Type S: First oil change question

[The Kid]

Quick question,

I recall when I went to the Anna engine falicily they said don't rush the first oil change as they have some special blend of goodness in there. I got my car end of February but didn't drive till end of March IIRC. I have 3500 miles on mine and oil life is 60% based on the maintenance minder.

I'm kinda old school and always just changed my oil once a year on all my car whether I drive them or not. Good for resale I suppose, not like I sell them anyways.

Any input on the topic?

 

[acuhon]

With first oil change I would wait at least to 5,000 miles just because the special blend in the oil. After that 3,000 miles or one year. Any NSX engine deserves special treatment.

 

[The King]

I don't know what the "special blend" is for this motor, but I was told by a Honda technical rep years ago that Hondas came with Molyslip from the factory in all their cars. I have used Molyslip every second oil change in my S2000 since getting it in the fall of 99. After many spirited drives and plenty of 9K happenings, the engine runs like new and burns no oil. It does, however have only 45K km at this point. I'm hedging my bets just in case this practice backfires, and have not used it in the NSX.

 

[Bricks and Bio]

As I have mentioned a bunch of time my service advisor says go by the car's computer
I thought you work at a dealership and can get lots of input

 

[drmanny3]

There have been numerous discussions revolving around how relevant the maintenance minder is for our cars. I have for years worked with organizations to develop Predictive Maintenance vs Preventative Maintenance programs.

While the Maintenance Minder is kind of a pseudo predictive model, I see it as too general in nature. Predictive requires a lot of real world data with analysis to predict when something should optimally be changed. I see our Cosworth engines as very unique bespoke engines that do not necessarily fall within the general family of Honda engines.

Technically, the proper way to proceed with respect to Engine oil, is to sample the oil periodically to determine how critical parameters are holding up over time. Based upon the results one can determine how long oil can be used before being changed out.

My concern, is that over the last decade many manufacturers have lengthened the oil change intervals to reduce the perceived maintenance required even though their engines in general have tighter tolerances and are smaller displacement. These engines are being worked harder as well.

My local Range Rover Service Manager was lamenting that their newest engines were pushing out oil changes to 20,000 miles. He thought that was crazy. I agree

i expect to receive my latest oil analysis soon and will post the results.

 

[The Kid]

Just wanted to touch base, as per the factory:

You are correct that Anna puts special break in oil in the NSX engines and if the oil is changed too quickly it could negatively impact how the engine breaks in. Our recommendation is to go ahead and run your NSX until it reaches the Maintenance Minder indication to change the oil, and then change it at that point.

 

[drmanny3]

I suspect that any benefit of special oil additives for breaking in new engines will have done their thing by 1000 miles. Not wanting to sound like a broken record, I believe that the oil should be changed yearly, even if the Maintenance Minder says the life of the oil is still good. Here is an interesting article on Breaking in Oils and additives for new race engines. https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2019/08/break-in-oils/
Here is another article. https://www.us.mahle.com/media/usa/motorsports/mms-break-in-recommended-procedure-web.pdf
Here is the last one. https://www.enginelabs.com/news/dispelling-engine-break-in-myths-with-high-performance-academy/

 

[drmanny3]

Here are the maintenance requirements for McClaren

10,000 miles/12 months​

• Synthetic McLaren oil change and filter replacement
• Multipoint inspection of the following: steering components, front and rear suspension joints, radiators, air filters, brake system, fluid levels, electrical connections, tires, wheels, rims, and tire repair kit.

Porsche 992 911 Turbo S requires oil and filter change at 10,000 miles or yearly.

Perhaps our engines are not that special?

 

[The Kid]

FWIW, I'll listen to the folks who built my engine and are willing to warranty in the event I had an issue. Probably wise for others to do the same. Just my thoughts