Owner's Manual Oil Weight chart

[Spektyr]

Okay, I've asked this before somewhere, but I'm paranoid when it comes to my Accord and it's been awhile since I asked (so I'm not completely clear on what the answer was anyway.)


Here's the thing - the owners manual for my 1982 Accord (with the EK1 motor) says that if the ambient temperature/weather is really hot (over 90F) I should use 10W-40.

That just seems insane to me - I always heard that 10W-40 was for big V8's, and smaller engines use lighter oil.

Here's what the diagram in the manual says:

5W-20 : Under 15F
5W-30 : Under 32F
10W-30 : -5F to 90F
10W-40 : -5F and higher
20W-40 : 15F and higher


I just can't imagine that little 1.8L doing anything but gagging on the the weight of 10W-40, regardless of the ambient temperature.

I got Quaker State 10W-30 for it this oil change, since it'll be seeing the early summer before the next change (maybe mid-summer) and I ran 5W-30 in it this winter. I use a very light foot with this car, partly because I don't intend to destroy it, and partly because it doesn't really matter (a stock EK1 isn't going to impress anyone with an AT regardless of how you flog it.) She sees city and highway miles, just enough of each and in every combination to guarantee that her chores aren't any lighter than possible. (There's plenty of stop-and-go, before and after highway driving, and the highway driving is both short and long duration... pretty much every conceivable condition except dusty country roads.)


And in fact, I now notice that on the back of the manual it says to use SAE 10W-30 unless the temperature is under 0F.


I plan to own this car long enough to put antique tags on it, and I want it running flawlessly for every single one of those years. Is the manual just out of date in terms of modern oils?

Currently I'm thinking that 10W-30 is probably what I should be running in the summer (it gets north of 100F here some days), and maybe 5W-30 in the winter since she seemed to like that. No synthetics, since she's got too many miles on her to switch to that without turning the gaskets into colanders.

So what's the truth? Is 10W-30 too light for hot weather? Is 5W-30 too light for cold weather?

[RTexasF]

In 1982 it made sense. Today 5W30/10W30 should be just hunky dory due to the superb oils available now. I would only go to 40 weight if the car was using a lot of oil.

[Spektyr]

In 1982 it made sense. Today 5W30/10W30 should be just hunky dory due to the superb oils available now. I would only go to 40 weight if the car was using a lot of oil.

I ran 5W-30 in it this winter, and stretched my oil change schedule slightly because I hate cold weather so much (so I'm just over 4k on this oil, rather than my preferred 3k). She's used maybe half a pint of oil - at most.

I've only owned one vehicle as stingy with its oil as this Honda, and that was my 4-cyl 1990 Nissan pick-up.

Letting this car get to a point where it could actually use oil would be an unpardonable sin against the Honda gods. I just had her in for a tune-up and the mechanic spent 15 minutes talking to me on the phone about how he couldn't believe the shape the car was in - he hasn't seen a 2nd gen that wasn't rusted out in years, and he couldn't find any rust on mine.


So what's the difference in dino oils today versus 1982 that makes them hold up to temperature better?

[RTexasF]

Too much to explain, go to Bobistheoilguy and read and read and read.

[Marc04LX]

"I've only owned one vehicle as stingy with its oil as this Honda, and that was my 4-cyl 1990 Nissan pick-up." - Spektyr

Yeah, I drove my old 91 Nissan PU near daily from 94 to last summer. NEVER added oil between 4-5K oil changes. Ran 10W-30 the whole time, the cheap stuff the last few years. I drove it like I stole it until the transmission finally gave up.

[Spektyr]

Yeah, I drove my old 91 Nissan PU near daily from 94 to last summer. NEVER added oil between 4-5K oil changes. Ran 10W-30 the whole time, the cheap stuff the last few years. I drove it like I stole it until the transmission finally gave up.

Yeah mine was still running - fast - when I got rid of it. And I was not light-footed with it at all. I regularly barked the tires on the 2nd-3rd shift @ around 50-55mph. That thing was damn near bullet-proof.

If I had to teach someone to drive stick, that's the vehicle I'd want to do it with. I actually did teach a girl I was dating then to drive stick on that truck, and it was a million times easier simply because I could sit there calmly and not worry. The truck was too light, the transmission too strong, and the engine just torquey enough that I could let her do pretty much whatever she wanted without fear that she was going to break anything.


Man, I did some stupid stuff in that truck and it never complained at all.

[JBrian]

On an older carburetored car I’d be running Shell Rotella "T" Synthetic, 5w-40 changed once a year or every 5000K which ever comes first. It contains lots of CALCIUM & ZINC.

[odessit]

Diesel oils (extra Zinc in them) will shorten life of catalytic converter. If you are think you need extra additives - use HM oils like Valvoline MaxLife.
Also - I thought that dino vs synthetic oil incompatibility was a myth?

[Spektyr]

I'm not going to put synthetic oil in a car this old. That's a given.

Too many vehicles have started leaking like a sieve by putting synthetic in them, and I'm not going to gamble on whether or not my car needs an engine overhaul simply so I can try a more expensive motor oil in the car.

[steve20]

agreed-no synthetic needed.

as far as driving a stick, the 95 Corvette has to be the easiest to learn on- very difficult to stall- you can let the clutch out slowly on level ground without giving it gas

[RTexasF]

agreed-no synthetic needed.

as far as driving a stick, the 95 Corvette has to be the easiest to learn on- very difficult to stall- you can let the clutch out slowly on level ground without giving it gas


BFD my 4 cylinder Accord does that, so did the '03 Corolla, and the '96 Mazda.