callmenicosuave

Hey there! I've been lurking these forums since Jan, and I couldn't ask for a better community!

So let's get down to it.

I got my 02 AP1 @ 141k miles in Feb (4th owner) and have put 6k miles on it so far. When I asked the previous owner about the oil he used, he noted that he used conventional for as long as he's owned the car, but he only drove the car for about 10k miles before he had to get rid of it.

Knowing that the previous owner put 87 Octane fuel in it, had the top slashed in his time (and didn't get it fixed), and neglected to research the engine noise (ended up being a TCT; changed as soon as I got it), I wonder if he put conventional oil in, not knowing if it had been on synthetic for the 100k+ miles before he owned it.

I'm about due for an oil change, and I was curious about switching to either partial or full synthetic. I've read many posts about how switching to full synthetic on a high mileage car may clean out some of the gunk from conventional oil, and lead to leaks. But in my case, all that I know is that for the past ~16k miles, it's been running on conventional.

Should I try out partial/full synthetic with hopes that the first two owners only used synthetic, and that gunk didn't have a chance to accumulate? And if I do end up with leaks, could I switch back to conventional to re-clog them and "fix" it?

Or would it be wise to keep using conventional with the "Ain't broke; don't fix it" mentality?

Thanks again for being an awesome community and answering my questions (indirectly) over the past 11 months

Billman250

Go to full syn now and keep it that way.

Car Analogy

That may have been true for older cars, but modern cars, with modern engine seals, won't suffer from such leaks from switching to synth. Don't be afraid to switch.

My recommendation is a good 0W-30 synthetic. You want that first number as low as possible, 0W still isn't really thin enough even when its not cold out. Don't go higher than -30. Too difficult to push thick oil at 9K rpm.

callmenicosuave

Thanks for the help! Just finished changing my oil to synthetic. I'll chime back in a few hundred miles to report any leaks (or lack of)!

orangebarius

Hopefully you used 10w-30. That's what the motor takes. 0w is too thin.

Utah S2K

Actually the manual specifies 2 grades of oil depending on ambient temperature. 5W-40 is what I have used for 12 years.....as specified in the Helm Manual (page 3-2 for the car in question). Warmer climates can use 10W-30.

Utah

callmenicosuave

If someone ever Google searches their way to this thread.. (Relevant: https://xkcd.com/979/)

A couple thousand miles later, and no issues to report! Full synthetic from here on out.

Thanks guys!

/thread

Tr6

Billman - 3rd owner of 01 with 50k miles. Unknown oil history. 1st change castrol edge 10w30. Used a quart in 1500 miles. Changed early to Mobil 1 10w30 used a quart in 2000 miles. Changed early again to castrol Dino 10w30. 1000 miles and used about 2 x's on dipstick low. Seems to be using less with the Dino. Your thoughts on just keeping it checked and full with syn or switching to Dino. It's a daily driver with VTEC and "spirited" every chance I get but no track

Thanks oh great one

kolyan2k

10w30 and 0w30 are both 30 weight oils. I am pretty sure manual says u can even use 5w40. 5w30 would be in-between the 2 as well.

Pretty much anything from 0w to 40 is good and about the same

Slowcrash_101

Just keep using regular dino oil, and change every 3,000 and you'll be golden. Full synthetic you can push a little longer, I do it at 5,000 just to be safe, as it only hurts my pocket, but many people on synthetic go 7, 10, even 15,000 per oil change. It's all in how you drive, get a UOA done.