Tuanster

My first oil change is due soon. 3500 miles on the odometer. The mannual said I can run synthetic...didn't say nothing about waiting for XXX amount of miles before switching to synthetic.
What are all the benefits of running synthetic since it cost 4 times the amount of dyno oil ? Smoother engine, more protection , reduce engine heat ?
Any bad side effect ? More oil used, leak , smaller wallet ? Thanks.

Saki GT

Stick with dino until 10k miles, and don't change your oil until 5.5 or 6k - what your owner's manual states (what does the 06 manual say btw?). Your first oil is a special oil for new engines.

Take the extra time you have and search the boards and you will find tons of info (and arguments) on the merits of different oils.

Tuanster

"You may use a synthetic motor oil if it meet the same requirements given for the conventional oil: it display the API Certificate Seal and it is the proper weight"
I've search the forum but it seem like everyone have there own opinion on when to change to synthetic. And since my mannual say I can do...I just want to know the benefits.

JLUDE

I can get Mobil One full synthetic here for $20 for 5 quarts, that's not even 3X the cost of a decent conventional oil.

Synthetic Oil's biggest benefit is the fact that it can take hot running conditions without molecular breakdown like dino oil will do. Dino oil breaks down quickly and looses it's resistance to viscosity change as well as its lubricating properties. You can go longer before a change with synthetic although the filter is still the weakest link and should be changed every 5K miles max.

Tuanster

I also noticed that the manual said :"Your vehicle does not require any oil additives. Additives may adversely affect the engine or transmition performance and durability"
And in one section it said that if you lower your car and if you hit a bump your air bag may goes off. I am not making this up.

xviper

You may have to rethink this belief:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...&f=22&t=422421




There is really no advantage in using synthetic unless you are running F.I. or operate the car in extremely cold conditions. In such scenarios, the flow characteristics of synthetic will be of some benefit.
I believe that Honda's "memo" to dealers to have their S2000 customers wait till 7500 miles before going to synthetic was more for AP1 cars, where the oil usage was quite extremely and Honda wanted those owners to give their engines more time to fully seat the rings to the FRM liners. Since the AP2 rarely have reports of high oil consumption, I don't think Honda is quite so worried about going synthetic at the first change.

wanabe

man i hate to disagree with xviper!!
so i wont

imo, there is an advantage of synthetics over dino oil for those of us who change our oils based on time rather than mileage cause we dont get enough mileage...
if i went by mileage i would be changing my synthetic every coupla years or so!! and dino oil would likely degrade long before that. so (again this is just my opinion), i prefer synthetic in my low mileage car.

i change my synthetic in the s2000 once a year, and prob could go longer... my other cars tell me when to change the oil. i notice that my hondas want me to change the oil more often than the others (my bmw seems to go a really long time- couple of years- between changes).

FrostyWinters

You have an 06, wait for the maintenance light to come on the dash before changing oil. Otherwise if you changed the oil and forgot the reset the system, it will confuse the maintanence minder system. I just did my first oil change on my 06. The car has about 5000 miles on it. You can press the 'Trip' button on the instrument panel and it will show an oil life monitor. Obiviously your salesperson didn't go over anything about the car with you. I sincerely wish you gave a bad survey after you bought the car. haha

For oil info, check out this sticky in the Under The Hood forum:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=195574

Saki GT

You know, it really seems that we can trust xviper more than we can trust Honda anymore... Thanks for the link.

xviper

I value your opinion and I don't consider it as "disagreeing" with me. You are right in that another benefit of synthetics is a longer "time" life in low mileage cars. In the case of newer cars with the "oil minder", time will supercede mileage if the car isn't driven much. In such cases, a 12 month change is recommended. However, Honda does consider that even non-synthetic oil will serve this purpose. Personally, if I owned a low use car, I too, would go with synthetic for the peace of mind it brings, even if I didn't live in igloo-land or wasn't F.I. Not very scientific, but peace of mind is worth a lot.
PS. I've always been a huge fan of synthetic oils. Just trying to be unbiased when giving the OP my best answer. In my "old fashioned-ness", it would seem that non-synthetic oils have advanced greatly and have caught up to synthetics in terms of their performance. They still can't flow worth a darn in the extreme cold, as I've demonstrated for myself in the -18*C pour test.