Oil Weight Thread

jayy_swish

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So I just watched the latest video from the man, the myth, the legend Scotty Kilmer, and he cautioned against using heavier oil in a car (especially modern cars), because it will cause much more engine wear on cold start-up (which he claims is responsible for 90% of car engine wear). Here is a link to the video. He starts talking about it at 4:19. What are y'all's thoughts on this?
If you’re bone stock, or tuned with no bolt-on’s, or tuned with a few bolt on’s then yes I agree stick with what Honda recommends 0w-20.

If you have significant hp gains, heavily tuned with a good amount of bolt on’s, tracking the car, using ethanol (E85 blends or pure E85), or taking it anything where you will be having significant engine heat then 5w-30, or if you live in a colder environment then 0w-30, for the increase protection of the thicker oil. UNLESS you are changing your oil more frequently like 3k or less, after every race etc and use a high quality oil company like Amsoil, Mutol , red line, royal purple etc then you can get away with a 0w/5w-20. Although I’d still rather put in a 0w/5w-30 oil. There’s a reason car manufacturers recommend higher oil viscosity when you take a vehicle to a track because their thinner oils were tried and tested for normal day to day use, to take the average Joe come Point A to Point B. Now if Joe wants to get to point A to Point B fast as hell in high temps and cause engine temps to rise higher than the normal average Joe then manufactura actually recommend putting in a higher viscosity oil. Heavily tuned, heavily modded cars increase engine temperatures, which is why the switch to at higher oil because it can handle a 0w/5w-30. E85 is acidic and breaks down oils, so a Honda recommended 0w-20 will begin to be broken down and become a thinner oil (of course you can get away with this if you change your oil more frequently or you use a high quality oil that can handle balancing out the ethanol’s acidic properties). Some Honda manuals in locations around the world, that see high ambient temperatures actually state 5w-30 can be used.

So really it’s a depends on a few variables to determine what oil you should run, like the location, modifications done, the tune done, what fuel you’ll run, and what you plan to use the car for. Also comes down to a simple answer - it is your car, you run what you feel like is best to run. Everyone has their own opinions and biases when it comes to oil. I prefer to let the science tell me what to do and which is why I’ll rely on oil analysis to tell me what to run

Honda Civic 10th gen Oil Weight Thread D26AD8E0-0048-49C8-A866-B5E524306D53
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BoxsterSteve

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Interesting, from a Honda owners manual even.
So almost any oil grade will do the job properly, even heavy 10w30 in the right conditions, so just use what you want to.

Can we stop this oil bickering now?
 
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olesaintnik

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If you’re bone stock, or tuned with no bolt-on’s, or tuned with a few bolt on’s then yes I agree stick with what Honda recommends 0w-20.

If you have significant hp gains, heavily tuned with a good amount of bolt on’s, tracking the car, using ethanol (E85 blends or pure E85), or taking it anything where you will be having significant engine heat then 5w-30, or if you live in a colder environment then 0w-30, for the increase protection of the thicker oil. UNLESS you are changing your oil more frequently like 3k or less, after every race etc and use a high quality oil company like Amsoil, Mutol , red line, royal purple etc then you can get away with a 0w/5w-20. Although I’d still rather put in a 0w/5w-30 oil. There’s a reason car manufacturers recommend higher oil viscosity when you take a vehicle to a track because their thinner oils were tried and tested for normal day to day use, to take the average Joe come Point A to Point B. Now if Joe wants to get to point A to Point B fast as hell in high temps and cause engine temps to rise higher than the normal average Joe then manufactura actually recommend putting in a higher viscosity oil. Heavily tuned, heavily modded cars increase engine temperatures, which is why the switch to at higher oil because it can handle a 0w/5w-30. E85 is acidic and breaks down oils, so a Honda recommended 0w-20 will begin to be broken down and become a thinner oil (of course you can get away with this if you change your oil more frequently or you use a high quality oil that can handle balancing out the ethanol’s acidic properties). Some Honda manuals in locations around the world, that see high ambient temperatures actually state 5w-30 can be used.

So really it’s a depends on a few variables to determine what oil you should run, like the location, modifications done, the tune done, what fuel you’ll run, and what you plan to use the car for. Also comes down to a simple answer - it is your car, you run what you feel like is best to run. Everyone has their own opinions and biases when it comes to oil. I prefer to let the science tell me what to do and which is why I’ll rely on oil analysis to tell me what to run

D26AD8E0-0048-49C8-A866-B5E524306D53.png
Awesome write-up. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me. I'm still new to car mods, so I rely on places like this forum and YouTube to learn as I go. I'm currently running PRL Cobra CAI (RACE), PRL Intercooler + charge piping, PRL Catted DP/FP, MAPerformance Street exhaust, Hasport 62A RMM, High-flow mesh grille, TSP Stage 1 MAP 3, and Acuity short shifter & cable bushings. I'm also in Alabama, so our temps are pretty high down here. So based on that and what you said, I decided to order some Mutol 8100 Exo-Lite 5W30. Good find on that oil table from Honda, btw.
 


 


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