Sooo in a nutshell..

[Firehawk409]

From reading BITOG over the years it seems pretty much all name brand oils are good and in general will all get the job done. It all just boils down to whatever you try and end up likeing....then just stick with it. It really seems some really enjoy just switching oils, then conducting a UOA and coming on here to give thier results.

On my fbody, I started using Mobil 1 10w30 and then switched to Mobile 40w. Haven't done any tests but I cant really complain. 130k and still chugging. This includes a few bottles of nitrous run through it, a cam swap at 128k(cam bearings looked great), and a constant beating for over 10years.

So now with the 06 Civic I'm for some reason getting more into what oils to use and curious to find out what each does. I have planned on using Penzoil Platinum but after talking to Frank at auto rx he recommended just sticking with what im doing now and apply a maint dose. Now I am VERY curious to try out Amsoil and see if i can push the oil and AEO filter to 25k. Use the money I save on oil changes on UOA's instead to see the results. Just a little nervous about the intial investment of Amsoil and coming out with negative results. I am also likeing the idea that over the 25k period I will be using alot less oil then the typical 6k OIC.
Amsoil recommends these oils when I put in my car for a parts list. Honda recommends 5w20. Any suggestions?

100% Synthetic 0W-20 Motor Oil
SAE 5W-20 XL Synthetic Motor Oil
SAE 0w30 Synthetic Signature Series Oil

Am I on the wrong track here? Should I still apply the Auto Rx to the amsoil? Is this all even worth it since im not really sure i can even read and understand a UOA report?LOL

 

[Pablo]

Do you drive 25K miles in one year?

ASM or SSO will be your best bets, XLM 5w-20 is a 7500 mile oil.

 

[Johnny]

Well, here is my two cents worth.

If running Amsoil, do not need anything else.

If looking for long extended drains, don't use the 5W-20 XL series.

I would use either the SSO 0w30 or their 0W-20, and I would use their filter. Pull a sample at 5K, 10K, and 15K to see how it is doing. Plenty of folks on here can help with the UOA reading. If it still looks good at 15K go on the 20K.

Buy your Amsoil from one of the site sponsors.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Do you drive 25K miles in one year?

ASM or SSO will be your best bets, XLM 5w-20 is a 7500 mile oil.


I do that's why I am using ASM now plus my engine is rough on TBN. Conventional oil only holds up for 4-5k miles max, XLM will make it 7500 for me but that's it, PP is equal with XLM for me. I switched to ASM for longer drain intervals plus the cost difference for me is small. There are no real deals going on in this area for oil. If I had it like "Bill in Utah" and could get cheap oil things may look different. I wish we had a CSK in this area, it would be nice just to look around at this point.

 

[Firehawk409]

Well no, actually I dont. I have owned the car for 2 years and 2months and have 36600miles. So I'm hitting close to 17k a year. Would it be a bad idea to push it a bit further past the 1year mark? Would it help any if i just changed the filter at the 1 year mark and added oil?

Money is a factor for me, but honestly I wont be the guy spending all my time looking for the best priced oil and then stocking up on it. Not unless i happen to walk in the store and see it. I did do a few calculations and overall i wont be saving ALOT of money and the money I would save will more then likely go to UOA's. Kinda break even.

 

[Cup of Joe]

If money is a factor amsoil as a "Preferred customer" is a good deal but be sure to factor in tax, shipping and the fuel surcharge.

Honda's are pretty easy on there oil you could do 2 oil changes a year now on conventional, compare that to my 5 minimum. I still have a garage filled with oil and filters for my 1 truck, 2 vans, 1 work car and 1 weekender plus the mower's. It's just not all that cheap for me to buy it locally at retail prices in this area.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Firehawk409
Well no, actually I dont. I have owned the car for 2 years and 2months and have 36600miles. So I'm hitting close to 17k a year. Would it be a bad idea to push it a bit further past the 1year mark? Would it help any if i just changed the filter at the 1 year mark and added oil?


No I don't think it's a great idea to go past one year, especially the first extended OCI. Amsoil is basically 1 year/15 K for severe conditions.

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g1490.pdf

You could do a UOA at one year, and if everything is OK continue.

What type of driving? What is your MPG? How frequent were oil changes before?

 

[Firehawk409]

In the city the lowest i have gotten is 27mpg and the highest 34mpg. The last fill up was 32mpg. Hwy i hit between 38 to 40mpg with the highest being 42mpg. Most of the driving is my wife going to school 10miles one way. About a 30minute trip factoring in traffic and stop lights. On the weekends we go visit family that is about 25miles one way. Not much hwy driving, but not really sitting in traffic for an hour in one spot type of city driving. The car rarely sees anything over 3,000rpms.
As for my OCI it ranges from 5500 to 6500miles. Thats around 15% according to the maint minder. As i stated in my other thread I'm not sure what oil is being used. One serv rep told me Castrol Syn blend, and the other just said "bulk".

The way I look at it at the dealer I spend $30 for each oil change, so thats 90bucks a year. I can spend close to the same and use amsoil and not have to worry with it much for the whole year. If I get an off the shelf oil, I'll roughly spend about 20 to 25bucks including filter, at that point i might aswell fork over the extra few bucks and make the dealer do it.

 

[[RT] ProjUltraZ]

Originally Posted By: Firehawk409
I'll roughly spend about 20 to 25bucks including filter, at that point i might as well fork over the extra few bucks and make the dealer do it.


but you could get PP or good oil instead of bulk oil, that's a big diff

 

[Firehawk409]

i dont know about that. I'm sure the dealer uses honda spec oil and it might not be better then PP but it'll do the job.