Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

Hey everyone,

I've been running on the oil that came with my 2010 honda civic sport for a while and I've got about 6500 km on my car now. I'm going to let the oil run until the maintenance minder tells me to change since I'm following the break in guidelines. Afterwards though, I want to switch to a good synthetic oil. However, I have a few questions, and I know dick all about different oils.

First, will I have any problems switching to synthetic? Should I be using conventional oil for any longer or will it be fine to switch to synthetic at my next change?

Second, will I need a special filter for synthetic oil?

Third, recommendations for synthetic oil. What brands would you most recommend? And also if I need a special filter, recommendations for a good filter.

Also, will anything special need to be done when changing the oil? For example, will the mechanic need to do something special to get all of the old oil out of the engine instead of just draining it when switching to synthetic?

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

techincally i would wait til 20k miles personally, even tho after 10k you should be safe. these newer engines take alot longer the break in even tho most of the critical parts are broken in around 5k miles. it up to you tho. filter doesnt matter too much, just get a good one like pureone, mobil1, k&n, napa gold, etc. my preference for synthetic is valvoline maxlife synpower, but since your car is newer just go with the regular synpower. its one of the better oils imo. if you want and can afford the best, amsoil synthetic is the way to go. i heard good things about pennzoil platinum and terrible things about mobil1 but havent used either of those before. its easy to change, just do everything you normally do for oil change.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

It's strange you should mention that actually, I used amsoil in my last car and was personally very pleased with it. Although, when I first switched to amsoil, the amsoil salesman (who also changed my oil for me, nice fella haha) had to add something to my my old oil mix first, and then run it for about 15 minutes at around 1000 rpms in neutral, in order to really purge all of the old oil out of my engine first. He told me basically that this thing he put in, allowed it to do a much more thorough draining of the engine when he changed the oil. Also, he told me amsoil required a special amsoil filter to work correctly. I also noticed that the amsoil filter was much heavier than a regular filter.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

amsoil only requires an amsoil filter if you plan to do the 25k recommended drain intervals. for a normal drain interval like 10k, amsoil and any other filter should be fine. its just a waste of oil i guess if you change it more often. if your car is new, i wouldnt really worry about additives to clean out the old oil. it will mix in over time with the amsoil and next time you will get all of it out. i didnt talk too much about amsoil oil and filters because its just a civic. but if you think its worth it, amsoil is the best for oil and filter.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

Yeah I see your point. The price isn't too bad though. Considering I'll only change my oil probably twice a year, and amsoil is $9.00/qt where I live, it is more expensive, but not too bad considering it's only twice a year or so. Also, I live in Nova Scotia, Canada, and our temperatures go from 30-35 degrees celsius in the hottest summer days down to -35 degrees celsius on some winter days. I found when I was running amsoil in my old car, even on the coldest of days, my engine had no problem turning over.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

My first new car was a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8L supercharged V6.

I waited 1,000 miles, had the OEM oil changed with Mobil 1 10W-30 synthetic and have been changing it every 5k miles since then with synthetic.

The engine has 100k miles now and still sounds and runs like new.

I just use the relatively cheap Purolator brand oil filters that are at Pep Boys and Advance Auto Parts.

As long as you change the oil on time at least every 5k miles, any name brand synthetic oil and filter will be fine.

I recommend Mobil 1. Buy it in the big jugs at WalMart to save some cash.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

Honda has brought out a blend of syn. It is up to date, made by Conoco like Motorcraft, and I might add needs to be shopped around. HandAaccessories sells it for $2.70 plus shipping. If you live near North Cal. will pay to look them up. If you go to a stealer well, you all know what that will lead to. Would suggest staying with convential for atleast 10,000 miles and then switching over. I would suggest Pennzoil Platinum 5-20 You can get it at Walmart for $23.50 5 qt jug.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

I would probably wait another good 5~10k km before changing out the oil, but if you feel the need to change it now, go right ahead.

I personally run on Mobil1 and Honda OEM filters

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

I hate to be the one to do this but I think synthetic oils are a waste of money :( A synthetic blend will protect your engine sufficiently and you will save a bunch of money. Your engine will break down due to other issues long before it has a failure because you used Dino oil. Before they told us to do our oil changes every 3000 miles because the oil broke down. Now they tell us that doing it every 3000 miles is a waste of good oil, but wait, to make up for their lost profits, they tell us to use this synthetic oil which is 2.5X the price. I'm just not buying it :(

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

all right straight to the point with this one... i have tried a few brands of synthetic oils. the only one i was really satisfied with was Royal Purple i used 5w-30 on my 2005 hyundai tiburon gs-r and i actually had a notable power increase with royal purple

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

No offense, but you will NOT notice power improvements with ANY oil... If you go to a lighter oil you MAY notice a LITTLE improvement in your MPG, but its so minimal you most likely won't. There is no magic liquiid that will increase the power of your car, except for NOS... of course. (Only liquid in pre-evap state!)

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

You COULD notice improvements, but those improvements have nothing to do with the oil itself, its a result of the engine operating more efficiently after a fresh oil change.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

royal purple is only purple when it enters ur motor after a while it get burn up and mix with old oils and u will never know its purple again
waste of money
mobile 1 is already good enough
fram oil filter with grip gaurd

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

Glad you made that distinction ;)
NOS boils at room temperature. and is a Gaseous vapor (not a gas as in fuel)

Just to make it more distinct :P

Yup, at $15+ a quart, unless you're running a F1 car, royal purple is completely waste of money.
Except for my friend who thinks he needs the "absolute best" for his car :_doh:
I also run on mobil 1, but I use OEM filters

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

i did notice after switching to maxlife synpower, the engine feels like it has less friction. and going down the same hill my speed is usually 2-3 mph higher than before. so it does do something, but i wouldnt say it increases hp. maybe just makes the engine smoother.

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

NOS is actually a compressed liquid while sitting in the bottle. :)

Re: Swtiching from dealer oil to synthetic
 

I use Royal Purple, same price as mobil1 here lol :roflmao: