what oil do you think is the best?

[emd17t]

any synthetic is good i prefer royal purple, but a fram,and k&n make good oil filters

[Joanne & Bill]

EyesofFreedom hit the nail on the head in what's he's passed on. I'm personally an aircraft mechanic and do most of my own auto maintenance. Several years ago I was wooed into using synthetic oil in my Honda Accord that had close to 50,000 miles on it. No warnings or cautions from the company involved...just raves about the wonders of using their synthetic oil. The result? Almost immediately the poor little Accord became an oilcoholic...and also doing a fair job of mosquito control due to the cloud of smoke it left behind. It had always had 10W-30 prior to that and never used enough oil to measure between 5,000 mile oil changes...but with the synthetic we were lucky to get 500 miles per quart (if that). We switched back over to 10W-30, but it was to late. We also noticed seal swelling and seeping. The end result was rebuilding the engine. Needless to say we've stayed with the recommended (by Honda) oil since that experience and have since owned another Accord, two Odyssey's, and a Civic with no problems. Oh, and I may as well mention that the first Accord had over 176,000 miles on the odometer when last seen, the second had approx. 130,000 miles, and the first Odyssey (a 2000 EX) had 54,745 miles when our daughter drove it away after we purchased our 2007 Odyssey EX-L. Since then, my wife has sold her 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE (she was it's original owner) and purchased a 2008 Civic EX for everyday use (her "Town Car" ).

[EyesofFreedom]

I suddenly feel so rightous

[HondaME]

Originally Posted by Joanne & Bill

... No warnings or cautions from the company involved...just raves about the wonders of using their synthetic oil.

I suppose we can say they were pretty slick !!! great story, glad you bounced back from that, and it reaffirms Eyes' facts regarding Sin-thetic oil.

[Joanne & Bill]

EyesofFreedom - Just don't get a swelled head over it. After all, there's a first time for everything. But you were absolutely RIGHT!!

HondaMe - Thanks for the kind words. Up to & including our 2000 Odyssey we used 10W-30...with, of course, changing oil filters at every oil change (~5,000 miles). For our 2007 Odyssey and 2008 Civic it'll be 5W-20 (as recommended by Honda)...also with a new oil filter everytime the oil is changed. The bottom line...no more synthetic for me!!

[EyesofFreedom]

so what 5-20 have you been using...

mine was a dealer serviced lease return when I got it and they used mobil clean 5000 so that is just what I stuck with...

[8695Beaters]

Wow, I did not know that synthetic could kill an engine like that. Surprised nobody has sued the oil companies yet over it (I wouldn't, but if you can trip over your own kid in a store and win some money, anything is possible). Guess I'll switch my oil back to regular, although the Castrol I'm running hasn't hurt the engine. No smoke, but I haven't checked my oil yet (I've only put on about 300 miles since the change). That also includes 4 passes down a drag strip.

As for the original question, I love Castrol. Swear by it. Redline is also good stuff. For both of my 'Tegs (170K and 270K miles), I do 2 to 3 quarts of regular oil (whatever it takes to fill the pan), 1 quart of high mileage, and 1 can of Engine Restore. That stuff also works really well and is definetely worth the extra price.

If you switched to synthetic and bumped up the weight, would that perhaps solve the sealing problems? If it's thicker, then it should be harder to push through all the seals, which would help prevent leaks. Or would it do nothing?

[Joanne & Bill]

EyesofFreedom - Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but I've been out of town. What type of 5W-20? Pennzoil has been the easiest to find around here, but I'd use Quaker State if it was readily available. I've used Quaker State 10W-30 in our cars for years...1957 & 1962 Rambler's (reliable); 1962 Chevy II (junk); 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury (a real goer); 1971 Mazda RX-2 (pleasant little goer); 1978 (except for the disastrous experiment with synthetic), 1982, & 2000 Honda's (need I say more?); 1985 Mazda RX-7 (my wife's little kamikaze wagon); and 1990 Chrysler LeBaron (inherited from my father-in-law...junk). Oil filters are changed at every oil change...usually Fram, but sometimes Pennzoil. Oh, I might as well mention our 1989 (177,000 miles when sold in 2000) & 2000 (currently 65,000 miles) Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup trucks with the 7.3L diesel engine which use Quaker State 15W-40 oil. Another thing...when out on the road away from home I've found that WalMart is a good place to have the oil changed...but...I always watch them to make sure that it's done right & with the right oil...and then I check to make sure that there aren't any leaks (and, NO, I do not work for or have any financial interest in WalMart). Oh, and NO we don't still own all of those cars...just the 2000 Ford F-250, 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L, and my wife's 2008 Honda Civic EX.

8695Beater - It's been a long time since my unfortunate experience with synthetic, and there have been a lot of changes made in engine tolerances, seal composition, and even (perhaps) synthetic oil formulation. If your vehicle operates okay on it & you like it, go ahead and use it...but keep your eyes open for potential problems "just in case"...and remember that engine problems can crop up no matter what lubricant you might be using. Something to consider is that synthetic costs a lot more than regular engine oil and you can't really expect for it to last any longer than regular engine oil (in a properly functioning engine) as the normal problem is that the oil doesn't go bad...just gets dirty...no matter whether it's synthetic or regular oil. So don't expect to just keep using synthetic oil for longer periods of time as the dirt and other contaminants will get into any engine oil and cause internal engine wear...so don't try to stretch your oil change intervals very far as you'll regret it later.

[ACCORD FELINE]

WAIT HEEEEEEELLLP!!!!!!! I DID NOT KNOW THAT SYNTH COULD CAUSE THAT MUCH HARM ive had my accord for a year now its an 01 so you can imagine hoe many mile it has, and as soon as i bought it i used full synth by castrol 5-20 you know what it asks for in the oil cap i havent had any problems at all but after reading and geeting freaked out; what do you recomend i should do should i get the gtx high millege or what do you suggest me to do please help, i have allways used k&n filters

[Joanne & Bill]

Accord Feline - You may have heard the old mechanic's saying of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" ...and that applies to your case too. Reread my response to 8695Beater on the subject of oil choices & the progress with engine & seal designs. If you aren't having any problems while using synthetic then perhaps you'll never have any. So I wouldn't get too worried until and unless I had a problem. Due to our disastrous experience with using synthetic in our 1978 Accord I'll never use synthetic oil in one of my cars again...but that doesn't mean that the world has stood still since then. Engines, seals, and the oil itself have seen many modifications/redesigns over the years so you may never experience a problem. But, I'll again mention that synthetic is a lot more expensive than regular engine oil and it WILL get dirty just as fast and should be changed at the automobile manufacturers recommended intervals just like regular oil...and don't forget the filters.