Which oil for a1988 Honda Accord?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 20, 2004
Messages
17
Location
utah
I recently purchased a 1988 Honda Accord Lxi with 150k miles on it. I don't know how well the previous owner took care of the engine. I am currently in a cleaning phase with Auto-Rx. My question to all the BITOG veterans is, which oil should I use after the cleaning and rinsing phase? I was thinking maybe synthetic. Any suggestions on what viscosity of synthetic would be best for a little 4-cylinder with high miles? Or, is there a better alternative to synthetic on an engine this old and this used? And, if there is a better alternative, what brand and what viscosity? Thanks for any input.

Jeff
 
In our '85 Accord, we used 15W-40 Pennzoil Longlife as our year round fill (temps rarely dip below 20F). In my '95 Accord, I would mix 3.5 quarts of that with 1 quart synthetic for awhile, and ran straight Pennzoil LL for the ARX phase. No problems with my car, and our 85 Accord's engine is in very good shape with 238,000 miles on it! My recommendation, a good HDEO like Delvac, Delo, Rotella or Pennzoil LL.
 
Which type of synthetic would you use in your '95 Accord? I live in Utah and sometimes the winters dip below 10F. Do you still think a HDEO would be okay?
 
Cost wise as Honda engines are well built there is a Delo 10-30. I see no issue at that weight.
 
i'm currently running M1 10w30 year-round in my 95 accord.

15w40 non-synthetic seems a little too thick for such a low HP motor, esp. in the winter (i dunno how cold it gets in utah) where fast lubrication is important.

if you want HDEO, but cold starting protection properties, you should try delvac 1 or M1 truck and suv 5w40.
 
quote:

Originally posted by jtn26:
Which type of synthetic would you use in your '95 Accord? I live in Utah and sometimes the winters dip below 10F. Do you still think a HDEO would be okay?

I'm running Delvac 1 in it right now, and getting great gas mileage with it. I believe Delvac 1 is good to at least 20, maybe 30 below 0 (I remember Doug Hillary saying that, he had lots of experience running D1 in very cold weather). If you get much colder than that, GC has great cold pumping characteristics.
 
I used Amsoil 10w40 regular full synthetic in my 1984 accord. It had 230K miles when I sold it and it ran and started up like new. I only switched to Amsoil very late after using cheapo oil and just changing it very often for most of the car's life. I found Amsoil to be a great oil, longer lasting, and FAR, FAR cleaner. The clean-ness is what won me over. Synthetics actually clean an engine so it is spotless inside. These cars are not hard on oil and you will not see much (if any) difference in engine performance.

I really recommend the Mobile 1 M1-105 oversize oil filter. It should fit. M1's are one of the best filters made, and the 105 is as big as the somewhat dated Amsoil model for older Hondas. A BETTER FILTER is more important than a better oil.

Between the filter and the oil, you are guaranteed to get at least 6 months intervals, and that is very conservative. I always just changed oil when it became dark, rather than use analysis and change filters often, as a total Honda change out is only 3.5 quarts, and the cost was still trivial compared to total operating cost. However, synthetics can go far beyond the point of looking dark.
 
quote:

Originally posted by jtn26:
Which type of synthetic would you use in your '95 Accord? I live in Utah and sometimes the winters dip below 10F. Do you still think a HDEO would be okay?

10F is hardly extreme. That is typical of most of the US. 0F and below, OK, you have a challange. I am totally impressed with cold starts using Amsoil. It's only gets to maybe 20F in Olympia (greetings Palut), but I was amazed how an old car was unphased. Totally normal cold starts and all kinds of initial protection. The colder it gets, the more Amsoil will impress you. For only 10F, I would just use Amsoil in the factory recommended viscosity for normal climates.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top