Oil rec to quiet high mileage Honda

The new Valvoline premium blue (one solution) is sp certified.
Nice and quiet in my Hyundai's naturally loud valve train. The blue extreme (5w40) is only SN certified but both are good oils. The 15w40 should be just fine above freezing. Valvoline 10w40 Maxlife is another good one.
 
Run some Valvoline Maxlife red bottle 5w30 to see if it helps all that oil consumption. Although if it's been like that awhile it may not help but worth a few intervals. Change pcv valve with an oem version.
 
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Since OP is in Michigan maybe try some of the new black bottle maxlife they sell at Meijer in 5W30 or 10W30.
 
I must be the only one at BITOG, that feels Diesel oil has too much detergent to use every day in a gas engine, i know engine rebuilders recommend for 1st fill. I would try Castrol.
 
I must be the only one at BITOG, that feels Diesel oil has too much detergent to use every day in a gas engine.
I remember reading that years ago. Can't remember if it was here or somewhere else, that the additives that "scrub" the soot are too harsh and abrasive for gasoline engines. Myth, fact, urban legend, I have no idea. :unsure:
 
I too recommend the valvoline maxlife in 5w30 flavor. They seem to have a pretty good reputation for quality oil and it may be exactly what you're honda is calling for.
 
I remember reading that years ago. Can't remember if it was here or somewhere else, that the additives that "scrub" the soot are too harsh and abrasive for gasoline engines. Myth, fact, urban legend, I have no idea. :unsure:

I'm not really sure that's true, as most modern diesel oils are still API SN and are "multi fleet" oils and pretty much all say suitable for gasoline engines on them.

Whether it's perfectly ideal, I don't really know, but a lot of the modern diesel oils that are 15w40 are more close to a 10w40 in viscocity specs if you compare PQIA data side by side.
 
I remember reading that years ago. Can't remember if it was here or somewhere else, that the additives that "scrub" the soot are too harsh and abrasive for gasoline engines. Myth, fact, urban legend, I have no idea. :unsure:
What if you have a soot monster GDI? I think the only thing that matters is the oil in question has a gasoline rating. Plenty of highly regarded gas oils (M1 euro 0w40 for example) have a massive slug of detergents and nobody says they're bad.
 
What if you have a soot monster GDI? I think the only thing that matters is the oil in question has a gasoline rating. Plenty of highly regarded gas oils (M1 euro 0w40 for example) have a massive slug of detergents and nobody says they're bad.
Yeah this was years ago that I'd read that. Probably back in the API SJ-SM days.
 
Well, I picked up a jug of 5w-30 Magnatec. Never used it. Always up for trying something new. I also got some Hondabond gasket maker adhesive, because (fun fact) Honda doesn't make an oil pan gasket for this motor. It is glued from the factory. So, as soon as I get around to that little project, I'll fill 'er up with the Castrol. I also have new brake pads/rotors/shoes and a new cam end seal and air filter for it I also need to replace some rusty brake lines before they blow out on me. Wish me luck! I'll update when I get the oil in it.
 
I have 2x Honda Civic's, '97 & '99 models both with D16's which is very similar to your D17. I believe Honda was still specifying 5w30 in the early 2000's but then came out with an update recommending 5w20 on certain models back to '00. I found the previous gen Civic's didn't really change from 96-00, in 99 on certain models they changed from OBD2a to OBD2b but the internals are all the same. You will be perfectly fine running 5w30 in yours, I'm actually getting Magnatec myself as I've been using Shell RGT in my truck but it's getting harder to find and also the price has increased. I've found that certain oils really haven't changed much in price over the last year. I actually just changed my Amazon Subscribe & Save from the RGT to the Magnatec and is saving me $7.50 per jug.

The Magnatec seems to help if you have a noisy engine but can't say that I've had one. In my '97 I've ran a lot of different oils, I started out with Castrol GTX then switched to M1, also tried Chevron Delo xle 10w30 which I really liked especially for being so cheap at the time and also for not burning as much either but it's currently using Valvoline Maxlife Full Synthetic. The '99 mostly gets PP either the regular or HM whichever is on the shelf.
 
Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster. I'm looking for ideas to quiet down an old, but still strong Honda Civic with the D17A2 VTEC motor. It's a 2003 that's pushing 300k miles on the clock and I plan to drive it and keep it going until it falls apart. My ownership of the vehicle has only been for the last 60k/5yrs, and I've always used whatever full syn 5w20 is cheapest at the time. Lately it's been M1 vanilla bought by the case at Sam's Club or SuperTech FS. The owner's manual specs 10k OCI's with 20k filter changes, under normal use. "Severe service" calls for 5k for both. I do a fair amount of short trips for school in the winter, so I split the difference and run about 7k for oil and filter. Not interested in extending OCI's. And yes, I know that synthetic is probably overkill for my application, but I don't really care. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Again, my main reason for considering different oil is to see if it could quiet down the "clickety-clack" of your typical high mile valvetrain. And before you ask, yes, I have done the manual valve lash adjustment and it made no difference. The only "recommended" grade is 5w20, but I'm wondering if a Xw30 or even Xw40 oil would be beneficial. It does use a fair bit of oil too, about 1qt per 1000mi, but it has a few leaks, that I may get around to addressing (oil pan gasket and valve cover and cam plug)
You could try M1 Afe 0-30. The 0w-20 Afe runs very smooth in my Camry. The Afe is not a long run oil, but, it is the smoothest, most quiet oil, I've run. Seemed to thin at about 2700 miles and 3.5 months of short drives....but it was very smooth and quiet. I extracted it and put some more in. about $15 net of rebate.
 
I have a clattery '02 Ford 3.0 spec'd for 5w20. I went with Valvoline FS HM 5W30 and it is a lot quieter. The Valvoline is a step up to a 30 but it's a thin 30.
 
I have a clattery '02 Ford 3.0 spec'd for 5w20. I went with Valvoline FS HM 5W30 and it is a lot quieter. The Valvoline is a step up to a 30 but it's a thin 30.
Agree, we have an 04 3L Duratec in the fleet (owned since new), it specs 5-20 but it has had M1 5-30 for the last 15 years
 
I run 5w-20 factory spec on a Civic with 200K on the clock. I subbed out a quart of the 5w-20 with 5w-30 and that quieted it up alot. Same brands too.
 
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