Synthetic really worth it for my new 2013 Civic?

[flinter]

Hi,

I have a 2013 Honda Civic EX sedan, which I loved. At now 5,000 miles, I am about ready for my first oil change. Should I switch over to a full synthetic like Mobil 1 or PP, or just go
with Honda's conventional oil and stick with that??

Is there really much of a benefit with the Honda V-Tec engines to use a synthetic, or will
conventional dino be my best bet??

Just wondering from all the Civic owners here what your experiences have been?

Thanks!

 

[SF0059]

The 4 cylinder in your Civic is pretty easy on oil. That being said, for the small price difference between syn and dino, why not go with syn? You had enough money to buy a new car, I would think that giving it the best from the get-go will only be a benefit instead of trying to save a couple of bucks. Even running HGMO blend would be a better way to go. Just my 2¢.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

For warranty, you are pretty much stuck with 0w-20 right? Honda's is a "blend", but all of the OTC 0w-20s I can think of are synthetics.

A 5w-20 conventional certainly won't hurt, but the OLM isn't going to be calibrated for a conventional oil it seems.

 

[Hokiefyd]

If you want to maintain the warranty on the engine, you'll want to use the recommended 0W-20 oil, which is only available as a synthetic (most common) or as a synthetic blend (less common). Could you run a conventional 5W-20? Absolutely. One could probably make the argument that Pennzoil yellow bottle 5W-20 is at least as good as any 0W-20 blend (and perhaps some of the 0W-20 synthetics as well) due to its excellent NOACK and very good mPa viscosity at -30*C. But that's your call (re: the warranty issue).

 

[bigt61]

Stick with at least the 0W-20 blend while under warranty. If it were mine, a couple extra bucks for full synthetic would not be a problem. 10 years from now, when it's a 200k mile beater, run anything you want.

 

[tenderloin]

The gap appears to continue shrinking between the two. The price gap is of no meaningful significance. I stay with synthetics in my new and newer vehicles. I use MaxLife blend in some of my older work vehicles (I loaded up on Kmart clearance a few years ago) or if I get a killer deal on conventional oil.

 

[Hyde244]

If you play your cards right and do some quick calculations, you could extend your oil change intervals while also reducing overall cost of oil.

A $25 synthetic used over 7,500 miles equates to .33 cents a mile (that's 25/7,500). Compared to a $17 conventional or syn blend used over a 5,000 mile interval (which equates to .34 cents a mile), the synthetic is actually a better deal. (Not to mention that synthetics carry certain performance bonuses to conventionals and blends)

 

[147_Grain]

Use a good quality name-brand synthetic to protect your engine with a greater margin for error.

Quality oil and filters are cheap compared to a new engine.

 

[GaleHawkins]

Short of owning a fleet of diesel trucks I see no reason not to make the first oil change with Synthetic. You have a top of the line engine. Keep it clean from the get go and it will serve you well. It is true you can expect the engine to last longer on either dino or synthetic than the chassis may last.

Honda makes awesome machines.

In the end any oil that meets the specs in your owner's manual will work but with the cost difference between dino and synthetic approaching Zero if you will shop well I can only see using Synthetic especially if you change your own oil.

 

[flinter]

Looks like my best bet is to just stick with Honda dealer and Honda oil and filter, at least until the power train warranty expires! My plan is to faithfully do 5000 oil changes and tire
rotation and gently run my Civic to 175,000-200,000 miles.

 

[dparm]

Those motors are not picky about their oil. Most conventional/dino oils are synthetic blends anyway.

 

[KrisZ]

The cheapest 0w20 oil that I could find would be my choice.

 

[sparky123]

I was about to ask whom was going to be doing the oil/filter changes? The dealer... I would think they would use a Honda filter but I wouldn't assume they'd be using a Honda 0w-20 oil. But, doing a 5K OCI I don't think it would matter.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: sparky123
I was about to ask whom was going to be doing the oil/filter changes? The dealer... I would think they would use a Honda filter but I wouldn't assume they'd be using a Honda 0w-20 oil. But, doing a 5K OCI I don't think it would matter.


Unless the car requires 0w20, they will not use it unless you pay extra.

 

[SLCraig]

The R18 will not care either way.

When I traded in my 2011 Civic at 60K miles it was spotless under the oil fill cap and ran like new, mix of dino and synthetic was used. I did use Pennzoil conventional for the first oil change intentionally, it has high moly. I figured could not hurt.

That engine is easy to please though. Whatever helps you sleep at night gets my vote.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Hyde244
If you play your cards right and do some quick calculations, you could extend your oil change intervals while also reducing overall cost of oil.

A $25 synthetic used over 7,500 miles equates to .33 cents a mile (that's 25/7,500). Compared to a $17 conventional or syn blend used over a 5,000 mile interval (which equates to .34 cents a mile), the synthetic is actually a better deal. (Not to mention that synthetics carry certain performance bonuses to conventionals and blends)


And when you add the cost of labor and filter, the deal becomes even better.

 

[Doog]

0w20 synthetic and honda filter

 

[jamesyarbrough]

M1 0w20 is pretty cheap at WAL-MART, $25 or so. Its hard to beat that value and quality.

 

[Woody71]

I have an '11 CR-V which also uses 0W-20. Started doing my own OCs this past summer. Went with Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20 and a Wix gold filter. That cost me $30. OC at the dealer is $55 I doubt they use a full syn.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Woody71
I have an '11 CR-V which also uses 0W-20. Started doing my own OCs this past summer. Went with Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20 and a Wix gold filter. That cost me $30. OC at the dealer is $55 I doubt they use a full syn.


For $55 it is probably Honda's own 0w20 synthetic. The $30 change specials are going to be dino or maybe syn-blend.