What's going on everybody? Well today I was organizing oil changes, tire changes sheets, etc and I came across my last oil change. It said that they had put 5W-30 rather than what my engine calls for, which is 5W-20, since I have ULEV-VTEC, Energy Conserving. The underlying question is is my engine in any danger in terms of anything? I've only been using this oil for less than 2k miles, so if there is a problem I don't think I'll be in any deep water and I'll just chage the oil myself. This service was done my Lube Express and if there is any problem then they'll here from me, from now on I'll just do my oil myself or get it done at a place who can actually do things correctly. The car is an Accord 01' LX.

 

don't be alarmed you have not done any damage to your engine ,,See most shops get oil by the bulk it is much cheaper , they cannot carry every brand and weight cost too much take too much room ,,the most common and probably cheapest bulk oil is 10-30 plus it can be used in almost all the cars ,,,my reccomandation and it would be cheaper for you go to AUTOZONE by a case or 2 of 5-20 and when you take in the shop for oil changes tell them to use your own oil ..problem solved :-)

 

Frankly, I would have been surprised if they hadn't used 5w-30. That multi viscosity is recommended by most all manufacturers for US operations during the summer. The 5w-20 is excellent for cold clime starting, but only maintains 20w viscosity whan hot.
By comparison, I use 20w-50 synthetic with no problems in the summer

 

Hi,

The difference in the oil is the temperature range in which it protects the engine. Unless you are driving in extreme hot or cold, you have nothing to worry about.

Jeff

 

I really need an accurate answer for this. For the next time I get oil could I just get 5W-30 or would the overuse of the "incorrect" oil (The called for oil 5W-20) damage my engine? If I can get a 100% yes to it's perfectly fine, I'll just use 5W-30 from now on. What's the difference anyways, how thick it is, correct?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Corruption &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I really need an accurate answer for this. For the next time I get oil could I just get 5W-30 or would the overuse of the "incorrect" oil (The called for oil 5W-20) damage my engine? If I can get a 100% yes to it's perfectly fine, I'll just use 5W-30 from now on. What's the difference anyways, how thick it is, correct?</TD></TR></TABLE>

somewhat....the weight of the oil is the viscosity of the oil....

the temperature at which the oil will break down.....lighter weight oil generally flows better but breaks down sooner (depending on driving habits). where as a heavier oil (higher viscosity) will not break down as soon but will not flow as easily....almost all cars made later than 2000 recommend you use 5w-30. Back in the day they used heavier oil in the summer or if the engine had issues burning oil. say a 10w30 or higher....in the winter switch to something like 5w30 or 0w30 that would flow easier on a cold engine (and the idea was that it would put less wear on your engine) but now a days there isn't alot of need unless your driving in extreme conditions. Using a differnt oil weight will NOT harm your engine...

 

Take a deep breath. You are not endangering your engine.

 

so what would be the best possible oil I could use for my engine?

 

depending on mileage and driving habits synthetic is the best oil....it handles both extreme heat and cold better than standard oils....but if you have very high mileage its probably not a good idea....It costs about twice as much money but you CAN drive on synthetic alot longer before it breaks down, personally i woudln't go more than 1k-2k more on synthetic but some people go 5k longer on synthetic, if you dont want to run fully synthetic there is also synthetic blends out there....most synthetics are 5w-30.

 

use 5w20 or 10w30 ,,any brand will do my advise is to change oil and filter every 3k , keep the pipes clean and you dont have to use syntetic oil save your money hell i have seen car with over 400k miles not using a drop of oil and never had an ovehaul but the key was they replaced o/f often ,,,

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by martyj100 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Hi,

The difference in the oil is the temperature range in which it protects the engine. Unless you are driving in extreme hot or cold, you have nothing to worry about.

Jeff</TD></TR></TABLE>

took the words right outta my mouth Also, don't switch back and fourth between 5w30 or 5w20 and synthetic. Thats all you need to know with oil. As the engine gets into the higher milage, you can bump it up to 10w40, but thats after 200,000mi+

 

on my 99 I use mobil 10-30 all year

 

Jedi, do you have a LEV or ULEV engine? If it recommends 5W-20 then would it be detrimental to my engine if I were to use 10W-30 on it all the time? thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Corruption &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Jedi, do you have a LEV or ULEV engine? If it recommends 5W-20 then would it be detrimental to my engine if I were to use 10W-30 on it all the time? thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

how many posts do you need to see that it will NOT BE DETRIMENTAL TO YOUR ENGINE IF YOU SWITCH OILS....theres at least 10 there....my god...

 

i will fight you to the death with lead pipe you mark *** trick, sorry that I want to protect my investment when the oil cap says 5W-20 and you and other people are saying 10W-30 oil is just fine.

 

its LEV but it clearly says 5w-20 on the cap but I am a rebel so I use 10w-30. Its not going to hurt your engine if your that worried about it change the damn oil and put 5w-20 in problem solved

 

it's 5W-30, i guess ill use my discretion since I'm such a puss and no one can give me an educated answer, other than Jedi

 

What part of the world do you live in? Extreme temperatures makes a difference.

Your owner's manual probably has a chart saying what oil is acceptable under different temperature ranges. Probably 5w-20 goes all the way. Probably 5w-30 isn't recommended if it gets really cold. But the 5w part of the spec says how it flows at 32 deg.F so that's the same. The 20 or 30 weight says how it flows at 212 deg.F.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Honda recommends 5w-30 for the same engine in countries other than USA. Honda MUST call for the lighter 5w-20 oil if they want to advertize the higher gas-mileage that results. Unless your climate is well below freezing, the 5w-30 probably protects your engine a tiny bit better, while using a little bit more gasoline.

BTW, someone said "20w" up there. That's not right. The spec is 5w for 'winter'. There's no 'w' after the 20 or 30 numbers.

 

So the verdict is what? That 10W-30 is fine for my engine during the warmer seasons however I should stick with 5W-20 during the winter? Why can't someone give me a clear cut answer? Thanks for the info though.

 

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com This is an excellent website about oils and additives.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Corruption &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why can't someone give me a clear cut answer?</TD></TR></TABLE>Because real life isn't that simple.

If you live in the main 48 of USA, this time of year, 5w-20 5w-30 or 10w-30 are all OK. If you're in Alaska or Siberia, I'd say don't use 10w-anything.

How much do you drive? If this batch of oil is gonna still be in the car next January, I'd say don't use 10w-anything.

Most likely you'll drive around & change your oil before next winter. Then make sure they use the proper weight. No big deal...

 

Ok heres your straight answer. Jim blake already gave it to you more or less. The only reason its recommended to use 5w20 is for gas milage. You'll see about a 2-4 mpg difference when using it. The down side of this is the car can use the thinner oil faster. May be 1.5 qt's per oil change instead of the usual .5-1.0 qt's. I personally use the 5w30 in my moms car cause she is really bad about checking it but really good about changing it. If you want you can use the 5w20. But if you feel comfterable using 5w30 then by all means use it.

So to answer your question, 5w30 isn't doing any harm to your engine, it may infact be keeping it a little cleaner.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbowa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">. You'll see about a 2-4 mpg difference when using it.
</TD></TR></TABLE> its really that much?


Corruption I would change my oil my self if i was you. You get the oil you want and you can put a better oil filter on, I dont like when people who dont know what they're doing touch my baby. Use a5400-pcx-004 its the oil filter from the s2000 its bigger its better your car will benefit from a good oil filter dont buy a cheap one.

 

where can I buy the oil filter, i had to go to white trash mart (AKA Wal-mart) and they had absolutely no 5W-20 oil, lol. The only thing I saw was 5W-30 and 10W-30...so you guys think I should go with 10W-30, I change my oil every 3k or so....once again tell me where I can get the s2k filters?

 

really? that "white trash" -mart that you go to must be really small. the college-student's-best-friend-mart that i usually go to has every viscosity you can think of. try another walmart, but if still no luck, go to any auto parts store like kragens or pepboys or autozone and pay .50 to 1.00 more per quart.

as for the filter, you can get the s200 filter (pcx15400 something or another, sorry the search server is down at the moment) at your local dealership for somewhere around 8 bucks i think. ive heard that its a few bucks cheaper to buy it online, but i personally dont plan ahead when changing my oil and i just like to grab something the day that i change oil.