What kind of oil for 300k mile motor

[Thenderson2011]

Just got this car, and was wondering what kind of motor oil is best for a motor with 300k miles, and was rebuilt 50k miles ago.

[deevergote]

As long as you're not doing anything crazy with it (turbo, high-RPM, racing, extreme driving...) then any quality oil that meets factory requirements is fine. 5w30, I think? I forget exactly... I haven't had an F22A in my car in 10 years, and I haven't driven that car in over 4...

[Thenderson2011]

Not doing anything crazy, but do like to get on it when I have the chance haha. Does it matter synthetic vs dino with a non turbo motor?

[deevergote]

It doesn't really matter even with a turbo motor. Synthetic just breaks down more slowly.
I use a 2009 Honda Fit for my job, and I drive 1500-2000 miles a week at times. I use synthetic only because I'll go 10,000 miles between oil changes. My H22A gets a synthetic blend, really just because I prefer to have the added protection against cold-start wear, especially with the FRM sleeves.

The F22A shouldn't require anything more than "dino" oil. Synthetic won't hurt, but it's not necessary. The only thing to worry about with synthetic is that it can be "thinner" when warm, so any leaks that exist could be more of a risk. If you switch to synthetic, keep an eye on your oil level for the first change or two, just to be safe.

[Zenzanon]

Castrol GTX High Mileage ftw

[Jimmy22]

I've heard people say you shouldn't put synthetic in a high milage motor that has never had it because it could dislodge junk and cause issues. Like changing the transmission oil in a tranny with 150k and has never been changed.

Any truth?

[deevergote]

I've heard people say you shouldn't put synthetic in a high milage motor that has never had it because it could dislodge junk and cause issues. Like changing the transmission oil in a tranny with 150k and has never been changed.

Any truth?

Absolutely not. Especially that transmission stuff.

It is true that synthetic oil could find leaks that already exist, and yes, it MIGHT dislodge gunk that is clogging said leaks... but that could happen at any time with regular oil as well. It's not the fault of the oil, but the condition of the engine. If anything, using synthetic oil will show you what you need to fix before a catastrophe occurs (if you pay attention.) That "don't use synthetic" mentality is for people that want to wring every last mile from their beater before they send it to the junkyard.

As for the transmission oil... you should ALWAYS keep up with changing the transmission oil, using only the factory recommended oil (automatic especially... our manuals seem to do best with GM Synchromesh.) The only thing that shouldn't be done is a power flush, where the transmission is hooked up to a machine to force the old fluid out and the new in. That can dislodge some things and cause issues... mainly because most people don't maintain their transmissions, and it's better to rely on the gunk than to rebuild a transmission (as that gets quite expensive.) That goes more for an automatic than a manual.

[Thenderson2011]

So for cold start wear protection, synthetic is best? I'll probably end up getting a lightweight extended mileage one or something. And does the oil filter brand matter?

[92a6]

i run full synthetic in mine and its got 299.5k miles on it never had a problem with the motor just ac burnt up and timing belt broke lol.

[92a6]

So for cold start wear protection, synthetic is best? I'll probably end up getting a lightweight extended mileage one or something. And does the oil filter brand matter?

yes dont buy cheap my friend always used k&n oil filters then went cheap once and got fram and seized his motor 100 miles after oil change.

[92a6]

Castrol GTX High Mileage ftw

[Thenderson2011]

yes dont buy cheap my friend always used k&n oil filters then went cheap once and got fram and seized his motor 100 miles after oil change.

Okay cool, i'll keep that in mind

[deevergote]

92a6, please learn how to use the edit button, or you will find your posts deleted.

To be honest, with a stock F22A, even high mileage... you don't need anything more than standard oil of the correct weight and a decent filter. Fram really isn't great, but it's also probably not going to do damage. People get caught up in the idea of "the best", and fail to realize that anything beyond a certain point offers no additional benefit. Just greater cost.

The H22A has FRM sleeves, rather than iron sleeves like the F22A. FRM is very sensitive to being scratched, so the extra lubrication provided by synthetic is good with any engine using FRM sleeves. That's why I use synthetic (well, I've used a blend...)
For an F22A, it's not as necessary.

[Thenderson2011]

92a6, please learn how to use the edit button, or you will find your posts deleted.

To be honest, with a stock F22A, even high mileage... you don't need anything more than standard oil of the correct weight and a decent filter. Fram really isn't great, but it's also probably not going to do damage. People get caught up in the idea of "the best", and fail to realize that anything beyond a certain point offers no additional benefit. Just greater cost.

The H22A has FRM sleeves, rather than iron sleeves like the F22A. FRM is very sensitive to being scratched, so the extra lubrication provided by synthetic is good with any engine using FRM sleeves. That's why I use synthetic (well, I've used a blend...)
For an F22A, it's not as necessary.

Okay. I've seen some pretty bad things about fram so I'm probably going to stay away from that just to be safe lol.

What are the FRM sleeves? I'm not really sure what that means, honestly haha.

[dejan225]

I've got 290k miles and have 10W-40. Last 4 years had 60k miles and no problems. Oil is Mobil "half synthetic". My mechanic said that I can put mineral oil 15W-40 cause this engine is old and will work fine with that oil too.