oil change

[naviontb]

First off I would like to say that this is the best site ever and I am glad to be a new member. (Have an 05 pilot ). I have read most of the past threads on the oil change discussions but I would like some advice . My new pilot has about 2500 miles on it . I am about to take a trip from here in colorado down to texas over the holidays. I plan on using mobil 1 for all my oil changes . I know very little about synthetics other than what I have read here . Should I make the trip with the factory break- in oil or go ahead and change the oil to the mobil 1? Is this to soon to change over to the synthetic oil? I asked my dealer (service adviser) and they said go ahead and change it and it would be fine. Anyone have any problems in this area? Will post later on fuel mileage and how pilot handles trip when I get back.

[humanoid]

My dealer told me that the first oil change should be 7500 miles, but you can refer to your own owner's manual for the exact mileage for your first oil change. Changing to synth should be A-OK for your oil changes here on out, but don't change the oil that came from the factory out so soon because the factory puts extra lubricants etc. to help the engine break in correctly during the first few thousand miles.

[Larryl]

2k is enough mileage to change to synthetic if you choose to do so. The 'break-in' oil has done it's job in the first couple of hours so you can consider your engine broken in.

Here's another thought on the first oil change. Change intervals are based on time as well as mileage. If you don't drive much you might want to follow the time recomendation. Now that you understand that, look at the build date of your Pilot and you might be ready for an oil change sooner than you thought. If you bought a show-room queen, you could be ready for an oil change very soon after your purchase.

If you are going to step up and use synthetic oil, be sure you know what you are doing when you pick a filter. Filters have no standards. Since you are choosing Mobil 1 oil you might want to use their filter, too. Another good combination would be Amsoil Oil and their SDF filter. Red Line makes a good oil, but no filters. Same with other synthetics. You should also search the Internet with phrases like 'oil filter study' and read on.

Oh, and be wary of anecdotal stories about oil. You know the type, 'I used Mobil 1 and it leaked out through the seals' or 'after switching to synthetic my engine used 2 quarts every thousand miles', or 'Penzoil caused white foam and trashed my engine'.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by Larryl
2k is enough mileage to change to synthetic if you choose to do so. The 'break-in' oil has done it's job in the first couple of hours so you can consider your engine broken in.

. . . ./
Oh, and be wary of anecdotal stories about oil. . . . .

Glad to hear that you KNOW the break-in process is done in a few hours.

I would hate to have to use only "anecdotal stories" (like the information from HONDA) that says to wait for your first scheduled change.

Sorry, seems my sarcasm filter failed again!

[john802]

IMO, change your factory oil between 5,000 to 7500 miles. If you do change the oil to synthetic such as Mobil 1(0W20), use a good filter such as Mobil1(M1-104), K&N(HP1004) or Amsoil(LF523). You can also use Purolator Pure One w/ good result. As others on this board have said, you can also get by w/ regular oil(5W20) w/ good filter as long as you maintain a good oil interval change.

[Larryl]

N_Jay, we use Honda engines in a gen-set program, lots of them. These engines are 4 and 6 cylinder units very much the twins of their street cousins except for accessories. We use them because they are bullet proof and very light when compared with other industrial powerplants. We have done leak down tests and find that an hour is all that is ever needed to pass. Most Honda engines pass right out of the crate (zero hours). In other words you could put the synthetic in as soon as you drive home (confirmed by our rep). The reason we are interested in this is that these engines have to be setup for running alternate fuels and real cold weather, like below zero, starting from dead cold and up to 3.6k in 60 seconds and then quickly brought to full load while keeping at 3.6k (not very kind). So we have to get them running on some very special cold weather synthetic oil and coolant.

Honda's recomendation of 7.5k has a lot to do with cost of ownership considerations and the fact that they are vey good engines. You could probably go to 12k/15k and still get the first owner through the warranty period just fine. That's what the Honda engineers tell us and we believe them. These guys are not service people but application engineers.

You can step up the service if you want to do 'better' and consider yourself a long time owner and not hurt your vehicle.
A lot of current service recomendations are a path between best and econimical. If an engineer planned service without any help it could be a bit more expensive, a lot more if fact. We know, we deal with service on the basis of very high cost just to get a tech on sight before he even starts work. The auto service program is for Honda's customer, the one that buys the new vehicle. Then, having approached the end of the warranty, this owner sells the vehicle and buys a new one. That second owner is someone Honda would like to someday to buy a new Honda but is out of reach until he/she does. Just like every manufacturer.

My only caution in all this is to consider the oil filter, be careful in your choice. You can do better and worse than OEM.

So N_Jay, if you have more hands on experience with Honda engines I would like to know more.

[naviontb]

Thanks guys for all the input. I plan on doing the oil changes and general maintaince myself . Already have the full yrs. stock of oil (mobil 1 ) and the purolator PL 14610 filters on hand . Only thing left is get to the dealer to get crush washers for drain plugs. (eng. and differential fill and drain). Also need to get some VTM lube. Anyone know where we can get this on line at a good price? Haven't priced it yet from my dealer.

[humanoid]

Try getting the stuff from Tim over at www.hondacuraworld.com. He's a sponsor as well as a member on this board and has some of the best prices around.