Which oil for my fleet?

[greasegunn]

Hi guys – need your opinions. I want to consolidate to a single oil and single oil filter for my “fleet”.

Currently running:
2007 Honda Civic: Pennzoil Conventional 5w20 and either a Purolator Classic or PureOne
2008 Honda Accord 4 cyl: Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 and either Purolator PureOne or Mobil 1 oil filters
2010 Honda Civic: Honda Synthetic Blend 0W20 and a Purolator PureOne

I change the oil based on the oil life monitor which typically has been 5 – 6 k on all the vehicles

It gets cold in the winter here in central New York so I was thinking of going to Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 and a PureOne – but I can’t seem to find Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 readily available at a reasonable price – so I’m looking to the collective wisdom of the forum for advice on what I should use. I have easy access to all the dealers, WalMart, AA, AZ, and NAPA. Thanks for your help.

 

[electrolover]

Motorcraft or tropartic 5/20 for all.

 

[Tdbo]

If I had that fleet and my goal was to run one oil in all of them, I would wait until the 2010 Honda's warranty was over, find a place that sold Phillips 66 TropArctic 5W20 (pretty much Honda's Syn Blend, made by Conoco) and run it in all 3. It's a great oil for 5K intervals and can be had for $2.49 or < in farm type stores. Problem is, it can be hard to find. I'm suggesting the 5W20 because 5W20 in this oil seems to be strictly a Honda thing (Have not seen the P66 in a 0W20, at least yet.)
My plan 2 would be to get on line and see what the best price you could get on the Honda Syn Blend would be, access it from there, or see if your dealer would price match.

 

[electrolover]

Not to mention tropartic/motorcraft has awesome cold starting ability.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: electrolover
Not to mention tropartic/motorcraft has awesome cold starting ability.


I have always been a fan of the KISS method. If you are doing 5-6k oil changes I would use motorcraft 5w-20 syn blend and purolator classics. They will be great all year round in terms of durability, fuel economy and cold weather pumping. Reasonably priced and easy to find. If you are looking to stock up on filters I would try rockauto. If you but enough (typical 6+) it will easily counteract the cost of shipping. Remember to use the coupon code

 

[JavierG]

With 5-6k OCI I think Pennzoil Conventional 5w20 would be perfectly fine. Or if available in your area, Kendall products.

 

[cp3]

Pick your favorites and go with those. All three should be fine on 5 or 0w20.

 

[Coprolite]

You didn't mention if you cared about what kind of oil and budget concerns. Here's what I would do, which considers ease of life and value of my time...

1)PU/Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 or Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w20 jugs. Alternative, if good price, is 0w20 from Honda or Toyota dealer. If budget an issue Pennzoil Conventional 5w20 or alternative as listed in other posts.
2)Run filters for 2 OCI. I used PureOne 14610 on my Hondas/Acuras in the past.
3)Use a mityvac to take advantage of not having to go under the car to change the filter.

 

[LexAtlanta]

I would choose Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 for all vehicles. Readily available at Walmart, good cold weather flow for those cold mornings and also solid protection in the summer. I would change filters to a a Wix/ NAPA.......but that's just me.

 

[Sam_Julier]

I would run TGMO 0W-20 or the Idemitsu made Mazda w/moly 0W-20. There are many threads on the advantages of these high VI oils. The TGMO is about $6/qt from my local dealer, the Mazda slightly more.

 

[QuietPortage]

Originally Posted By: greasegunn
It gets cold in the winter here in central New York so I was thinking of going to Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 and a PureOne

That's a fine choice. Some Wal-Marts have Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 and some do not. Mobil 1 0w-20 is on Rollback at Walmart for $25 and I'm pretty sure most Walmart stores have it.

A more budget-friendly approach would be Pennzoil Conventional 5w20, but I don't like running it past 5k.

 

[dave1251]

If this was me I would just by Pennzoil Conventional 5w20 and napa gold filters.

 

[greasegunn]

Thanks guys

A little more info

Living in central New York (think salt) keeping daily drivers past 15 years due to corrosion is going to be tough task (lost a 1995 Buick a couple years ago due to rusted rear stabilizer arm breaking loose from rusted unibody - engine/transmission were still still good - did the LIM gasket myself to keep it alive a few tears earlier) - does that change your opinions?

Still young enough that I don't mind crawling under the car - but probably like many of you - don't really enjoy it either - especially in the winter.

In terms of cost - I just want to be cost effective - don't need a pristine engine when the body is falling apart.

Any change in opinion?

Thanks again!

 

[Brule]

Originally Posted By: greasegunn
Thanks guys

A little more info

Living in central New York (think salt) keeping daily drivers past 15 years due to corrosion is going to be tough task (lost a 1995 Buick a couple years ago due to rusted rear stabilizer arm breaking loose from rusted unibody - engine/transmission were still still good - did the LIM gasket myself to keep it alive a few tears earlier) - does that change your opinions?

Still young enough that I don't mind crawling under the car - but probably like many of you - don't really enjoy it either - especially in the winter.

In terms of cost - I just want to be cost effective - don't need a pristine engine when the body is falling apart.

Any change in opinion?

Thanks again!


My 204K mile Civic loves TropArtic like many have mentioned, but at these miles I had to go up to 5w30. I don't know how easy or cheap TropArtic is in NY like it is in the midwest, though. It was $1.99/qt. here black friday at Orshelns.

What I'm using now is Mobil 0w30 which has been almost equally impressive as far as engine smoothness and quietness is concerned. MPG is up about 3% with M1. I can't use 0w20 due to oil consumption, but that may work for you.

So I'd go TropArtic [or Motorcraft] 5w20 or 0w20 [if you can find it] for cheap 5K OCI's, or Mobil 1 0w20 / 0w30 for longer and more expensive [7.5k to 10k] OCI's.

 

[cp3]

If you want cost effective, I'd go with best prices you can find on an SN conventional and a regular line filter like a Purolator Classic or Wix.

 

[greasegunn]

So Motorcraft 5W20 is a good choice with a PureOne? I think I can grab that at Walmart for about $18/jug. Is there any real advantage going to a 0W20 for me? I plan on running these cars until they rust to death or the transmission goes - 10+ years. Thanks.

 

[Bgallagher]

0w-20 is a great oil but in my opinion I don't think it is required compared to MC's 5w-20. Good oil for a reasonable price.