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Oil Preference

5663 Views 19 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Benny, 
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I will be due for my first oil change in about a 1000 miles, and I'm undecided on which 0W-20 to use. I've used AMSOIL for years, but now I'm considering Mobil1 or Castrol Edge. Anyone have their spin on which oil manufature they'll be using in the CT?
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CCT
I've used Mobil 1 before and like it. I'll probably stick with it.
C.
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Army Dad
I'll use Mobil 1 after the first oil change. I'll keep dino in it until 10-15k miles. That said, does the CT come out of the factory with synthetic?
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JRRRR
Army Dad said:
I'll use Mobil 1 after the first oil change. I'll keep dino in it until 10-15k miles. That said, does the CT come out of the factory with synthetic?
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I recently asked my dealer service department that question and was told that it does come from the factory with synthetic. They also told me that I must use synthetic or risk voiding the warranty. My dealer will be doing my first change.

I've never used synthetic before, so I don't have any opinion on which brand to use. I'll watch this thread for what appears to be the most popular. Richard
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CCT
JRRRR said:
I recently asked my dealer service department that question and was told that it does come from the factory with synthetic. They also told me that I must use synthetic or risk voiding the warranty. My dealer will be doing my first change.

I've never used synthetic before, so I don't have any opinion on which brand to use. I'll watch this thread for what appears to be the most popular. Richard
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Wow, I find that a very odd statement! On page 334 of the owner's manual it says that you MAY use synthetic -- nothing about MUST use synthetic.
You might want to point that out to the dealer if you don't want to use it.
I'm going to use it but I take it that it's optional not mandatory.

Reading between the lines (of the O/M) it suggests that the CT comes with Dino in it from the factory.

I think some of these dealers make it up as they go:rolleyes:

C.
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F
I won't be doing my own oil changes. Wouldn't you just use the dealer sevice dept. and whatever they recommend? No chance of voiding the warranty that way.
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CCT
frisco kid said:
I won't be doing my own oil changes. Wouldn't you just use the dealer sevice dept. and whatever they recommend? No chance of voiding the warranty that way.
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I doubt that they can change Honda policy and requirements just to suit their oil stock (and profit margin) and be forceful enough to suggest that you may compromise your warranty to suit their needs. ;)

Sure you could scratch their back and go along with their suggestion, but you should also have the option of conforming to Honda's requirements too.

I'll bet that they know all about Honda's warranty requirements and that if pushed, they would soon come up with the proper oil.

C.
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Army Dad
frisco kid said:
I won't be doing my own oil changes. Wouldn't you just use the dealer sevice dept. and whatever they recommend? No chance of voiding the warranty that way.
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I use the dealer as long as they have express service and are competitive with price. As long as you have a receipt and show the appropriate oil I'm sure that you are covered. Agree, if you have the dealers receipts then the issue is mute, something to be said for peace of mind.
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F
My point is, as long as you have the dealer service the car, the onus is on them to use oil that is compliant to the warranty specs. No chance of voiding the warranty.


CCT said:
I doubt that they can change Honda policy and requirements just to suit their oil stock (and profit margin) and be forceful enough to suggest that you may compromise your warranty to suit their needs. ;)

Sure you could scratch their back and go along with their suggestion, but you should also have the option of conforming to Honda's requirements too.

I'll bet that they know all about Honda's warranty requirements and that if pushed, they would soon come up with the proper oil.

C.
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CCT
frisco kid said:
My point is, as long as you have the dealer service the car, the onus is on them to use oil that is compliant to the warranty specs. No chance of voiding the warranty.
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I understand that but my point was that the dealer has changed the requirement on their own say-so. This may or may not be a good argument and justification for using another oil should you choose to go (or even have to go) somewhere else.
Tell you what: When I can, I'll ask at my local dealer to see what they'd say about mandatory use of synthetic oil and its use compared to using the dino that the majority will use.

I still don't believe that the dealer can say that you must use synthetic oil when it clearly says in the O/M that synthetic may be used but that any oil with the proper requirements is the specified.

To my mind your dealer is being a bit heavy handed -- and at your expense. The difference in cost between a dino and synthetic oil change here is about double: $50 as opposed to $100 in round figures.

You should at least have the option to use an oil that the oil company has worked with the Honda to develop to meet the requirements of their engines.
No?

The other angle of course is engine break-in. There's still a following that believes that the first 10k miles on a car is crucial to proper engine break-in.
Apparantly from what I've read, you can't get that same break-in using synthetics. They're just too slippery and exhibit different characteristics than dino oil.
It simply does not give the same wear that's needed for valves to seat, and for rings and pistons to mate properly.

I'm not sure if that thinking has completely gone out the window, but I still believe in it and should have the option to follow thru with it.

Food for thought don't you think?

C.
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F
I hear you CCT...it will be a while before I'm due for the first service. Please let us know what you find out! Thanks!

Joel
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CCT
frisco kid said:
I hear you CCT...it will be a while before I'm due for the first service. Please let us know what you find out! Thanks!

Joel
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Will do Joel,
Colin.
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C
Mine came with synthetic and the manual i have only talks about using synthetic.
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D
Genuine Oil/Oil Filters

I decided to make my first post a link to another site, so it had to be fixed for me.
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Montauk17
I always use Mobil 1 in all of my vehicles. I use genuine Honda oil filters. The 1999 Honda Civic LX that I drove for several years, before turning the keys over to my son, now has 235,000+ miles on it. It has been serviced with Mobil 1 since the very first oil change and has never had a single engine related problem.
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A
As long as you change it at regular intervals, it really won't matter. I used to have a misconception that synthetic oil was better for the engine but I started using regular conventional oil in my built motors and just did changes every 2k. I've never had an oil pressure or wear problem doing that. It's sludge buildup and heat that will destroy an engine faster than anything else. As long as the oil is changed regularly, you shouldn't have any buildup that is causing enough friction to damage the bearings.

That's really the key to longevity in an engine is wear on the crank bearings and prevention of friction of the rings to cylinder sleeves. My bet is that honda has changed the actual bearing-to-journal clearance to allow for much thinner, lighter weight oil, allowing the oil to last longer. These engines actually have oil coolers (along with transmission coolers) built in. A thinner oil can circulate faster, transferring heat quicker, and while circulating through an oil cooler, it can cool faster. Engine gets black not just from deposits but from heat. If you can cool oil as it's transferring the heat from friction, you can make it last longer.

My suggestions is to just follow the maintenance minder. Like Army Dad said, as long as I have a dealer that does express service, at $25/oil change, at roughly 10k intervals or whenever the maintenance minder goes off, I've got peace of mind.
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RyansQuick6
You'll be hard pressed to find a "conventional" oil in the 0-w20 range, but synthetics and synthetic blends will be available. Use what you want, I recommend either Honda, Mobil 1, or Purolator Pure One for the filter, stay away from the K&N oil filters or any of the cheap filters like fram, wix, etc.

Here's something that was just released as well
Auto Warranties, Routine Maintenance, and Repairs:
Is Using the Dealer a Must?
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DraEagWol
The only oil I've seen in the 0w-20 has been the Mobil 1 Synthetic, sold at walmart, Auto-Zone etc.. don't even carry it. Hard to find good oil filters in the store. I've seen amazon sell them, the Mobil 1 oil filter, purolator and the K & N.

Ryan, why do you not like the K & N oil filter? it usually has decent reviews. I can understand not liking cheaper filters like Wix and Fram.. etc.
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RyansQuick6
It's almost triple the price of the best ones on the market, and the only difference is the nut that's welded onto the casing. I don't dislike them, I just wouldn't spend $15 when I could spend $5 and get the exact same thing. Motorcraft, Purolator Pure One, Mobil 1, and K&N oil filters are the same filter internally, just with a different wrapper. Knowing Honda and their long ties to Mobil 1 in racing, I wouldn't be suprised if their factory filter was also the same inside as the better brands.
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B
hicksrt said:
I will be due for my first oil change in about a 1000 miles, and I'm undecided on which 0W-20 to use. I've used AMSOIL for years, but now I'm considering Mobil1 or Castrol Edge. Anyone have their spin on which oil manufature they'll be using in the CT?
Click to expand...
Castrol Edge I'm using, The dealer said he uses this on his own vehicles.
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