Honda Car Forum

I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan. It has 160,000 miles on it. I recent
got an oil change on it.

During the life of the car, I have used 5W-30 motor oil. However, some of
the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I should switch to
10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-30 is thicker.

Should I take heed to this advice?

"warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote in
news:277fb72833c3c5f963ce895d2801d85c@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com:

> I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan. It has 160,000 miles on it. I
> recent got an oil change on it.
>
> During the life of the car, I have used 5W-30 motor oil. However,
> some of the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I should
> switch to 10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-30 is
> thicker.
>
> Should I take heed to this advice?
>
>



No.

I tried that a while back and 10W-30 made absolutely NO difference in my
oil consumption. My car's been fed 5W-30 since day one. It now has 260,000
miles on it and gets over 2,000 miles per US quart.

How's your oil consumption?


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Unfortunately, I did not monitor my oil consumption.

As of this message, I will begin doing so.

I simply get my oil changes around every 4,000 miles or so. If I was able
to get 2,000 miles per US quart, and 3.8 quarts of new oil are installed
per go around, could I, in theory, reach 7,500 miles between oil changes?

"warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote
>I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan. It has 160,000 miles on it. I recent
> got an oil change on it.
>
> During the life of the car, I have used 5W-30 motor oil. However, some of
> the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I should switch to
> 10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-30 is thicker.
>
> Should I take heed to this advice?

Not to dispute Tegger's claim, but just to offer evidence that your
mechanics are not totally whack-o: I have seen internet sites that suggest
switching to a higher viscosity oil for older cars. It's worth googling.

"warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote in message
news:3e561414f92c511b40fb6714469dc1b9@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com...
> Unfortunately, I did not monitor my oil consumption.
>
> As of this message, I will begin doing so.
>
> I simply get my oil changes around every 4,000 miles or so. If I was able
> to get 2,000 miles per US quart, and 3.8 quarts of new oil are installed
> per go around, could I, in theory, reach 7,500 miles between oil changes?

Oil is not consumed as fuel is. If it was, they wouldn't have to drain it.

How dirty is your oil at 4000 miles is the question? At 148,000, my '01
Accord doing 7K oil changes (I have a long highway commute) the oil is
dirty, but not black.

If you are consuming oil, that means you are burning oil. Others can give a
better description of the mechanics behind how oil gets into the fuel being
burned, but in essence, in those cases a thicker oil might not sneak by the
way thinner oil does. If you're not burning any oil (as in 3.8 quarts are
coming out at each change) then there is no need for thicker oil as you do
not have a problem with the thin stuff.

"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:RRNFf.2164$UF1.313@newsread3.news.pas.earthli nk.net...
> "warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote
>>I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan. It has 160,000 miles on it. I recent
>> got an oil change on it.
>>
>> During the life of the car, I have used 5W-30 motor oil. However, some
>> of
>> the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I should switch to
>> 10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-30 is thicker.
>>
>> Should I take heed to this advice?
>
> Not to dispute Tegger's claim, but just to offer evidence that your
> mechanics are not totally whack-o: I have seen internet sites that suggest
> switching to a higher viscosity oil for older cars. It's worth googling.

I've seen that also, but usually in reference to burning oil and how to stop
said oil from making it into the combustion chamber. If the thin stuff
isn't sneaking by the rings, then switching to thicker stuff won't have any
benefits.

"warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote in
news:277fb72833c3c5f963ce895d2801d85c@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com
:

> I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan. It has 160,000 miles on it.
I
> recent got an oil change on it.
>
> During the life of the car, I have used 5W-30 motor oil.
However,
> some of the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I
should
> switch to 10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-
30 is
> thicker.
>
> Should I take heed to this advice?
>

I think the general idea in this is that the thinner oil will seap
thru seals and gaskets that are aging. It's the same principle of
why you don't use synthetic oil on old cars. It's so slick that it
will leak in almost every seal. Another thing is the piston rings
that might not scrape the oil from the cylinder walls.

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"TeGGeR®" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote in message
news:Xns97628B8228EB3tegger@207.14.113.17...
> "warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote in
> news:277fb72833c3c5f963ce895d2801d85c@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com:
>
> > I own a 1998 Honda Civic EX Sedan. It has 160,000 miles on it. I
> > recent got an oil change on it.
> >
> > During the life of the car, I have used 5W-30 motor oil. However,
> > some of the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I should
> > switch to 10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-30 is
> > thicker.
> >
> > Should I take heed to this advice?
> >
> >
>
>
>
> No.
>
> I tried that a while back and 10W-30 made absolutely NO difference in my
> oil consumption. My car's been fed 5W-30 since day one. It now has 260,000
> miles on it and gets over 2,000 miles per US quart.
>
> How's your oil consumption?

Our local Honda dealer only offers 5-20 for all Hondas new and old with the
claim that Honda has authorized this. My Prelude calls for 5-30 or possibly
10-30 in hot weather which we have in abundance here in mid GA in Summer.
Am I right to be uneasy about using 5-20.
>
>
> --
> TeGGeR®
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote in
news:3e561414f92c511b40fb6714469dc1b9@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com:

> Unfortunately, I did not monitor my oil consumption.
>
> As of this message, I will begin doing so.



Begin using 10W-30, you mean? Not really a great idea.

10W will flow less readily than 5W when cold, while the 30 side of it will
get consumed by the engine identically when hot.


>
> I simply get my oil changes around every 4,000 miles or so. If I was
> able to get 2,000 miles per US quart, and 3.8 quarts of new oil are
> installed per go around, could I, in theory, reach 7,500 miles between
> oil changes?


Mathematically you could, but this too is not a good idea. How many months
does it take you to reach 7,500 miles? How long do you intend on keeping
the car?



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Janus <janus_k2@yahoo.nospam> wrote in
news:Xns9762BA1775E3Djanusk2yahoonospam@38.119.97. 5:

> "warlock162" <bray@dwsd.org> wrote in
> news:277fb72833c3c5f963ce895d2801d85c@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com

> However,
>> some of the mechanics at my oil change place have said that I
> should
>> switch to 10W-30, due to the mileage on my car, and because 10W-
> 30 is
>> thicker.
>>
>> Should I take heed to this advice?
>>
>
> I think the general idea in this is that the thinner oil will seap
> thru seals and gaskets that are aging.


The difference between 5W-30 and 10W 30 is its behavior when cold. Once
it's warmed up, there is no difference between the two.



It's the same principle of
> why you don't use synthetic oil on old cars. It's so slick that it
> will leak in almost every seal. Another thing is the piston rings
> that might not scrape the oil from the cylinder walls.


Utter nonsense.




--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/