[IRISH_11]

Here is my oil analysis from Blackstone Labs.

As you can see I run Royal Purple 0W-20 and change at 10,000 miles. This analysis was done on 10,000 mile oil. I use a K&N oil filter. FYI the oil monitoring device in my RL seems to be spot on with what the report is suggesting as it showed 3% Oil Life at 10,000 miles when I changed it.

 

[beatle]

That's interesting with the oil life showing 3%. How is this computed? I wonder if it would have run this long had you been using conventional oil. Was this mostly highway driving on long trips not towing a load?

I have PYB in the truck right now which is a conventional oil. It has gone about 3k miles since it was changed and oil life is at 50% right now. This is on par with what others have said. I drive a mix of highway/city.

 

[IRISH_11]

That's interesting with the oil life showing 3%. How is this computed? I wonder if it would have run this long had you been using conventional oil. Was this mostly highway driving on long trips not towing a load?

I have PYB in the truck right now which is a conventional oil. It has gone about 3k miles since it was changed and oil life is at 50% right now. This is on par with what others have said. I drive a mix of highway/city.

Not sure how the oil monitor works but it is clearly not just a mileage thing. I was told running non-synthetic oil would void the warranty on my '13 RL.

FYI you can pick up 5qt jugs of the RP at Walmart for $38. The K&N oil filter I use is $13. So tax included for $54 and some change is what it cost me for an oil change. That's just under $164 in 30,000 miles or 3 oil changes every 10,000 miles.

My uncles are old school and change their oil every 3,000 miles and tell me there is no way I can run oil 10,000+ miles between changes. This is what ultimately led me to spend the $25 for the Blackstone analysis. Now I know beyond a doubt what I had already known and my uncles are eating crow. if my math is right my uncles are spending no less than $30 every time they change their oil so in 30,000 miles that's 10 oil changes at $30 per change equals $300. I'll stick with the $164

 

[beatle]

Looks like Honda started filling their engines with synthetic from the factory starting in 2011.

http://www.wildehonda.com/engine-oil--synthetic-vs-regular.htm

I'm a synthetic fan, though I did start to see oil leaks on my 92 Miata and 98 Tacoma after switching to synthetic at 90k and 150k, respectively My 97 Miata has run synthetic since 60k and has had no oil leaks. I bought my RL with 121k on it and it has used conventional oil changed about every 6k (likely in line with the maintenance minder.) Sounds like Honda must have changed the MM to reflect the synthetic requirement in 2011 and it now may average 10k instead of 6k.

I'll probably change the oil when the MM reminds me to, and I'll send a sample to Blackstone to see how the old school stuff does at ~6k miles. PYB is one of the better conventional oils, so I'm not concerned.

 

[jeb]

I was told running non-synthetic oil would void the warranty on my '13 RL.

Somebody's BS'ing you... That's totally not true.

Who the hell told you that? Go back and kick them in the nuts. :act060:

 

[eurban]

Honda specs an 0-20 oil for the later Ridges. Far as I know you there isn't a "conventional" 0-20 oil available. This is probably the basis for the dealers comments. Technically though, it is in all likelihood BS as I doubt very seriously there is reference to synthetic only in any of Honda's published oil requirements and they may well list other oil weights that may be substituted in a pinch that are available in a "conventional" formula.

The maintenance minder uses more than mileage to figure out oil life. That said, it has no way of knowing what kind of oil is being used and doesn't have any sensors to "test" the oil condition.

 

[cccbock]

Honda specs an 0-20 oil for the later Ridges. Far as I know you there isn't a "conventional" 0-20 oil available. This is probably the basis for the dealers comments. Technically though, it is in all likelihood BS as I doubt very seriously there is reference to synthetic only in any of Honda's published oil requirements and they may well list other oil weights that may be substituted in a pinch that are available in a "conventional" formula.

The maintenance minder uses more than mileage to figure out oil life. That said, it has no way of knowing what kind of oil is being used and doesn't have any sensors to "test" the oil condition.

The above statement is true. I suspect (no verification) that the maintenance minder probably uses average fuel efficiency as an input for oil change frequency. Theory being that the higher the fuel efficiency, the lower the wear factor of the truck usage. Ideally if you run in "stop and go" traffic all the time, or tow trailers, the fuel efficiency would be lower and the oil change frequency higher.

Also, in agreement with the above, dealers tend to simplify information for the "soccer mom" owners they deal with. So the fact that there is no conventional 0W20 oil available is often stated "use only synthetic oil". If one were to put a non-synthetic oil in the RL, it would NOT be 0W20, and thus would not meet specs.

Note also that Honda updated their oil recommendations (it used to be 5W20) to include 0W20 for all Ridgelines of all years. They did this with a whole bunch of their engines shortly after introducing the 0W20 spec for new vehicles.

 

[cdepuydt]

Somebody's BS'ing you... That's totally not true.

Who the hell told you that? Go back and kick them in the nuts. :act060:

Haha...EXACTLY...!!!! :act035:

 

[jeb]

Haha...EXACTLY...!!!! :act035:

Rock on brother!!

I'm over on the DriveAccord forum and I'm trying to take a stand against misinformation.

 

[AG87BlkLX]

Rock on brother!!

I'm over on the DriveAccord forum and I'm trying to take a stand against misinformation.

That's a pretty big task on forums.

 

[Ourfarm09]

Here is my oil analysis from Blackstone Labs.

As you can see I run Royal Purple 0W-20 and change at 10,000 miles. This analysis was done on 10,000 mile oil. I use a K&N oil filter. FYI the oil monitoring device in my RL seems to be spot on with what the report is suggesting as it showed 3% Oil Life at 10,000 miles when I changed it.

Any idea why the silcone is high? What kind of air filter are your running?

 

[henni]

From Chevy forum....

Over and over I ran across eX-K&N filter users who switched back to paper filters after oil analysis came back with excess silicon and wear metal levels

 

[beatle]

The above statement is true. I suspect (no verification) that the maintenance minder probably uses average fuel efficiency as an input for oil change frequency. Theory being that the higher the fuel efficiency, the lower the wear factor of the truck usage. Ideally if you run in "stop and go" traffic all the time, or tow trailers, the fuel efficiency would be lower and the oil change frequency higher.

That's a pretty good theory and very simple.

I have to wonder if they altered the algorithm for the later years. Unless that 10k is pure highway, I can't see myself ever getting 10k out before the MM tells me I'm done. Even then I doubt I could squeak out 8k. Anyone else with a 2011 or newer RL have another data point?

 

[rollinhonda]

From Chevy forum....

The top line Purolator uses a synthetic media. I've never heard any negatives, but then again it is not a very popular filter model.

 

[speedlever]

Honda specs an 0-20 oil for the later Ridges. Far as I know you there isn't a "conventional" 0-20 oil available. This is probably the basis for the dealers comments. Technically though, it is in all likelihood BS as I doubt very seriously there is reference to synthetic only in any of Honda's published oil requirements and they may well list other oil weights that may be substituted in a pinch that are available in a "conventional" formula.

The maintenance minder uses more than mileage to figure out oil life. That said, it has no way of knowing what kind of oil is being used and doesn't have any sensors to "test" the oil condition.

Precisely. Well said.

By default, the dealer is correct. But it certainly sounds misleading.

Rock on brother!!

I'm over on the DriveAccord forum and I'm trying to take a stand against misinformation.

That's a pretty big task on forums.

Heh! Good luck with that!

 

[IRISH_11]

Any idea why the silcone is high? What kind of air filter are your running?

My silicon content was probably high because I run a K&N air filter and it has 47K miles on it. I have since cleaned it although I have switched back to a paper filter. On my next change I will pull a sample and to compare the silicon content with the paper filter.

 

[IRISH_11]

Based on the oil report and the cost savings of 3 oil changes in 30K miles I see no reason to stop using the Royal Purple an K&N oil filter. As I stated earlier $54 is cheap enough to run a superior oil and filter. It obviously works. So I will sip on a cold beverage while my uncles crawl under their vehicles 7 more times than me in 30K miles.

 

[jeb]

That's a pretty big task on forums.

I know... you're right...

Heh! Good luck with that!

I figure it's like putting your trash in the trash can at a park instead of on the ground. I'm doing my part to clean up the trash, and if everyone did we'd have a clean planet.

I guess the reality is that the earth is a mess, and people still spread mis-info on forums. FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT!

 

[zroger73]

The oil life monitor is based primarily on a count of engine revolutions. Distance traveled is not a factor. High engine speeds, loads, and temperatures result in a "penalty" where more than one count is subtracted for each engine revolution. Depending on how you drive and under what conditions, the oil life monitor may reach 0% anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 miles on average (mine is about 8,000 - 8,500 miles). The algorithm assumes you are using the oil specified in the owner's manual, change the oil when prompted, and reset the monitor when the oil is changed - it has no way to actually measure the oil quality.

I'd love to see a long-term study using three, identical Ridgelines.

#1 uses the factory-recommended oil changed per the oil life monitor.
#2 uses fancy, exotic, high-priced oil changed based on the oil manufacturer's claim of extended life.
#3 uses "dollar store brand" oil changed per the outdated 3,000-mile interval.

I'll bet dollars to donuts #1 will give you just as long of a service life as #2 and won't cost any more than #3.

Anyone want to buy three Ridgelines and prove me wrong?

 

[Elkhunter]

I have a question....

If the K&N air filter is a possible cause for the higher silicon, shouldn't the TBN and metals such as iron, chromium, and aluminum all also have been high?