oil observations

have two things to report since the head gasket change a couple of weeks
ago:

1. changed out the oil twice to help get rid of the grit, and the last
time, used castrol gtx 5w-20. using normal gtx 5w-30, on a 1200 mile
high speed weekend like last weekend, i'd normally burn about a pint of
oil. using castrol's 5w-20, burn-off is /much/ less, maybe 1/8" on the
dipstick. i'd read that the 5w-20 is supposed to be a higher quality
base stock and i'm pleased to report that this much lower burn rate is
pretty good proof of that.

2. used a cheapo woolmort oil filter - super tech st3593a, ~$2.00.
using a honda filter, with this kind of high speed run and 1200 miles,
i'd expect to see the oil start to discolor by now, but so far, it's
still straw colored. a surprisingly good result. after some research
it seems that these filters are made by champion labs, a high quality
oem supplier, and they use synthetic filter media which allows higher
through-rates and smaller particle removal. again, interesting data point.

i'll keep an eye on proceedings and report back at higher mileage, but
so far, i see no reason to fear the "new" honda oil spec. and while i'd
be very wary of some cheapo non-oem oil filters, this particular one
seems to be ok.