Oil for A Long, Hot Journey

[Volts Castillo]

hello all, new here. i live in the philippines and i drive a 1999 crv with the b20z engine. this summer (mar-apr-may), my wife and i had planned a gruelling, overland journey across the length of the philippine's luzon island to samar island - short of 1,000 kilometers one way in extermely hot, humid conditions (like 34C).

now my question is, what oil would you recommend for my V? i want the engine to stay in one piece since i drive at breakneck speedsabd i don't want anything clanging when i arrive, as i have to drive it home again.

due to cost concerns i'm left with the ff choices:

castrol gtx 20w-50 (for the hot weather?)
ac-delco's *100% synthetic* 5w-50
mobil 1 5w-50 with supersyn

pretty limited set of choices, but other brands like valvoline, pennzoil, quaker state, etc, aren't freely available here in southeast asia. so it's either castrol, shell, havoline, ac-delco, and mobil.

thanks for any input.

 

[Rob Taggs]

I would go with the Havoline. I have tried all the others listed except for the AC Delco 100% Synthetic which I would place bets on being Mobil 1 synthetic and have found the Havoline to be the one that does not burn off. All others burned off to some degree.

 

[2004 F150 4x4]

On the trip you speak of I would use Mobil 1 10w-30 for the added protection of a synthetic or if you prefer to save money the Havoline is a good oil also. Good Luck, let us know how the trip went when you get back home.

 

[Volts Castillo]

hello sirs, thanks for the quick replies.

what grade of havoline should i use? we have 5w-30 (semi syth), 20w-50(cheapest mineral), and 10-40 (fully synth)?

 

[KW]

Komusta Volts, I lived in Luzon for a few years and am familier with the driving conditions there. All the choices you have are good ones. Myself I prefer the 5W50 Mobil 1 over the rest, no cold start ups in the Philippines.

And of course a big

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Volts Castillo:
hello sirs, thanks for the quick replies.

what grade of havoline should i use? we have 5w-30 (semi syth), 20w-50(cheapest mineral), and 10-40 (fully synth)?

---

Well you give three different weights here. Do you have an oil pressure gauge? What pressure do you currently get and with what grade oil? Also what does your owner's manual indicated for oil grade?

I would shy away from the 5w30 semi. No need for a 5w anything in the temperatures you will see on your trip. Depending on what weight you need, and given the harshness of the trip, I would go 15w40 or 15w50 and a full synthetic would be best. A 20w50 full synthetic would also be fine. Mobil 1 I believe makes a 15w50. Can cut it with Mobil 1 10w30 if 50 weight is too heavy. If you have not run full synthetic before they usually recommend a shorter interval the first time as it tends to clean things out.

 

[Volts Castillo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by KW:
Komusta Volts, I lived in Luzon for a few years and am familier with the driving conditions there. All the choices you have are good ones. Myself I prefer the 5W50 Mobil 1 over the rest, no cold start ups in the Philippines.

And of course a big

---

kumusta mr. KW! u should come back and look around the philippines soon, lots of new places to go to these days and the road network has been improved dramatically since the 80's.

mr tallpaul, my honda's manual recommends any grade from 5w-30 to single grade 30 weight. this is why i'm so confused...won't 20w-50 be too thick? my older diesel suv, for one reason or another, would overheat if i use straight 40 weight diesel engine oil (delo 400), but would run fine over vast distances if i used 15w-40 or lighter oil.

while my V has a petrol engine, i wouldn't want to overheat in the middle of a long, deserted road in desert conditions.

by the way, i'm quite sure ac-delco doesn't refine their own oil...so what's in their synthetic oil bottles?

 

[srivett]

That does not sound like an extraordinary trip by Canadian standards. Our country is huge so I've been on many trips where we cover 1200 km a day for over a week in 30 degree temperatures. We definately didn't get oil changes every 5 days either. I've run my Ford E-150 non-stop from Accapulco to Ottawa, that's something like 72 hours, on regular 10w30.

You have nothing to worry about, any oil will work.

Cheers, Steve

 

[TallPaul]

Given it is only 5 years old and the manual seems to favor 30 weight oil, that would be a reasonable choice. Can you get the Havoline 10w30? Now it you tell me it has 300,000 kilometers on the engine, I might think 10w40.

 

[Pablo]

Welcome!!

I agree that really isn't that far, and yes while warm...what, still less 100°F (93.2°F). Any good oil should be able to do the short distance you list with ease. I wouldn't go all the way to a XW-50. A XW-40 should be more than fine. Is your car is otherwise good condition? Cooling system and electrics? If they are fine don't sweat it....so to speak.

I agree with the Havoline has shown great results.

Wish I was there. I'm one of those strange white guys that doesn't mind sweaty climates for short bursts.....as long as I don't have to work!

PS Technically the months you list are spring

 

[XS650]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Volts Castillo:
hello all, new here. i live in the philippines and i drive a 1999 crv with the b20z engine. this summer (mar-apr-may), my wife and i had planned a gruelling, overland journey across the length of the philippine's luzon island to samar island - short of 1,000 kilometers one way in extermely hot, humid conditions (like 34C).

---

Engine cooling systems and oil don't care about humidity. 34C wouldn't even be called a warm summer day in parts of the US and OZ, so use whatever decent oil you like.

 

[Flimflam]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Volts Castillo:


castrol gtx 20w-50 (for the hot weather?)
ac-delco's *100% synthetic* 5w-50
mobil 1 5w-50 with supersyn

---

Volts, use Castrol GTX 20w-50. If you can get it, Castrol monograde HD-30 would be better if there are no cold starts. I prefer monograde HD-30 if I have to drive in relly hot conditions.

If you like to use Synthetic, 5w-50 has too large a Visco spread. The Mobil 1 (heavy type) sold in USA is a 15w-50, so it presumably has less V.I. improvers.

I would go with the Castrol GTX 20w-50 or Castrol HD-30, and change it out every 3,000 to 3,500 miles. Can't go wrong with Castrol.

 

[quadrun1]

Kumusta Volts,

Mobil 1 5W-30 or 10W-30 will work just fine for you... my cousin buys M1 at a good price in Ali Mall in Cubao.

My '94 Civic ESi (which my cousin now has) runs great, it has been fed Mobil 1 5W-30 since new. It recently had a clutch replacement and the mechanics at the dealership couldn't believe how strong it pulled... and that car saw some crazy traffic jams, for example, 6 hours of creeping along in first gear just going from Cavite to Manila (40 km)

The dealers there use mineral 20W-50 and it's too thick for Honda engines... in the States they're using 5W-20, and some areas here are way hotter than the Philippines.. For example, Houston or Las Vegas in the summertime, can get to 43'C or more!

Definitely, use M1 5W-30 or 10W-30, you don't need thicker than that as long as it's fully synthetic oil.

 

[quadrun1]

Also, that Civic uses a 10,000 km oil change interval on the M1 5W-30; it's 11 years old with 130,000+ km in the Philippines, engine runs perfect!

 

[JohnBrowning]

M1 5W50 gets my vote!! You know with Mobil-1 you will be getting your moneys worth! You do not have to guess at the base stock or additive package!! ACDelco has a huge problem globaly with conterfiet products. Castrol GTX 20W50 is not a very clean oil it tends to leave varnish behind if left in too long or in numid environments. Pablo and I have both used 20W50 GTX in the early days and by todays standards it is not good stuff!Truthfuly a nice 5W40 or 0W40 would probably work just as well!

 

[vwoom]

Kamusta Kabayan!

Based from your three choices, I'd also vote for M1 5w50. And yes, it is a no brainer when it comes to the add pack and base stock.

You get that added M1 protection for your engine esp with the subpar quality of fuels in P.I. coupled with those "hellish/parking lot" killer on motor oil traffic as in Manila...can you say SLEX(I hail from Merville).

p.s. Volts, you can also go for a multi wt HDEO if available.

 

[Volts Castillo]

sir vwoom - kumusta din! glad to know there's at least a couple guys here who used to live where i'm at.

so it's m1 by popular vote. mr john browning, i was hoping someone would extoll the virtues of castrol gtx 20w-50 because it's the cheapest here at $2 per quart, hehe.

well like i said i'm looking towards hot/humid weather performance. mobil1 wins everywhere i look in this forum...even in fuel economy (well, from what i gather...). the run from one island to the next is an amazing 18 hours of non-stop driving, and every bit of fuel economy helps. don't want to be stopping for gas every few hours.

thanks to everyone who replied...see u later mga kabayans!

 

[vwoom]

Volts, why not try HDEO Delo close to Honda oil specs? How about Shell Rimula? I run Shell Rotella 5w40 now in my Passat 1.8T for the Auto-Rx rinse.

Galing ha..Caltex(ChevronTexaco here) now has 3 kinds of Delo in Phils(400, Gold & CXJ). I remember my old man runs Caltex RPM Delo HD30 for both the Benz W123 240D & W124 300Ds..that was years ago. Delo has gone a long way in P.I.

I think GTX 20w50 though cost effective for you is too thick for your Honda engine..In the way early pre-Bitog days I did run this oil in two ocis in my old Civic(never again). Try Havoline in the less thicker 10w40(this should be dino/mineral) as TallPaul mentioned..better if you can get this wt in robust HDEO form.