Truth of the matter is that walmart never seems to have the mobil one 5w-20, so I purchased the 30 weight oil, adding it at 7200 miles. I know I am goint to recieve a scolding from a few for not obeying my american honda "bible", but overseas they are putting heavier oils in (an austrailian post comes to mind). Someone up North in Canada stated they have different oil weights too. Knowing this, I did the same.
Also, our car has been around for a few years, so it's not a new engine, and wasn't designed specifically for the US market and 5w-20 oil. Anyway, the point is this... the whole throttle responce seems to have tightened up and become more responsive. More than a few times I have had to check if I was in "S" mode versus "D" (which, for non sport auto owners is quite a difference in and of itself). I am not a huge fan of this car like some here, purchasing it for commuting only. I just wasn't expecting any difference from the oil change. Today, I am going up north, to the Lake! I will have a chance to check if there are any gas mileage concerns with this oil change too.
Has anyone else noticed any difference? What about you manual guys?

 

Luckily San Diego doesn't bear any extreme weather and we rarely or never exceed 100 degrees. A lot of people have reported that 5-30 usually shears down to 5-20 anyways so in the end it works out. I have posted on bobistheoilguy and with the good amount of response, it should give us an idea on what the more knowledgable oil crowd would do:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...c;f=1;t=015624

After evaluating all the responses, I have decided to do my first change at 5,000 miles using Havoline (non synthetic) with supertech walmart filter. This will give the engine more time to break in further with the high moly content in Havoline's oil. I will probably then swap it out after 4,000k miles to Penzoil Platinum Synthetic 5-20 and Wix filter (napa gold) for another 5,000 miles. After that 5,000 miles with the Penzoil Platinum, I will send the oil in for an ****ysis to see if I can safely run it up to 7,500 miles. If so, I will continue to use that combination.

Andy

 

sounds mad!! Just change oil and filter ever 3000mi yourself using honda filter, or better and regular oil like castrol 5w20 Honda's NEVER DIE!

 

i am using 5w50.. so no biggie

-joe

 

Does the Honda dealership have synthetic oil for the oil changes?

 

they have honda brand synthetic.. but it's expensive

most dealers will let you bring our own, they will probably knock $5-10 off the price

-joe

 

Why, when Honda says 5w20 only? But, like you said "do what you want".

 

did they actually recommend using penzoil? i have always heard nothing but bad things from penzoil, including from people that use to work there!

 

For the people that don't know,the Honda 5w20 are semi-synethic.

 

Did you guys know that mobil 1 isnt fully synthetic anymore?

 

that is interesting. is that all mobile 1 products?

 

5w20 is recommended for "gas saving" by honda.. but if you actually look at the oil when it's changed, you will see that it's all crap looking when it comes out

i drive my fit quiet a bit on the highway and i do high revs, and the 5w50 just puts my mind at ease

-joe

 

Good question. No, that is not all mobil 1 products. Juts go to the mobil 1 website and click on a product. There will be some FAQ's on the right that'll say "Is this oil fully synthetic?", and theyll tell you straight up.

 

Upon doing research, it seems that these days, most oils are fairly good throughout the board. If you visit bobistheoilguy.com, you can see that people have done ****ysis on their used Penzoil Platinum oil with excellent results. The reason I am choosing to use it is because Mobile 1 is very thin for it's 5-20 and there is a lot of engine/valve train noise. Castrol Syntec is a group III oil and they charge the same amount as a Group IV oil when it is not. Penzoil Platinum is often on sale at Pep Boys, where it comes out to about 15 bucks after mail in rebate for 6 quarts. For that price, it is hard to beat and the quality is in fact there.

The factory fill is high in Moly content to coat the engine, that is why after my first 3,500 miles I am starting with Havoline 5-20 non-synthetic for about 4,000 miles. This will allow it to break in properly as intended before I switch to synthetic for maximum efficiency. Havoline has a LOT of moly and this will allow me put fresh oil while dumping out the old oil which will contain a lot of silicone that held the engine together when it was delivered as well as the metal shavings from engine break-in.

I don't see the point in using anything other than 5-20, unless your engine starts consuming more oil then normal. As for the engine, it is tiny and does not build up enough heat to really justify a thicker oil.

 

Haha! It censored the @nal in the word @nalysis!

 

if you dont' think the little engine builds up enough heat.. just check your underhood temps after a run on the highway..

-joe

 

Actually your car runs quite cool on the highway. This is because it is experiencing "air ram" into the radiator and engine speed is for the most part, consistent.

It's the stop and go driving, varying the engine speed that will heat up your engine. In fact your car will run hotter at idle than it will on the highway. That's why you will hear your fan switch on at idle if idling long enough. I don't think your fan even switches on during highway use unless of course you run the a/c.

 

Actaully it's mobil 1 synthetic, but we use castrol at our dealership.

 

i did this a few times.. after doing stop and go AND doing highway

you will notice that both your FENDERS get really hot.. as if the hot air gets trap there.. but not much under the hood

-joe

 

5W50 shouldn't put your mind at ease. The engine was designed to run a specific viscosity range (clearances and all). The 50 weight is outside of that range, so your engine is likely getting less lubrication. 5W30, 10W30 or 0W30 is ok, but don't go beyond that range. As far as the oil looking like crap when it comes out, oil always looks like crap when its be run for a while.