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I have a 5 speed EX that I bought new last year. It has a little over 9K miles on it now. I waited until 8500 miles before trying synthetic (allowing the valves to seat properly). I have never used synthetic in any of my cars, but I have heard nothing but good things so I thought I would try it with this car. I was averaging between 32 - 35 mpg consistently with dino before the oil change. My first 2 readings after installing Mobile 1 were a bit over 30 mpg. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] I just came home from filling her up and I used a calculator: 26.75 mpg

What's going on? Has anyone else experienced this? I used 10W-30 Mobile 1 rather than 5W-30 because I could not find 5W-30 Mobile 1. But heck, at $4.69 per quart, I have not noticed any performance gains in the SOP and my mpg is in the hopper. I'm ready to drain this stuff out and add Havoline 5W-30 dino.

Regards,

Bob

 
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The reason may be the 10W30, it is thicker than your stock 5W20 and 5W30. Creating more friction that the engine needs to work against.

 
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Thats how we get such good gas mileage. Have you seen the Civic Hybrid? it uses 0W-20. You must use 5W-20 or 5W-30 in these engines to get decent gas mileage.

 
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The question is: Are you willing to sacrifice engine durability and reliability for increased gas mileage? If you use the oil recommended by Honda your engine will consume less gas, but won't last as long. I use 5w30 and get around 36 MPGs in my LX. It's all in how you drive it as well. You will never catch me using 5w20 or less. It's not worth it.

 
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It might not be the oil, I use M1 and don't have any of your problems

 
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Try using 0w 30 i use it and i get amazing gas millage.

 
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Something don't sound right... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] But don't use the 10w stuff... (You'll be ok till you next oil change). Then try that 0w30 Mobil 1 , for you best fuel milage results...

 
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I think u need to use a thinner oil.

 
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Anyone wanna quick explain what the numbers mean, since I have no clue.

 
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Motor Oil Primer

 
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our engine use 5w-20 because the clearances are so tight. anything else is too thick

 
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Yes, clearances are a little tight, but using such a thin oil as a W20 will actually hurt your engine in the long run. You need something a bit more heavy on the high temp side, especially if you are shifting above 3k rpms. Honda tests it's gas mileage with the 5W20 it recommends. If they used 5W30 like they should the gas consumption would be a bit higher and therefore probably not concidered as high by some. Its all a ploy to get you to their car. The reduced MPG you get with a higher top weighted oil is well worth it in engine parts conservation over time. But, if you would rather use what Honda recommends then by all means, go ahead. Not me! I use my experience to guide me, not what some company tells me.

 
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All:

Thanks for your thoughts. I was very surprised that using 10W-30 versus 5W-20 would impact my gas mileage by that much. I guess I expected more from the synthetic. I thought it was more slippery (so to speak) than dino and it would improve my gas mileage not wreck it. Granted I used 10W-30, but it's still a big mpg reduction. Perhaps the biggest advantage to synthetic oil is that it lasts longer than dino and you don't have to change it as often. I change my oil religiously every 3K. So synthetic is not cost affective for me. I know my motor is not responding well to the 10W-30 Mobile 1. So I'm switching back to what the manufacturer recommends- 5W-20 - dino blend.

Bob

 
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i use 5w30 non-synthetic, and i get 32mpg with relatively aggressive driving. but i always change every 2.5k

 
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Few weeks ago my gas mileage went down to 24mpg. I didn't change any oil or anything - just hit 4500 miles [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
As I recall, the weather was very hot.

 
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you guys are getting some pretty low mpg.

my '01 LX has been averaging 39 mpg, on 80% highway, 20% city driving

but i do use 5w-20 dino.

i'll let you know what kind of mpg i get once i put in some 5w-30 Mobil One...

 
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um i don't know about you guys but when i hit about 4 k rpm i don't want higher than 5-20. that motor is tightly built. at 5 or 6k rpm 5-30 is too thick. i'm not saying always but sometimes its needed. besides 40 mpg is sweet. won't mess with that.

 
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I've been using Mobil 1 0w20 synthetic for 15k miles or so ... runs like a champ ...

 
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Seriously, do you guys look at the dates on these threads before you reply? Holy old f*cking thread!

 
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in that case ... somebody lock this!

 
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He probably SEARCHED! Take that, Search-*****!