hey, my friend needs an oil change, but we don't know if we need synthetic oil or not. 2000 civic ex coupe with vtec. thanks

 

No engine NEEDs synthetic oil. It's better, but not required. Just so you know, once any synthetic oil is used, you will have a hell of a time going back to regular. (meaning you can't go back)

 

thanks, that was kinda vague. asking for a firmer answer?

 

What more do you need to know?

If you use synthetic or a synthetic blend, you have to stick with it until the engine ***** out on you.

You don't HAVE to use synthetic in any engine. Do it if you want to.

Do a search and you will find a TON of information about oil.

 

thats not true, you can switch back if you want. just run a good engine flush if you choose to do so.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kamin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats not true, you can switch back if you want. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I mean going from synthetic to regular without flushing anything. And with NO problems what so ever.

 

i have a 98 ex and with my first oil change i used the syntec blend. synthetics tend to be thinner so i am running that to get the motor a tad more prepaired for full synth.

 

do a engine flush, then use mobil1. thats the best. well, Amsoil is the best, but impossible to find. most of us will reccomend Mobil1 synthetic. do a engine flush first.

 

Like said above you do not need to, I did with past motors but no longer use synthetics due to price and frequent oil changes but I am pretty sure its bad to switch back and forth.

 

well, i got a question on that 1.. hate to bite on ur thread lol.. why would it be bad? syntec oil is just thinner.. why would u have to flush ur motor?
and just for future reference. whats the best way to flush ur motor? kerosene?

 

Hrmmm. Wish Id seen this thread earlier. I just switched from regular oil to Mobil 1 Synthetic this weekend on my civic that has over 100K miles so I wouldnt have to change the oil that often. I didnt flush or anything, just drained for 5 minutes and poured it in .

I did notice I was a quarter quart of oil low though in 3 days which was funny because my car's never burnt oil before, so I just filled it back up with more synthetic. I think maybe I didnt eyeball 3.5 quarts exactly when I was filling it the first time so thats why I was low. I did buy 10w-30. Will that help since its thicker?

 

It's not as harsh on your engine to switch from a mid-grade (which is regular motor oil) to a synthetic. It would probably be best to do the engine flush on it first. When you do an engine flush, auto zone or napa probably has about a 4 gallon jug of this stuff made by pennzoil (i think), called gumout. You run it for about 5 minutes with a new filter. Drain it, change the filter and your done. I wouldn't recommend running the kerosene in your motor. I also wouldn't run an engine flush if your not switching, unless the oil is really black and you believe there could be a lot of sludge build up. I would just recommend changing your oil more often. Synthetic motor oils also can go longer without an oil change than your standard motor oil. I believe its like 5,000 safely, but I still change mine after 3,000. Also some synthetic oils can last up to 15,000 miles according to the manufacturer, and that is with perfect driving conditions, no stop and go. For a synthetic oil I would recommend Royal Purple, and for a filter I honestly don't know, but I wouldn't go with a Fram.