My friend has a 99 Integra that he drives very hard, lately is has burning a lot of oil, 1 quart every 500-1000 miles. He had a compression test done, the test showed 25% more pressure wet compared to dry. The mechanic told him to switch from 5/30 to 10/30 for now. What is the thickest oil he should run in his car during the summer? Remember he drives this car hard.

 

10w30 will be fine, but expect a decrease in gas mileage from the extra thickness. I could tell a big difference when I put some 10w30 in one time. Needless to say, I switched back to 5w30.

 

the higher the number, the thicker the oil. try switching to 10w40. where does your friend live? you gotta remember that you shouldnt use too thick of an oil if you guys have a seaon called winter h:

 

He lives in RI, the car has 97,000 on it. Is it normal for these engines to wear that fast?

 

97k miles on a '99? Damn, that sure is driving it hard. Maybe you should tell your buddy to consolidate his Taco Bell runs or whatever is causing him to drive so much.

 

LOL!!!! ,

10w30 /10w40 isnt really that thick (even for winter), its when u step it up to 15w40 or 20w50, now that is thick oil!!.

as for an engine wearing out, it really has to do with how well u maintained the car and how u drove it for the engines life!!. If you wanted to you could smoke a honda motor at 20k miles (dont change the oil, and keep it in upper RPM band all day!!)

 

Different brands of oil tend to burn easier than others due to their chemical composition as well as weight. First off, whats he running now?

Rule of thumb IMO, especially with these cars, is 5w30 in the winter and 10w30 in the summer. While there shouldnt be a huge difference in consumption, I have noticed, ESPECIALLY with Mobil1, the difference to be usable and unusable between the 2.

 

I ran 15w50 Mobil 1 in my GS-T for a while, but it got thin just as quick as 10w30 did. Of course my GS-T is probably a little harder on oil seeing as it flows through the scorching hot turbo and all.

 

I run 15w50 in my Integra durring the winter.

 

I had 110k miles on my 98 in 2001, then I moved away from Texas and have not even put 5K on it in over 2 years. It shouldnot be burning oil like that, I would be concerned. I have run the 5W-30 Mobil 1 in the teg for a long time, even in the hottest summer, with temps over 110 and have always had zero consumption. I run 20W-50in the bug, but am considering switching back to soething thinner to help with fuel economy. It gets pretty thin on a warm day, but the AC bug tends to be alittle hotter