Favorite Oil

[LiuBei]

What is your favorite oil? Do you use petro oil or synthetic?

[LiuBei]

Does anyone have any opinions, experiences, or thoughts on this subject?

[Cheesehead]

I use whatever the Honda dealer puts in (not sure what they use). After years of changing the oil myself in my Integra GS-R I've had enough. Our Civic has always gone to the Honda dealer and I've had no problems with the oil (whatever it may be). For $20 it's not worth the time, effort, and mess to do it myself anymore.

Cheese

[djs]

Mobil 1 Synthetic. Before that Castrol GTX. Like to use Fomoto valves on the oil thread, they work great. I think the Pilot has a recessed oil plug so I guess I will have to used the adapter kit.
Anybody else using the Fomoto Valve?

[jfrano]

I used Catrol GTX on my '84 Accord every 5000 miles. The engine had 375,000 without any major problems and was still running strong when I donated the car!

Now I will be using CASTROL 5-30 Syntetic Blend, changed every 5000 miles!

Joe

[PrG]

Mobil 1 of course ... nothing elses touches my cars ...

PrG

(PS: No I do not work for Mobil 1)

[JungleJim]

I've used Penziol in an 87 VW for 182,000 trouble-free miles.

I've only used Mobil 1 in our 97 CRV, until last oil change. I put in Amsoil. I really don't see a difference (the mpg actually went down), so I'll switch back to Mobil 1 for the next change. I believe Mobil 1 was reformulated recently for better friction reduction.

[r_hammel]

I strongly recommend synthetic over petroleum based oils. Synthetics have been proven to maintain better viscosity over broader temperature extremes. I recently read an article that claimed that there was not much difference in the "life" of the different oils. Petroleums wear down and synthetics become contaimenated. This article listed the maximum life of all of the oils they tested as ~8,000 miles. This test included Mobil 1, Amsoil, Castrol Syntec, Pennzane (Penzoil's Synthetic), and many others including several petroleum based oils.

[Dano]

What kind of oil does Honda put in at the factory? synthetic? organic? I know it's some sort of specially formulated thing for break-in, but just wondering what type it is. anyone know?

[chinalfr]

Mobil.... of course. That's my preference.

But if I can find Mobil oil for less than $1 per quart, I will vote for other. Any engine oil which is less than $1 per quart will work for me.

I'm not a synthetic fans. Maybe not until I got my first Mercedes.

[colorider]

Originally posted by LiuBei
What is your favorite oil? Do you use petro oil or synthetic?

In light of the recent discussions on oil, I was looking back at old threads and ran across this poll from "way back when".

Seemed like a good time for a "bump"!!!!!

[Loutog]

I have always switched to full synthetics right after the initial dealer service on each vehicle. (My thought is to cooperate with manufacturer's break-in instructions using the oil they provided, and then move to synthetics. I have also been replacing my AT oil and where applicable rear differential oil with whatever is the synthetic alternative. ABSOLUTELY no problems ever that could even remotely be traced to lubrication or lubrication-related maintenance (unless you could point out some way that good engine lubrication contributes to excessive brake lining wear.

I would generally try to stay with whatever my manufacturer calls for under "severe" driving conditions, since much of my driving is in the city. HOWEVER, with synthetics, I feel comfortable at least splitting the difference in mileage between the "severe" ratings (let's say 3,700 miles) and the "normal (7,000 miles) I go for a change at around or just over 5,000. On timing between changes, I make sure of a change at least every 6 months.

This would seem to fit the Honda Pilot schedule and I'll probably go with either a 0W20, or a 5W20 full synthetic. (Mobil hast the 0W20 now and I assume Castrol, which is the one I generally use will do so shortly.)

Will NOT do this with the rear differential. Unless I can be sure it will be fully compatible. Similarly not sure re th Pilot AT fluids. Considering the complication of the auto 4WD, I am concerned about taking chances should anything go wrong and have Honda claim it was the non-Honda fluids.

[Ivanhoe]

Hey everyone in Pilot land. I am a Castrol GTX fan, but after my break in period I plan on using Mobile 1. I read an article sometime back that tested oils in New York taxis over a period of time. There analysis was that as long as the oil is certified that there is very little difference in the major brand conventional oils. This article was in either Motor trend, Automobile, or Car and Driver. I remember the article, but I have gotten all of these publications in the last three years.

I try to stick to one brand of oil now on my high mileage Toyota Avalon. I feel that the seals get used to the detergents in the oil and changing the brand could cause different expansion rates. I realize this is silly, but I have heard of it happening.

I think in some ways your oils says something about you:cheap,big spender, paranoid, or oblivious. The bottom line in my opinion is change your oil regularly. Follow some sort of schedule and stick to it.

Keep on Piloting

[colorider]

Originally posted by Ivanhoe
Hey everyone in Pilot land. I am a Castrol GTX fan, but after my break in period I plan on using Mobile 1. I read an article sometime back that tested oils in New York taxis over a period of time. There analysis was that as long as the oil is certified that there is very little difference in the major brand conventional oils. This article was in either Motor trend, Automobile, or Car and Driver. I remember the article, but I have gotten all of these publications in the last three years.

I try to stick to one brand of oil now on my high mileage Toyota Avalon. I feel that the seals get used to the detergents in the oil and changing the brand could cause different expansion rates. I realize this is silly, but I have heard of it happening.

I think in some ways your oils says something about you:cheap,big spender, paranoid, or oblivious. The bottom line in my opinion is change your oil regularly. Follow some sort of schedule and stick to it.

Keep on Piloting

All good advice!!!!

As for the GTX, I too have been a regular user for MANY years - in both my two-wheelers and four. I only recently went away form it due to the "Energy Conserving" attributes that non-motorcycle specific oils now have. These can potentially cause problems for wet clutch applications.