AccordDreamer

Hey peeps,

I was wondering what oil is better to use for my 5th gen accord. I think Honda recommends 5w-30, but I'm wondering if it should be synthetic 5w or regular. Also If I have been using 10w-30 oil and want to switch to 5w-30 will this cause any problems? I have heard also that people who have been using regular oil for awhile then switch to synthetic cac hurt thier cars is this true?? Thanks,

-AccordDreamer

AccordSleeper

try searching the forum this has been covered a gagillion times.

since you live in florida the use 10w-30 is a good idea at least in the summer since it's so damn hot. depending on your mileage you may want to switch to syn, say under 125K. if your over 125K i would use one of those new high mileage motor oils, ie valvoline max life.

polakatl

Synthetic IS better than regular oil. It can "harm" an engine that already has problems by cleaning it out. Say u have a bunch of build up that is keeping ur engine together and then the synthetic does its job to clean it out and all of a sudden u have leaks and etc.

I use 5W30 mobil 1 since its the closest to what honda reccomends.

mschmohl

on our 2001 accord it calls for 5w-20 and mobil 1 dose not make that weight but on its 0w-20 it says for 5w-20 applications

asianthug_ak47

it's florida so you should use 10w30 mobil 1 synthetic. if the car start leaking oil, then you can get one of those Engine Restore bottle (4 dollars) and hope that stuff will seal all the leak while switching back to regular oil and change it after 6000 miles, which are plenty enough for your engine to get dirty again and seal the leak with gunks.

vassil3427

Engine restore bottles? haha...you only use that stuff when there isnt a whole lot of life left to the engine...kinda seems like that STOP SMOKE stuff to me....

You should be fine switching to synthetic, trust me, engines appreciate it! It will probably feel like its running a little smoother if you switch to synthetic. Atleast thats what I've noticed in my vehicles...

Mobile 1 10w30 is what I recommend for you(as others did above)

asianthug_ak47

well, i only suggest he use engine restore if he start leaking badly due to the good clean-up done by synthetic oil. i know people who use engine restore for slightly used cars too. my neighbor got a 2001 S2000 with 3000 miles on it, and he just put a bottle of that restore chemical in even though he use mobil 1 0W30. he said he wants to make sure the engine last as long as possible since it has to work harder than other large size engine to produce good accelaration.

i'll probably put a bottle of that stuff in my engine when it gets 40 thousands miles. for florida, 10W30 is the best. any place with temperature reaching 40 and below would see the advantage of 5W30 or even 0W30. the new mobil 1 supersyn is made for warm and slightly cold climate and it last longer than the previous mobil 1. however, it doesn't offer the same cold-start protection as the regular synthetic mobil 1. the 1 oil with the best pour point i have seen on the web is from chevron, it has -72 or -76 degree F of pour point. that's good stuff, but it only last about 10 thousands miles. mobil 1 last 15k miles and has pour point of -65. the new supersyn has a pour point of -54 and last 20k miles. i found this information on the back of the bottle.

IamNemo

I used to put engine restore in at every change before I went to synthetic. It just made me feel good.

asianthug_ak47

I use nothing but Mobil 1 synthetic. I would like to use the regular full synthetic, but I can't seem to find it any where since Mobil 1 came out with the SuperSyn, which can last up to 20k miles on normal driving. The previous Mobil 1 only last about 15k but it offer much better winter protection due to its -65 F pour point. That is pretty good since most people do not want to drive their nice Honda in anything below +20 F. I am thinking about getting a engine warmer, but I kept finding articles stating that it must be plugged overnight. I really don't want to plug something all night long, that's a waste of resource unless it use very little electricity. This is why I think a good oil is the best protection and I always have .5 quart over the limit in winter to minimize the damage.

I am wondering how the damage occur during start-up (regardless of temperature). If it is the lack of oil flowing through the gears, then I wonder why engine doesn't have a reserve tank located the upper part of the engine, and that oil can flow into the engine the moment the key is turned; therefore, oil is readily available the when the engine starts running. I know the coolant has the reserve tank and its content is much cooler than the hot liquid in the main tank.

This leads me to think start-up damage is more of a scare tactic used by oil additive makers to make extra bucks. I think Mobil 1 is so good that the damage is minimal and the only things I need to worry about are not getting into accident and finding a way to keep the tranmission last as long as the engine.

asianthug_ak47

I am looking to put 400k miles on my Accord. I know a guy with 330k on his 87 Integra and he use nothing but regular oil. Therefore, I am sure my car can do better because cars are better build now and I use Mobil 1. I would be a pain to think of how much money I will have to spend on gas in the future. It is amazing that Honda and Acura vehicles of the 80s didn't use much more gas than those of the last few years. I wish I was born much earlier to enjoy having a 500k miles Accura or Honda without going broke at the pump.