Synthetic for 2002 Acura RSX Type S

[anjoga]

I purchased the car used with 20k miles on it. It now has about 65k miles on it. During this time period, I have only used Mobil 1 5w30 and a Purolator PureOne filter in it, changing both every 5000 miles. However, I've noticed over time that my lifters are noisy, and was told recently that the Mobil 1 may be the cause, or at least switching to an oil like German Castrol 0w30 or Amsoil SSO 0w30 will help quite it down. Any thoughts on this? Would running any of these oils pose a problem for my car? I live in Upstate NY if that helps.

 

[addyguy]

You might need a valve adjustment? Do these cars need one?

Some Honda's do.

 

[anjoga]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
You might need a valve adjustment? Do these cars need one?

Some Honda's do.


I wouldn't know. I'll look into it.

 

[BuickGN]

Agreed on the valves. I've heard (not sure how much truth there is) that the more you hit vtec the noisier the valvetrain gets. I hope I'm not spreading an internet rumor. They can also have a sticking vtec rocker (some of them stuck in vtec mode)causing noise especially noticable at idle.

After you rule out the valvetrain, a quality 10w-30 may help. I know the synthetic straight 30 in the J32 in my TL took away any and all valvetrain noise. Now there's just injector tick. This was after running SSO.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: anjoga
I purchased the car used with 20k miles on it. It now has about 65k miles on it. During this time period, I have only used Mobil 1 5w30 and a Purolator PureOne filter in it, changing both every 5000 miles. However, I've noticed over time that my lifters are noisy, and was told recently that the Mobil 1 may be the cause, or at least switching to an oil like German Castrol 0w30 or Amsoil SSO 0w30 will help quite it down. Any thoughts on this? Would running any of these oils pose a problem for my car? I live in Upstate NY if that helps.

None of those oils will cause problems. The worst that will happen is that the Castrol 0w-30 might decrease your fuel economy a tiny bit. They are all great oils.

I also agree that you should check your valvetrain first. Switching oils might help, but it'd be a Band-Aid. It's always better to address the cause rather than the symptom.

Whatever you end up doing, when you're looking at oils like these, and using a good filter like a Purolator PureOne, you can definitely extend your oil change intervals a bit. I'd run 7,000-8,000 miles on any of those oils. Honda engines -- even the high performance ones -- are very easy on oil, and these are all high quality synthetics.

 

[bepperb]

"Switching oils might help, but it'd be a Band-Aid. It's always better to address the cause rather than the symptom"

Agreed. Changing oils won't do much. It isn't hard to check the valve clearance on a K series I4, nor is it difficult to adjust them.

 

[anjoga]

Thanks guys. All great advice.

 

[Audi Junkie]

GC will work great. How is consumption?

 

[zulu]

Valve lash on the K series is not adjustable. They switched to self adjusting hydraulic lifters with the new motors. The B-series was the last Honda engine where they could be adjusted as I recall. My RSX drank Mobil 1 like water, better on PP, and virtually nil on GC. Most DOHC VTECs run hard will burn oil, some more than others. I ran it hard, and it was modded. 8600rpms 10+ times daily. I stuck with 5k changes because of high Si numbers associated with my cold air intake. The valvetrain was noisy, not only because of the valves, but the fuel rail. It's RIGHT on top in front and adds to the clatter. Nature of the beast unfortunatley.