5w20!?!??!

[90Haccord]

Hi guys, new guy here.

Long story short, my 1990 honda accord was leaking oil, took it in, guy put in a new valve cover gasket and a new oil sending unit(was leaking and sending oil everywhere). Anyway, my car has 227K, I've ALWAYS used 10w30 in this bad boy since 150K, he insisted I put 5w20 in it? Is he correct? He's been a honda mechanic for 20 years and he says USE WHAT THE CAR WANTS, he said 5w20, and if you cannot get that 10w30. But I always heard 10w30 is better for higher mileage engines? I do realize some people run 5w20 when its cold, and 10w30 in the summer, I just always run 10w30 what do you all think?

[tommi]

i would say 5w 30 would be recommended, but it also depends on climate too.

[90Haccord]

Well since it was leaking oil like a son of a bitch, he put 3 qts of 5w20 in it and it seems to run GREAT. I've run always been told to run 10w30 in high mileage hondas if you consider 227K high mileage(we have several 400K civics in our family, lol). I hear the lighter oil could help gas mileage also slightly.

Climate = Indiana winter currently...

[js593]

Well since it was leaking oil like a son of a bitch, he put 3 qts of 5w20 in it and it seems to run GREAT. I've run always been told to run 10w30 in high mileage hondas if you consider 227K high mileage(we have several 400K civics in our family, lol). I hear the lighter oil could help gas mileage also slightly.

Climate = Indiana winter currently...

Lighter oil isnt always good. It can actually bring out more leaks in the motor then there was before. If you used synthetic before, you should continue to use synthetic. If your using standard oil, i would highly recommend at lightest 5W30. (10W30 in higher climate zones)

[Otto]

Lighter oil isnt always good. It can actually bring out more leaks in the motor then there was before. If you used synthetic before, you should continue to use synthetic. If your using standard oil, i would highly recommend at lightest 5W30. (10W30 in higher climate zones)

A good chunk of 5w-30s have shown to have a slightly higher viscosity at operation temps than their 10w-30 counterparts (a la www.bobistheoilguy.com). I don't mind running a 5w-30 in all the family cars. In fact that's what I normally do. Unless I find 10w-30 for cheap.

I'd run a 0 or 5w-20...if it was a top-of-the-line oil and someone bought it for me.
https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/xlm.aspx TBN of 9.0 Though I'm just going to stick with using whatever I find for cheap.

[NAiL05]

All newer hondas run 5w30 or something like that now. The older I would still stick to the 10w30. 5w30 is supposed to somewhat help out with emissions and so on? But dont quote me on that.

[Otto]

All newer hondas run 5w30 or something like that now. The older I would still stick to the 10w30. 5w30 is supposed to somewhat help out with emissions and so on? But dont quote me on that.

I thought most manufacturers were using 5w-20 in most there engines for at least a few years now?

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com More info on oil than most would care to know about.

[NAiL05]

Yea I used to browse bobistheoilguy. This was a recent change for Honda as I recall as the others already changed. I think Honda started when they started introducing ther K motors and the newer v6's.

[90Haccord]

I just use normal 10w30 when I change the oil, plain ol stuff. I had always done that once I got to around 150K, under the hood it says USE 5w30 OR you can use 10w30, hell if its really supposed to be 5w30 I'll go back to that but its always been 10w30 that I've used. What do you guys think?

[ph0en1x]

I use synth 5-30 in my accord and it has around 205000 miles on her.

[90Haccord]

alright 5w30 it is, twas my dad's car and he always said 10w30 was best for it so I followed suit. I'll give 5w30 a try.

[Fake Thug]

I run 5w30 in the winter. 10W30 summer time.

[NAiL05]

I run 10w30 year round from tx weather to the cold weather in IL.

[popeyeamac]

10 w- 30 all day ive never run anything else ... just because dyno wise my car likes it better lol

[Otto]

Honestly though, something I often hear anecdotally, and have witnessed myself: Engines very rarely fail as a direct fault of the oil, and many times the engine outlives the equipment its powering (racing and certain things aside).
Failure is usually seen by outrageous change intervals, choosing a wildly inappropriate oil, letting the sump run dry, and other neglect and outside sources.

AKA: Chances are the engine will outlive the rest of the car. I like to experiment too, but don't loose any sleep over.