Allright jus wonderin the pros take on oil. I have a 93 civic dx, stock, 120k on the engine and car. What brand of oil should i be using??? one of the high milage ones??? and if so wut brand.....thx guys

 

if I trained this motor on normal oil with that milage I would run 10-40 in the summer and 10-30 in the winter. Standard Castrol GTX is good *****.

 

You are going to get a wide variaty of wehat people think is the "best" some people say synthetic some people dont. I have always used valvoline and have never had a problem while some people will say that valvoline is crap. I dont like penzoil nor quaker state.

 

The guy above doesnt like penzoil but thats what I've used in my dx beater since I got it at 135k and its around 180k now and had no complaints, but I run honda 5-30 in my zc. So like said before, everyone has their own opinions about whats best but one thing most of us agree on is if you pick something, stick with it. Dont change your oil type/brand every oil change and certainly dont go back in forth with synth/non-synth.
What I know from what I've used and friends have used, honda, castrol, mobil, and amsoil have worked well for freinds of mine. (Note that honda oil is manufactured by mobil.) None of us however beat very hard on our cars daily or do auto-x and such.

 

Most people don't realize that all of the engine oil in the world, regardless of brand, comes from only 2 or 3 different refineries. I believe Valvoline, Shell and Exxon/Mobil are the largest suppliers. Much like with gasoline, a company (Castrol, Penzoil, Quaker State, generic brands like NAPA, Wal-Mart, Havoline) can specify what additives go into the oil they purchase.

However, most conventional oils are EXACTLY the same. Valvoline conventional is the same as NAPA conventional, except for a $1 difference in price. But there really is no way to tell which is better. One thing is for certain, though. They all have to meet certain SAE standards, which are represented on the SAE seal on every oil bottle. I believe that SL is the highest level right now. That means that Quaker State with SL will perform as good as Penzoil with SL. If they go above and beyond that, great.

Synthetic oils are a bit different. While they still have to meet the same SAE requirements as conventional, they all obviously have a different chemical make up and aren't usually available in a generic equivalent. They do protect better than conventionals and have higher limits in terms of molecular breakdown. I'm a firm supporter of Castrol in this area. I usually get Castrol over Mobil 1 cause of the price. If someone can give me proof that Mobil 1 is better, then I'll eat my words. As far as I'm concerned, they are the same.

Super synthetics are a huge step forward, like Castrol TRW and Shell Helix. But I don't think any street Honda needs oil that is $15-$20 a quart.

My opinion: Shop for oil with your wallet as your guide, not what it says on the side of your favorite race car. Most oils are surprisingly the same. Your filter is what should require really burn your braincells.

 

The only reasons that I mentioned penzoil and quaker state is because they are a darker oil and they seem almost "dirty" when your first pouring them in, granted I am not going to say that Valvoline is better than one or another its just something that I prefer and as everyone already said its something that I have been using and have just stuck with it. I agree with what he said above about Synthetic but with a motor with that high of mileage and if it hasnt been ran with synthectic from the get go it can actually cause more harm than good since synthetic is such a "slippery" oil and it can actually cause oil leaks/oil burning. As for the high mileage oils?? I have no idea?? I have never tried nor heard much about them so I wouldnt eb able to say anything about them fairly. I would assume that they just add more additives or something but if tis running fine on normal oil just stick with that rather than spending the extra cash on one of those types of oils.

 

Which ever brand is on sale. Excluding, "Synthetics" and "Blends" and
viscosity. Oil is oil is oil, They are all the same.