Mobil 1 AFE for Brand Spankin' New Honda Odyssey

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I am wondering what my best choice of oils would be for the first oil change on a 17 Honda Odyssey (and then for all changes thereafter). It's a 3.5 iVTEC VCM, that can use either 0W20 or 5W20. I plan to go by the Maintenance Minder, which can be 6-7.5K miles OCIs. My first thought is to use 0W20 Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy, or maybe EP?
 
Any 0w20 M1 or PP would be fine, I suspect. I'm curious if people have strong feelings about which one. Regular m1 or pp would be fine at a 10k or less oci. At 7.5k or less, I'd just used walmart brand supertech.
 
Congrats on the new Odyssey!

I will say that I have run M1 AFE, TGMO, and Valvoline Syn all in 0w20 and had less than stellar performance from them per my UOAs. Trav convinced me to run M1 0w40 and it sounds smoother, although I have not run a UOA on it yet. I'm not worried about warranty because I have 0w20 receipts from my other cars that I can produce if need be. Not everyone may have that luxury.

All that to say, the Honda VCM engines are brutal on oil. If there was an engine to keep an eye on with UOAs, this is the one. Trav also convinced me to buy a VCMuzzler which turns off the VCM.

This is not to detract from the Odyssey. It is certainly the best driving minivan out there and we love ours. I just wanted to share my experience so you have a starting point. Trav has a lot of experience with VCM, so he can chime in as well.
 
Originally Posted By: WillsYoda
Any 0w20 M1 or PP would be fine, I suspect. I'm curious if people have strong feelings about which one. Regular m1 or pp would be fine at a 10k or less oci. At 7.5k or less, I'd just used walmart brand supertech.


Definitely not in the Honda VCM V6. They are hard enough on even the most robust oils that you should never go over the OLM. Change it at 15% oil life, no matter what.
 
Congratulations on your new vehicle. All I can offer here is 210,000 miles on two Honda motors using basic M1 5w20 and M1 Extended Performance 0w20. I've posted a couple of UOAs for the 2010 Civic that indicate 0w20 EP shears down just a scooch under 20 weight specs, but nothing worth getting concerned about. At the last change on the 2010 Civic the OLM was reading 5%, but Blackstone Labs suggested I give in another 2000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: SF0059
Originally Posted By: WillsYoda
Any 0w20 M1 or PP would be fine, I suspect. I'm curious if people have strong feelings about which one. Regular m1 or pp would be fine at a 10k or less oci. At 7.5k or less, I'd just used walmart brand supertech.


Definitely not in the Honda VCM V6. They are hard enough on even the most robust oils that you should never go over the OLM. Change it at 15% oil life, no matter what.
+1 and don't like over 5k myself.
 
Run the lowest noack oil you can find and UOA at 5k to avoid surprises

5w-20 will be more shear stable than the 0w-20. I'd read the fine print in your OM and see what you are allowed to use in "severe" service.

If you can't find a Xw-20 you like try a 10w-30 in your preferred brand.
 
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Started with M1 EP 0w-20 in the odyssey, as I was going to use the same oil in it and the Accord hybrid. Maintenance minder on the ody puts us around 5k miles, so I decided that PP 0w-20 was a better value proposition, since short trips and fuel dilution was my greater concern than extending OCI.
 
My vote goes to Pennzoil Platinum 0w20. It's a very stout oil that will keep things clean! GTL base stocks help with that no doubt.
 
We have several new Honda's, various models and run 5W30 M1 in all of them. Before pointing to the obvious 0W20 printed on the oil filler cap, allow me to mention that we drive same cars in SA and AU and dealers there tell us to use 0W40.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I plan to keep this vehicle for 10+ years,so I don't mind an extra oil change here and there. I am still unsure about the VCMuzzler, especially while under warranty.
 
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Enjoy the new vehicle!
 
Originally Posted By: 07Piloteer
I am still unsure about the VCMuzzler, especially while under warranty.

VCM is a complex, over-engineered system designed to eek out a few more MPG on the highway. My Pilot (albeit a 4WD SUV), sees no appreciable mileage benefits from VCM. In fact, with the Muzzler installed, I'm getting 0.5-1 MPG better. This is because I'm no longer accelerating out of the annoying NVH of the system around town. Some people are more sensitive to NVH than others. If you notice it, the Muzzler is a great way to tap into the full power & smoothness of the J35 -- a fantastic engine when not neutered by VCM. If you don't notice anything, I still advocate the Muzzler as a way to save your spark plugs and rear engine mount -- both known to prematurely fail from constant cylinder activation-deactivation.

Check out the Odyssey forums to learn more.
 
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If it's that hard on oil and your OCI's will be that short, Magnatec in 20 grade would be worth a look. UOA's here have shown it handles the pounding of twin turbo Fords exceptionally well so it might be a good candidate for your Honda.
 
Originally Posted By: mclasser
Originally Posted By: 07Piloteer
I am still unsure about the VCMuzzler, especially while under warranty.

VCM is a complex, over-engineered system designed to eek out a few more MPG on the highway. My Pilot (albeit a 4WD SUV), sees no appreciable mileage benefits from VCM. In fact, with the Muzzler installed, I'm getting 0.5-1 MPG better. This is because I'm no longer accelerating out of the annoying NVH of the system around town. Some people are more sensitive to NVH than others. If you notice it, the Muzzler is a great way to tap into the full power & smoothness of the J35 -- a fantastic engine when not neutered by VCM. If you don't notice anything, I still advocate the Muzzler as a way to save your spark plugs and rear engine mount -- both known to prematurely fail from constant cylinder activation-deactivation.

Check out the Odyssey forums to learn more.


Well said. I might mention as well that the VCMuzzler is simply a plug in device, easy enough to remove every time you visit the dealer and they will never know it was there.
 
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