New Oil & OCI Strategy - Please Comment!

[SWS]

I would like to have your collective opinions on my new oil type and OCI strategy - thanks.

Here are my 3 cars:
I purchased them all new.
They are all driven in-town >80% of the time.
Each is driven 10K to 14K miles / year.
Middle aged family + teenager - No racing
Location is Tennessee.

'97 Camry 4-Cyl, 65K miles, always parked outside:
This is one of the Sludge engines, but recently dropped oil pan revealed no sludge.

Current Maintenance:
OIL: Penzoil 10W-30 Dino
OCI: 3 months (oil + Toyota filter)
Change it myself.

New Strategy:
OIL: M1 5W30
OCI: 6 months (oil + Toyota filter)
Change it myself
Note: Implemeting staged conversion to M1.
After 2 months of 1/2 Pennzoil + 1/2 M1, the oil still looks fresh and new!
I plan to change it again to all M1 in early July.
No leaks detected.


2000 Honda Odyssey 6-Cyl, 50K miles, always parked inside:

Current Maintenance:
OIL: Valvoline 5W30 Dino
OCI: 3 months (oil + Honda filter)
Change it at the Dealer (car is under extended warranty)

New Strategy:
OIL: M1 5W30
OCI: 6 months (oil + Honda filter)
Change it at the Dealer. I will supply the M1 oil, which is OK with them.
Completely change to M1 in 1 oil change.


2003 Honda Civic 4-Cyl, 3K miles, always parked outside:
I bought this car new in Feb-2004. It sat on the lot for 1 year.
It still has the break-in oil in it! There are no signs of water or sludge in the oil.
In addition to daily city driving, I have also often driven it around our hilly country for >20 miles per drive in east TN to build-up good break-in miles. No "hard" break-in, but I have not been gentle either.

Maintenance Strategy:
After reaching 3750 miles on the break-in oil in early July:
OIL: M1 5W30
OCI: 6 months (oil + Honda filter)
Change it at the Dealer (car is under extended warranty)
I will supply the M1 oil.


This strategy has the following perceived advantages to me (please comment!):
1) Gives me a much more robust oil to deal with summer heat, especially on the Camry.
2) M1 flows more easily in cold winter start-ups for the cars parked outside.
3) Allows me to keep all cars on the same M1 oil that I purchase at Walmart (simple and cheap for synth)
4) Extends my OCI 2X (saves time & minimizes cost increase of synth)

I plan to change all cars oil + filter within the next 3 weeks, starting on Monday with a Dealer oil change on the Odyssey.

Any comments that you can provide at this time will be greatly appreciated and timely!

Best wishes as you motor along!

SWS

 

[mikep]

Sounds fine and dandy to me except that I would use M1 10w-30 instead of the 5w-30. It has shown much better results than their 5w-30. If the recommended viscosity for the '03 Civic is 5w-20 why not use M1 0w-20 which is putting up very impressive results in 4 banger Mazdas and you won't raise any eyebrows at the dealership service department when they do the change.

 

[MikeR]

I'd agree with mikep. In my limited experience at BITOG, it seems that M1 10w-30 has shown better results. All else sounds good.

A couple of questions, though:

1. Why the "staged conversion" to M1?
2. Why the OCI's based upon time, rather than mileage?

From another (relative) newbie,

MR

 

[Audi Junkie]

I did not read the whole thing, but 6 month intervals appeal to me. I've been driving 22,000 miles a year on GC @ 6 month/11,000 intervals...shoulda done a UOA.

 

[alloy]

And from yet another relative newbie, from what I read here about filters, I'd switch to the M1 or amsoil filters also.

 

[SWS]

This is great response in a short time - thanks!
To answer the questions:

mikep -
a) Yes, I have seen that M1 10w-30 has better results than 5w-30. However, all 3 of my cars specify a 5w-x oil - I have ignored that spec on the Camry thus far, but now realize that I need fast pump-up on cold starts on all of my cars. Since I want to use the same oil year-round in every car, then 5w-30 seems the way to go in my climate.

b) The Civic does specify 5w-20, but the dealer said he would use 5w-30 anyway. Also, I do not find M1 0w-20 in any of the places that sell M1 around here. Only M1 5w-30, 10w-30, & 15w-50 are common.

MikeR -
1) Somebody on CamryMan.org advised me to use a three-phase conversion on my 7-year old Camry, like he had done on another Toyota and experienced no long-term leaks. I decided that I would do one stage (half-and-half) since I had just enough of the Dino oil remaining to do the half-and-half oil-change. I called Mobil and they said that there was no problem switching immediately to M1 completely, but that there was also nothing "wrong" with switching gradually to use up my remaining Dino oil if that's what I wanted to do.

2) OCI mileage - good point! The 6-month OCI will typically equal 5000 - 7000 miles for my cars. I think that this is about the right time & mileage for M1, from various posts I have seen. Of course I plan to shorten the OCI in very severe weather (very cold, very hot, dust), if there is a long trip planned, or if I see that the oil is suddenly turning darker than expected.

alloy -
My 2 Hondas are still under warranty. I have changed the oil at the local Honda dealer for only ~$20 (incl Dino oil). The dealer is on the way to work and they have taken good care of me. I use the dealer (and Honda filters) to avoid any warranty issues, since my Hondas will not fit on my ramps at home, and I am getting lazy I guess. I have seen good things about the M1 filters on this site, but I have not seen them in local stores (Walmart, K-Mart, AutoZone, Advance Auto, NAPA). I will look more diligently next time I make the rounds!

SWS

 

[mikep]

quote:

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Originally posted by SWS:
mikep -
a) Yes, I have seen that M1 10w-30 has better results than 5w-30. However, all 3 of my cars specify a 5w-x oil - I have ignored that spec on the Camry thus far, but now realize that I need fast pump-up on cold starts on all of my cars. Since I want to use the same oil year-round in every car, then 5w-30 seems the way to go in my climate.

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M1 10w-30 has a pour point of -45 f (exact same as M1 5w-30). Even here in northwestern NJ we typically see only low single digit temps...maybe 0 degrees every now and then.

How cold does it get in Tennessee?

 

[dropitby]

I think your on the right track. If they were my cars Reguardless of time I would get a oil report at 5000 miles to give you a feel how the change is working for you.I have a place in Mt. City Tn. so I know the weather well.But stay with one of the better oils and you should do fine.

 

[Whimsey]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikep:

[/qb]

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M1 10w-30 has a pour point of -45 f (exact same as M1 5w-30). Even here in northwestern NJ we typically see only low single digit temps...maybe 0 degrees every now and then.

How cold does it get in Tennessee? [/QB][/QUOTE]

Actually you should look at the cold cranking and cold pumpability rather than the pour point. Though the pour points of Mobil 1 5W-30 and 10W-30 are very similar the cold cranking and pumpability of of the 5W-30 is much better. That is what counts to get the oil working on lubricating your engine rapidly during start-ups. Of course if your engine is spec'd for 10W-30 I'd use it. But if it calls for a 5W-30 then I'd that. This is based upon using Mobil 1. As Mikep said if you're car is spec'd for 20 wt. why not use Mobil 1 0W-20. It seems to be an excellent oil from the UOA's here. In fact it appears to be even better than their 5W-30.

Whimsey

 

[Cutehumor]

you can pick up M1 0w-20 at advanced auto parts, they also have redline 5w-20

 

[KW]

Sounds like a good plan to me. That's just what I do with my truck because the odometer does not work.

 

[Neil Womack]

I've made a few assumptions on your Camry like $1.89 a quart for your dino, $5.00 a quart for the M1 and $5.00 each for the OEM filters.

Looks like a break even strategy. With the cost of dino and M1 being the same over a period of a year. That's great your getting better oil at the same overall cost.

I do have a suggestion though. After a couple of rounds with the M1 run an oil analysis.

Peace of mind on your strategy and money in your pocket if you can extend the drain.

 

[SWS]

Great input! I love your comments! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks,

SWS

 

[dustyjoe1]

With the oci you are planning, I don't see a problem. My only comment is that the honda, at least, can go longer on the oci. And I would lean towards use of the x-w20. I have a 2002 civic and I run it 5-6000 oci on motorcraft. Honda reccomends 10k changes on DINO( I wouldn't do it) But on synthetic, i'm tempted.

 

[427Z06]

It may be that I'm just paranoid of shady mechanics, but I'd also hand them a sample bottle everytime I went to a dealer even if I didn't get a UOA everytime.

 

[C4Dave]

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:
It may be that I'm just paranoid of shady mechanics, but I'd also hand them a sample bottle everytime I went to a dealer even if I didn't get a UOA everytime.

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Exactly what I was thinking. I've heard that some mechanics that will keep the Mobil 1 for themselves, and put cheap oil in your engine.