Honda Car Forum

My local Honda dealer, where I get my oil changed, switched from Castrol to
Mobil oil. Also, the paperwork and windshield sticker no longer indicate
the grade or weight (should be API service SJ "energy conserving" oil, SAE
5-30 viscosity, for my particular year and model).

I had an impression from years ago that Castrol was considered a superior
brand. Is that still true, and if so, why?

The service manager at Mel Rapton Honda in Sacramento, CA, says one reason
he switched is price. Mobil is cheaper. And he assures me it meets all the
factory specs, although I can't verify that because I can't see the label
for what they put in my car.

He also says that all Hondas come with Mobil oil in the crankcase from the
factory, whether in the US or Japan. Is that true?

OK, so Mobil is cheaper. Assuming the product is marked as meeting the
factory specs for my car, is it good enough?

I am not asking here about synthetic oil; please limit responses to
conventional oil products only.

And please, I hope to hear informed and expert knowledge here, not
speculation and guesses. Thank you.

- Don

"Don Enderton" <Enderton@nosuchaddress.duh> wrote in message
news:vPI0i.127477$VU4.39719@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> My local Honda dealer, where I get my oil changed, switched from
> Castrol to Mobil oil. Also, the paperwork and windshield sticker
> no longer indicate the grade or weight (should be API service SJ
> "energy conserving" oil, SAE 5-30 viscosity, for my particular year
> and model).
>
> I had an impression from years ago that Castrol was considered a
> superior brand. Is that still true, and if so, why?
>
> The service manager at Mel Rapton Honda in Sacramento, CA, says
> one reason he switched is price. Mobil is cheaper. And he assures
> me it meets all the factory specs, although I can't verify that because
> I can't see the label for what they put in my car.
>
> He also says that all Hondas come with Mobil oil in the crankcase from
> the factory, whether in the US or Japan. Is that true?
>
> OK, so Mobil is cheaper. Assuming the product is marked as meeting
> the factory specs for my car, is it good enough?
>
> I am not asking here about synthetic oil; please limit responses to
> conventional oil products only.
>
> And please, I hope to hear informed and expert knowledge here,
> not speculation and guesses. Thank you.
>
This is Usenet.

Cheers,

Earle

"Don Enderton" <Enderton@nosuchaddress.duh> wrote in
news:vPI0i.127477$VU4.39719@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

> My local Honda dealer, where I get my oil changed, switched from
> Castrol to Mobil oil. Also, the paperwork and windshield sticker no
> longer indicate the grade or weight (should be API service SJ "energy
> conserving" oil, SAE 5-30 viscosity, for my particular year and
> model).



Yep. For 1991 or thereabouts. Good luck finding SJ these days. They're
up to SL/SM these days.



>
> I had an impression from years ago that Castrol was considered a
> superior brand. Is that still true, and if so, why?


It was considered a superior brand because it was originally made with
castor bean oil, which has superior lubricity for racing applications.
You can still get the bean oil, but the stuff you get in your local auto
parts place is regular mineral oil infused with Castrol's proprietary
magick.

The Castrol brand is currently owned by British Petroleum, sorry, BP,
sorry, Beyond Petroleum. BP (whatever that acronym means at this moment)
owns no bean fields to my knowledge, just oil fields.

BP has been recently in hot water for safety problems (and human deaths)
due to neglect and deterioration of their field equipment. Exxon has
been a better steward.




>
> The service manager at Mel Rapton Honda in Sacramento, CA, says one
> reason he switched is price. Mobil is cheaper.




Mobil is produced by Exxon. Your guy might well be being given a better
price from his supplier. Exxon is a very efficient and admirable
company.




> And he assures me it
> meets all the factory specs, although I can't verify that because I
> can't see the label for what they put in my car.



No worries. Just change it according to the Honda Torah and you'll be
graced with excessive longevity.



>
> He also says that all Hondas come with Mobil oil in the crankcase from
> the factory, whether in the US or Japan. Is that true?



Maybe. Exxon is worldwide. And doing a smashing job of dealing with
Russian legal caprice and fussiness, I might add.



>
> OK, so Mobil is cheaper. Assuming the product is marked as meeting
> the factory specs for my car, is it good enough?



Yes. Exxon makes excellent products.



>
> I am not asking here about synthetic oil; please limit responses to
> conventional oil products only.
>
> And please, I hope to hear informed and expert knowledge here, not
> speculation and guesses. Thank you.



I am certainly an expert. In my world, anyway (got that quip from my
daughter).


--
Tegger

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

On May 10, 9:17 pm, Tegger <teg...@tegger.c0m> wrote:
snip
> > He also says that all Hondas come with Mobil oil in the crankcase from
> > the factory, whether in the US or Japan. Is that true?
>
> Maybe. Exxon is worldwide. And doing a smashing job of dealing with
> Russian legal caprice and fussiness, I might add.
>
snip

A while back (years?) bobistheoilguy web site had an oil analysis of a
Honda factory fill. It appeared to show that the oil was off the shelf
Mobil conventional oil with a big dose of moly. Can't confirm the oil
was actually from a Honda of course but why would anyone go to lengths
to make that up? And there's no telling who Honda is buying their oil
from today.

Change the oil according to the severe schedule using a mainstream
brand of oil and the car's engine will outlast your desire to keep
driving it. Well, probably.

In article <vPI0i.127477$VU4.39719@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>,
"Don Enderton" <Enderton@nosuchaddress.duh> wrote:

> My local Honda dealer, where I get my oil changed, switched from Castrol to
> Mobil oil. Also, the paperwork and windshield sticker no longer indicate
> the grade or weight (should be API service SJ "energy conserving" oil, SAE
> 5-30 viscosity, for my particular year and model).
Looks like they are trying to hide something.
>
> I had an impression from years ago that Castrol was considered a superior
> brand. Is that still true, and if so, why?
Yes, it's a top quality oil.
>
> The service manager at Mel Rapton Honda in Sacramento, CA, says one reason
> he switched is price. Mobil is cheaper. And he assures me it meets all the
> factory specs, although I can't verify that because I can't see the label
> for what they put in my car.
He admitted it, they save money.
Do you also save on this switch?
>
> He also says that all Hondas come with Mobil oil in the crankcase from the
> factory, whether in the US or Japan. Is that true?
Could be, so what.

I'd go elsewhere, where they use the oil you want.
I'm using Castrol GTX.

hi, i'm a honda tech in scotland.
as long as the grade is the same you have no worries, honda themselves
change the oil used in the factory rather alot depending who is supplying
it at the cheapest bulk price at the time its needed. we use castrol oil
in all our services basically due to our customers knowing the name. all
oils are very similer these days and no one has the edge over anyone else.
as i said, its the grade that counts and thats all that can be tested once
the engine is started, no expert in the world would be able to tell if ite
castrol or miller racing oil ance ran through the engine, only the grade
can be determined

cra19y wrote:
> hi, i'm a honda tech in scotland.
> as long as the grade is the same you have no worries, honda themselves
> change the oil used in the factory rather alot depending who is supplying
> it at the cheapest bulk price at the time its needed. we use castrol oil
> in all our services basically due to our customers knowing the name. all
> oils are very similer these days and no one has the edge over anyone else.
> as i said, its the grade that counts and thats all that can be tested once
> the engine is started, no expert in the world would be able to tell if ite
> castrol or miller racing oil ance ran through the engine, only the grade
> can be determined
>
untrue! additive package is very important for how well the oil copes
with heat [viscosity modifier breakdown], acids, particulates, seal
conditioning, etc. there may not be an immediate difference, but there
it's most definitely there and most definitely testable. if you want to
at any rate. read the recent "honda v6 engines and synthetic oil"
thread for my experience with different oils and seal leakage for instance.

when honda buys oil, sure, they buy it from different suppliers, /but/
they have a spec for it, and that spec must be met by whichever supplier.

On May 12, 9:53 am, jim beam <spamvor...@bad.example.net> wrote:
snip

> when honda buys oil, sure, they buy it from different suppliers, /but/
> they have a spec for it, and that spec must be met by whichever supplier.

Unfortunately, this does not apply to Honda dealerships. Customers
should always ask what brand of fluid they're getting. My local Honda
dealership has 55 gallon drums of bulk oil and a large supply of Honda
oil in quart containers. If you don't specify Honda fluid, you get the
bulk oil. And when you specify Honda fluids you get...

I have little faith in such promises so I buy my own oil and do my own
oil changes.

ACAR wrote:
> On May 12, 9:53 am, jim beam <spamvor...@bad.example.net> wrote:
> snip
>
>> when honda buys oil, sure, they buy it from different suppliers, /but/
>> they have a spec for it, and that spec must be met by whichever supplier.
>
> Unfortunately, this does not apply to Honda dealerships. Customers
> should always ask what brand of fluid they're getting. My local Honda
> dealership has 55 gallon drums of bulk oil and a large supply of Honda
> oil in quart containers. If you don't specify Honda fluid, you get the
> bulk oil. And when you specify Honda fluids you get...

indeed, i was talking about honda branded oil. thanks for clarification.

>
> I have little faith in such promises so I buy my own oil and do my own
> oil changes.
>

by far the smartest way.