View Poll Results: Who does your oil change?
I do my own
598
69.86%
I take it to a quick lube place
132
15.42%
I take it to the dealership
126
14.72%
Voters: 856. You may not vote on this poll
Oil Changes
Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man!
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Re: Oil Changes
Wow, so many pages. I probably already posted on here . . . but do your own! Use a nice synthetic oil (I also use the K&N filter) and buy from autozone. Use their rewards card. Spend $20 five times and they give you $20. Free money=awesome.
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Re: Oil Changes
FWIW, Fram makes some of the lowest quality filters made. Mobil filters tend to be good quality, as are Wix. Personally, now that I've put a few miles on my motor (after replacing the rings) to flush out the crud and any remnants of the cappucino from when the previous owner blew a head gasket, I'm getting ready to put Amsoil in it.
Dave
Dave
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Banished to the Depths of Rice.
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From: SoCal 714/909/626
Rep Power: 352 Re: Oil Changes
^psh... i have about a 3" clearance in my front bumper and side skirts...
even with a lowprofile jack, it didnt make it.....so i still had to ran over peices of wood every time i jacked it up...
...i ended up raising it about another .5ish inch so my jack could fit
even with a lowprofile jack, it didnt make it.....so i still had to ran over peices of wood every time i jacked it up...
...i ended up raising it about another .5ish inch so my jack could fit
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YEAH LIKE "IMPORTGRL" WAS SAYING royal purple IS GREAT OIL, ITS FOR RACING AND PERFORMANCE AND WHAT NOT.
I WASN'T SURE WHERE YOU GET IT THOUGH, MAYBE AUTO-ZONE OR KRAGGEN ?
royal purple IS WAY BTTER THAN MOBIL OIL AND THOSE OTHER BRANDS...
I WASN'T SURE WHERE YOU GET IT THOUGH, MAYBE AUTO-ZONE OR KRAGGEN ?
royal purple IS WAY BTTER THAN MOBIL OIL AND THOSE OTHER BRANDS...
Re: Oil Changes
Yes, raceing and off road use. NOT for daily street use!
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From: SoCal 714/909/626
Rep Power: 352 Re: Oil Changes
yea people, its a freaking civic. ur not gonna get an extra 5hp from using super expensive oil.....like mobile1 oil.
i use valvoline maxlife (5.5quart cost me 14bucks at walmart) and a mob1 filter.
my car is at 120xxx miles and it runs fine. better than more of urs im willing to bet.
i use valvoline maxlife (5.5quart cost me 14bucks at walmart) and a mob1 filter.
my car is at 120xxx miles and it runs fine. better than more of urs im willing to bet.
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From: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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iI use royal purple and it is the best you can buy. you can bring your old oil to autozone and they will dispose of it for you. they did a test on royal purple when it first came out. they took two of the same truck and put conventional oil in one and royal purple in the other. They let the trucks run for a little while and killed them and removed the whole oil pan removing all of the oil. The truck with conventional oil started knocking automatically but the one with royal purple ran for two hours without making any knocking sounds. and this is with no oil pan and no oil in the engine.
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From: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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iI use royal purple with a K&N oil filter and it is the best you can buy. you can bring your old oil to autozone and they will dispose of it for you. they did a test on royal purple when it first came out. they took two of the same truck and put conventional oil in one and royal purple in the other. They let the trucks run for a little while and killed them and removed the whole oil pan removing all of the oil. The truck with conventional oil started knocking automatically but the one with royal purple ran for two hours without making any knocking sounds. and this is with no oil pan and no oil in the engine.
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I'll do it if I have the time. If it's the week before a trip or I'm just swamped with work or school, I'll take it to a quick lube place.
Still know what you're looking for though. If something seems wrong or if you have the spare time to get down there and look, do it. If the car seems to run great, then you found a keeper.
I like to take my car back to the same shops. Build a rapport with someone and you're a less likely to get screwed over. I'm taking mine in today, and I can just leave the keys with the guy and say I'll be by after work. They've always done good work for a great price, and tell me when I don't need a service I'm asking about. Find someone that'll help you, not their wallets.
And I'll hunt down anyone who still uses Pep Boys or Firestone to service a vehicle...
Still know what you're looking for though. If something seems wrong or if you have the spare time to get down there and look, do it. If the car seems to run great, then you found a keeper.
I like to take my car back to the same shops. Build a rapport with someone and you're a less likely to get screwed over. I'm taking mine in today, and I can just leave the keys with the guy and say I'll be by after work. They've always done good work for a great price, and tell me when I don't need a service I'm asking about. Find someone that'll help you, not their wallets.
And I'll hunt down anyone who still uses Pep Boys or Firestone to service a vehicle...
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From: SoCal 714/909/626
Rep Power: 352 Re: Oil Changes
^there is nothign worng with firestone. i have a firestone near my houes that my friends go to since he has gotten his car. they prices are fair and they are truly (yea this is rare) honest and wont try to rip u off.....the one near my house atleast.
its jiffylube that you dont wanna go to.
its jiffylube that you dont wanna go to.
Joined: Sep 2002
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Re: Oil Changes
firestone is okay, at least they stand by their work even if the mechanics mess up. i would never take my car there, but still.
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True, they do stand behind their work. But what gets me about them is their minimum charge for doing things. Something as small as screwing something in by hand can run you 25-30 bucks. By itself, maybe. But if you're having a few hundred bucks worth of work done, they could at least screw something in. It's good work, but the charges can be excessive.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Re: Oil Changes
the dealer here charges $40 for a "regular" oil change with standard oem filter and dino oil lmao. oil changes are so easy to diy, im glad i started finally last year. and you get to buy the expensive stuff and still pay less than going to a shop. i usually get 4qts valvoline maxlife 5w30 (yes 30) for $20 and a K&N filter for around $10. and i dont mind cause i go at least 6 months between oil changes, sometimes 8 months when im lazy. heres a quick diy oil change for anyone.
park car on flat surface, set the parking brake, make sure car is in park for auto or gear for manual, then jack up front driver side and support using a jackstand (see owner manual for details and where to put the jack). never climb under the car with only a jack holding it up. next undo the drain bolt from the oil pan (theres an arrow pointing to it), and let the oil fall into a container like those oil storage thingies at the auto store. you may need a cheater pipe on the socket if the bolt was overtightened from last time. wipe the bolt threads and the pan threads. if the bolt doesnt look good, just get a new one. also you MUST use a new washer every time you change the oil. put the new washer on the bolt and then reinstall the bolt. tighten to spec, i think around 20 ft/lbs but just use the rule of "tight enough" with a socket using moderate force, dont tighten it as hard as you can. next reach up and unscrew the filter. you may need a filter wrench if it was overtightened last time. take it off and pour out any oil. get the new filter, and pour some new oil into it around the edges, maybe 1/2 quart at most, just enough to get it wet. then put a lil bit of oil around the rubber o-ring. reinstall onto the car and make sure it is HAND tight. thats it, tighten it as much as you can with your hand and leave it. youre done! lower the car back down, take off the oil cap, and pour in the rest of the first bottle (that you used to add oil to the filter with), and then pour two more bottles in. check the dipstick level and carefully pour in small amounts of oil from the fourth bottle til the level is at the max (top dot). do NOT overfill! very bad things will happen including vtec engagement problems and leaking seals, as well as engine damage. close the oil cap, then check to make sure oil does not leak from the drain bolt. start the car and drive it around slowly til operating temp, making sure to stop and check to see that there are no leaks. you can check the level one more time after the engine is shut off for 10 mins. go return the used oil to the auto store.
park car on flat surface, set the parking brake, make sure car is in park for auto or gear for manual, then jack up front driver side and support using a jackstand (see owner manual for details and where to put the jack). never climb under the car with only a jack holding it up. next undo the drain bolt from the oil pan (theres an arrow pointing to it), and let the oil fall into a container like those oil storage thingies at the auto store. you may need a cheater pipe on the socket if the bolt was overtightened from last time. wipe the bolt threads and the pan threads. if the bolt doesnt look good, just get a new one. also you MUST use a new washer every time you change the oil. put the new washer on the bolt and then reinstall the bolt. tighten to spec, i think around 20 ft/lbs but just use the rule of "tight enough" with a socket using moderate force, dont tighten it as hard as you can. next reach up and unscrew the filter. you may need a filter wrench if it was overtightened last time. take it off and pour out any oil. get the new filter, and pour some new oil into it around the edges, maybe 1/2 quart at most, just enough to get it wet. then put a lil bit of oil around the rubber o-ring. reinstall onto the car and make sure it is HAND tight. thats it, tighten it as much as you can with your hand and leave it. youre done! lower the car back down, take off the oil cap, and pour in the rest of the first bottle (that you used to add oil to the filter with), and then pour two more bottles in. check the dipstick level and carefully pour in small amounts of oil from the fourth bottle til the level is at the max (top dot). do NOT overfill! very bad things will happen including vtec engagement problems and leaking seals, as well as engine damage. close the oil cap, then check to make sure oil does not leak from the drain bolt. start the car and drive it around slowly til operating temp, making sure to stop and check to see that there are no leaks. you can check the level one more time after the engine is shut off for 10 mins. go return the used oil to the auto store.
Last edited by gearbox; Mar 15, 2009 at 04:17 PM.
Re: Oil Changes
i work at firestone i left a honda dealer to work there (long story) both places use the same synthetic blend oil the only diff is honda used a oem oil filter and firestone uses a firestone filter. i still use a oem oil filter cuz the ones from firestone is smaller and i still get my honda discount, and i still use moblie one full synthetic just cuz both of my vics have over 100000 miles. ill also tell u that if firestone ****s up ur motor they will put a rebuilt motor from the dealer or a new car what ever is cheeper. if i wasnt a tech and didnt know how to change my oil i would take it to fireston. one there thing is that if u ask for 5w20 or full synthetic or basically if u ask for diff oil then what comes out of the oil guns techs forget and just dump what ever comes out of the oil guns i think it happends at any shop thou
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Well, that took longer than I thought it would, but a lot of it was just searching around finding things and also hunting for the darn filter wrench.
I put in 3.4Qts. of Syntec 5w-20 and a K&N filter that was about 12 bucks. I've got about 54k on my LX and drive it kinda hard depending on my mood and what's on the music player.
Figured while I was at it I checked my front brake pads, used some brake cleaner, checked all my fluid levels, and replaced my air filter. Don't know what kind the previous owner had on there, but the Spectre I bought for 23 dollars seems to be doing the job. Figured that was better than doing the recharge kit anyways.
So yeah - all that since I was doing the oil myself. I'm trying to calculate how much I would have paid to have that all done somewhere and I'm kinda glad I just manned up and gave it a shot.
I put in 3.4Qts. of Syntec 5w-20 and a K&N filter that was about 12 bucks. I've got about 54k on my LX and drive it kinda hard depending on my mood and what's on the music player.
Figured while I was at it I checked my front brake pads, used some brake cleaner, checked all my fluid levels, and replaced my air filter. Don't know what kind the previous owner had on there, but the Spectre I bought for 23 dollars seems to be doing the job. Figured that was better than doing the recharge kit anyways.So yeah - all that since I was doing the oil myself. I'm trying to calculate how much I would have paid to have that all done somewhere and I'm kinda glad I just manned up and gave it a shot.
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From: St. Louis, Missouri
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I favor Do-It-Yourself, Synthetic Engine Oil, Synthetic Manual Trans oil, and Honda's own ATF for my 1997 CR-V automatic transaxle.
I favor Amsoil Oil filters (1st choice); Mobil 1 filters (2nd choice); and Pure-One (3rd choice) based upon test data and overall quality for extended oil change intervals with synthetic engine oils.
I do NOT favor Wal-Mart's house brand of synthetic engine oil for automotive entended-drain-interval use after having it lab tested in comparison to name-brand off-the-shelf synthetic oils (Wal-Mart TECH Synthetic has lower flash point, lower TBN value, lower sustained viscosity, higher minimum pour point temperature, less moly-disulfide and other subtle ommissions in the additive package) HOWEVER i feel it is fine for use in my air-cooled engines such as generator set, lawn mowers, snow blower, etc where extended drain intervals are not involved and heat transfer and lubricity is attained at a lower cost per quart.
I strongly favor oil analysis by a reputable oil analysis lab. Oil analysis takes the guess-work and rumor-mill factor out of knowing how good your oil is, how your filtration is working, if you are ingesting anti-freeze, and how appropriate your oil change intervals are.
I use oil spectrolysis to confirm engine oil change interval and to monitor engine wear and to validate the quality of the oil and it's additive package.
I do NOT advocate any off-the-shelf or "special" engine oil additives except for an occasional engine "crankcase" flush additive if needing to clean up an engine on a used car/truck you just bought that may not have been kept clean by regular and appropriate oil change intervals.
However, the quality of most oils available in stores these days, and the rather clean operating conditions most of us experience (except for heavy trailer towing and extended engine idle times such as police cars and taxi-cabs) is such that you almost cannot make a bad choice in selecting an oil as long as the viscosity is correct for your application and you have the correct quantity and an average or better oil filter!
I run a 1997 Honda CR-V 2.0 liter engine on Mobil-1 5w30 (about 150k miles on engine) and Amsoil 0w30 in a 2007 Civic EX 1.8 liter 4-cyl.
Before going to synthetic oils I normally ran non-synthetic oils about 5k between oil changes and used Mobil-1, Pure-One, or Wix's "Sport-Truck" filters.
I also advocate getting a magnetic drain plug for your engine and transmission, and always using a high quality torque wrench to tighten the drain plug to specs with a new crush washer each time you change engine oil of transmission fluids. Torque wrench use is also a MUST whenever installing wheel lug nuts, especially if working with alloy wheels.
Thanks,
Ralph
I favor Amsoil Oil filters (1st choice); Mobil 1 filters (2nd choice); and Pure-One (3rd choice) based upon test data and overall quality for extended oil change intervals with synthetic engine oils.
I do NOT favor Wal-Mart's house brand of synthetic engine oil for automotive entended-drain-interval use after having it lab tested in comparison to name-brand off-the-shelf synthetic oils (Wal-Mart TECH Synthetic has lower flash point, lower TBN value, lower sustained viscosity, higher minimum pour point temperature, less moly-disulfide and other subtle ommissions in the additive package) HOWEVER i feel it is fine for use in my air-cooled engines such as generator set, lawn mowers, snow blower, etc where extended drain intervals are not involved and heat transfer and lubricity is attained at a lower cost per quart.
I strongly favor oil analysis by a reputable oil analysis lab. Oil analysis takes the guess-work and rumor-mill factor out of knowing how good your oil is, how your filtration is working, if you are ingesting anti-freeze, and how appropriate your oil change intervals are.
I use oil spectrolysis to confirm engine oil change interval and to monitor engine wear and to validate the quality of the oil and it's additive package.
I do NOT advocate any off-the-shelf or "special" engine oil additives except for an occasional engine "crankcase" flush additive if needing to clean up an engine on a used car/truck you just bought that may not have been kept clean by regular and appropriate oil change intervals.
However, the quality of most oils available in stores these days, and the rather clean operating conditions most of us experience (except for heavy trailer towing and extended engine idle times such as police cars and taxi-cabs) is such that you almost cannot make a bad choice in selecting an oil as long as the viscosity is correct for your application and you have the correct quantity and an average or better oil filter!
I run a 1997 Honda CR-V 2.0 liter engine on Mobil-1 5w30 (about 150k miles on engine) and Amsoil 0w30 in a 2007 Civic EX 1.8 liter 4-cyl.
Before going to synthetic oils I normally ran non-synthetic oils about 5k between oil changes and used Mobil-1, Pure-One, or Wix's "Sport-Truck" filters.
I also advocate getting a magnetic drain plug for your engine and transmission, and always using a high quality torque wrench to tighten the drain plug to specs with a new crush washer each time you change engine oil of transmission fluids. Torque wrench use is also a MUST whenever installing wheel lug nuts, especially if working with alloy wheels.
Thanks,
Ralph
