[STMech]

The issue I see is that it is a “digital $25 gift card” and they say it can be used at may retailers but they don’t say how it’s used (online purchases etc) or give any retailers that the card can be used at.
Not gonna run out but if I’m at
Walmart I’ll prob buy two or four and see what the rebate entails once I do it
I like thier last visa gift card rebate much better - same as cash and no restrictions

Maybe I’ll wait and see if they do that again

Costco has 10 gallons of Kirkland brand (relabeled from a. Retail brand) for $35 and sometimes on sale for $25 for the two - so I’ll wait and see

I think that you must mean 10 quarts, not gallons. It's a good deal, but it's not $0.87 a quart.

 

[Nail Grease]

Costco's Kirkland full synthetic is made by Warren Distribution, as is the Walmart synthetic. Appears to be the same oil. Has all the required service ratings. Noack might not be up to Nail Grease's standards, but most of the folks here aren't reading in BITOG anyway.

It's good oil, I'm running it in the Pilot and the wife's Prius. And at the modest price, I choose to go with a 5k mile service interval.

I'm not one to pay for a product that has an advertising budget. I'm sure most people would think that I'd be the type to buy cheaper oil. Dealing with engines with VCM, direct injection and catalytic converters that clog, I believe spending 3few more bucks on premium oils is worth the difference. I no longer buy economy priced oil filters anymore either.

 

[BluePilot’19]

I think that you must mean 10 quarts, not gallons. It's a good deal, but it's not $0.87 a quart.

Yes quarts

 

[briantii]

A quality full synthetic oil of the recommended weight, one with a high Noack rating is what I'd recommend. I avoid Extended Performance or semi blend oils.

I think you mean low Noack right? Higher means higher evaporation as I recall.

 

[morfdq]

I care more about the filter than the synthetic brand of oil. I use Costco oil. My bet is that it is Mobil 1 private labeled for Costco. I use Wix XP filters. Buy 12 at a time from Rock Auto.

 

[Nail Grease]

I care more about the filter than the synthetic brand of oil. I use Costco oil. My bet is that it is Mobil 1 private labeled for Costco. I use Wix XP filters. Buy 12 at a time from Rock Auto.

 

[RAL]

Here is a vote for the Honda filter. It costs $8.00 when the car is serviced. That is an insignificant portion of the Pilot’s running costs and there is no question as to whether it is the right quality and meets specifications. Not saying the others are bad, but I am not sure what the “get” is on a part this cheap, relative to the total cost of a vehicle.

An anecdote: early in my career I represented a large auto parts maker that had been spun off from the parent - a large auto manufacturer. The parts spin-off company wanted to continue to make parts for the former parent, go into aftermarket parts production, and diversify to make parts for other manufacturers. One of the contract terms that was fairly standard back then, and I don’t think it has changed, is that the parts maker could not make a part for the aftermarket using the original manufacturer specifications. So if you take a hypothetical with Honda: let’s say Purolator makes oil filters for Honda and these are the filters that the cars are manufactured with and that the dealer sells you. (I have no idea who makes Honda filters, this is a hypothetical) — if Purolator sells a Purolator branded filter in the auto store for your Pilot, that filter may look the same but it cannot be the same spec as the original.
So question then is do you need the original spec on an oil filter? That is for the owner to decide but when the price spread is a few dollars why bother with the risk and the mental gymnastics of forum debates? If the engineers who built it determined that spec, unless that is what you also do for a living, I would not take the chance on it.

Finally, any time you have an oil pressure issue in an engine, besides asking if the motor is filled correctly with the specified viscosity oil, the next thing they will look at is the filter. Any brand of car, I don’t care who the shop is, they see an original oil filter for that car, unless it has been left and not replaced in excess of the appropriate service period, will move on to the next diagnostic step, because factory oil filters don’t give issues.

Hopefully this story is helpful. People like to spend lots of time complicating things. I get it more when the cost of the original is a magnitude of expense greater and we are talking about multi hundreds or thousands of dollars, then I get it more. Here? Not so much.

 

[gibson00]

I've done my own oil changes since buying my 2015 new. Three to four times per year. I either buy whatever 0W20 is on sale, or just get the Kirkland brand at Costco. And I use Fram oil filters. I've never had an issue of any kind, engine runs perfect. 215k km's on it so far.

 

[briantii]

Here is a vote for the Honda filter. It costs $8.00 when the car is serviced. That is an insignificant portion of the Pilot’s running costs and there is no question as to whether it is the right quality and meets specifications. Not saying the others are bad, but I am not sure what the “get” is on a part this cheap, relative to the total cost of a vehicle.

The issue is that if you read some of the tear downs of the Honda filter it looks like it may have actually been manufactured by Fram… specifically the “Orange Can” but painted blue with no grip. To me the orange can construction is not good enough for me / my vehicles. I don’t doubt the orange can or the Honda filter meet the OEM specs, but clearly there are better engineered options. Toyota however typically uses Denso filters which are much nicer. I happily run those.

 

[STMech]

I think you mean low Noack right? Higher means higher evaporation as I recall.

You are correct, low Noack is the desired rating. I had it backwards.

The Warren Distribution synthetic oil has a middle of the pack Noack. I think Pennzoil Platinum is a lower Noack oil favored by BITOG posters. Higher Noack means higher evaporation, and possibly more valve stem deposits in GDI engines.

 

[Nail Grease]

I think you mean low Noack right? Higher means higher evaporation as I recall.

Correct, lower

 

[RAL]

The issue is that if you read some of the tear downs of the Honda filter it looks like it may have actually been manufactured by Fram… specifically the “Orange Can” but painted blue with no grip. To me the orange can construction is not good enough for me / my vehicles. I don’t doubt the orange can or the Honda filter meet the OEM specs, but clearly there are better engineered options. Toyota however typically uses Denso filters which are much nicer. I happily run those.

Right but it is made to Honda specifications and has to meet their testing to assure it meets specification, irrespective of the firm that makes it.

If you are saying you are a better judge, then you must either be an engineer in the field or you should get rid of the Pilot, because if a layman knows better than a manufacturer’s engineers, the car is by definition a POS. I would say this on any brand.

At the end of the day, an aftermarket filter may be fine but again what are the savings? This is more now about psychology then engineering.

 

[Oh3CoPilot]

Get a quality brand and remember fully synthetic isn't the same as 100% synthetic oil.

this video does a good job explaining it:

 

[AVC]

if Purolator sells a Purolator branded filter in the auto store for your Pilot, that filter may look the same but it cannot be the same spec as the original.

True, they are free to improve upon it, as they aren't bound by the same economics as the OEM version.

 

[RAL]

And you think they always improve it?

 

[AVC]

Well, it was implied that the aftermarket are categorically worse. From the hundreds of Youtubers who've torn apart OEM and aftermarket filters, the OEM are as often than not, the more (or as) "cheaply made", which doesn't surprise me. Pennies turn to millions. Now whether those superficial "can you believe they use cardboard, or sloppy glue, or only have 190SQI of filter media...or..." have any material impact on the filtering performance over the life of the filter, or notably engine performance/life, no one here has the means to peform the controlled tests and say.

So yes, I think you have an up hill battle arguing (anecdotally) the OEM filter is usually (or in this case) superior to the better after market choices. And that Honda won't change vendors or some bean counter relaxes specs. Maybe we can get the Project Farm guy to do some controlled testing. He might have a shot at repeating J806 or J1858.

 

[Arthur36]

You are correct, low Noack is the desired rating. I had it backwards.

The Warren Distribution synthetic oil has a middle of the pack Noack. I think Pennzoil Platinum is a lower Noack oil favored by BITOG posters. Higher Noack means higher evaporation, and possibly more valve stem deposits in GDI engines.

There are/were some discussions on Noack and GDI engines (even some studies). And the outcome was that higher Noack is better because when oil droplets hit valve they evaporate faster and less baking (deposit) on valves. Lower Noack oil evaporation is slower so stays on valves longer creating more deposits. I do know if it is true but it would explain why Honda full synthetic 0W20 oil has high 12.8 Noack.

 

[AVC]

There are/were some discussions on Noack and GDI engines (even some studies). And the outcome was that higher Noack is better because when oil droplets hit valve they evaporate faster and less baking (deposit) on valves. Lower Noack oil evaporation is slower so stays on valves longer creating more deposits. I do know if it is true but it would explain why Honda full synthetic 0W20 oil has high 12.8 Noack.

Hmmm, and there you have real science; Will Smithing' the common sense out of things....

 

[STMech]

There are/were some discussions on Noack and GDI engines (even some studies). And the outcome was that higher Noack is better because when oil droplets hit valve they evaporate faster and less baking (deposit) on valves. Lower Noack oil evaporation is slower so stays on valves longer creating more deposits. I do know if it is true but it would explain why Honda full synthetic 0W20 oil has high 12.8 Noack.

This is very interesting. A discussion of Honda GDI engines and intake valve deposits really deserves it’s own thread. I am not aware of a significant problem with the Earth Dreams V6 valve deposits, but I’m sure someone will have something to say on the issue.

 

[cintocrunch]

This is very interesting. A discussion of Honda GDI engines and intake valve deposits really deserves it’s own thread. I am not aware of a significant problem with the Earth Dreams V6 valve deposits, but I’m sure someone will have something to say on the issue.

I was on Drive Accord for a while and here for 4 years... no GDI deposit issues on any of the Hondas that I can recall. I'm assuming the PCV system on modern vehicles that don't have those issues is quite a bit more complicated than the old school one-way valves. I know GM had some crazy baffle system that lets the oil recoagulate or turn back into liquid form and sends it back to the sump while cleaner vapors go through the intake on the latest High Feature V6 (Camaro/Colorado) and it seems to have eliminated any issues they were having.