How to change your Oil on your 10th gen (video tutorial)

Vincent@27WON

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Hey guys,

I know this section of the forum is filled with its fair share of information on oil DIY's, tips, and aid in the selection of weight so I figured this would be a great place to share this video tutorial on Oil changing. I made a 3 part series in regards to critical fluids and this is part one.

In this video, we dive into the oil change process and give our 3 big considerations on when to go to a thicker weight engine oil. Give it a view and a like and drop any questions you have below.

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Rickmeister 48

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What's with everyone suggesting to not use the MM for changing the oil??
I get less than 5000 on mine due to my driving habits and super short trips, can my oil go past that, sure but I guarantee you if something ever did happen and Honda saw i didn't change it when it said, there's gonna be problems for me.
And for guys who can get 10,000 or more , why should they waste their money changing it early for no reason?
 
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Vincent@27WON

Vincent@27WON

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What's with everyone suggesting to not use the MM for changing the oil??
I get less than 5000 on mine due to my driving habits and super short trips, can my oil go past that, sure but I guarantee you if something ever did happen and Honda saw i didn't change it when it said, there's gonna be problems for me.
And for guys who can get 10,000 or more , why should they waste their money changing it early for no reason?
This is a great question and is pretty loaded so I will try my best to break it down into a few chunks.

The MM (maintenance minder) light essentially works off a huge algorithm. The logic of that equation looks at tons of variables, puts into its written formula and then determines the % of oil life remaining. Some of the variables it considers are
  • miles driven on the oil since last change
  • number of drive cycles
  • length of drive cycles
  • total number of miles on the car
  • fuel trims
  • number of WOT or high load situations
  • ambient temp during those drive cycles
  • if a MIL was or has been illuminated during the cyle
  • etc etc

It takes all that into its fancy formula and then some to determine the "life" of your oil and I would say that for 95% of Civic owners that is just fine. It's simple, easy, and they know when to change the oil.

In consideration of our R&D cars and most of the cars in this forum there are a few key things that null the above formula a bit. The 2 biggest being we are not running OEM factory parts and a good chunk of us are running exotic fuels like ethanol and methanol. That OEM algorithm assumes a 100% stock car, it does not know you are pushing 10+ more psi, it does not know you are making 125+whp, it does not know you are running E35, etc. Because it does not know those things it cannot compensate for those things. It is for that reason we adjust our oil change intervals for a modified Civic. Factors like type of oil and intended purpose of the car (daily, drag, race) etc also affect our oil change intervals.

In regards to going out to 10k miles on some changes, I would say in some cases you could and have zero issues. But I know the environment our R&D cars live in and the abuse we put them in, so its a better piece of mind to change at 4-5k for us.

I hope this was useful to everyone.
 

Rickmeister 48

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This is a great question and is pretty loaded so I will try my best to break it down into a few chunks.

The MM (maintenance minder) light essentially works off a huge algorithm. The logic of that equation looks at tons of variables, puts into its written formula and then determines the % of oil life remaining. Some of the variables it considers are
  • miles driven on the oil since last change
  • number of drive cycles
  • length of drive cycles
  • total number of miles on the car
  • fuel trims
  • number of WOT or high load situations
  • ambient temp during those drive cycles
  • if a MIL was or has been illuminated during the cyle
  • etc etc

It takes all that into its fancy formula and then some to determine the "life" of your oil and I would say that for 95% of Civic owners that is just fine. It's simple, easy, and they know when to change the oil.

In consideration of our R&D cars and most of the cars in this forum there are a few key things that null the above formula a bit. The 2 biggest being we are not running OEM factory parts and a good chunk of us are running exotic fuels like ethanol and methanol. That OEM algorithm assumes a 100% stock car, it does not know you are pushing 10+ more psi, it does not know you are making 125+whp, it does not know you are running E35, etc. Because it does not know those things it cannot compensate for those things. It is for that reason we adjust our oil change intervals for a modified Civic. Factors like type of oil and intended purpose of the car (daily, drag, race) etc also affect our oil change intervals.

In regards to going out to 10k miles on some changes, I would say in some cases you could and have zero issues. But I know the environment our R&D cars live in and the abuse we put them in, so its a better piece of mind to change at 4-5k for us.

I hope this was useful to everyone.
All that makes sense and I'm glad you didn't take my question as being smart ass, cause it wasn't meant to be. You backed up what you are saying, but there are a ton of guys on here who insist on not following that MM who have no clue what they are talking about.
Now, all that being said, your video did suggest to change it after 5,000 miles under Normal use, and you probably should of stated in the video that the MM should be used for those who, are stock or just use this car as a normal car etc.
I've had terrible dealings with Honda and I don't doubt for a minute that they would TRY and get out of warranty service if you don't follow their recommended maintenance.
Just to clarify what I'm saying, do I think it's a waste to change it at 3800 miles if that is what your MM says, yes I do, I understand the thecnology behind these synthetic oils.
But if your just someone who doesn't mod, or know anything about cars, and are looking into keeping your warranty in tact, you should do what Honda says and follow it.
 

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All that makes sense and I'm glad you didn't take my question as being smart ass, cause it wasn't meant to be. You backed up what you are saying, but there are a ton of guys on here who insist on not following that MM who have no clue what they are talking about.
Now, all that being said, your video did suggest to change it after 5,000 miles under Normal use, and you probably should of stated in the video that the MM should be used for those who, are stock or just use this car as a normal car etc.
I've had terrible dealings with Honda and I don't doubt for a minute that they would TRY and get out of warranty service if you don't follow their recommended maintenance.
Just to clarify what I'm saying, do I think it's a waste to change it at 3800 miles if that is what your MM says, yes I do, I understand the thecnology behind these synthetic oils.
But if your just someone who doesn't mod, or know anything about cars, and are looking into keeping your warranty in tact, you should do what Honda says and follow it.
Honda and their minions the dealers, being as evil as they are, can't possibly punish you for changing oil more often than they recommend. By my judgement the MM tends to be rather optimistic not only in the civic but also the much older CRV where it always wanted 10 kmile + intervals. And I followed it.
I feel completely free to dump the oil as soon as I wish, but I would not, and never did, keep it longer than the MM indicates.

There is one exception: the factory break-in oil, but even in this case you don't need to follow the MM. The factory oil has done its work after a couple kmiles at the very most, and there is absolutely no need to keep it over 3 kmiles (nor is there a need to to drain it any sooner than the following regular oil fills.)
 


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I don't know how many times i have to say it.......READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL!!!!

it ain't friggin god darn rocket science,

you change your oil by the MM or one year, whichever comes first!!!

its simple,

do what your owners manual tells you to do, use the recommended fluids, its easy,

why do people try to make things so difficult for themselves??
I guess your on my side, cause that's exactly what I'm saying.lol
 

Rickmeister 48

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Honda and their minions the dealers, being as evil as they are, can't possibly punish you for changing oil more often than they recommend. By my judgement the MM tends to be rather optimistic not only in the civic but also the much older CRV where it always wanted 10 kmile + intervals. And I followed it.
I feel completely free to dump the oil as soon as I wish, but I would not, and never did, keep it longer than the MM indicates.

There is one exception: the factory break-in oil, but even in this case you don't need to follow the MM. The factory oil has done its work after a couple kmiles at the very most, and there is absolutely no need to keep it over 3 kmiles (nor is there a need to to drain it any sooner than the following regular oil fills.)
You misunderstood what I said, I don't get 5,000 miles before mine is going off, it's a little over 4,000 if I didn't change it then and just went by the 5,000 mile suggestion and somehow Honda saw it was past time on my mm, etc etc.
 

se7encrows

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like i said,

go by the MM or one year, whichever one comes first

that is what honda says in the manual,

just follow their simple instructions, its easy, listen to nobody else,

dont make things more difficult, when they dont have to be

its so easy man....geez

oil changes are nothing to stress about...do what you read in the manual and keep it simple,

I second this. The engineers who built the engine > random people on the Internet.
 

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I second this. The engineers who built the engine > random people on the Internet.

And these engineers made 1.5 l engine with oil dilution issue .... :yes:


I do not think that the MM is as intelligent as the person and it would not be the first time that the algorithm is wrong.

I do not take care of MM. Oil change is so cheap
 

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And these engineers made 1.5 l engine with oil dilution issue .... :yes:


I do not think that the MM is as intelligent as the person and it would not be the first time that the algorithm is wrong.

I do not take care of MM. Oil change is so cheap
If there is a completely flawless engine in an automobile today, let me know. I’ll buy it today. Until then, my statement stands.
 


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I second this. The engineers who built the engine > random people on the Internet.
Oil life and OCI was never about any specific engine. Oil change intervals for consumer cars are not engine specific. They are more related to oil quality.

Not so long time ago most car manufacturers had almost the same oil change intervals which were about 3000 miles in the severe regime and up to 6500 miles otherwise. Oil change business was of course saying that almost everyone should follow the severe regime.
Now, as oils, not engines, were improved, all car manufacturers extended those intervals to about 10,000 miles, and instead of "severe conditions" they use all those maintenance minders to shorten that best case by algorithm according to actual driving habits. Some manufacturers use even longer intervals if special long life oils are used.

Honda follows the general trend and the engineers don't really have much say in this area. The maintenance cost that Honda advertises at every dealership and environmental impact they report, both depend on OCI. Although there is a variety of engines, no major car manufacturer that I'm aware of has any odd OCI requirements - everybody follows the trend. It's the oil chemists not engine--ers who determine how long the oil can last.
 

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The problem with the logic of listening to “the engineers who built the engine” ie: the manual, and the maintenance minder, is two fold. One, the engineers have little to nothing to do with what goes in to the manual regarding oil recommendations... and the manual recommendations can and do change from one market to another. In the US, only 0w20 is spec’d. In other markets, 0w30 and 5w30 are spec’d, as well as oils meeting ACEA A3/B3 or A5/B5 (which very few 0w20s can meet due to HTHS requirements)

Two, the maintenance minder is only as smart as the parameters it is programmed with... which are a 100% stock car, and OEM or equivalent oil. As soon as you change either one, the maintenance minder becomes inaccurate.

the point is, this video is pretty spot on. Run a quality oil and oil change pattern that matches your specific usage. The closer you are to stock and just driving A to B, following the factory recommendations and maintenance minder is fine. The further you stray from that, you should consider what this video is saying.
 
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Vincent@27WON

Vincent@27WON

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I am looking to wrap up my accompanying oil blog to this video in the next week to then post the week after that. I'll dive into a bit more specifics on the oil weight in the blog.
 

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my driving is all short trip stop-and-go. At 5K miles my MM is at 10%. That's when I DIY my oil change. And I don't leave the old filter on for two OCI's. New filter every time. Only costs me about 35 dollars for M1 0w20 plus filter. Most of all I do it because I enjoy doing it. Also I've had a couple of bad experiences with having others do it so I don't trust them anymore. One reason why the manufacturers suggest 10K oil changes is because they're all competing with each other to see who can quote the lowest maintenance costs. I'm not really interested in seeing how long an engine can go without changing the oil, but I'm not knocking anyone here. If you want to go 10K miles without changing oil it's your car and your preference.
 

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agreed,

i cant believe honda would recommend leaving the filter on for 2 oil changes,

its so simple and easy to replace while you down there
Couple things: 1. Do you have data showing that the OEM Honda filter is nearing its holding capacity by the end of a single OCI? If it is well under it’s holding capacity, changing early does nothing but waste a serviceable filter.
2. It’s easy to replace “while you’re down there” only applies if you’re changing the oil from beneath the vehicle. When service calls for oil only, the change can be performed from above using a fluid evacuator through the dipstick
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