Newbie with Hond 5W-20 ??

[haley10]

You have do those drain intervals to keep warranty compliance, so it seems a shame to go to the expense of the S2K and have to dump it so soon. I'm not sure you'd be getting your money's worth until the warranty is expired and you can run it up to it's full potential.

I'll let one of our Amsoil site sponsor's comment on what might be a more cost effective alternative for now.

Regular Mobil 1 5W-20 would also get the job done for less.

 

[JHZR2]

I think for most non-car people, who might change their own oil at best, the optimum thing is to have an oil that they can get easily, and use it.

Id say to go with M1, either the phased out 0w-20 if you find it, then as it comes out, the 5w-20 Mobil1. This will optimize your fuel economy and ensure warranty compliance.

I wouldnt worry about using Mobil1 products. Their 30 weight oils are so thin (not necessarily a bad thing, it just is their design point), that they almost qualify as a 20 weight oil. But, for warranty sake, go with the 5w-20.

Another option would be mail-order. A lot of good has been spoken about redline 5w-20. It has a lot of moly (an additive), which seems to be the way to go for honda engines. Its harder to get than Amsoil, which has a number of really great sponsors on this site. They might be able to lead you towards a good amsoil product set to mail-order, but Im not familiar enough with their wares. My only comment would be that if they dont have an xw-20 oil, that you might want to use another brand, as their 30wt oils start thick, and tend to thicken a bit as time goes on.

But if they have a 20wt oil, and you can get your oil and filter, mailorder, via one-stop shopping, you ought to go for that!

JMH

 

[JMG]

The Honda Stealer here usese only Mobil products. M1 5W20 is what they are using on new Honda's (01 and newer).

I use M1 5W30 with good results.

 

[Curious Kid]

Thorn,

I thought it odd as well to see the print "5w-20" on the oil cap when my father popped the hood on a Pilot he was test driving a few years ago. At the time I never recalled seeing that grade on store shelves, let alone figured it capable of handling the amounts of heat that the engine seemed to be generating.

I've come to realize, that with many other things that technology has enabled over the years, that such doubt was based on previous understanding (some factual but mostly "here-say"), and older technology.

If Honda's reputation has anything going for it, I doubt they'ed be trying to steer you wrong with such an oil suggestion. Thought I still am in awh when hearing about people using a 0/5w-20 weight oil in a truck (where it's recommended) while towing, and the UOA prove everything to be fine.

Unless one is to be operating the vehicle out of it's normally intended use, than I would think that one would not have a problem with using just what the vehicle manufacture recommends. Other special selection considerations aside from increased clearences do to wear, would be having an OCI that covers the changing of seasons as well as expected duties for use.

Keep it fun, and again, "Welcome aboard."

 

[Roger]

Thorn, I can tell you from personal experience with an 01 Escape that calls for 5w20 oil, that its a great little oil. Nothing to worry about. I'd stick to that viscosity in a car that calls for 5W20 before using another weight, but thats just me.

And to tell you the truth, I don't see a lot of difference between 5w20 oils or brands. I've used Castrol, MC and Mobil 1 in the Escape. Done a uoa on each brand and they are all so close it's tough to see a significant difference.

A month ago I bought an 05 Pilot. So I'm interested in the same thing you are. I spent the last few nights searching the uoa section of BITOG for reports on that 3.5L Honda engine. Found about 17 reports. Again, I did not see a big difference between brands, or between 5w20 and something-other-than-5w20-viscosity-oil in all those engines.

I'd follow jthorner's advice. I think he nailed it.

 

[mf150]

I know that Ford changed to 5W-20 just for their CAFE numbers. They cut the equivalent of 30,000 cars from the road by the switch to 5W20, which doesn't constitute too much, except a lighter viscocity oil that seems to be okay for protection...???

I don't run 5W-20 in my 03 Mustang GT. I use Red Line 5W-30 with no problems...go with a name brand that you are comfortable with.

PS a couple of my pals (with 99+ Mustang GTs) blew a rod, and 5W-20 just happened to be in the engine. I am not implying that 5W-20 caused teh failure, but it wouldn't hurt to go for a slightly higher viscosity, IMO.

 

[Thorn]

A few weeks ago, I bought a pre-owned 2004 Honda Pilot with 7,500 miles on it. After buying it, I noticed that it calls for 5W-20 oil. I'm not really a "car guy", but I thought this oil weight seemed odd.

Because of the 5W-20 recommendation, I started looking for info on the Internet and found this site. I never knew that there was this much information about motor oil.

Anyway, I was thinking of changing the oil at 10K and going with Amsoil's s2K 0W-30 with their SDF-13 oil filter (this is what their website recommends). I figure that my wife will drive between 12K-15K miles per year, so I thought maybe I would go with an OCI of 7500 miles (twice per year). This would enable me to comply with Honda's Certified Pre-Owned warranty schedule.

Is this a good choice, or are there better choices? Would using the 0W-30 void my warranty? Once I started using the synthetic, must I continue using it "forever"?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jthorner]

This has been discussed at length. Just search for "Honda" using the search function and you will find much discussion.

Amsoil tends to thicken with age and is likely to have a small fuel economy penalty under your plan. With gasoline close to $2.50 a gallon and going up that might not be an optimal choice.

Mobil-1 had a 0W-20 grade which has shown excellent results in Hondas. They have recently replaced it with 5W-20. Any of the name brand synthetic 5W-20s would do an excellent job for you at the Honda specificed 7,500 mile OCIs.

John

 

[2KBMW]

Thorn. First, I would talk
to the honda dealership near you and ask
them about oil choice and warranty. As
you spend more time here, you will notice
that the 0w30 oil's are thicker at operating
temps. than most 5w30 & 10w30 oil's that
meet the API standard. Since I don't like
very thin oil's, I would use 5w30 synthetic.
Most 5w30 synthetic oil's on the market are
only slightly thicker than 5w20 anyway.
For your last question, you don't have to
worry about using synthetic oil. You can
switch back to dino anytime.

 

[JohnnyO]

Or save even more $$$ and use Motorcraft 5w-20.

Generally I run Mobil 1 but I got just as good a UOA for 5000 miles with the Motorcraft synthetic blend.

 

[dustyjoe1]

Like johhnyO said. But that mC stuff is getting hard to find down here, not to mention pricey. If you like amsoil they have a 5w20 that i've used in my civic and it worked well for 7500 miles. I'm currently using plain ol' pennzoil 5w20 dino... its working amazingly well, but I'm only planning on keeping it in 5k. Good luck. Those pilots are nice.

 

[Thorn]

Thank you for the welcome and for your knowledge. As I said, I really didn't know much about motor oil until I found this site. Now I know very little but probably way more than the average guy on the street, even only after a few days of looking over these forums.

I looked for info on Honda SUV owners' forums as well, but many of those nice folks appear to take whatever their dealer says as absolute gospel. I'm usually a little bit more skeptical than that, which is what led me here.

When I first started to search the Internet for info on Honda's 5W-20 recommendation, I found many sites that were critical of using this oil. A few sites that look like respectable and knowledgable places for information claim that the 5W-20 oil is recommended only because of Honda's committment to be a "green" company and for CAFE standards. A few actually claim that the 5W-20 will definitely shorten the engine life of the vehicle.

These statements are what concerned me. However, after looking here at the "real-world" results from 5W-20 users, it looks like these dire predictions of engine failure are probably wrong.

Even so, Amsoil still recommends using their 0W-30 instead of their 5W-20 for better protection in these applications. In any case, I feel much more comfortable with the 5W-20 than I did before I found this site.

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

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Originally posted by dustyjoe1:
Like johhnyO said. But that mC stuff is getting hard to find down here, not to mention pricey.

---

Wal-Mart doesn't carry it any more but here AutoZone has it at a decent price, about $1.68 I think.

 

[Rickey]

Anyone used the Coastal 5w20 from Autozone? The bottles I saw didn't say anything about meeting Ford or Honda specs. Maybe an oil to avoid? Good luck with your Pilot. Rickey.

 

[John in the ATL]

Thorn,

I understand the fear of using the "thin" 5w-20. I am currently using the Motorcraft 5w-20 in the wife's 2004 Odyssey with no problems. As mentioned earlier, the MC is getting harder to find and more expensive when one finds it. MC meets Ford requirements and exceed Honda's. The Mobil 1 0w-20 (soon to be 5w-20) is superb oil for the Honda as well.

Most xw-20s are almost xw-30s when measured in centistokes (see chart on main page). Part of the reasoning, besides improved fuel economy, is that a 5w-20 is more shear stable than many 5w-30s. Some 5w-30s shear down to a 20 weight oil after 3k-5k miles.

Speaking of filters, the Amsoil SDF 20 is the correct filter for the Honda 3.5L V6. The SDF 13 is a tiny thimble sized runt. I currently run the NAPA Gold 1334 which cross references to the SDF 20.

 

[Thorn]

John,

The Amsoil site has a process for dummies like me that helps in selecting the proper oil filter. I'm sure you know the drill ,where you type in your year, make, model, etc., and the site returns the recommended filter for the Honda 3.5L V6. I'm pretty sure that I entered things correctly and got the SDF-13 result, but I'll be sure to double check.

I do remember reading somewhere (it might have been on this site) that Honda recently changed the OEM Pilot filter to a smaller filter. Some owners were worried because the new filter no longer completely covers the housing that the filter screws onto, although the rubber gasket on the filter is supposedly the same size(?).

I believe someone suggested that a Honda OEM filter for the S2000 is still being sold and is the same as the "original" larger filter used on the 3.5L V6.

Anybody know for sure?

 

[John in the ATL]

Thorn,

You are probaly right. The SDF20 is the same length as the SDF13; it is the same diameter at the gasket but wider.

 

[jthorner]

quote:

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I looked for info on Honda SUV owners' forums as well, but many of those nice folks appear to take whatever their dealer says as absolute gospel. I'm usually a little bit more skeptical than that, which is what led me here.

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Good for you

!

quote:

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Anyone used the Coastal 5w20 from Autozone? The bottles I saw didn't say anything about meeting Ford or Honda specs. Maybe an oil to avoid?

---

I would NOT use any 5W-20 oil which does not state on the bottle that meets Ford specification WSS-M2C153-H.

quote:

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I do remember reading somewhere (it might have been on this site) that Honda recently changed the OEM Pilot filter to a smaller filter. Some owners were worried because the new filter no longer completely covers the housing that the filter screws onto, although the rubber gasket on the filter is supposedly the same size(?)

---

Honda downsized their filters mostly in the 2003 model year and went to Fram as a major US supplier. Those moves surely have everything to do with cost cutting

. I'm not familiar with Amsoil's high priced filters, but do know that a Baldwin B1421 is larger than the current Honda filter and fits very well on my '03 Accord.

John

 

[Donald]

Honda like many other car companies switched to 5W20 strictly to get better CAFE numbers and report them to the government. In some years the oil cap said one thing and the manual another. 5W20 is OK oil and I am sure one will get 100K miles, but 5W30 has better sheer strength and its what was called for in 2000. They made no engine changes to go to 5W20, just documentation. If I really wanted to use 5W20, I'd go with a synthetic.

 

[mikemc]

Despite a lot of concerns that 5w20 was too thin to protect an engine(myself included), there has not been on bad UOA that I'm aware of involving a 5w20, dino or synthetic. The new Mobil Clean 7500 synthetic blend may be a good option for your 7,500 mile OCI's.