johninator

I just finished reading about break in periods for our cars and I just wanted to see how everyones engines fares. Of course different driving technique affects results, but here is a start.

As far as following honda's recommendations for the 600 miles breakin without VTEC, I personally did not follow that as I VTEC'd my car when I first bought it. I made sure I was sweeping through the RPM ranges to redline followed by rapid engine decceleration during breakin. I did this at multiple RPM ranges and gears.

I have 8,000 miles on the car now. As some sort of gauge if my engine is in excellent condition, I don't burn a single drop of oil. At least not an x from the dipstick before each oil change that my eyes can see.

I would say that cold start operations will cause most of the irregular wear on your car especially when you drive it hard before you reach normal temperature ranges.

Driving Habits:

City and Highway driving with moderate amount of VTEC and occational redlines.

Oil Used:

Using regular Mobil Drive Clean 10w-30 motor oil every 2000-3000 miles.
The good thing bout Mobil Drive Clean oil is that its the same manufacturer of the Honda Genuine 10w-30 oil and you can pick this up at Walmart for $1.11-$1.22/quart.

Oil Filter:

Honda Genuine xxxxx-005 filter and PCX-004 now.

Simple Oil Analysis:

It turns very light brown at 1500 miles.
The oil doesn't really turn brown from the dipstick till about 2000 miles.
Dark brown near 3000 miles.

Ludedude

I've got 18,000 miles on my '01. Most of the 5,000 miles in the past 7 months are at the track or back and forth to the track. I didn't really pay much attention to the break in procedure. I tried to keep it under 6,000 RPM during breakin but if I didn't, oh well.

The car doesn't burn a single drop of oil between changes. Even after a few hundred track miles over a weekend, the dipstick still reads full. I'd say the oil turns visibly brownish on the dipstick after about 1,000 miles. I've been using nothing but high grade synthetic (Redline) 10w-30 since I passed the 10,000 mile mark (coincidentally when it stopped consuming oil).

Road Rage

Mobil makes a good oil. Here is some data in case you missed it:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=169852

The "color" of the oil is relatively meaningless. First, oil's vary in color even when new. MaxLife is quite clear, while Red Line and other syns can be dark amber. Lubrication Engineers is red.

Second, "dirty oil" is oil that is doing it sjob of being detergent, and holding combustion by-products in suspension.

johninator

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Road Rage
Mobil makes a good oil. Here is some data in case you missed it:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=169852

The "color" of the oil is relatively meaningless. First, oil's vary in color even when new. MaxLife is quite clear, while Red Line and other syns can be dark amber. Lubrication Engineers is red.

Road Rage

There is no doubt that syns can lower wear, esp under hard usage - how much that means in terms of reduced breakdown or how many more miles between engine overhauls is nearly impossible to quanitfy conclusively. Think of it comparatively to cholesterol - cholesterol has been associated with the increased risk if sudden cardiac death, myocardial infarctions, and coronary artery disease leading to stroke, and so forth. But no one can say that using,say, Zocor will mean you will live XX years longer - no doctor will do that, or can they promise that following the low-carb diet will extend your life one day. It is all about trends and likely results - as Doctor Oil, I will say that using a quality oil will extend engine life, and likely result in reduced incidence of component failure over time. Whether those are "worth it" to you in the long un has a lot to do with your objectives, and how you value your car's longevity - or is this a matter of investing for the next owner?

johninator

So based on your experience, would you say Amsoil 10W-30 would be the best oil out of the pack? How bout the LE8130? Which one would you use? Which Amsoil or other premium multiweight oil would you recommend. I notice there were several types for each grade.