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Decided to switch to Mobil 1...any advice?

Joined
27 March 2000
Messages
3,925
Location
Palos Verdes, CA
Okay, so today I took my NSX in for its oil change and decided it was time to switch to a synthetic...Mobil 1 to be specific.

With this change, I was wondering if I need to alter any of my habits. Should I let my engine idle more before driving? Should I stay out of VTEC range a bit longer (currently I drive for about 20 minutes before I start to ride her up to the red line)? And what if I don't start my car for more than a week?

My NSX was once a daily driver, but now gets driven roughly twice a week and for very short commutes (I'm still working 24-7).



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--akira3D
'00 Acura NSX-T (red/black), '97 Honda Civic HX (black), '01 Lexus IS300 (black/black)
"Reality is better than the dream..."

akira3d.com/nsx
 
I don't think you should change your driving habits. The syntehtic has a lower pour point and higher flash point than conventional oils. It will better protect ur engine during cold starts and when the car is driven fast. Just drive it the same way you have been driving it and you should be okay.

Ryan
 
I would say no driving habits need be changed. Mobil 1 flows better when cold than does dino oil.

My only recomendation would be to buy your Mobil 1 at Costco as it is dirt cheap there, and if you take it to a lube shop or to the dealership to change the oil bring it and watch them pour it. Not that I do not trust the dealer or lube shop but they probably do not get alot of customers that bring their own oil.

HTH
 
the only habit you will have to change is not going to get your oil changed as frequently.

Actually, I would disagree with that statement.

When synthetic oils first hit the market, their manufacturers claimed that they could be left in the engine longer. However, even though they have greater resistance to thermal breakdown, they accumulate particulates ("dirt") just as quick as conventional oil. I think this is why the manufacturers no longer make such claims.

I would not advise increasing the intervals between oil changes just because you've switched to synthetics.
 
It is hard to say what is difference in Redline and mobil 1. I think they both are great oil. For street use and occasional track use, I don't think it make any different. I couldn't really tell the difference in back to back test in my car. However, in the race track with real racers, I've seen more redline users than Mobil 1.
ICBW


[This message has been edited by Andrie Hartanto (edited 24 September 2001).]
 
Kind of a related question. I only put at best about 500 miles on my car a month. I'm using Mobile 1 so it will take over 6 or more months before I reach the mileage point for a change. Does a synthetic degrade over time to where I should have it changed anyway every 3 months?
 
I wouldn't change your interval with synthetic. If you would otherwise change your oil every 3 months, I would recommend continuing to do it every 3 months.

I change mine every 4 months or every 3750 miles, whichever comes first.
 
I've used Redline and Mobil and change it every 3K miles. It's VERY DIRTY at every change so I keep thinking something is wrong. This is my first Honda so maybe I'm just not used to it.
 
Has anyone used one of those engine flush/cleaners that are poured into the oil before draining? They are supposed to help clean out more sludge, etc. than would normally drain out on it's own. Are these products safe? Effective? Recommended? I have also seen some oil-change places and some dealership service departments ( other vehicles ) offer a power flush for the oil that is said to clean out everything more efficiently. Is that a ripoff, or does it actually work?
 
Originally posted by NSXLNT:
Has anyone used one of those engine flush/cleaners that are poured into the oil before draining? They are supposed to help clean out more sludge, etc. than would normally drain out on it's own. Are these products safe? Effective? Recommended? I have also seen some oil-change places and some dealership service departments ( other vehicles ) offer a power flush for the oil that is said to clean out everything more efficiently. Is that a ripoff, or does it actually work?

I used those cleaners on a daily driver earlier this year. The car was bought used and started using huge amounts of oil soon after purchase. I had the dealer run their flush machine on it but it didn't really help anything. An independant shop told me my only option was an engine rebuild. I started using the cleaner and changing the oil quite often and there was a gradual improvement to the point that there is no longer any oil consumption and no puff of smoke after idling for a few minutes. I regard this as a very positive improvement but I would never use this stuff in a car that had always had regular oil changes. You just shouldn't need it if the car has been maintained and has always used high quality oil.



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The NSX Model List Page
 
Originally posted by NSXLNT: I have also seen some oil-change places and some dealership service departments ( other vehicles ) offer a power flush for the oil that is said to clean out everything more efficiently. Is that a ripoff, or does it actually work?

Some VERY reputable service center owners swear that the engine flush market is a total scam. They also readily state that the people selling the system to shops hype the super-quick pay off, but never the benefit to the customer. In their opinion, you'd do better to change the oil, run it for a while at full temp, then change it again. Unless you have a lot of sludge in the pan the results are the same, which is not much, and a lot less expensive.

Originally posted by lemansnsx: I used those cleaners on a daily driver earlier this year. …You just shouldn't need it if the car has been maintained and has always used high quality oil.

On this I don't entirely agree. If you use a pure synthetic, then maybe, but even quality oil can leave deposits and such over time. You also want to avoid high paraffin oils such as Pennzoil, which most would consider a high quality oil but is notorious for gumming up rings. An old tried and true cure for that is adding about 20% Marvel Mystery Oil for a few cycles. Seems to work like the other cleaners. I'm not sure I'd run a car hard with that mix since it lowers the effective viscosity significantly as do, I'd suspect, all the cleaners.

If the above opinions seem at odds with each other, they aren't really. If the engine is healthy, the flush is a waste. If the rings are so gummed up that you have lots of blow-by, the flush won't cure it but a cleaner in the oil might over a period of time.

[This message has been edited by sjs (edited 25 September 2001).]
 
Originally posted by ilya:
I've used Redline and Mobil and change it every 3K miles. It's VERY DIRTY at every change so I keep thinking something is wrong. This is my first Honda so maybe I'm just not used to it.

My first couple of NSX oil changes were with conventional oil. The oil barely looked dirty at change time. Since I've changed to Mobil 1, the oil looks very dirty already after 1000-1500 miles. Why the difference?
 
I asked the same question to a local guy who owns his own garage and is a certified mercedes mechanisc, and he said that synthetics are better than conventional oils because they keep carbon particles in suspension, rather than letting them build up on the engine's surfaces. If this is true, and I don't know if it is, then for a given number of miles driven, a dirty-looking synthetic is better for your car than a clean looking conventional oil, because the particles are suspended and not adhering to moving parts and causing wear at their interfaces. Any other knowledge or confirmation of these ideas out there?

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NSXY
95 NSX-T, 5 sp, Red/Tan, Tubi exhaust, Dali street anti-sway bars, Dunlop SP9000s
 
I agree with your statement on the accumulation of particulates. What I do on the cars that I run synthetic in is that I change the filter at the required oil change intervals. Then I add extra synthetic to make up for the loss, usually less than half a quart

It's really nice just changing filters every other oil change. Synthetics can actually go longer than the 2 filters I use it for. But after the 2 filters, you've almost made your money back buying the more expensive synthetic.

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
the only habit you will have to change is not going to get your oil changed as frequently.

Actually, I would disagree with that statement.

When synthetic oils first hit the market, their manufacturers claimed that they could be left in the engine longer. However, even though they have greater resistance to thermal breakdown, they accumulate particulates ("dirt") just as quick as conventional oil. I think this is why the manufacturers no longer make such claims.

I would not advise increasing the intervals between oil changes just because you've switched to synthetics.
 
How do Redline and Mobil 1 compare?
anyone?

The link below has some very interesting data on all the oils available to the consumer. In general, synthetics are far superior to dino oil, however, when comparing syns. to syns. there are some vast differences in VI, Flash, Pour etc. There are many variables necessary to judge a 'good' oil.
http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html

-Nader
 
Yeah.... I read http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html too and starting to wonder if 10W30 will offer enough protection for high rev track use on hot summer days? My last track day, the oil temp reached as high as 135 degree C!!

I also read http://sacramento.nsxca.org/Events/ThunderHillDocs/School_Docs/PreparingYourCarForTrack.htm and they recommend Redline 20W50 for track use. Wouldn't that be kinda 'thick' compare to the factory recommendation of 10w30??

Right now, I'm using Castrol RS 0W40. Since it never gets cold over here and gets very hot plus humid in summer time, I might try 20w50 next.
 
One reason why the syn's look dirtier and another way of saying that it holds more particles in suspension/sulotion is that it has more detergents. This is the reason why you cannot put syn's in a old engine. The cleaning quality will "free-up" some parts that could cause oil loss or blow by.
 
Synthetic vs. Conventional Oils:

The most striking difference b/w synthetic oils and conventional or so called petroleum based oils is the homogeneity of the carbon molecule(s) or -using the jargon- alkane(s) lengths. Meaning the composition and effectivly the weight of the synthetic oil is an exact defenition of the molecular composition of that oil. So, when you buy 10W-30 oil, its been engineered to have a composition of alkane's that give the oil an exact cold viscocity of 10W oil, and an operating temp viscocity of 30W oil. In contrast to petroleum/conventional or "dino juice" based oil, the alkane lengths are variable and have a compostion more akin to a polydispersed [short chains mixed along w/ medium length chains and long chain alkanes], than the monodispersed synthetic oil.

So, the weight of the conventinal oil is more of an estimate than an exact measurement, this is what makes the conventional oil more succeptible to breakdown. Much akin to knock in a combustion cycle, when and organic molecule under extreme heat and pressure can form a radical [ an atom with one lone electron] species-very reactive and dangerous- this causes a chain reaction w/in the combustion chamber, breaking down the surrounding carbon molecules and propogarting the formation of more and more radicals eventually leading to spontaneous combustion or knock. This spontanous radical formation is also possible w/ engine oil, when exposed to high heat the possibility of radical formation increases, the radical species formed is capable of reacting w/ the metals and material w/in the motor, and the surrounding oil particles-accelarating their degridation and breakdown-leading to a chain reaction that leads to the breakdown of the oil. Which can, at the extreme, cause metal to metal contact, gasket degridation-as we know rubber and plastic harden and become brittle when exposed to high temp/burned then allowed to cool.

Synthetic oil, however, is less likely to succumb to such conditions largly b/c of its greater degree of molecular homogeneity, hence it is able to provide a more consistant barrier b/w the surfaces w/ in the metal against thermal abrasion. And, it itself is more stable hence protecting the internal surfaces-sorry for the redundancy-against radical(s) and the damage therin. One tangential point, synthetic oils b/c of their molecular composition, are somewhat "thinner" than their conventional counterparts, again b/c the alkanes w/ in the oil are engineered to given lengths, unlike the petroleum based oils which are blended together during/after the cracking of the natural stock takes place. That is why some people have complained of leaks when switching to synthtic on a motor w/ high mileage and a lifetime of petroleum based oil use. Rule of thumb, if you've been using petroleum based oil for the majority of the engines life, keep using petroleum based oils, just change the oil more often.

-Hubert



[This message has been edited by bb6 (edited 29 April 2002).]
 
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