How many out there are planning to use synthetic oil in their new Ridgeline. Is it really worth the extra cost. And yes, I do believe Honda will honor any problems even if you use the synthetic oils.

There has been quite a bit of talk concerning oil change times and type of oil to use in the Ridgeline. A search should bring up several threads. I plan on going 5,000 miles or until HAL tells me to change, whichever comes first. Then, I will use dino oil for my first oil change as specified in the manual (5w20).

That should take me to the 10,000 mile mark at which point I will use Mobil 1 Synthetic from then on. I use it in my lawn tractor and never had a problem so I see no reason why I should not use it in the Ridge. I want to go 10,000 with regular oil because synthetic is so good at lubrication that it may not get all the shavings and stuff that is required in a new engine; nor would it seat the rings and pistons properly (at least this is what I have heard but don't know it to be a fact). Then, when everything is "broken in", going to synthetic should provide for the best lubrication available - again, so I've heard.

There is no prohibition to synthetics in the manual that I saw, therefore, no warranty issues as long as it can be shown the oil in there is the same weight as required in the Honda manual (and you keep records and documentation of your oil changes).

Some people have different ideas about oil weight and intervals and type of oil; let your experience and conscious guide you. I'm sure that if you follow HAL and use 5w20 oil, synthetic or otherwise, from any brand name company, you will probably have trouble free service for many, many thousands of miles. I just feel better with Mobile 1 synthetic thats all.

How many out there are planning to use synthetic oil in their new Ridgeline. Is it really worth the extra cost. And yes, I do believe Honda will honor any problems even if you use the synthetic oils.


Depends... oil changes are very personal. Some people feel good changing it every 3000 miles, some feel ok going 5000, yet others feel ok going 10k. If you are one of those 3000 mile people, there is no reason to go synthetic. See oil will last 3000 miles. Infact if you look at the RSX owners manual, they even tell you it's ok to go 5000+ ok regular oil under their "severe" schedule. I used to do oil analysis on my spent oil to see what they were like. On my 98 Maxima, I have taken Mobil 1 synthetic to 10k mile change intervals and the analysis came back fine. Then I've taken Castro GTX to 5,000 miles and the analysis was fine as well. So doing some math, it was cheaper to stay with non synthetic castro.

I have a saying: "Changing oil every 3000 miles is a waste of money". This is very true on modern cars. BUT - you have to do what you feel comfortable with.

I am leaning toward using Mobile one. I am not sure about relying on HAL though. I have 1200 miles on my Ridgeline and HAL is still at 90% so unless HAL is sleeping my first oil change would be at 10K. I think that is too long with dino in it.

I am keeping an eye on HAL to see when he changes.

I just had a lengthy conversation with a customer of ours who bought a Ridgeline and was concerned about the "wind" noise. After I told him of this sight and that I too was a Ridgline owner, we went into great depth of the vehicle and the pros and cons. One thing he mentioned was the fact that he uses 5W20 Valvoline Premium. He said he is on the road alot and drives all over the country. He purchased his vehicle from us on the 31st of May and has already changed the oil 3 times. He said he gets about 20-21 mpg. He was told to break in the engine with highway miles and an oil change every 1K miles for the first 3K. Sounds like a good plan.

I just had a lenghty conversation with a customer of ours who bought a Ridgeline and was concerned about the "wind" noise. After I told him of this sight and that I too was a Ridgline owner, we went into great depth of the vehicle and the pros and cons. One thing he mentioned was the fact that he uses 5W20 Valvoline Premium. He said he is on the road alot and drives all over the country. He purchased his vehicle from us on the 31st of May and has already changed the oil 3 times. He said he gets about 20-21 mpg. He was told to break in the engine with highway miles and an oil change every 1K miles for the first 3K. Sounds like a good plan.
no, no no........the oil change 3 times in the first 3000 is not a good idea!!
the manual specifically states NOT to change the breakin oil before its first
scheduled change. :o

no, no no........the oil change 3 times in the first 3000 is not a good idea!!
the manual specifically states NOT to change the breakin oil before its first
scheduled change. :o

Uh oh....I guess I should read the manual and quote it to him. But now it's too late for him. :(
Thanks jeffiam.

At a minimum, changing the oil that frequently early on will extend the break-in period.

I am leaning toward using Mobile one. I am not sure about relying on HAL though. I have 1200 miles on my Ridgeline and HAL is still at 90% so unless HAL is sleeping my first oil change would be at 10K. I think that is too long with dino in it.
I am keeping an eye on HAL to see when he changes.

Since it only counts in increments of 10% you actually could be anywhere from 80% to 90%.

Do you actually get better gas milage using synthetic oils?

Don't really know if I'll get any better gas mileage with synthetic oil (Mobil 1 5W20) but do know that I won't be sending as much money overseas using synthetic by buying dino oil...lol (or maybe not???) And by the way, thanks for the warning about the spam guy...also put my first person from this room on "ignor".

Do you actually get better gas milage using synthetic oils?

ive "heard" this but would definately like to know......otherwise, is it really worth it? any first hand experience out thar!!

Don't really know if I'll get any better gas mileage with synthetic oil (Mobil 1 5W20) but do know that I won't be sending as much money overseas using synthetic by buying dino oil...lol (or maybe not???) And by the way, thanks for the warning about the spam guy...also put my first person from this room on "ignor".

No problem, im sure it wont be the last spammer. Glad that one was tagged and bagged fast! :D

Do you actually get better gas milage using synthetic oils?

I would say no. If there was even a slight difference in friction between conventional and synthetic oils you would see that difference in engine wear and not fuel mileage. If there was a big enough difference in friction to measure fuel mileage then there would be huge wear differences between the oils and we know that's not the case.

Why use synthetic oils? Under extreme conditions they are far superior to conventional oils. That's why I use synthetic oil. That one time I end up in a traffic jam at 100+ degrees it will make a difference. Or if I happen to break a radiator hose and the engine overheats before I know it it will make a huge difference.

The Consumer Reports oil test of a few years ago proved that under NORMAL circumstances there's no difference in a 3000 mile oil change and a 7500 mile oil change. No difference between dino and synthetic oil. Since that multi-million mile test fuels have gotten cleaner, and oil has gotten better.

Synthetic oil is for those of us that want that extra protection in the event we exceed "normal" driving conditions.

I like Motoman's break in method...

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

No problem, im sure it wont be the last spammer. Glad that one was tagged and bagged fast! :D

Who's the spam guy?

Great write up CSI, I never have used synthetic oil but my brother used to in his eagle talon awd turbo. I may think about using it in summer and winter or if planning a vacation trip in the ridge, the extra protection does sound worth it for that reason alone.

Ridge - Spammers GONE! Zapped by admin :eek:

Great write up CSI, I never have used synthetic oil but my brother used to in his eagle talon awd turbo. I may think about using it in summer and winter or if planning a vacation trip in the ridge, the extra protection does sound worth it for that reason alone.

Ridge - Spammers GONE! Zapped by admin :eek:

I would absolutely use synthetic oil in any turbocharged engine! The rules change with the turbo.

There are two kinds of turbos in common use. The older oil cooled (danger danger danger) and the newer oil/water cooled turbo. Both get extremely hot and are capable of subjecting the engine oil to temperatures that exceed the coking threshold. The result is a little bit of burned up oil every time you shut down a hot engine. Good synthetic oils are capable or withstanding much higher temperatures before coking.

If you have a turbo you need to run a good Group IV synthetic oil. Not the pretend Group III synthetic wannabe false advertisers!

I like Motoman's break in method...

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Hope you're not serious!

Another person that bases all his conclusions on "I've done it many times and never had a problem". What a total bunch of BS.

You think Motoman has the slightest understanding of the thermodynamics of a new engine vs one that's even a few weeks old?

You think Motoman understand the effect of cylinder pressures have on unseated piston rings?

Just some kid trying to make a name for himself. There are so many things wrong with his assumptions that it would take a week to address each one of them.

It is what it is...

Hello All

new to the site

In my opinion, and a friend who is a professional engine builder, changing the oil at around 1500 miles and again at 3900 miles is not a problem.

Hello

Lady ridge

Hello All

new to the site

In my opinion, and a friend who is a professional engine builder, changing the oil at around 1500 miles and again at 3900 miles is not a problem.

Hello

Lady ridge

HEY RODNEY!!! Welcome. I hope you enjoy the site. It's VOONDEVAL!!!!
:D

From the April 2005 Consumer Reports:

Myth: Engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles.

Reality: Although oil companies and quick-lube shops like to promote this idea, it's usually not necessary. Go by the recommended oil-change schedule in your vehicle's owner's manual. Most vehicles driven under normal conditions can go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Some models now come with a monitoring system that alerts the driver when the oil needs changing. Depending on driving conditions, these can extend change intervals to 10,000 or 15,000 miles.

:)

Synthetic has some good points over dino, and I use it in my motorcycles. I plan on using a 25,000 interval for them, undr normal driving conditions.

Years ago, I knew a guy who was using Mobil 1 when it first came out. He had a "company" car, and drove all over the U.S. teaching offensive/defensive driving to various government agencies. His plan of attack was to change the filter at 25,000 mile, and the oil every 50,000. At the time we were talking, he had over 150,000 miles on his car, I don't remember the make, but it was a common American-made auto.

The mtorcycle forums I frequent indicate that more and more folks are sending samples to the oil lab (sample costs around the same as a change, some get it free thru work). The results? It seems the intervals are exceeding 10-15k with no noticeable engine wear.

I run Amsoil in my scooters, and when I first put it in, I noticed that it shifted smooter, but I think it is back to normal now, 7,000 miles later. I ran the original oil for about 300 miles, then switched to Amsoil. (Not a plug for them, any synthetic works just as good)

Of course a turbine engine is different from a combustion, but in our helicopters, know what the oil change interval is? Never. And this goes for the transmissions, as well, using the same oil. We sample them, and only change if the sample comes back indicating excessive wear, then we change, re-sample to establish a baseline, and keep on trucking.

Not saying the extended interval is for eveyone; if a $10 oil change every 3k miles makes you happy, do it. It is cheap insurance. IMHO, it is unnecessary, but then again, I do lots of other things that many don't do, so I suspect it all balances out in the end. (I sharpen my mower blades every 2-3 cuttings, for example!) ;)

F6

F6Hawk - that story reminds me of a guy I knew from Kentucky. He bought a new truck, changed oil and filter at about the 5,000 mile mark then never changed oil again. He only added oil when it got low and changed the filter once or twice more. He sold the truck with 150,000 miles on it and never had a repair problem.

I do not plan on doing this with the Ridgeline for sure but I bet you could, especially using synthetics. Now, the question is can you reset HAL to 100% by adding oil to existing oil? Does it sense the presence of new oil mixed with the old? Since the computer's purpose is suppose to measure oil's ability to protect, you would think the addition of new oil would raise that ability and would be noted on the computer.

Then again, perhaps HAL does not do any of this and its actual purpose is not to measure oil's ability to do anything at all, but rather, only to make assumptions. I think HAL takes information from driving habits such as speed, temp readings, short/long drives, etc. and the computer simply makes "projections" based on this data rather than do any kind of oil "analysis" (from a chemestry standpoint). Come to think of it, I believe that is the case so adding new oil to existing oil would render HAL meaningless.

Now, the question is can you reset HAL to 100% by adding oil to existing oil? Does it sense the presence of new oil mixed with the old? Since the computer's purpose is suppose to measure oil's ability to protect, you would think the addition of new oil would raise that ability and would be noted on the computer.

Then again, perhaps HAL does not do any of this and its actual purpose is not to measure oil's ability to do anything at all, but rather, only to make assumptions. I think HAL takes information from driving habits such as speed, temp readings, short/long drives, etc. and the computer simply makes "projections" based on this data rather than do any kind of oil "analysis" (from a chemestry standpoint). Come to think of it, I believe that is the case so adding new oil to existing oil would render HAL meaningless.

Your second paragraph above is more correct. "HAL" has no ability to monitor the actual quality of the oil, has no idea when you add fresh oil, and would reset to 100% if you do the reset sequence even if you didn't actually change the oil.

The oil life monitor just uses a series of calculation to determine when the oil should be changed. Has nothing to do with how dirty the oil actually is.

"HAL" is just a count-down processor...not a oil analyzier. Counts engine starts, rpms over a period over time and temperature then displays what logic it has had programed for it's timed intervals for an oil change. Notice at recommended first oil change, it only calls for engine oil change, not a filter change...why for the slight cost it actually is, would you leave a dirty oil filter in place and a pint of dirty oil it contains? Never makes much sense to ne but that is just my opinion... :rolleyes: