New Owner's Question on Oil Changes
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From: Seal Beach
New Owner's Question on Oil Changes
I have looked at numerous threads on this forum and others on oil and filter changes. There is no clear consensus.
Here are my current plans. (My S2K just turned 1000 miles.) Please tell me if I'm making a serious error. I want to maximize the life of the engine but I do not want to do more maintenance than necessary, simply because mechanics make mistakes and since I would rather spend the money on premium gas ($2.25/gallon last night in LA!) and Zaino for the car! Also, I have no "religious" ideas about oil-change intervals, although I have changed my other Hondas' oil and filters at 3,750 miles using conventional oil and US-made Honda filters, simply because that is what mechanics told me to do.
I will keep the original oil and oil filter in the car 7,500 miles, because of the factory-fill oil's break-in properties and the high-quality Japanese-made Honda oil filter that came on the car. (The fact that Porsches come with Mobil 1 for a factory fill is something I will ignore, given the different cylinder-wall material and probably piston-ring material in the S2000.)
I will avoid US-made or Canadian-made Honda oil filters at all costs.
At 7,500 miles, I will switch to 10W-30 Mobil 1 (whatever the latest and greatest formula is) and use a Mobil 1, M1-105 (somewhat oversized but fits the S2000) oil filter. I will change the oil every 7500 miles or every 6 months, whichever comes first. Second choice on the oil filter would be the Bosch or STP equivalents, which are made by the same company as the Mobil 1 filter but use slightly different filtering material and have a somewhat different pressure-release valve. (These statements are based on studies where people have cut open the oil filters, etc.)
Although there seem to be even better synthetic oils than Mobil 1, they are intended for much longer use intervals, are more expensive, and are not easy to find on a trip. Although I used Castrol products for a very long time, their synthetic blend does not seem equal to Mobil 1 to me.
Here are my current plans. (My S2K just turned 1000 miles.) Please tell me if I'm making a serious error. I want to maximize the life of the engine but I do not want to do more maintenance than necessary, simply because mechanics make mistakes and since I would rather spend the money on premium gas ($2.25/gallon last night in LA!) and Zaino for the car! Also, I have no "religious" ideas about oil-change intervals, although I have changed my other Hondas' oil and filters at 3,750 miles using conventional oil and US-made Honda filters, simply because that is what mechanics told me to do.
I will keep the original oil and oil filter in the car 7,500 miles, because of the factory-fill oil's break-in properties and the high-quality Japanese-made Honda oil filter that came on the car. (The fact that Porsches come with Mobil 1 for a factory fill is something I will ignore, given the different cylinder-wall material and probably piston-ring material in the S2000.)
I will avoid US-made or Canadian-made Honda oil filters at all costs.
At 7,500 miles, I will switch to 10W-30 Mobil 1 (whatever the latest and greatest formula is) and use a Mobil 1, M1-105 (somewhat oversized but fits the S2000) oil filter. I will change the oil every 7500 miles or every 6 months, whichever comes first. Second choice on the oil filter would be the Bosch or STP equivalents, which are made by the same company as the Mobil 1 filter but use slightly different filtering material and have a somewhat different pressure-release valve. (These statements are based on studies where people have cut open the oil filters, etc.)
Although there seem to be even better synthetic oils than Mobil 1, they are intended for much longer use intervals, are more expensive, and are not easy to find on a trip. Although I used Castrol products for a very long time, their synthetic blend does not seem equal to Mobil 1 to me.
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: Randolph, NJ
I'm not so sure that the "quality" difference between Mobil 1 and Castrol Synth is significant. I don't really think it matters either way. Both are high quality oils.
I agree with reds2 the consensus is 10,000 miles before synthetic oil.
I think 3,750 miles is a better interval. 7,000 miles seems a bit too long for the oil to remain in the car. This is just my opinion, and I'm sure Honda knows better then I do.
I agree with reds2 the consensus is 10,000 miles before synthetic oil.
I think 3,750 miles is a better interval. 7,000 miles seems a bit too long for the oil to remain in the car. This is just my opinion, and I'm sure Honda knows better then I do.
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From: Calgary
I would go with the new Mobil1 SuperSyn when it is time to change to synthetic. The new formula has a better anti-wear package with more moly and zinc than the TriSyn.
As for the drain interval, it depends on your driving conditions described by the user manual. Under extreme driving conditions, the oil should be changed every 3750 miles.
As for the filter, I would go with a good filtering high flow filter than an extreme filtering normal flow filter like the Mobil 1 oil filter. I would wait till 10 000miles for the change to synthetics as well.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php
this is a pretty hardcore oil and filter board.
As for the drain interval, it depends on your driving conditions described by the user manual. Under extreme driving conditions, the oil should be changed every 3750 miles.
As for the filter, I would go with a good filtering high flow filter than an extreme filtering normal flow filter like the Mobil 1 oil filter. I would wait till 10 000miles for the change to synthetics as well.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php
this is a pretty hardcore oil and filter board.
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: South Florida
Ok....um...total newbie question here, but if I were to take the S2K to the dealer for my oil changes (He charges $24.95), would he be using the same type of oil and filter that the car came with? Would this be the best plan, assuming I don't want to do them myself?
heh...I know this probably seems offensive to the purisists who prefer to maintain cars themselves, but I'm just not one of them (My hats off to ya though...I'm just not into doing it)
heh...I know this probably seems offensive to the purisists who prefer to maintain cars themselves, but I'm just not one of them (My hats off to ya though...I'm just not into doing it)
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From: Castro Valley
As for as oil-change intervals, (since I have the same concern), I had also decided on every 5000 miles. Not too soon as 3000 miles, not too late as 7500 miles and the easiest to remember since I have 3 cars. 
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From: Findlay
[QUOTE]Originally posted by ganthet
[B]Ok....um...total newbie question here, but if I were to take the S2K to the dealer for my oil changes (He charges $24.95), would he be using the same type of oil and filter that the car came with? Would this be the best plan, assuming I don't want to do them myself?
[B]Ok....um...total newbie question here, but if I were to take the S2K to the dealer for my oil changes (He charges $24.95), would he be using the same type of oil and filter that the car came with? Would this be the best plan, assuming I don't want to do them myself?