[baldursgate]

Has anyone tracked to see if the oil life changes at a different rate with full synthetic vs the Honda synthetic blend oil?

 

[ThatsABigOne]

No. MM just uses an algorithm that counts how many cold starts made, duration of each drive, etc. There is no sensor that actively checks the condition of oil.

 

[baldursgate]

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

[bgsntth]

I did notice that when I replaced the synthetic oil at 10% it was still "honey" colored.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

I did notice that when I replaced the synthetic oil at 10% it was still "honey" colored.

Color of oil isn't necessarily the best metric in modern vehicles. Often times, the oil's detergent package wears out before oil changes color.

Currently I am 7500 miles into my current oil with 50% oil life left. Oil consumption has been nit. I love this car.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

AFAIK the Honda 0w20 is synthetic. The MM does not analyze the oil quality or contaminants and adjust the change interval. As mentioned, it uses starts etc.

I change mine early. I don't like going past 7500 unless it's a lease. My S60 calls for 10K and it has a turbo. I will not change it early. I get 3 years of free maint. in the deal which amounts to 3 oil changes.

 

[Flyboy]

AFAIK the Honda 0w20 is synthetic. The MM does not analyze the oil quality or contaminants and adjust the change interval. As mentioned, it uses starts etc.

I change mine early. I don't like going past 7500 unless it's a lease. My S60 calls for 10K and it has a turbo. I will not change it early. I get 3 years of free maint. in the deal which amounts to 3 oil changes.

Why do you change your oil more frequently than the MM recommendation? How does a lease vs. ownership make any difference? :grin

Modern synthetic oil is designed to be effective much longer than 7500 miles as you mentioned in your Volvo. Throwing away perfectly good motor oil is silly. Would changing your oil at 3500 miles be twice as good?

 

[HondaGuy2]

AFAIK the Honda 0w20 is synthetic. The MM does not analyze the oil quality or contaminants and adjust the change interval. As mentioned, it uses starts etc.

I change mine early. I don't like going past 7500 unless it's a lease. My S60 calls for 10K and it has a turbo. I will not change it early. I get 3 years of free maint. in the deal which amounts to 3 oil changes.

It's synthetic blend, not full synthetic.

 

[HondaBob]

It's synthetic blend, not full synthetic.

I think Honda-branded oil is available in both full synthetic and synthetic blend. I could be wrong.

 

[Av8r]

I think Honda-branded oil is available in both full synthetic and synthetic blend. I could be wrong.

You're not wrong.

Seems the "default" oil at most U.S. dealerships is Honda Brand synthetic blend.

 

[bgsntth]

It is a synthetic blend, I have to pay extra for full Honda synthetic. The first factory fill was black as tar at the first oil change; hence, my comment. Completely agree that w/o an oil analysis color is not conclusive; but, it make me feel better about paying extra for synthetic:grin

BTW, my Sport is leased. But, I treat every vehicle I lease as if I am going to have it for a decade, in case I buy it at the end of the 3 year term.

I leased an '07 Cayman, for which Porsche did not specify an oil change until 20,000 miles:0. I had the dealer change the oil at 10K miles, as 20K seemed asinine. I bet the next owner really appreciated that oil change, as Porsche shortened the oil interval change to every 10K miles a year later. Would you buy a used performance car that did not have its oil changed for the first 20K miles?

 

[Dudley]

I bought a used minivan a while ago ('96 Odyssey). I took it to a dealer to look at before I bought it and they said everything was fine. I looked at the oil on the dipstick and it was clearly fresh and thought nothing of it. Over the next few weeks the oil turned dark very quickly and seemed to be burning off pretty fast. I took it to my mechanic to look at and he popped the valve cover. He said it looked terrible in there and he didn't think the oil had ever been changed (45,000 miles). The car was a lease so he may have been right. There was thick sludge everywhere.

He scraped off as much sludge as he could, and I changed the oil with synthetic on extremely short intervals for a few months to clean everything out. Even that abused engine went another 100,000 miles before I sold it, and at 145,000 miles it was still running great. Used a little oil - about .5 to 1 qt in 5k miles. That was 10 years ago and I still see the car driving around town occasionally. Must have well over 200k miles.

 

[Flyboy]

You're not wrong.

Seems the "default" oil at most U.S. dealerships is Honda Brand synthetic blend.

The dealer where I have had two oil changes done, the service advisor told me that they use Penzoil 100% synthetic.

 

[II Kings 9:20]

Why do you change your oil more frequently than the MM recommendation? How does a lease vs. ownership make any difference? :grin

Modern synthetic oil is designed to be effective much longer than 7500 miles as you mentioned in your Volvo. Throwing away perfectly good motor oil is silly. Would changing your oil at 3500 miles be twice as good?

If I own and plan to keep a long time, I change at 7500 regardless. If I lease, the car goes back in 2-3 years so I don't care. MB and BMW call for 12-18K intervals and despite modern oil marvels, oil filters (especially ones like Accord that are lawnmower sized) can clog up and go into bypass mode and there is no filtration. Want proof? Nearly all filters are designed with a bypass valve for this reason. If it weren't ever needed or a potential problem, they would not have spent the money on R&D.

My neighbor is an engineer and his S2000 has 300K miles on it and he does 70K oil changes based on oil analysis. He has a pre lube set up and 2 aux oil filters about 1 liter each. It ain't the oil, it's the filter.

 

[Blackheart]

Ever since the Castrol/Mobil 1 lawsuit in the late 1990's, the term "synthetic" is no longer a scientific term. It is now a Marketing term. MOST oil labeled "Synthetic" is actually a severely hydrocracked Group III Mineral oil. It's much cheaper to refine to this level than to create a molecule in the lab, and it is ALMOST as good in performance as lab-generated molecules, and some true lab-based molecules have characteristics that make the Group III mineral oils preferable to some lab-generated base lubricants.

Short answer: oils are much better today than 20-30 years ago. Cars are also cleaner burning, especially when cold (and therefore don't contaminate the oil as much as excess fuel washes down the cylinder walls past the cold rings). So, use what is recommended at the recommended OCI's, don't change the filter more than recommended (filters get MORE efficient as they are used), and quit worrying about it so much.

Oh, oil filter bypasses are mostly for cold startup, when the oil is too viscous to flow freely through the filter, so, a bypass allows the oil pressure to stay at levels that aren't too high for the filter materials. I've run numerous filters three times the recommended miles, with testing for Insoluables (a measure of cleanliness of the oil), and the Insoluables dropped EVERY TIME over the life of the oil. I then cut open the filters and examined them. There is PRECIOUS LITTLE to see in a filter of a modern passenger car engine, even after going three times the recommended mileage.

 

[cookieman214]

The dealer where I have had two oil changes done, the service advisor told me that they use Penzoil 100% synthetic.

But...that Honda dealer would have to have the Honda Genuine 0W-20 Synthetic Blend oil available, as Honda will not pay warranty money unless the dealer lists Honda oil on the R/O.

 

[hdtouring]

Honda will not pay warranty money unless the dealer lists Honda oil on the R/O.

To get Honda warranty, do I need to drink Honda coffee, eat Honda donuts, and breath Honda air too? :grin

 

[cookieman214]

To get Honda warranty, do I need to drink Honda coffee, eat Honda donuts, and breath Honda air too? :grin

No, I'm talking about Honda reimbursing the Dealer for engine related work. Honda will not reimburse Dealers for using non-Honda oil for warranty work.

 

[hdtouring]

No, I'm talking about Honda reimbursing the Dealer for engine related work. Honda will not reimburse Dealers for using non-Honda oil for warranty work.

Sorry for my misunderstanding :frown . You know, Thursday is one of the days on which I'm particularly slow. Other days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

 

[ypsibird]

So, use what is recommended at the recommended OCI's, don't change the filter more than recommended (filters get MORE efficient as they are used), and quit worrying about it so much.

I agree that the manufacturers recommendations should be followed. I suspect that many don't realize that Honda does not recommend changing your oil filter with every oil change.

Service code A is change your engine oil.
Service code B is change your engine oil & filter.