Overthinking this...Need some help

[BTLew81]

Not like overthinking is unusual here, but....

We've got a 2019 Acadia 3.6 that my wife drives. It's a lease with two years left. I daily a 2019 accord 2.0t. I do oil changes on both.

The Acadia gets a d1g2 oil as required. I'm not too concerned as the 3.6 seems well sorted. The accord, on the other hand, I know has a tendency to dilute and is harder on oil. I've stepped the accord up to a 5w30 as a result. The accord I plan to keep around for a long time.

Both get 5k OCIs...the Acadia because that's about where the oil life monitor puts me, the accord because I don't think I'm good going much beyond that.

I've toyed with going to Amsoil, ravenol, or something "fancy" in the accord to get the lowest noack, highest pao/poe, etc. then I have this rational moment where I realize that at 5k intervals, this might not be that smart and offer much benefit.

After some thought while on vacation, I'm starting to think going to vanilla Mobil 1 5w30 in both. Easy to get, should be fine at 5k, and I can get the 12 quart box (for now) for 3.75/qt. Has all of the approvals I need and will probably make the accord last for as long as I want to keep it-5-7 years.

Cons? Not the best noack, nor the highest group 4/5 content. Does this really matter, probably not.

Any thoughts on this approach? I've been using castrol edge in both. No complaints other than having to buy a single quart to fill the Acadia. However, I'm not married to Castrol and not convinced there is anything "better" about edge.

Any advice/thoughts/words of wisdom or comfort? 🤣

Thanks.

 

[ondarvr]

Don't overthink it.

Put oil in them and drive.

 

[littlehulkster]

Originally Posted by ondarvr
Don't overthink it.

Put oil in them and drive.


Yeah, frankly this might not come across well on a forum dedicated to overthinking oil, but from everything I've seen here, if you run a good quality synthetic oil (and everything commonly available at the parts store will usually qualify) of the weight the manufacturer recommends and change it on time, you will have no problems, regardless of if you just buy whatever's cheapest or run pure unicorn blood.

For OP, both those are pretty good engines, don't stress over it. Vanilla Mobil 1 5w30 would be perfectly fine in both of them if that's what you want to do, but they'd also probably be fine on 0w20 if the manufacturers recommend that.

 

[MontePrix28]

Since the Acadia is a lease, and if you do not plan on buying it out and the end of the lease, why not just put d1g2 Supertech 0w20/5w30 (whichever it specs) and an ACDelco filter? Following the OLM. Less than $20 out-the-door at Walmart.

Regarding the Accord, I definitely agree with the step up to a 5w30 with it being a direct injected turbo. I know in Europe, Honda specs the civic's 1.5T (L15B7) from 0W-20 to 10w30. I can't imagine the 2.0T being any different. If you need the cold-start capabilities: mobil 1 0w-30.

 

[4wd]

Try your zip code for these boxes ?

 

[BTLew81]

Thanks all. The Mobil 1 12 qt box is 45 near me. Wish it were cheaper. Lol

Maybe I'll move to that for the accord. Use the rest of the Castrol I have on the Acadia. Or maybe Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 for the accord.

Good call on the st for the Acadia. Not a bad idea and will probably work just fine.

To be perfectly honest I've thought about running both of them on Kirkland 5w30....and I'm sure that would work just fine at reasonable intervals.

 

[userfriendly]

Would me suggesting Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 0w40 for both cars upset the thinnies?

 

[BTLew81]

Wouldn't upset me. Lol. I do get a bit worried moving up that much in terms of "weight," but the 0w40 is a stout oil.

 

[userfriendly]

Didn't think so. 4WD's post is a good one, and look how cheap the 5W30 is. We can agree on the filter. Mobil 1 0w40 is my sever winter go to oil. Like when I get sent to Hinton, Alberta in January and it's 42 below.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

How many miles will the Accord accumulate in 5-7 years? Because that's your time-frame for getting rid if it, Supertech will work there.

If I weren't a birth-to-old age death vehicle owner, Supertech would be all I would run.

 

[BTLew81]

5-7 years is an estimate. We are expecting our second child in August so I figure once the kids are bigger and we're traveling more we may want a second suv to spread the miles. The accord is my favorite car I've ever had. I want to treat it as such and feed it very good fuel and oil without going crazy.

 

[ka9mnx]

Mobil 1 5w30 is a good choice for the Accord. Mobil 1 says their oil is good for 10k so your covered at 5k. The lease? I wouldn't bother with expensive oil. SuperTech would also be good for both. I don't plan on getting rid of my vehicles and see what I'm using.

 

[buster]

Regular Mobil 1 grades are PAO/GTL/AN. I just took a look at the latest MSDS for Mobil 1 5w20 and it's 30% PAO/30% III. Years ago Mobil 1 was PAO and 15% POE. Over time, likely due to Castrol and people being cheap, we started to see the shift of synthetics going to III.

I personally wouldn't care much about what goes in the leased car. For the Honda I'd go with 5w30 EP. If it calls for a 20 grade, I'd go with EP 0w20. The 0w20 will hold its viscosity better than the EP 5w30.

 

[BTLew81]

Thanks Buster. It does suggest a 20, but with a tgdi I just sleep better at night with a 5w30. That's what it's had for all 24k miles. No impact to mpg or anything. So perhaps Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 is the way to go. Any insight on the group 3/pao mix on that oil?

 

[TrainingPolicy]

While I completely understand overthinking the type of oil I use, understand that it's still a Honda. Hondas are typically very easy on oil, even with the fuel dilution problem. If you use an approved oil and change it according to factory specifications or before you shouldn't have a problem. Mobil 1 is a great choice, or you can go with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum that is another great oil. If you are really worried about fuel dilution then every so often when you are getting on the highway just put the pedal to the floor, it should get the engine spinning fast enough to 'burn off' some of that excess fuel in there.

 

[AJB0009]

Originally Posted by ondarvr
Don't overthink it.

Put oil in them and drive.

+1

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Its a lease this isn't like a car you're trying to get over 300 K miles out of.

 

[BTLew81]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Its a lease this isn't like a car you're trying to get over 300 K miles out of.



One car is a lease. I have that nailed down. The other car is a keeper.

 

[BTLew81]

I should have added that one other oil on my radar is Valvoline. Looks good on paper and I can find it for about 18 and change locally.

 

[DGXR]

For anyone not doing extended OCIs (above 10k), I don't think the Group 3/4/5 content matters as much as the actual performance of the finished lubricant. I see way too many people getting hung up on "what's the % ester or PAO" when they're only going 7500 miles or less. So I think your plan to go 5k on M1 vanilla is good. It is an excellent choice for reasonable mileage intervals such as yours.