What factors go into the oil life indicator: 2006 Civic

Yup, no where in there did I sate you said it. Reading comprehension is not
primary to you I see.

 

I'm gonna give him the beneift of the doubt and say the above was a typo and
he meant to say 5000 vs. 7500.

Reading comprehension is not high on his list.

 

Doubt that it was a typo. That's why he referred to it as an extreme
example, Seth.

Arguing between the merits of a 7,500 mi oil change and one at 5,000 is
not what I'd call extreme.

 

Good point.

 

I claim bullshit.

A year is 8,760 hours. A million miles in 8,760 hours calculates
to....drum roll, please....114+ miles per hour.

That's straight running, with no stopping for fuel or driver changes.

Let's say fuel and driver changes are simultaneous, at 5 minutes every,
oh, 400 miles. That's 2500 stops right there. 2500 times 5 is 12,500
minutes, or 208 hours. Now instead of 8760 driving hours, you have only
8552 driving hours.

Oil changes every 1K miles? Let's say an oil change takes 5 minutes
(I'm being generous here). Let's further say that it happens, on
average, during a fuel/driver change. So let's not even calculate the
extra oil change time; let's leave straight available drive time at 8552
hours.

1,000,000 miles over 8552 hours is 117 miles per hour.

So this Civic drove between 114 and 117 mph for a year straight?

Well, then, why don't you do that. I'm sure the article would tell us
how a Civic went 115mph straight for a year, with no hiccups in any of
the fuel/driver/oil change periods, all of them running at an optimal 5
minutes.

Or maybe my quick calculations are all you need to back down on this
particular fable.


<snip random stuff about synthetic oils)

Your calculator has an opinion? Gee, mine just does calculations.
Maybe my calculator is operating in some number base that yours doesn't?

Was that 1,000,000 miles in base 2?

 

Now THIS I find interesting...

I, too, have noticed this phenomena in 3rd. It has, on occasion, caused a
slight grind, as I didn't get the car fully into third before letting out
the clutch, as the notchiness (good word for it) interrupted my rythem.

What are the downsides (if any) to changing to a Synthetic Tranny fluid?
The manual is pretty clear on sticking with Honda's Tranny fluid. Would
this affect warranty?

Also, should it be done in a shop, or is it sufficient to just drain the
fluid and add the Synth? I've never changed Tranny fluid before in any
car. Always had it done by a shop. But it usually costs $80 or more. If
it is relatively easy, I'll do it myself...

Thanks...

--
Joseph M. LaVigne

http://www.thelavignefamily.us/MyPipePages/ - 9/18/2006 1:47:58 AM
Tobacconist Brick and Mortar Database: http://bam.tobaccocellar.org/

"If you were waiting for the oppurtune moment ... that was it."
--Jack Sparrow, "Pirates of the Carribean"

 

It's based on nothing useful. I have a 2003 Accord 4-cyl. I switched to
Amsoil 0w30 at 40,000KM after what I call an initial breakin period. I
replace the oil filer every 20,000KM. I replace the oil every 40,000Km.
Amsoil has just recently come up with nano-filter technology that will
allow me to replace oil filter every 40,000KM. My second break in
period is just occuring. I have 223,000KM. I am now getting the best
possible fuel consumption of 5.9l - 6.1l per 100KM while driving 100KM
per hour. My oil consumption is exactly 0.6l + whatever's in the oil
filter per 40,000KM. I recently bought a 2006 Pilot. It has a life
indicator that shows or "reduces" the expected life of the oil the
higher the sustained engine rev is. I managed to get it to a 5% of life
left in just over 5500KM. However, I use Amsoil 5W20 (for inital engine
breakin of 40,000km)which at that mileage is visibly very clean, so all
I've done is reset the oil life indicator and continued with the same
oil. The best thing for the society is to inform themselves about
engine oil and mechanical durability. It will save a ton of money and a
pile of resources for the whole planet. The rest is scare tactics and
oil industry capitalizing on everyone's ignorance.

Hope this helps.

 

Sorry to tell you I used to pay $7.5 CDN for 1l of Honda's 5W20. I now
pay 6.75 for 1l of Amsoil 5W20. Honda oil is the cheapest
semi-synthetic blend from Petrocanada on the market. I believe the only
worse blend is Yamalube, which is $10 per 1l. Although Amsoil 5W20 is
not a pure synthetic just like Mobil 1 is not (unless it a 15,000
extended range oil), I would bet my last dollar that Amsoil 5W20 is
superior to "Honda's" 5W20. I have a 2003 Accord with 223,000KM. I
drive on Amsoil 0W30 and have been since 40,000KM. I replace the oil
every 40,000KMs. For me that's every 3 months. If I had to change it
every 8000KM, that would mean that I'd have to go under the car more
frequently than every 2 weeks. I guess suckers are born every day, and
the oil industry loves them, so keep up the busy lifestyle of changing
oil.

Cheers.

 

Haha. That's a lot of calculations you went through. I guess I'm wrong
about the one year time limit; like I said, I don't remember specifics.
Do the Google search and find the contest website, I'm too lazy.

 

Blah blah blah. It looks like you have accumulated lots of opinion on
the topic but little in the way of real data. None of your ramblings
are backed up with evidence.

John

 

Easily done. Just change your oil at some point early in the countdown.
Personally I change the oil when the oil life monitor is around 20%
left to go. Ta da, a safety margin.

John

 

Do you have any factual evidence for this assertion, or is it simply
your guess? You are saying that Honda's engineering team pushed the oil
life envelope aggressively in order to reduce perceived cost of
ownership.

You should also note that the reason Hondas do well in cost-of-ownership
calculations is due first and foremost to relatively low depreciation
costs thanks to high resale values. In fact, it would be counter
productive for Honda to make recommendations which shorted the useful
life of it's products and therefore speed up the depreciation curve.

People readily confuse assertions with fact.


John

 

Actually there has been testing which seems to show that wear metals per
mile rate decrease as oil continues in service.

One independent effort:

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

There are other industry studies about this, but they cost money to buy.

John

 

Actually, the home study you reference appears to have used
data on a single car and for only a few samples of oil
total. I wouldn't recommend anyone waste a moment slogging
through it and figuring out whatever point the authors seem
to be trying to make. They seem to be amateurs at best.

 

Joe,

There is no perceived downside to synthetic transmission fluid, besides
cost. I should warn you, however, that tranny fluid requires a very
specific viscosity and additive package, and different trannies require
different fluids. Honda uses the same MTF for nearly every vehicle they
sell, so just find one that is compatible. I did a lot of research to
find one that would be appropriate for the '06 Si, and I decided on the
SF-MTL-P ($30.20 + shipping for one gallon).
http://theoildrop.server101.com is a great resource.

Another note: after reading around on the internet, there have been
some instances where people claimed to switch to Redline MTL in their
Hondas, and then their synchros failed within 10,000 miles. Who knows
if the two are related, but it's enough to deter me from buying their
fluid.

A transmission fluid change is even easier than an oil change, since
our Sis have no serviceable tranny oil filter. There are two plugs on
the side of the transaxle: the top one is for filling, the bottom one
is for draining. After draining, you fill the case with fluid until it
starts overflowing through the top fill hole; that's how you know it's
full. The service manual specs 1.6 quarts. You will need new washers
for both plugs, and a funnel (preferably with a tube) for adding fluid.
WARNING: on my old '98 Accord, I had a problem once where I drained the
tranny fluid via the bottom plug, but the FILLER BOLT HAD SEIZED. I
couldn't get it off for a while and it caused me a lot of stress. Make
sure the filler bolt comes off easily BEFORE you begin draining!

Good luck!

 

Joe,

I just re-read your post: changing to non-Honda fluid will not affect
warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states that a provider cannot
void the warranty just because an aftermarket part is installed, unless
it is proven without doubt that the aftermarket part directly caused
failure or malfunction due to incompatibility or incorrect
installation. It is up to the warranty provider to prove the part
caused failure; you do NOT have to defend yourself.

But rest assured; pretty much any synthetic tranny fluid is better than
Honda MTF. Even my dealership's mechanic confirmed that.

 

Aaaah! I bet that was an unpleasant surprise.

"Many things may come between the mouth and the morsel." - Cato