Okay, so I was researching a bunch of different synthetic oils to see what the differences were and whether it was worth it to switch. I drive an MY 08 Civic EX by the way (10W20 or 30).

Does it really matter which oil you use? I've read the threads here and a lot of people like Royal Purple, while a magazine said that Greddy GR3 is better for high revving engines. Is there really a difference between any?

Also, if any of you have any experience with civic's, is it okay to switch oils? The GR3, for example, only comes in 10W50. Will this hurt my engine?

I know this isn't the best place for this thread, but I tried asking in a civic forum and was told that automatics shouldn't use synthetic oil. Hence, I decided to ask in a forum where people know a bit more about cars. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Please don't use 10W-50! I'm sure the OEM oil is 5W-20, so stick with that viscosity. As far as brands, any of the major brands of synthetic will be more than adequate. Hondas seem to really like Pennzoil Platinum. (Search bobistheoilguy.com to confirm this.)

Whoever said automatics don't like synthetic is a buffoon. It doesn't make any sense.

 

Use 5W-20 for that R18 in your Civic - that's what your owners' manual specifies. 10W-50 is way too thick, and I hope you don't live in a cold climate using that viscosity! The R18 is a very fuel efficient engine with tight tolerances (you can get economy like a 1.5L or power like a 2.0L, depending on how hard you step on it). Using 10w-50 in it negates a lot of that efficiency. I would not call it a 'high-revving' engine. That's the domain of the Civic Si, with it's 8K RPM 2.0L . Even that engine is spec'd for 5w-30. Unless you're on a track, I'd stay away from 10w-50.


Ditto on the Penn Plat - I've got my 10W-30 ready to go in the S. I've used Mobil 1 in my Civic Hybrid since the 1st oil change, but while the 0W-20 I need for that car tends to have one of the better additive packs for M1, I finally scored some 0w-20 PP for that ride and will put it in soon.

The problem with M1 tends to be a bit too much iron for my liking in the used oil analyses that I see on BITOG. That, plus the fact that Mobil is apparently cheapening its basestocks, and the iron levels using PP tend to be almost nil, are prompting me to give PP a try. PP's cheaper, too - about .50/qt when not on sale, and when you find a rebate deal, which seems to happen often, you can get it for < $3/qt - a great deal for a full synthetic, and a very highly regarded one at that.

Some folks like Redline for their Hondas - the UOAs come back pretty decent, and there's a ton of moly in it. But I think I'll stick with either the M1 or PP. I'd not use Redline in an R18 - no justification for it. Maybe in an Si, our S2Ks, or an RSX. If you're gonna get on the pedal often in the summer, perhaps consider a 5w-30.

 

You've made my day!!! Hey there all you ap1 owners. Like the horsepower of your 2.0 but wish you had the fuel economy of a 1.5 when you want it? For a limited time only, I will trade you my civic for your s2k!

But seriously, thanks for the help. And you're right, my car is currently running on 5W-20, and the manual says that switching to 10W-20 or 5W-30 (which it says will improve fuel economy) is fine. So yeah, I'm going with the PP 5W-30. I get about 20 mpg so this is going to be a welcome change.

Thanks again.

 

At first, I was going to say that synthetic wont really give you much of an edge unless you're really working the engine or it's turbo or something crazy. But after you said you got 20mpg in your EX, I can guess you're either beating the crap out of it or letting it idle for extended periods of time or something else.

Either way though...I really wouldn't recommend spending money on synthetic unless you're racing, or doing extened oil change intervals. Regular oil works just fine.

I use synthetic in my S2000 because I road race it. I use regular in my civic now...but I'm pondering the use of synthetic. No oil changes for 8-10k makes it sound like a pretty sweet deal. Plus, I'll probably road race the civic a couple times this summer.