Seeking Oil Change Input

[Dave7CDMTYPER]

Btw, I'm looking for input. For oil change, living in Socal, should I go with 5w30 or 10w30? The owner's manual says 5w30 (same with oil cap etc.) but it also says that 10w30 is ok if air temperature never goes below 20F. It never gets that cold here.

Are there benefits to using 10w30 if in a warm climate? I'd go with oem Honda oem synthetic blend as usual.

My ITR doesn't seem to burn oil. But my gs-r does. I'm also wondering if I use 10w30 in the gs-r if it will burn less oil.

Any input is appreciated.

[coolhandluke]

Have you read information from Bob is the Oil Guy yet? For example, your initial questions are addressed in Chapters 1 & 2:

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

Are there benefits to using 10w30 if in a warm climate?

Generally speaking, focus on your oil's startup viscosity, as that is where the majority of engine wear (re: damage) occurs.


Highlights - Chapter 1:

....Viscosity is a fluid’s (gas or liquid) resistance to flow. A high viscosity fluid (like molasses) is thick and does not flow easily. A low viscosity fluid (like water) is thin and flows much more easily. For most liquids, the flow rate changes as the temperature of the liquid changes. In engine oil, hot oil has a lower viscosity and flows more easily than cold oil. This is important because your engine – and the oil that is in it runs over a range of temperatures from start up, through the warm up period and on to operating temperature....

...It is said that 90 percent of engine wear occurs at startup. If we are interested in engine longevity then we should concentrate our attention at reducing engine wear at startup...

...Oils recommended given by the engine manufacturer are primarily based on giving the right thickness at the normal operating temperature...As an example: If the normal operating temperature hypothetically is 212F (100C) and the engine needs to operate with an oil viscosity of 10 cSt based on the manual recommendation; then what does that mean for the engine oil at startup when the engine is not at 212F? What about during the warm up period? What happens to the oil then?....

...Today with pressurized water cooled engines, the engine blocks run close to the same operating temperature all year round....

....If we were to compare a 0W30 and a 10W30 oil, they all fit into the same category for the high temperature performance. Some people think that a 0W30 is way too thin and that it will not protect your engine. We’ve heard people say that Porsche specifically prohibits a 0W30 engine oil for that reason. In reality, at operating temperature they would be the same!...

Circling back to your second question:

I'd go with oem Honda oem synthetic blend as usual.

Generally speaking, dino oil is dino oil. No reason to pay for Honda brand, I would go with whatever is on sale locally.

[DC2Iggy]

Btw, I'm looking for input. For oil change, living in Socal, should I go with 5w30 or 10w30? The owner's manual says 5w30 (same with oil cap etc.) but it also says that 10w30 is ok if air temperature never goes below 20F. It never gets that cold here.

Are there benefits to using 10w30 if in a warm climate? I'd go with oem Honda oem synthetic blend as usual.

My ITR doesn't seem to burn oil. But my gs-r does. I'm also wondering if I use 10w30 in the gs-r if it will burn less oil.

Any input is appreciated.

5W30 and 10W30 are the same weight oil at operating temps. 5W30 will flow better when cold starting a car vs a 10W30 (W = winter). I'd run 5W30 if you're just pooting around town. If you are tracking the car or often do spirited runs then you might look into going to a 5W40 instead. You'll also want to go to a heavier weight oil (5W40) for your GSR if you think a thicker oil might solve your oil burning.

[coolhandluke]

What are your applications? Street driving only, AutoX, track driving, etc?

[Dave7CDMTYPER]

Ok, just read the first two chapters from Bob the oil guy! Gonna continue reading the following chapters in the future. Thanks coolhandluke!

I see now about the operating temp vs starting temp. Now I don't see any reason to go with 10w30. I want that better lubrication at startup (with 5wXX vs 10wXX).

I see now why one consideration would be to go with 5w40. I wonder if Honda would recommend that higher weight at operating temp?

My gs-r is for daily around the city commuting/street driving only. It has a few go fast and suspensions parts on it tho.

[coolhandluke]

Ok, just read the first two chapters from Bob the oil guy! Gonna continue reading the following chapters in the future. Thanks coolhandluke!

I see now about the operating temp vs starting temp. Now I don't see any reason to go with 10w30. I want that better lubrication at startup (with 5wXX vs 10wXX).

I see now why one consideration would be to go with 5w40. I wonder if Honda would recommend that higher weight at operating temp?

My gs-r is for daily around the city commuting/street driving only. It has a few go fast and suspensions parts on it tho.

What is the drive for 5w40 over 5w30?

[Dave7CDMTYPER]

Ok, just read the first two chapters from Bob the oil guy! Gonna continue reading the following chapters in the future. Thanks coolhandluke!

I see now about the operating temp vs starting temp. Now I don't see any reason to go with 10w30. I want that better lubrication at startup (with 5wXX vs 10wXX).

I see now why one consideration would be to go with 5w40. I wonder if Honda would recommend that higher weight at operating temp?

My gs-r is for daily around the city commuting/street driving only. It has a few go fast and suspensions parts on it tho.

What is the drive for 5w40 over 5w30?

I probably will stick with 5w30. But dc2iggy suggested it above. I gotta do more reading about oil, I'm thinking that a slightly heavier weight of oil at operating temp would help to reduce oil burning/consumption?

[DC2Iggy]

Ok, just read the first two chapters from Bob the oil guy! Gonna continue reading the following chapters in the future. Thanks coolhandluke!

I see now about the operating temp vs starting temp. Now I don't see any reason to go with 10w30. I want that better lubrication at startup (with 5wXX vs 10wXX).

I see now why one consideration would be to go with 5w40. I wonder if Honda would recommend that higher weight at operating temp?

My gs-r is for daily around the city commuting/street driving only. It has a few go fast and suspensions parts on it tho.

What is the drive for 5w40 over 5w30?

I probably will stick with 5w30. But dc2iggy suggested it above. I gotta do more reading about oil, I'm thinking that a slightly heavier weight of oil at operating temp would help to reduce oil burning/consumption?

From my research I have found that Honda recommends a 40 weight on jdm and ukdm spec ITRs. It is also often recommended to go up a weight in "severe" conditions. Since my car is a JDM integra and I track it I've switched to 5w40. I ran the same oil in my STI as I do in my ITR.

Edit: This is for a B16 but would be similar to a b18

[coolhandluke]

What is the drive for 5w40 over 5w30?

I probably will stick with 5w30. But dc2iggy suggested it above. I gotta do more reading about oil, I'm thinking that a slightly heavier weight of oil at operating temp would help to reduce oil burning/consumption?

From my research I have found that Honda recommends a 40 weight on jdm and ukdm spec ITRs. It is also often recommended to go up a weight in "severe" conditions. Since my car is a JDM integra and I track it I've switched to 5w40. I ran the same oil in my STI as I do in my ITR.

Edit: This is for a B16 but would be similar to a b18

Are you running dino oil or synthetic? I also track but I felt it was better (based off previous research) to run synthetic 10w30 on track over increasing oil weight. I switched to protect against higher oil temps, as I was seeing 270*+ during summer sessions at Gingerman.

Conventional oils will tolerate engine oil sump temperatures of up to 250 to as much as 275 degrees F without difficulty. According to Quaker State engineer Mark Farner, oils like Quaker State's full synthetics can easily withstand sump temperatures in excess of 300 degrees F, and he says that some oval track race teams are experimenting with temperatures as high as 350 degrees F. For a typical wet-sump engine, 300 degrees F is still extremely hot, but Farner says that synthetics, because of their molecular makeup, are better suited to withstand these temperatures. The downside is that additive packages do tend to break down faster in high-temperature environments, so if you plan on running oil temperatures in excess of 300 degrees, this would mean changing the oil after every track event regardless of the mileage.

Reference - Type R Specific question and answers:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/u ... ber=119662

[aw614]

I've always wondered about that oil chart, especially when many forums talk about 50 weight oil being too heavy for a b series. I find it interesting it seems outside of North America, it seemed far more common for people to be using 40-50 weights. I don't think I would run it on the street though.

GRM had this two part article on oil:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/artic ... t-and-aut/

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/artic ... rack-and-/

The biggest take I got was if you are doing track events, is to just change for every event. Seems like cheap insurance.