mfisher1967

I found an interesting thread on this board concerning the use of synthetic motor oil. We use synthetic oil to lubricate almost all of the rotating equipment in the refinery process unit that I manage. I have used Mobil 1 since the first oil change in my wife's 1998 CR-V, which we no longer have, and now her 2006 Pilot. I plan to use synthetic motor oil in my new 2007 Civic LX at the first scheduled oil change as well. I know about the special break-in oil that came with my Civic and have no plans to change the oil until the oil life indicator hits that magic 5%.

After reading the post mentioned above, I was surprised to learn that Mobil 1 may not truly be 100% synthetic. On the Amsoil site there was a lot of information concerning the use of Base III material in Mobil 1, which apparently is not a synthetic base stock. Amsoil claims that a truly synthetic motor oil shoud be made using PAO insead. Mobil 1 does claim to use some PAO on their site, but it is not clear how much (Proprietary information). Though I work in a refinery, I must admit that I am not a Chemist and do not fully understand the difference between using Base III and PAO. I do plan, however, to ask some folks at the refinery about this next week. In fairness, I also need to do some research on other brands of synthetic motor oil, such as Royal Purple.

Here is what I am thinking. Mobil 1 is a great motor oil, whether it is truly synthetic or not. I have heard a difference in motor noise on each vehicle that I have converted to Mobil 1. Even Amsoil states that Mobil 1 is a good motor oil on their site. I have no plans to wait 25K miles between oil changes, even though Amsoil states that it is the recommended drain interval for their top of the line product. I have always changed motor oil as per the Honda recommended schedule. When you get down to it I would rather save money on something other than 3.9 quarts of motor oil. Honestly, what would a "normal" driver save per year on oil changes by waiting 25K miles (~$50 to $100 max).

Now for my questions:

1) Would using Amsoil, or another PAO based synthetic oil, result in less engine wear than Mobil 1 if the Honda recommended oil change schedule is followed?

2) Amsoil's top of the line synthetic only seems to come in 0W-20. My Civic is supposed to use 5W-20, but Houston never gets below ~25°F. Are there any negative consequences, warranty or otherwise, to using 0W-20 instead of 5W-20?

3) What synthetic oil are you using, if any, any what influenced your choice?

Thanks, I hope this is interesting for everyone.

WILD_WILL

I use mobil 1 syn and i change it every 5k although i will be using amsoil in the tranny soon.

E-Money

iTrader: (1)

stick with 5w-30

Bulli Kid

Ok i have the same problem as you. I m on my Break in oil and am planing for the future of my car. Let me tell you this in 06 and under, Mobile 1 full Synthetic was the best Pure synthetic out there untill some lawsuit it had with Castrol and so it now is a
Oil III. Or so i have heard. Do not take my word for it.
- Honda Likes Mobile. They Make their Own oil with Mobile. So im sure they wont say anythings bad when something is broken and u are using Mobile synthetic. My brother has a Ej2 95 civic dx with an intake and exhaust. The previous owner has been using Penzoil non synthetic. After he got it he switched to Mobile 1 full synthetic 2006 when it was Pure synthetic. You wont really feel the difference in oils but we deffinatly know the extra protection is there. WE bought some more mobile 1 full synthetic this year and put it in but we didnt know That their oil has changed. He still switches the oil every 3k -3.5k . As for filter we use FRam just because it is the cheapest and good for 3k miles. So no need for those top of the line that go up to 12 thousand miles. although i do recommend using either oem or a good company such as mobile one.

on my 07 LX i still have no clue what i will do with it but if i choose synthetic i will most likely use AMS oil or Royal purple and just change it ever 6 months or when ever the MMS says 15 percent. Also i will most likely use MObile oil filter or AMs oil filter. They are able to go over 3k miles and probably as long as i can get the 15 percent.

if i go Dino oil ( aka normal, conventional oil) i will just service it at the dealer every 3 k miles with oem filter.


good luck with ur choise and let me know what you choose

gus738

i'v alway used mobile 1 full sny because i thought it was full sny and probly because its the best you can get over the counter on autozone/kragen etc

even tho asmoil (miss spell?) is one of the best brands or perferd ones just for the fact that it doesnt have the Specified oil type which is 5w20 just for that reason i wouldnt use it, no matter what always use what your car says so in this case stay with 5w20 if it says so,

SMoLiK

Mobil is a low grade 4, royal purple is a grade 4, redline is grade 5, amsoil is grade 4...

SMo'

gus738

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SMoLiK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mobil is a low grade 4, royal purple is a grade 4, redline is grade 5, amsoil is grade 4...

SMo'</TD></TR></TABLE>

got any links to back you up? i would most defo wanna see them to learn which one is the best

SMoLiK

It may take me a bit, I remember reading in a magazine about a month ago about an oil study and it said that Redline was a Group 5 and Royal Purple was a group 4...

Here is a link about Amsoil being a Group 4...

In the paragraph "Castrol and Mobil go to court" it says:
Additionally, just as soon as Castrol won the right to label their Group 3 oils synthetic, several other oil companies also developed Group 3 hydroprocessed motor oils of their own. AMSOIL motor oils are Group 4 PAO (polyalphalolefin) based full synthetic lubricants. Group 4 Synthetics are not hydroprocessed oils like Group 3 oils are.
http://www.synthetic-oil-tech.com/1325932/

(I will continue my search)

SMo'

gus738

thanks dude much apriciate it, to be honest i never even heard of redline until i came up with this website but i never bother to buy such product due to not knowing that brand can anyone say positive things about it ? and if you can find the rest of the information its really apricaite it

SMoLiK

I will be running it not only due to the fact that it is a Group 5 oil but the specs are better then anyone elses...

It was really difficult to decide between Amsoil and Redline until I found out Amsoil is a Group 4 and the specs are worse...

Redline: http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/4.pdf
Amsoil: https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/asl.aspx

SMo'

SMoLiK

I wouldnt use Royal Purple because they use a dye in the oil to make it purple, I was reading on their website that the dye "burns off" so its not purple when you drain it...

Well I think they could be putting chemicals that actually help the oil instead of dye and I dont want anything "burning off" in my engine...

SMo'

SMoLiK

To keep things on the cheap personally I have always liked Valvoline full synthetic over Mobil1... I have found Valvoline keeps the engine a bit quieter and burns off less...

Mobil1 5w30: http://www.mobil1.com/USA-Engl...0.asp
Valvoline: http://www.valvoline.com/products/Synpower.pdf

From the looks of it Mobil1 does have a higher flash and better viscosity but they do not show the NOACK (oil loss to evaporation)... I love both oils and would just say if your engine does not sound happy with Mobil go to Valvoline, it pretty much depends on the engine...

This is how clean my old Neon was, I owned it from 33K and the car had about 100K when I took this picture... Running Mobil1 10w30 year round...

You could still see the cross hatches on the cylinder walls...

Oil changes no longer then 3,000 miles... Sometimes earlier...

SMo'

gus738

lol valvoline i dont think i would put such brand on my car

SMoLiK

Valvoline full synthetic is one hell of an oil... It burned less in my 89' turbocharged Supra then Mobil did... But like I said, its totally up to the person pouring it in and if the engine likes it...

SMo'

gus738

its just the brand name and prefrense (miss spell?) based on not using it to be safe then sorry .....

SMoLiK

Which Amsoil oil do you plan on running?

0w20 is ASM. Synthetic Motor Oil... Up to 25,000 mile drain interval...
5w20 is XLM. Synthetic XL Motor Oil... Up to 7,500 miles (12,000 if electric)...

Amsoil 0w20 is reccomended for vehicles that require 0w or 5w20 oils...

ASM: https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/asm.aspx
XLM: https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/xlm.aspx

Both seem about identical as far as specs go for heat and the such... But the 0w20 does have a higher viscocity at 100ºC

Hope this helps...

SMo'

i-VTEC_DOHC

yea dude keep me posted when u find about royal purple.. cuz thats the only oil that i put in my car and have been for the past year or so

SMoLiK

As far as I am concerned, I dont want a dye burning off in my engine... Royal Purple is a good oil, I would consider it if they didnt have dye in it...

SMo'

SMoLiK

Click this link then click "Packaging and Properties" to get the specs of Royal Purple...

http://www.royalpurple.com/prodsa/rpmoa.html

SMo'

i-VTEC_DOHC

alright thanks man. oh u live near modesto?? thats cool dude im up there every other weekend or so

i-VTEC_DOHC

u can see the dye in ur oil filter. me and some friends changed my oil and we pulled out the filter and cut it open and u can see the dye in the paper

SMoLiK

One more thing... Make sure that if you get Redline or Amsoil that you are aware that either one may not have the Starburst on the bottle stating it is certified... Honda may not warrant any mechanical failures while using engine oils that do not have the starburst...

SMo'

norcal450

amsoil series2000 0w30 FTMFW!!!!!

SMoLiK

Amsoil Series 2000 0w30: https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/tso.aspx

Mobil1 5w30 has a higher viscocity at 100ºC and the same flashpoint... But Amsoil is most likely a truer synthetic...

SMo'

kloscivicsi

Anyone have any feedback on pennzoil platinum synth oil. I was looking at that for the si.