I will be very grateful if you guys can provide any advice. I need to do an oil change ASAP.
1. What kind of vehicle you have
-2011 Honda Accord LX-P.
- ~42,000 miles
-Automatic.
-K24z2 engine. 2.4 liter Inline 4. DOHC.
-all stock except sticky summer tires
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
"Use a premium-grade 0W-20
detergent oil displaying the API
Certification Seal. ......You may use a synthetic motor oil if
it meets the same requirements
given for a conventional motor oil: it
displays the API Certification Seal,
and it is the proper weight."
Up until now, I've had the oil changed at the dealer when the cars computer would tell me to with the oil life indicator. But since I am abusing the car more now I am getting more involved with maintenance. The dealer usually used 0w-20 or 5w-20 synthetic blend. 2-3 oil changes a year.
Also when should I replace the oil filter? The manual says to do it when the computer gives the service code for it. But do people change it at every oil change? Should I change it now since I am switching oil types?
3. Where you live
Southern California. Los Angeles County. In the Valley above LA, but the weather is hotter compared to LA. Winter lowest temp ~35F.
Summer 80-100+F.
The car stays in Cali. Once in a while I take a trip to San Francisco or Las Vegas.
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Usually wait 30sec to a minute to warm up.
During the week, 4-5 days, EASY 2 mile round trip commute on surface streets.(I've heard this is not great for the oil)
Saturday Sunday work commute. 26 mile round trip each day. 50% of the time lead footed on the freeway. Car is on the freeway 2-4 minutes after I get going.
****Spirited driving on twisty road.
- 1-2x week at sunset/night.
-30 minutes to an hour each time.
-Repeats of the same section of road.
-I lock the auto transmission into 2nd gear. 3-6k RPM 2-3 minutes at a time. Sometimes I get slowed down by other cars. Or I take it slow for a bit then continue again. Basically it's not getting floored non-stop the whole time. Usually I park halfway ,after cooling down. Then continue again. I do my best to be cautious and stay under my limit and the cars limit.
Ive done one track day at Willow Springs. Only did 2/8 sessions and kept the laps down. With the same oil it has now. I might do one more track day this year but most likely not.
7. If you have any preferences -- synthetic vs. conventional, store-bought vs. ordered online, how long you'd like to go between oil changes, etc. -- or any other info you think might be important, let us know that as well.
I plan to switch over to full syntetic. Would prefer to buy in store, but willing to order online for more options. With synthetic I'd like to go 4-6k between changes if possible.
My main questions are. Should I stick with 0w-20? Since I live in a much hotter area and drive the car hard weekly.
Thank you for reading this all.
1. What kind of vehicle you have
-2011 Honda Accord LX-P.
- ~42,000 miles
-Automatic.
-K24z2 engine. 2.4 liter Inline 4. DOHC.
-all stock except sticky summer tires
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
"Use a premium-grade 0W-20
detergent oil displaying the API
Certification Seal. ......You may use a synthetic motor oil if
it meets the same requirements
given for a conventional motor oil: it
displays the API Certification Seal,
and it is the proper weight."
Up until now, I've had the oil changed at the dealer when the cars computer would tell me to with the oil life indicator. But since I am abusing the car more now I am getting more involved with maintenance. The dealer usually used 0w-20 or 5w-20 synthetic blend. 2-3 oil changes a year.
Also when should I replace the oil filter? The manual says to do it when the computer gives the service code for it. But do people change it at every oil change? Should I change it now since I am switching oil types?
3. Where you live
Southern California. Los Angeles County. In the Valley above LA, but the weather is hotter compared to LA. Winter lowest temp ~35F.
Summer 80-100+F.
The car stays in Cali. Once in a while I take a trip to San Francisco or Las Vegas.
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Usually wait 30sec to a minute to warm up.
During the week, 4-5 days, EASY 2 mile round trip commute on surface streets.(I've heard this is not great for the oil)
Saturday Sunday work commute. 26 mile round trip each day. 50% of the time lead footed on the freeway. Car is on the freeway 2-4 minutes after I get going.
****Spirited driving on twisty road.
- 1-2x week at sunset/night.
-30 minutes to an hour each time.
-Repeats of the same section of road.
-I lock the auto transmission into 2nd gear. 3-6k RPM 2-3 minutes at a time. Sometimes I get slowed down by other cars. Or I take it slow for a bit then continue again. Basically it's not getting floored non-stop the whole time. Usually I park halfway ,after cooling down. Then continue again. I do my best to be cautious and stay under my limit and the cars limit.
Ive done one track day at Willow Springs. Only did 2/8 sessions and kept the laps down. With the same oil it has now. I might do one more track day this year but most likely not.
7. If you have any preferences -- synthetic vs. conventional, store-bought vs. ordered online, how long you'd like to go between oil changes, etc. -- or any other info you think might be important, let us know that as well.
I plan to switch over to full syntetic. Would prefer to buy in store, but willing to order online for more options. With synthetic I'd like to go 4-6k between changes if possible.
My main questions are. Should I stick with 0w-20? Since I live in a much hotter area and drive the car hard weekly.
Thank you for reading this all.
