I switched to Mobil 1 at 14k miles. My car wasn't burning any oil at that point and hadn't since about 3k miles, but after 1500 miles on synthetic it was down a quart. I don't intend to switch back to dino because I like the smoother running with synthetic, but would be interested to know the reason.

 

Wrong.

The manual does not make any specific mileage recommendations on when it's acceptable or not acceptable to switch to a fully synthetic oil. All it states is to use the same grade/type of synthetic oil and to follow the maintenance schedule which is in itself non-committal re: synthetic oil switcharoo.

In a release from Honda which is totally separate from the owner's manual you get with the car (I believe it was posted by Jason B or some other guy on this forum), Honda states that for the S2000, it is not recommended that you switch to synthetic before 7,500 miles (under severe conditions?).

My recommendation is to switch back to dino and see if it stops sipping oil, and at that juncture decide what you want to do next.

 

my car had 14,000 miles on it when I purchased it (1 year old). It was dealer serviced/dealer owner owned the car, so I assumed they just used regular oil.

I switched to Mobil 1 on that first change and my oil consumption isn't bad at all. I've gone thru maybe 2 quarts total over the last 10,000 miles. Havn't burned any at all since my last oil change (and I'm almost due for another one-- 3,000 mile intervals).

 

I switched to Mobil 1 at 15k. Up to that point I was using about 0.2 qt of oil (Castrol) every 1,000 miles. Since I switched to synthetic my oil usage has almost doubled. I do have a couple caveats though. First, I have only been using Mobil 1 for a couple thousand miles so it is a little early to say whether the trend will continue. Second, I have only used Mobil 1 in the summer which is when I tend to VTEC more. According to everything I have seen oil usage increases with the use of VTEC. Interestingly though I would think that my MPG would go down with the increased amount of VTEC time, but actually my mileage in the city is up slightly (up just over 1 MPG). I am going to give it a couple thousand more miles before I make any decision, but I am leaning towards sticking with Mobil 1. I think I'll trade a little oil usage for increased mileage, longer between oil changes, and better protection at high temperatures/RPMs.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cbj
[B]I switched to Mobil 1 at 15k.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WRS2K
[B]
Wrong.

The manual does not make any specific mileage recommendations on when it's acceptable or not acceptable to switch to a fully synthetic oil.

 

do you guys check the oil level when the engine is warm or cold? i tried both. when i tried checking the oil when warm(what the manual recommends), i was low on oil by 2 X's. when i let the car sit overnight and checked it again, it seems all teh oil drained into the oil pan and now my oil is perfect at the FULL mark. im really confused now. i know the manual recommends checkign it when its warm, but it doesnt make sense since all the oil hasn't drained to the bottom yet and can give deceptive readings.

 

I check it when it is warm/hot. I suppose one reason I check it then is because the manual says so. The other reason is because I check it when I fuel up the car. I just found it was easy to get into the habit of pulling out the dipstick and cleaning it off while the fuel pump fills the tank. Then by the time the pump cuts off most of the oil should have settled a bit and I get a reading. I realize the readings are different than it would be if the engine was cold - or even just warm, but at least my readings should be consistent each time. I have a hard time believing the differences in measurements between a hot engine and a cold engine would be enough that you could damage your engine. I think it is more important to get into the habit of checking regularly and making sure there is a sufficient oil than getting accurate readings to the 0.1 qt.

 

STwoK, perfect. Thanks!

cbj, I agree about the differences in measurements, blah blah.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WRS2K
[B]STwoK, perfect.