Mobil 1 in new '04 TL

[TColl03]

I'll be receiving my new '04TL soon and am interested in using synthetic oil (Mobil 1).

I'll have to drive it home from a remote dealer, and will have 500 miles on it when I arrive home.

1. Is that a good time to change to synthetic? I've heard that some manufacturers put "special" oil in their cars at the factory, and that it shouldn't be changed right away. What does Acura recommend?

2. Will the new maintenance minder feature actually sample the oil (or driving conditions) to determine when it needs to be changed?

3. Is it (maintenance minder) smart enough to know that synthetic oil will be used or are the change intervals the same on synthetic?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[hondacuraworld]

(flame suit on)

Personally, I'd leave the factory oil in until the first Acura recommended service interval. It contains additional molybdenum sulfide (moly) to assist engine break-in.

Now here's where the flame suit comes in.

Unless you race, drive ridiculous distances between changes, or drive stop and go in hot climates, synthetic oils aren't worth a hill of beans IMO. It will perform no differently than regular dino oil, and will need changing just as often (because oil still gets dirty). I've been with Acura since Legends were new in the showroom, and I have never seen a bad Honda engine. Ever.

[TColl03]

I hear you, Tim. My '99TL engine feels like it could last forever. I don't need a new TL (but I sure do want one!

You don't think the oil change intervals are longer with synthetic oil?

[BTW- Mobil's website says that you should still change the oil at the manufacturer's recommended interval.]

How often do you change your Honda's/Acura's oil?

Thanks for your experienced recommendations!

[hondacuraworld]

You have to remember that oil, no matter what kind, still gets dirty from the by-products of combustion.

My wife's 2001 CRV gets oil changes at 3K on the dot. I've done my own car's oil changes at the same interval. But, as luck would have it, I sold my '92 Volvo with 173K on Friday, so right now I don't have a car

Going to buy something really soon, but driving hers till then. Heck, she's a stay at home mom, so it's not a big hardship for a week or two

[TColl03]

I've been a nut about every car I've ever owned in changing the oil every 3K miles. Also, about air filter, transmission oil/filter and radiator flushes at regular intervals. I've always had good luck with my cars minding these few things.

BTW- I lived outside of Syracuse NY for 15 years. I'll have to visit your website!

[Wampum]

Originally posted by hondacuraworld
(flame suit on)

Now here's where the flame suit comes in.

Unless you race, drive ridiculous distances between changes, or drive stop and go in hot climates, synthetic oils aren't worth a hill of beans IMO. It will perform no differently than regular dino oil, and will need changing just as often (because oil still gets dirty). I've been with Acura since Legends were new in the showroom, and I have never seen a bad Honda engine. Ever.

You mean like it Arizona?

[hondacuraworld]

Arizona fits in to those conditions

[raweffect]

Playing the part of devil's advocate for a second... Amsoil offers a full synthetic that promises silly amounts of protection and their website offers lab test results to back up their claims. An interesting product is their 40,000km (25,000 mile) or one year drain interval oil. (Yeah, NOT 4,000/2,500, that's not a typo)

They also have a link with test results firing directly at Mobil-1's claim that nothing outperforms Mobil-1. Give it a read:

http://amsoil.com/performancetests/amsoil_vs_mobil1.htm

I've been using their stuff for a while now, though I change it far more regularly than 40,000km/one year. One thing I noticed was the oil filter still needs to be replaced as its manufacturer specified, Amsoil offers extended life filters too... meh. Thought I'd toss that out for your viewin' anyway.

Cheers

[hondacuraworld]

The warranty is fine, but how many people would try to cash in on such a thing? In my opinion, there's a huge psychological factor that comes into play when using synthetic oils, and that truism is:

"The kind of people that spend $4.00 per quart on oil are far more likely to take better care of their cars in the first place, hence their cars last longer."

Oil still gets dirty from the simple fact that it lubricates a combustion chamber.

The problem isn't that Amsoil and it's kin aren't superior in some fashion, but the law of diminishing returns applies here. It's no different than spraying Pam in a Teflon pan, or washing dishes and then putting them in the dishwasher.

I will still argue that synthetic oils, for the most part, are nothing but overkill and hype. To see any measure of an appreciable difference, you'd have to own the car and drive it for many hundreds of thousands of miles, which only a handful of people do.

[raweffect]

Hey, I agree. Most are. But if a company comes along and tells me I can change my oil 1/8th as often, or about 1/4 in my case 'cuz the concept alone still irks me, without voiding my warranty, I'll pay attention. And, they'll step up if a claim is invalidated as a result of using their product.

My generator's got it in there, I'm happy with cutting its maintainance schedule. As well as my ATV (in ATV applications they suggest 3x regular interval), which means that I can change oil once a year as it's stored for a portion of it.

I'm lazy. Their product appeals to me.

[gtkman]

My two cents....synthetic oils are superior to Dino oils in just about every way. Stop and go driving in hot climates is a very common real world situation and synthetic oils do protect and retain their viscosity at temperature far better than Dino oils. A hugh advantage of synthetic oil over Dino oils is their cold start low viscosity properties. It is a fact that most engine wear comes from cold start up. Synthetic 0W-30 is far superior to a dino 5W-30. Not to change the subject....but a synthetic transmission fluid is just about the best thing you can do for your Acura. Our trans fluid capacity is very small and we all know the issues with our whimpy transmissions. Synthetic tranny fluid will handle much more heat than stock fluids and will protect far longer than the conventional ATF. No....I am not an Amsoil dealer. Just want to weigh in on this issue....if you want the best protection for your new ride, the fact is, synthetics are superior......period. Also, waiting for a break-in period is not necessary. Several new cars including several exotics and domestics (corvettes) come with synthetics fluids as factory fill. Change it any time you feel like it.........

[gmckinley]

Acura talks about Syn oil in the owner guide....

It is recommended not to change your oil in your new Acura until 3500 miles...at this point decide on oil type.

Contrats on your new TL... Nice vehicle.

[gtkman]

Keep in mind Acura also says in it's owners manual that 5w-20 is the recommended oil weight. It's common knowledge that this is for emission and and mileage considerations not engine longevity. 5W-30 synthetic is a far better choice for your engine and frequently used by Acura Dealers. Point is.....the owners manual is a recommendation driven by several factors and not always what is best for your vehicle mechanically.

[RL me]

if you drive in extremely cold weather, do extended oil change interval then sythetic maybe a better choice for you. but if you change out your oil every 3k, then it is a waste of money and maybe time too. most brand name dino oils perform just as well in the first 3-5k miles in your engine as synthetic.

anyone who do 3k oil change should really check out bobistheoilguy.com forum, and take a look at the used oil analysis section. ya'll can learn a lot from there + safe yourself the time, money, and help out the environement too.

from what i have seen, you should follow acura's recommendation on your first oil change. but i would change out the transmission fluid at the first 10-15k, i changed my rl transmission fluid at 30k, and notice that a lot of metal shaving were trapped by the magnetic plug. btw, changing the transmission fluid in our honda cars are just as easy as an oil change, or maybe even easier because you dont need to replace the oil filter.

have fun with your tl and drive safely.

[TLS 66]

Years ago when synthetic oil first came out Road&Track had an article on it. One of the points they made is with dino oils the blow by gas's combine with moisture in the crankcase and turn into acid. This does not happen with 100% synthetic and that got my attention on top of the very hot & cold advantage. The service manager at my dealer said go the full 7500 miles with mobil 1 which works fine for me (comes out to about once a year or less) and still stay in warranty. Who knows some swear by it and some don't.