who love the idea, some who sorta kinda like the idea and someone who will just flat out hate it. LOL

 

[mez]

I serious doubt that you would have oil related issues that would affect warranty. How would the dealer know that you used the wrong rated oil?

 

[ramblar]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: deven
So what do the hard core BITOGers think of this?


Fine plan for you. Your engine won't really care.

I highly doubt RL mixed with RL break-in additive will even come close to duplicating Honda FF and my my point being that your engine won't care.

OTOH, since everyone gives me [censored], technically some [censored] will say you are violating your [censored] warranty. If something, IN YOUR ENGINE, coincidentally lunches, you my friend, are [censored].



I agree with pabs^^

 

[deven]

Originally Posted By: Ringo
If you are going to change out the ff early, and I couldn't help myself either, I would do some shorter dino changes before going to RL. I am holding a quart of RL 5w20 in my hand right now, and on the side, it says "Not for break-in of engines-allow 3000 miles"


I have never used Redline but it is good to know. I kind of figured this because of the whole synthetic should not be used in a new engine theory. I will shoot Dave(I think this is his name) an email to see what his take is. From what I have read here, he is a very knowledeable guy with detailed responses. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Eddie]

I'd follow the factory recommendation and if you wont then don't change before 2,500-3,000 miles. I agree with others that the dealer & owners manual is the way to go,including using Honda oil filters. Why mess around trying to out-guess the factory-the ones who engineered your vehicle and have killed 100s of engines on tests to determine what's the best option for you, the new owner. Just too many self appointed experts, some with 40 year old ideas IMO. Ed

 

[deven]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
BTW someone said not to use the Fram, but the Extended Guard series that you bought is a very good oil filter. Don't worry about it and run it. I have a bunch of XG7317s and I wouldn't hesitate to use them. Personally, I would skip the break-in additive and just run the Redline when you reach 3k.


You sure know your filters, ThirdYe. A lot of people cringe at anything Fram makes from all the horror stories, pictures people have heard or seen. While its true most frams are not worth the price they charge for the quality or lack there of produced, I honestly believe that they still make a few quality products, one being their XG series of oil filters. I have personally cut a XG3600 oil filter I used on my previous car and that thing was built like a tank. From fiberous semi-syn media back by a wire mesh, it actually looked like a better made filter than even a M1 filter I cut open. For the $6(with walmart employee discount) it is a very attractive filter for me. This is the reason why I decided to use it. I need to cut another one though, since they have changed the filter(supposedly better)with a 2nd ply of paper behind the semi-syn outer layer. I just wonder why they decided to do this though?

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: ramblar
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: deven
So what do the hard core BITOGers think of this?


Fine plan for you. Your engine won't really care.

I highly doubt RL mixed with RL break-in additive will even come close to duplicating Honda FF and my my point being that your engine won't care.

OTOH, since everyone gives me [censored], technically some [censored] will say you are violating your [censored] warranty. If something, IN YOUR ENGINE, coincidentally lunches, you my friend, are [censored].



I agree with pabs^^


Hey I only had one expletive deleted!!

 

[virginoil]

When you fill out your Honda customer satisfaction questionaire, I trust you will be honest and tell them the Honda maintenance program sucks and consequently you have developed your own regime, which is technically better, should be adopted.

I agree with Pablo on this one. Dont mess with it.

Wait until the vehicle is out of warranty. Including use of filters.

If the vehicle can't survive the Honda warranty program or Honda parts then Honda deserves to fix it free.