What oil for 95 Integra GSR?

[Ub3r-L33ch]

Dont have alot of time to do the research on this and I need to change the oil this coming weekend, so it would help to get some info ASAP.

Car has 136k miles on it, recently purchased, not sure what oil was used before. I believe the recommended is 5w-30, but thats what the 10 year old manual says, I'm sure stuff with oil has changed considerably since then.

I live in Oklahoma and the Summers here typically stay in the 90's and quite often go over 100 degrees. I dont rev hard very often but it is fun to do so every now and then, part of why I bought the car. I plan to change the oil every 3000-4000 miles unless I can get away with more by using a good Synthetic or something.

Most of my driving is on the highway, I go to work on the highway, 3 days a week I go to class from work on the highway, then I go home via the highway. I would estimate I drive about 750 miles/mo., mostly highway.

I hear 5w-20 is better for gas mileage, that would be nice.

Any help appreciated. I'll try to read up on more if I get more time, thanks.

 

[jeepman]

MaxLife 5W30 is free after rebate at Pep Boys right now. Nice add pack for older cars, especially if you don't know what was in it before. They also have a MaxLife Oil Filter free after rebate as well. If you don't want to hassle with the rebates, Wally World has MaxLife 5 qt jugs for $11.50 or so, and a Supertech filter is about $2. Should do well for a 4-5k OCI.

 

[AcuraTech]

Dont worry too much about oil specifics. Just pick a good 5W-30 or 10W-30 and stick with it. Those motors are solid and with 3-4K OCI's you should never have a problem.

If you just got the car you should check and see if routine maintenance items have been done. THings to check:

1. If the timing belt has ever been replaced. If it hasn't do it NOW.

2. Check valve adjustment

3. Check to see if it needs fresh spark plugs (Save yourself from any hassle later on and buy NGK or Denso plugs)

4. Check condition of radiator (They tend to start to leak on these cars at higher mileages)

You should be able to get at least 200K out of this car if you change the oil on schedule and pay attention to the maintenance of the car.

 

[addyguy]

On an older, high-revving engine like that, you're probably best to stay with a 5W-30 or even 10W-30 weight. I think other posts here have pointed out that the high-performance versions of Honda engines spec. 5W-30 as a minimum; no 5W-20 on those engines. If you are definetly staying with 3-4k mile changes, just go with the cheapest regular dino oil you can find.....

 

[Ub3r-L33ch]

Thanks for the replies.

I do have lots of maintenance receipts for the car I found in it, but nothing about what kind of oil was used. It was definately taken care of.

What exactly is "dino oil", havent been able to figure that out yet.

I was thinking about going with Mobile1 5w-30 Synthetic. Heard synthetic is good for high heat resistance. I dont mind paying a little extra knowing that in any situation it will be able to handle it.

Is there any reason not to use this oil, and how long should I go before the oil change with it?

 

[AndyH]

"dino" oil = regular old conventional oil (i.e., not synthetic or semi-sythetic).

 

[addyguy]

"Dino oil" = conventional, non-synthetic oil...from the fact that it comes from decomposed dinosaurs....

If you do not mind the extra price, most on this board feel that sysnthetics are the best oils to run. But you are asking for 'trouble' if you want a concrete answer on what the best one is...lots of strong opinions on that!

That being said, Mobile 1 is a very good oil, and if you have easy access to it, you can't go wrong with it...?

As for how long to run it, that is another discussion that can get confusing! Most agree that you won't really know how long you can go on an oil until you have it analysed to see how it is holding up....every car and driving situation is different.

As for blanket answers, most on this board tend to be very conservative, and change synthetics very early. I personally think this is a waste, and think that you can run a syntheic for at least 1 year or about 12-20k miles, depending on how much you drive....Mobile 1 'EP' recommends 15k mile drains on their oil, while other like Amsoil recommend up to 35k mile drains on their heavy-duty oils.... I would go with the easy to follow 1 year drain interval...

All the above is just my opinion from what I have learned here, not an experts advice. Do search around the site if you can, and take into account all advice you get/see. You'll soon recognize that there are some real experts on this board who can also help out, with the science to back them up....

 

[PandaBear]

I got an LS teg also, and from what I tried it like a thicker 5w30 or 10w30, even 10w40 but not 5w20. Some on honda-tech dislike M1, but I personally like the way it runs with it. It is a strong motor, pretty much anything will work if you don't abuse it.

I'd say try a few synthetic and see if it burn or leak, if not, stick to the one you feel most comfortable with (i.e. M1 or Penzoil Platnium) and use 5k-7.5k OCI. For Dino oil 3k-5k is no problem.

 

[the_oil_dealer]

+ 1 vote for high mileage oil. Theyre good oils and seem suited to your Honda engine.

 

[m2200b]

You should look at see if the previous owner used syn synthetic last change to decide whether you want to continue syn like M1/ Penn Plat etc.
If the prior owner used dino for a long time you may want to do an ARX clean up and conditioning to minimize the chance of seals leaking when you change over. The ARX is discussed in the oil additive section and also can help free up rings for more power/ less oil consumption.

I'd also look to see when last changed or change the trannie oil. Use Honda MTL, or some of the lighter syn trannies oils that od a better job than 30W in your manual.

I don't see even race track honda's using more than 30W and if you use the 40W it won't rev as well anyway.

 

[m2200b]

Even the receipt for oil ought to show whether he was spending for dino in the $30 range or syn in the $50 range if these are shop bills.
You could call him if you have the receipt also.

 

[Ub3r-L33ch]

So far I am considering Mobile1 High Mileage, Mobile1 5w-30 Synthetic, or Mobile1 0w-30.

Which do you guys think would be best?

 

[JHZR2]

m1 5w-30, a shoprter interval your first change.

Dontworry about HM oils if your engine is tight... we changed our integra to M1 at 150k miles and it doesnt use a drop!

JMH

 

[m2200b]

Does the car use oil now since you've had
it long enough to see movement on the dipstick.
But the past owner might have used a 40 to mask
seal leaks or consumption.

 

[STSinNYC]

Honda/Acura engines of that generation ran/run very well on 5W-30. Any of the good dinos (Pennzoil, Mobil, Exxon Superflo, Havoline), synblends (Shaeffers 7000) or synthetics will do you fine. 5W-20 was not the spec of that generation of engines. Assuming the engine is in good condition, with mostly highway driving you could run 5,000 mile intervals. One addition to AcuraTech's good list: Use ONLY Honda ATF.

 

[OCB]

I own a 98 GSR with 120,000 and she runs like she has 20,000 on her.

Follow Acura Techs advice and check on the timing belt asap.

I swear by Havoline DINO in this car. Do a search for it here and read the great reviews. I would have never thought one of the cheapest oils at Wal Mart would work great in my car but it does. I'm glad I joined this site because I would have never tried it.

I run 3000 mile changes with Havoline Dino

5/30 Winter

10/30 Summer

I use Napa Gold Filters. I could probably go 4-5k on this set up but I baby my Teg and she has never let me down.

I have noticed alot of people with these GSR motors tend to go through a bit of oil especially as they get older. At 120K I hardly have to ad any oil at all during the 3k but I always check the dip stick. Also if the cam seal has not been replace you might notice some oil leaking on the left hand side of the motor by the valve cover.

My .02

 

[Mr Nice]

12 years old and 136K miles....

use the cheapest oil you can find

 

[RedGSR]

I had a 95 GSR. Temps in CA where I am average 85 and few trips into triple digits over the course of a year. I went 5w30 cheapest pepboys dino all the way to 144k when she was murdered by an 80 year-old man who didn't know what brakes were for. I actually did 7500k OCI's because I was doing courier service at 300 miles a day. I was too lazy to go under the car more than once a month. Car drove the same as it did when I received her at 79k miles which was quite nice. She used a little oil of course but never went close to the second dot between oil changes.