what oil should i use?

[I.rar]

going to start doing my own oil changes again. the car is a 2001 accord v6 with 175k miles and the recommended oil is 5w30 iirc. i remember someone mentioning that i should use something heavier since its and older motor. true?

any brand preference?

[bilgerat]

going to start doing my own oil changes again. the car is a 2001 accord v6 with 175k miles and the recommended oil is 5w30 iirc. i remember someone mentioning that i should use something heavier since its and older motor. true?

any brand preference?

No. A heavier oil will do more harm and no good. Mileage will suffer as a heavier oil will cause more friction and resistance in the engine.

Use any oil with the API  http://www.aa1car.com/library/API_donut.gif symbol on it. Don't get sucked into additives either. They're a waste of money. Just change the oil when it's due.

[JigMe]

I'm no expert on cars, but my mechanic recommended to use ligher oil just like bilgerat said. And change oil every 2500 miles, I have been doing that on my everyday drive car and it is about to hit 300k miles.

[CanalStalkin]

I have a 91 caprice that has 174k on it and still use the recommended 5w30. I change it every 4k miles. Valvoline is what I use. Napa Gold filters.

[moby bass]

Whatever is recommended in the owners manual.

[ROCbass]

I use one of the high mileage blends in my car. I'm not sure how much of a difference it actually makes , but it gives me extra peace of mind and the way I look at it, over the lifetime of the oil the difference in cost between a premium oil and the cheap stuff is negligible.

[lightsout]

I'm no expert on cars, but my mechanic recommended to use ligher oil just like bilgerat said. And change oil every2500 miles, I have been doing that on my everyday drive car and it is about to hit 300k miles.

Thats wasting money. You are literally spending double the amount of money on oil over the life of a car. The truth is most conventional oils can normally go up to 5K. Synthetics twice that. I was told by an valvoline rep at a service station I worked at in HS that "most can do 5k with ease. The 3k reccomendation is to sell more oil"

There are lot of variables involved, and some engines need to be changed more often than others. Visually inspecting your oil can tell you alot about your engine.

[JigMe]

I'm no expert on cars, but my mechanic recommended to use ligher oil just like bilgerat said. And change oil every2500 miles, I have been doing that on my everyday drive car and it is about to hit 300k miles.

Thats wasting money. You are literally spending double the amount of money on oil over the life of a car. The truth is most conventional oils can normally go up to 5K. Synthetics twice that. I was told by an valvoline rep at a service station I worked at in HS that "most can do 5k with ease. The 3k reccomendation is to sell more oil"

There are lot of variables involved, and some engines need to be changed more often than others. Visually inspecting your oil can tell you alot about your engine.

yeah, I guess so. But my 1990 civic is really hold up, it takes me from home to work and that's all Im asking from her. But I also own a Q7, and a GS450 which I change oil every 5k.

[bilgerat]

I'm no expert on cars, but my mechanic recommended to use ligher oil just like bilgerat said. And change oil every2500 miles, I have been doing that on my everyday drive car and it is about to hit 300k miles.

Thats wasting money. You are literally spending double the amount of money on oil over the life of a car. The truth is most conventional oils can normally go up to 5K. Synthetics twice that. I was told by an valvoline rep at a service station I worked at in HS that "most can do 5k with ease. The 3k reccomendation is to sell more oil"

There are lot of variables involved, and some engines need to be changed more often than others. Visually inspecting your oil can tell you alot about your engine.

yeah, I guess so. But my 1990 civic is really hold up, it takes me from home to work and that's all Im asking from her. But I also own a Q7, and a GS450 which I change oil every 5k.

Visually inspecting your oil tells you nothing. An oil analysis done by a certified lab is the only way to properly anylize oil.

Oil change intervals can vary greatly. Around town stop and go driving is the worst on an engine. The engine never gets hot enough for long enough to burn off the condensation inside the engine. Every 3000 miles should work for this type of driving. Highway drivers can go 5000+ before a change.

My 2011 Honda doesn't go by mileage, the computer figures % of life left in the oil.

[FL_Sharpshooter]

Whatever you put in it, I would use nothing but Mobil 1 Synthetic, simply the best.

[CanalStalkin]

If you wanna get deep with the oil talk....http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/ These people know their stuff.

[I.rar]

cool , thanks guys.

If you wanna get deep with the oil talk....http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/ These people know their stuff.

wow. thats deep.

i wasnt trying to get that far into it. was just looking for suggestions lol.

[Glenn]

I use synth blends and change every 5k.  My old truck has 200k on it now and runs just fine.  I had a Camaro before that, and changed the oil every 5k too.  It was still going strong when I sold it after 350k original miles.

Of course, routine preventive maintenance plays a major part too.