Short Trip Oil Strategy

[jpr]

For a car (2005 CR-V with K24A1 engine) that gets a lot of short trip use, what do you think the best oil strategy would be? As a general constraint, longer OCI's are prefered to shorter. Ideal would be about 10k /12 month but as low as 5k / 6 months would be acceptable. The factory spec oil is a 5W-20.

Which way would you go and why?
(A) use a thicker oil (perhaps even a xW-30) figuring the extra viscosity provides a buffer against fuel dilution
(B) use a thinner oil figuring on better flow in a colder engine
(C) stay in the xW-20 grade and shoot for as high an HTHS as possible
(D) stay in the xW-20 grade and shoot for as high a TBN as possible
(E) do you think the bio-based RLI has virtues in this application over the usual type synthetics in regards to moisture and fuel contamination?

 

[1medic]

Use Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-20. Mobil Guarantees it for 15000 miles.

 

[SuperDave456]

Im just curious. But how does one rack up 5000 miles in 6 months on "short trips"?

I think someone here just did a used oil analysis on a 2 year oil change with PP in their Tundra with 10,000 on the oil. So yeah, one year on premium oil, you can do it.

I am thinking that you can go to a premium synthetic and change it once a year, easy. Or just use a quality dino and change it every 6 months.

But my curiosity wants to hear more about your driving habits.

 

[tropic]

Honestly, I think shorter OCI's would work better than anything else for a short tripper.

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

Lots of short trips, change w/ dino and frequently... You'd definitely be under "severe" service as recommended by the maintenance manual..

 

[bobfather99]

Might be a good idea to take the short-tripper on a 30 mile or so run at highway speeds once in awhile. This evaporates moisture/fuel contamination in the oil.

 

[crinkles]

what counts as a short trip, and does it have to be in freezing conditions to put you into severe service? I go 4x 2mile trips each day for my commute. average about 10,000 miles a year, accounting for work mileage and visiting family.

I am considering extended drains using M1 or AMSOIL ATM.

Otherwise just conventional or synthetic blend every 5000 miles

 

[Spector]

If the engine can reach operating temp for at least a couple of miles most of the time you can go a year with synthetic, been doing it for years. Now, extremem cold, again need that operating temp most of the time to extend the OCI

 

[Cmarti]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Im just curious. But how does one rack up 5000 miles in 6 months on "short trips"?

I think someone here just did a used oil analysis on a 2 year oil change with PP in their Tundra with 10,000 on the oil. So yeah, one year on premium oil, you can do it.

I am thinking that you can go to a premium synthetic and change it once a year, easy. Or just use a quality dino and change it every 6 months.

But my curiosity wants to hear more about your driving habits.

My wife put 15000 miles on an brand new Escape in one year, and rarely leaves the city limits. She is a homemaker and professional shopper

PP at 5K is over kill, as the thing has never been above 55.

 

[Gary Allan]

Use a cheap 5w-20 and change it every 6 months.

 

[SuperDave456]

Professional shopper... wow... I haven't thought about the driving habits of one of them.

I agree with Gary Allen. Inexpensive 6 month OCI.
That will be the best way to keep all the condensation and stuff out of there.

 

[JAG]

(D) stay in the xW-20 grade and shoot for as high a TBN as possible

Water and the acids it allows to exist are probably the biggest issue with short trips. High TBN helps with that. I am biased toward paying for more expensive oils and running them as long as is justified. Cheaper oils changed more often should have similar protection from acids. Because of my bias, I vote for Amsoil 0W-20. Extra benefit is the 0W aspect of the oil which is good for short trips, viscosity-wise.

 

[jpr]

Thanks all for the feedback - we've had the car since March of 2005 and to date it has just over 23k miles. While on average that's about 500 miles a month, current usage is around 600~700 miles a month. It's mostly very short trips ferrying kids hither and fro and market runs, but it does get the occassional highway trip to an extended local area and road trip's to Grandma's house.

With this UOA - https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/honda-5w-20-8033-miles-2005-honda-cr-v.90987/ - I've effectively established that Honda 5W-20 at 8k OCI is not the way to go. I've currently got Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w20 in and took a sample yesterday at 4,218 and 6 months. My guess will be that this oil is holding up better than the Honda oil, but that it is also unlikely to make it to 8k or 10k. The 8k to 10k range is desirable since that's when the idiot light starts its cycle.

In looking at various xW-20 oils, most seemed to have pretty similar properties with the exception of the Amsoil with higher TBN, the Redline with higher HTHS, or the RLI with perhaps greater fuel and water tolerance. I was leaning towards the TBN bias but wanted to bounce it off the tribe for a second (plus 3rd. 4th, etc.) opinion.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

+3 on inexpensive 5w20