Oil Of Choice?

connorsaj

connorsaj

Well-Known Member
93
40
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle Model
Civic
Body Style
4 Door Si
I am the proud owner of a '12 TW Si Sedan and I currently just rolled over 2,400 miles. I plan on making the first oil change just before or at 3,000 miles and I was wondering what current Si drivers prefer as far as oil and filter. Just an FYI: I live in Western Pennsylvania and we just received our first snowfall today, I thought I would throw that out there since I know some people use different oil depending on temperature.

Previously when I purchased my new 2007 Pontiac G5 GT I took it to a Firestone garage and had a Kendall Ultimate GT-1 Synthetic oil put in. I did not have any problems with it, and the garage was a relatively cheap, however the guy who owned it was a good friends dad.

My 2011 Chevy Silverado 2LT I took straight to the dealership I purchased it from and had them change the oil due to the fact that I wanted a certified GM mechanic working on the truck.

I am now more than happy with my '12 Si and plan on keeping it far longer than my last two new vehicles. That being said I am looking for input on this simple task to ensure the car runs well and for a long time. I am extremely careful about what I put in my car, IE: I only will buy certain gas from certain gas stations, and will only run 93.

Should I take it to the dealership? Is the Kendall Full Synthetic a good oil? Or should I try to find a heated garage and do it myself?

Thanks for all your help in advance! Always nice to find a good forum when your a rookie.
 
If price isn't a concern, and you have the mechanical know-how, I suggest you do it yourself. I had never heard of Kendall motor oil until you mentioned it, so I can't really comment on it.
 
For those not familiar - Kendall Full Synthetic is Conoco Phillips motor oil.



I will say I don't know enough about their products personally. One reason being, you can't find their oil, or gas stations everywhere. A lot of people like mobil1 full synthetic. You can do the oil change yourself if that's what you like. You can get 5qt jugs or 1qt bottles at walmart, autozone, pepboys, advanced auto, etc etc. I've seen oil lab analysis from the previous SI using mobil1, and it was very good. They kept sending their oil in for analysis each oil change, and the lab kept telling them they had more life in the oil. They were up to 10k mile change intervals, and the lab said they still had life left in the full synthetic.

Some people love one brand over another, and have similar results. I'd say if you've had good luck with that oil, there is no reason to abandon it now.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2039741
here is an 05 civic si with a 10k mile interval change on penzoil platinum.

another 10k mile interval
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1710108
penzoil platinum

Mobil 1 5w20 9300 miles Honda Civic Si K20A3
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=818480&fpart=1

0w-20 - 02 Honda Civic Si K20A3, 10k miles
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=240214&page=1

if you're interested, look around that board some. There are some great labs - showing the oil after use/abuse and how it did...

some really like amsoil, royal purple, mobil1, while there are some who just use conventional oil.
 
the SI recommends 0-20, which I would use. If you have an oil change where you get 5-20 or something, it's not going to kill it. You should just go back to 0-20 the next change. People on 8th pretty much did that year round regardless of weather/temps.

Example of Mobil 1 numbers found on their site:

5w-20
Viscosity @ 100ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) 8.9
Viscosity, @ 40ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) 49.8

0w-20
Viscosity, @ 100ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) 8.7
Viscosity, @ 40ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) 44.8

as you can see there isn't a huge difference between the two, but the 0-20 will be thinner. From another site -


Low viscosity oil improves fuel economy by reducing resistance inside the engine's crankcase. The ultra thin oil allows the crankshaft and other internal moving parts to move more freely through a fluid mass, just like your spoon will stir coffee easier than honey.
 
I run Mobil1 5000 non-synthetic in the civic for the last few thousand miles and love it and Honda oil for most of her life.... Mind you mine is a LX but I run her pretty hard....
 
I have used Mobil 1 since 06 in my Si and have always changed it around 6600 miles, which is usually when the maint minder would reach 10%. Once I used Amsoil and one other time with the Kendal you mentioned. Didn't notice a difference in either of them and the maint minder came on right about the same time as the Mobil 1.
 
Many of my friends from Orlando and I run Eneos 5W-30 with a HAMP filter. I've run Mobil 1 and Royal Purple in my car with a K&N filter, and I hadn't had any problems with either, but my car proved to perform consistently time and time again with Eneos and the HAMP filter which is why I stick to that setup today.
 
I have heard about a HAMP filter before, or maybe saw one on a website somewhere. What makes them better?
 
Reviving this thread...lol. I've read a lot of reviews of how good royal purple is, I'm planning to order a box of RP 0w20 now since my father's car needs an oil change and save the rest for my first oil change in about 1500 miles. I am also getting a HAMP filter. I just want to know if RP is really as good as people make it out to be or if I just go with Mobil 1.
 
Having it done at a valvoline type place shows up on carfax. Nice feature if you ever want to sell. You can hand someone a carfax and it shows all your maintenance.

Dangerous places to let work on your car for sure. Oil only? Probably ok.
 
Can't say I've ever really read anything bad about RP. I know some users who used it all the time. I've never tried it
 
sounds good guys, now do you guys recommend 0w20 or 5w20, I read on a couple forums that 0w20 is recommended by Honda just for EPA purposes but 5w20 should be used.
 
Neither is thin enough at start up to properly protect the engine, they are all too viscous until it heats up. Run the 0w for efficiency if you want. My accord lasted 200,000+ miles on conventional 5w20.
 
Nix said:
Neither is thin enough at start up to properly protect the engine, they are all too viscous until it heats up. Run the 0w for efficiency if you want. My accord lasted 200,000+ miles on conventional 5w20.
Click to expand...

that's what I was thinking man, RP 5w20 it is w/HAMP filter..sounds good? Have you heard of the Mugen filter? is that really worth the $30 or whatever JHP asks for it?
 
Last edited:
webby said:
For those not familiar - Kendall Full Synthetic is Conoco Phillips motor oil.



I will say I don't know enough about their products personally. One reason being, you can't find their oil, or gas stations everywhere. A lot of people like mobil1 full synthetic. You can do the oil change yourself if that's what you like. You can get 5qt jugs or 1qt bottles at walmart, autozone, pepboys, advanced auto, etc etc. I've seen oil lab analysis from the previous SI using mobil1, and it was very good. They kept sending their oil in for analysis each oil change, and the lab kept telling them they had more life in the oil. They were up to 10k mile change intervals, and the lab said they still had life left in the full synthetic.

Some people love one brand over another, and have similar results. I'd say if you've had good luck with that oil, there is no reason to abandon it now.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2039741
here is an 05 civic si with a 10k mile interval change on penzoil platinum.

another 10k mile interval
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1710108
penzoil platinum

Mobil 1 5w20 9300 miles Honda Civic Si K20A3
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=818480&fpart=1

0w-20 - 02 Honda Civic Si K20A3, 10k miles
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=240214&page=1

if you're interested, look around that board some. There are some great labs - showing the oil after use/abuse and how it did...

some really like amsoil, royal purple, mobil1, while there are some who just use conventional oil.
Click to expand...

_____________________
I've saw a similar test (to the one below) where Mobile 1 "Extended Performance" is right up there with Amsoil in the 4-ball wear test. By right up there I mean #2, second only to the top dog Amsoil. In this test, however, Mobile 1 Extended is dead last... and by a wide margin. Which clearly demonstrates inconsistent production quality.
 

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