Recommended Oil Change Intervals?

J

JaCkaL829

it was my first time...
Hello:

I would like to get some opinons on how often I should change my base Acura RSX's oil. According to the manual it says to change it every 10k miles/1 year whichever comes first under normal conditions, or every 5k miles/6 months for severe conditions. I feel changing it every 3k miles/3 months is a waste of money, especially when Acura recommends I can go much longer intervals. I was thinking about following the 5k mile interval, even though I don't drive under severe conditions. I really don't like the idea of leaving it for 10k miles or 1 year. I do drive mostly city(stop and go), and mostly for only 30 mins or less. I also drive *very* conservative, never speed, rarely VTEC, usually change gears at a lil under 3k rpms. I was thinking about it though and since I really don't drive my car that much, and only go to school(20 mile roundtrip) 3 days a week, it will probably be over a year before I hit 5k miles. I did read somewhere that someone recommended changing your oil at earlier intervals if you drive under 30 mins due to water getting in or something? So my question is what would you recommend as a good oil change interval? I'm now thinking every 6 months change oil and filter, but even that sounds a little too often. Let me know what you think. Thanks!



btw a little OT but what do you guys think of Purolator PureOne filters? I've searched and it seems people think its too restrictive, but when I was lurking the forums on bobistheoilguy it seems like a lot of people recommended them as a really good filter for the price. Just want to know because I received 4 brand new ones as well as 2 oem filters from a fellow member on CRSX who totalled his RSX.
 
here is a quote from a oil filter comparison



http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterStudy.html

Pure One

PL14610 $6 50*.39*2.36 92 Silicon Silicon A A This is how an oil filter should be made. The anti-drainback valve is double the thickness of any other here, and obviously seals very well. The media is the best available, and there's a lot of it. The bypass valve is made from a laser-cut piece of stainless steel, and just can't bind or jam.
 
You didn't metion you were going to use synthetic oil, but if you want to have the best protection and an extended drain interval synthetic beats dino oil hands down. Many manufacturers are recommending new car drain intervals upwards of one year or 10,000 miles as you have mentioned. I don't think you can go wrong with a quality synthetic like Mobil 1, Amsoil, etc. There is some debate over whether the US version of Castrol's Syntec is technically a true synthetic (IMO it isn't), but I know friends that have used it exclusively and never had any problems evethough Castrol just uses a highly refined dino oil for its base stock.



The Purolator filters seem to have good overall filtration and design from what I've read and seen reported when they have been cut open and the internals have been exposed. I really don't think you can really go too far wrong if you would stick to the OEM Acura filters either. The Mobil 1 and K&N oil filters would probably be another good choice, too.



The most important aspect of this would to be sure to drive the vehicle long enough that the engine's water temp. gets up high enough so that any internal water condensation in the oil has a chance to "burn off". Many short trips that don't allow sufficient engine operating temps. are tougher on the oil and engine.
 
I can only assume Acura recommends synthetic oil with those intervals. Since most of your driving is city/stop & go I would opt for the 5k intervals, even though you baby the car.
 
My car has an oil life monitor, and 10,000 miles suggested changes aren't uncommon with non-synthetic oil. Oils and engines just get better all the time. I'd go with the manufacturers recommendation.



Water can get in oil all the time, water is a byproduct of combustion. The problem as I understand it is if you don't get the oil hot a fair bit. Then the water won't evaporate out. So if you always make short trips, this can be more of a problem. I'd think 30 minute drives would be plenty long, though, to warm the oil up.



Sounds like once a year changes would make the most sense for you, as that is within the recommendation for you and would only be about 5,000 miles on the oil.
 
atticdog: Thanks for the link, pretty interesting review of oil filters.



chml: I was actually planning on using dino oil. My owner's manual doesn't recommend synthetic on the base or Type S. It does say if you want to use it you can as long as it meets specificataions. As I said before I don't beat on my car and since the manual doesn't require the synthetic i'll just use the dino. I'm also not sure about the OEM filters now that I looked at mine. It appears they are manufactured by Fram. I've read a couple things here and there about different filters and different preferences, much like a wax or sealant is discussed here, but one thing mostly everyone agreed on was the lack of quality of Fram filters. The only advantage of using the OEM filter would be if something did happen to my car, and I took it to get serviced, thats one less thing the dealer can void the warranty on. When you say the engines water temp, what exactly do you mean? Are you talking about the engine temperature gauge?
 
You obviously take care of your paint, thats why your here. So why dont people take care of their engines? Sever conditions is defined as driving around town, basically everyone who drives their car is considered sever conditions. The more you change the oil the better. Oil does break down around 3-5K so change it. Best way to check if your oil needs to be changed is to check the dipstick. Your car also takes 5W20 which is actually a new oil that is a synthetic blend. It is a better oil and will last longer but 10K is out of the question. I personally change my oil every 3K and use synthetic, its probably not needed, but neither is waxing, polishing, or sealing your car once a month. What I'm trying to say is your engine needs to be taken care of properly too, even if you cant see it.
 
john - why don't you check out superhonda.com or clubrsx.com? there's plenty of info there related to your question. search for oil change and you'll get more than enough feedback and links to oil analysis sites for your car. if you sift through the 16 year olds crap you can actually find some sound information. i used to own an integra gs-r and prelude type-s and still frequent those sites.



my suggestion for your rsx, stick to honda/acura oil filters and use an oil of your choice, either dino or synthetic as long as it's within the recommended grade and API. change every 5k or 3 months, whichever comes first. i would suggest this to people who drive 25k or 5k a year. and since you drive conservatively, 5k should be fine for you. i'd suggest 3-4k if you were aggressive.
 
My philosophy is at every 3,000 miles or at the maximum time of once per six months. On my past cars, I would change the oil after using one quart, instead of adding indefinitely. On those cars, sometimes they would make it to 3k before using a whole quart, and a couple of those cars actually went through a quart of oil before 3,000 miles. My current fleet will not use near a quart of oil before 3k, so the aim with these cars is to maintain a clean body of engine lubricant.



If you are not sure, then the best source may be found either with your dealer or a excellent mechanic that is familiar with your car. I have never needed an engine overhaul or major engine work with using my oil change intervals, however.



PS: You can tell how clean the oil is with a simple method of checking your dipstick, in addition to seeing what level it is at. New oil (but not a new lesson) will have a light brown-gold, almost transparent type of texture, and when your oil or synthetic has been used up to 3,000, it would've changed color to a considerably darker texture. You can guage whether it will need changing by seeing how dark the color has changed, while considering how long the oil body has been in the crank case. If you are not near the "add oil" indicator, and if you feel it should stay in the crank case longer than 3k, then at least follow your minimum oem spec.
 
94BlkStang said:
Not to pick on you, but what does checking the dipstick tell you other than the level? :confused:
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Well you can see the level, which is an indicator, you can see the color which can tell you about how close it is to needing changing, you can also smell it to see how burnt it smells, you can also put a drop on a paper towel and see how it seperates. There are a lot more to tell by checking the dipstick and a whole lot more than just looking at your owners manual or looking at your engine. I'm not shure what other way to check to see if you need an oil change is.
 
3k is really overkill for most people, bad for the environment too. When is the last time you have personally met someone with an engine failure due to an oil problem, other than having no oil of course? I go 7.5 or even 15K on my new BMW depending on my mood, im not worried I am an aircraft tech by trade so I speak with a fair amount of knowledge. Worry more about your coolant interval if you can, it kills more cars



3K intervals are marketing genius and a holdover from a bygone day of cars with massive cylinder blow back and just not needed anymore. Bobistheoilguy.com is to oil what this forum is to wax, more than you ever wanted to know.



With that aside, your 20 mile trip barely gets the oil hot enough to get rid of moisture, try to get it out more, its better than more frequent oil changes on your engine.



If your still in doubt spend 20 bucks on an oil analysys, Blackstonelabs.com, its great info. I found my 7.5 K oil was not even close to being half life, no worries.
 
FalconGuy said:
3k is really overkill for most people, bad for the environment too. When is the last time you have personally met someone with an engine failure due to an oil problem, other than having no oil of course? I go 7.5 or even 15K on my new BMW depending on my mood, im not worried I am an aircraft tech by trade so I speak with a fair amount of knowledge. Worry more about your coolant interval if you can, it kills more cars



3K intervals are marketing genius and a holdover from a bygone day of cars with massive cylinder blow back and just not needed anymore. Bobistheoilguy.com is to oil what this forum is to wax, more than you ever wanted to know.



With that aside, your 20 mile trip barely gets the oil hot enough to get rid of moisture, try to get it out more, its better than more frequent oil changes on your engine.



If your still in doubt spend 20 bucks on an oil analysys, Blackstonelabs.com, its great info. I found my 7.5 K oil was not even close to being half life, no worries.
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True, sounds like you know your stuff better than I. I just like to change it often, plus I get the oil at half cost. My main point is that changing your oil every 3k is as unneccesary as waxing every month, its just peace of mind and hell it cant hurt it.
 
There have been a lot of engine failure instances due to bad oil (and with a few people that I know personally). Contaminants (chemicals and some hard substances) can get into the oil from normal use, and if you don't have a car that consumes oil (some do right out of the factory, with most of them not being disclosed by the oem), having the older oil with dirt and contaminants in the engine longer can induce excessive wear to the cylinder wall and piston ring. In time, your engine will begin to show signs of excessive wear (smoke of the color blue, soaked spark plugs, excessive oil use, poor performance associated with a loss of compression, worn bearings, worn valves, and more issues associated with engine wear). In most of those cases of engine failure due to oil, the bad engine condition could've been avoided by better care with more frequent changes.



This has been proven not just by personal experience, but with many testimonies by good mechanics, honest dealer service reps, and engine builders that I knew personally.



Now, if your engine is new or under warranty (wavering off topic a bit), and if you suspect that the engine is using oil, then an oil economy test should be done by the dealer and/or paid for by the warranty company. In this case, if your car is using oil beyond the oem spec, then the oil changes won't really change the consumption condition (but it may keep the bottom end cleaner).
 
Pontman43 said:
Well you can see the level, which is an indicator, you can see the color which can tell you about how close it is to needing changing, you can also smell it to see how burnt it smells, you can also put a drop on a paper towel and see how it seperates. There are a lot more to tell by checking the dipstick and a whole lot more than just looking at your owners manual or looking at your engine. I'm not shure what other way to check to see if you need an oil change is.
Click to expand...



How should it react to being dripped on a paper towel?
 
JohnnyDaJackal said:
atticdog: Thanks for the link, pretty interesting review of oil filters.



chml: I was actually planning on using dino oil. My owner's manual doesn't recommend synthetic on the base or Type S. It does say if you want to use it you can as long as it meets specificataions. As I said before I don't beat on my car and since the manual doesn't require the synthetic i'll just use the dino. I'm also not sure about the OEM filters now that I looked at mine. It appears they are manufactured by Fram. I've read a couple things here and there about different filters and different preferences, much like a wax or sealant is discussed here, but one thing mostly everyone agreed on was the lack of quality of Fram filters. The only advantage of using the OEM filter would be if something did happen to my car, and I took it to get serviced, thats one less thing the dealer can void the warranty on. When you say the engines water temp, what exactly do you mean? Are you talking about the engine temperature gauge?
Click to expand...



water temp. gauge = engine temp. gauge



You want to get the engine oil up to the normal engine operating temperature and preferably hold that temp for more than just a short mileage trip. Your temp. gauge should indicate a constant temp. reading that is no longer rising.



Most of Fram's oil filters do suck.



Most owner's manuals don't recommend synthetics unless the car was factory filled with one. As long as you use the correct weight and it meets all the API requirements for your car, there is IMO almost no reason to prefer dino over synthetic. Synthetics cost can be greatly offset by it's ability for increased drain intervals, superior resistance to high temps. and oxidation, and their superior flow characterics at temperature extremes.



Audi recommends a 1yr/10,000 mi. oil change interval for my '02 A4. There is no extreme service interval with a shorter recommendation. I orignally used Mobil 1 oil but changed to Amsoil when Mobil recently started monkeying with the original M1 formula. I use the Audi OEM filters and will probably continue with these after the orignal warranty expires. I figure the manufacturer should know best and that's what I'm going to follow. My yearly mileage total is usually < 10k mi. and I've never had a problem.
 
Just to add to the "synthetic vs. dino" line... I've experienced much easier starts in winter using synthetic oil vs. dino oil. The only thing I've come across as a concern was that I'd read once you switch to synthetic, you can't go back to dino oil, as you would start to get leaks. Not sure if that's hype/marketing or if that's true.
 
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