I have a 98 prelude, with the original H22a4 w/ 80,XXX miles. It is burning through about 1/2 a quart of oil every 500-1000 miles. I currently use 5w-30 mobile1 fully synthetic, if i put 5w-40 instead would it burn slower?? Is there anything I can do to make the oil not burn at all?

 

Welcome to H22 ownership. 1qt every 1000 miles is not bad for an H22. First thing to do is to check for leaks. The cam seals, cam plug and oil cooler seals are the common culprits. Do a compression check. Although that'll only tell you the condition of the compression rings; there's no way to check the oil control rings other than ruling everything else out first. Do you see any smoke at all?

Mobil1 synthetic oil tends to do poorly as far as consumption goes in most Honda's. Switch to something like Penzoil Platinum or German Castrol. Both are excellent oils. Stick to a _w30 oil. You'd be better off going to a 0W30. Same operating temp viscosity, but a lower ambient temp viscosity will reduce wear at start-up (which is when most wear occurs).

 

wow, thats good to know H22 usually burn oil. And yea there are absolutely no leaks. How low can I allow the oil to go without damaging the engine, the second dot on the dip stick?

 

Really, anything below where it should be will probably add extra wear. It's not hard to check oil, just do it. Remember to allow at least 10min for the engine to sit before you check it.