starchland

long time castrol user here and very loyal and would love to move up to Edge to say im using the latest technology for whatever 'benefits' it would give me over syntec, however I just cant justify the price of $47.99 a bottle even if it may be cheaper in the long run. Id rather run a cheaper oil and change it out more frequently to clean out any contaminants, dilution,etc.

Doesnt the honda manual say change the filter out every other oil change under normal operating conditions? Just a thought.

currently running syntec at 7-8k interval w/ honda filter

zeroptzero

if you ever pull the valvecover to do a valve adjustment let us know how it looks in there, I'd be interested to know.

The top end of my engine was varnished up when I got the car with 88k kms on it. It was run on Castrol Syntec for 4,000 km drains according to the previous owner, (who was meticulous about his car and a former member on this forum). I ran Castrol Syntec with 1/2 bottle of Riselone, dumped it after 500 kms. Then I ran Moibl1 High Mileage with 1/2 bottle of Riselone for 500 kms. Put in Amsoil and I've run it for 1000 kms, I just had another peek at it during a valvecover swap and the top end was spotless. Hopefully she stays that way.

starchland

I dont think I will touch the valves. I think honda only says to adjust if loud? That mentality of if it aint broke dont touch it comes to mind just cause I dont have too much wrench experience in that department and not about to learn on an f20 hehe.

But there definately may be gains even if it is not req'd for adjustment by hondas specs I guess?

Hmm. To be honest, I find that hard to believe that your engine had religous oil changes on syntec. Sure Syntec may not be a true synthetic or an amsoil competitor, but from my experience, regular OCIs with syntec (or the correct OCI for said scenario+oil) keep things looking very clean. My accord had 380k miles on syntec from near break-in, and that thing was very clean (track miles included). My familys 03 v6 accord has 120k as well on syntec from break in and no signs of sludge or varnish.

revmatch

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

THE site for anything oil...good or bad!

zeroptzero

yeah the point of my question was to determine if the oil caused the varnishing or if the previous owner didn't change it as often as it was stated to me. If you ever do pull the valvecover keep me in mind, it would be interesting to know how it looks in there.

I did my valve clearance check/adjustment on my MY02 with 91k kms. I adjusted about 9 valves out of 16, they weren't terribly out of spec but they were uneven. I got them all evenly adjusted which I think is a good idea. I seems like the car runs a bit smoother/quieter now. I'd recommend adjusting the valves around 100k kms if you can get it done this way. Unfortunately most Honda techs only check the clearances to see if they are within spec., in which case I wouldn't waste the money and I'd leave it based on Honda's service recommendation.

Sorry for being a bit off-topic.

starchland

Yeah i hear you...I went off topic lol. I would love to pull the valve cover however I would need a good reason to break the factory seal ya know? but I will take pics if I do.

what do you mean to within spec? they only check the valves but dont adjust them to a specific spec?

zeroptzero

yeah there is a spec. range for the intake and exhaust valve clearances. When the dealer does it they only check to see if the individual clearances fall within the spec range. They basically only adjust the valves that fall outside of that range. On my car they might have only adjusted 2 valves, whereas I adjusted 9. I prefer to set the 8 intake valves all at the same clearance, and then all 8 exhaust valves at the same clearance - give or take. Having the clearances equal ensures that the staggared sized non VTEC range cam lobes work as designed to promote bottom end and mid-range power.

If you service the valve clearances more frequently you can also run them on the tighter end of the spec, rather than the middle or looser end of the spec. It can give you a bit more valve lift in the VTEC range for higher end power and the engine is at it's quietest setting as well. We're probably talking about small differences but every bit counts IMO.

starchland

indeed it does. maybe some time down the road I will look into having it done (not at a dealer ). Improving efficiency appeals to me.

So, back to Edge any Uoas on the stuff? only seen one or two on bitog.

zeroptzero

I've seen the same used analyses on BITOG, which are hard to compare.

There are some virgin oil analyses on BITOG as well. Looks like they added some extra anti-wear additives that they don't include in the Syntec line. They kicked in an extra dose of cleaning additives over the Syntec line. The TBN rating is identical to Syntec 0w-30 GC - which is a great oil - so overall it looks like an impressive package for an over the counter oil.

I can understand it being worth a couple more bucks per litre as compared to Syntec based on what you are getting inside the bottle. I still wouldn't run it anywhere near 24k though, as long drains don't hold any attraction for me. Conversely you could probably run Syntec 0w-30 GC at a lower cost and end up with similar wear protection as it's such a great oil with a proven track record. If someone doesn't mind the extra cost Edge is nice package, if the extra cost doesn't seem worth it then my other choice would be Syntec 0w30 GC. Just my opinion.

starchland

Just a few random pics I took peering through the valve cover.

Here is the f20. Run on syntec w/ honda filter @ 7k OCI. I am happy with how it looks.





Below, is a 03 j30 at 120k from an accord. OCI roughly 5-6k on a powerflo oil filter. Much dirtier than I would like to see, Varnish but no signs of sludge. A steady diet of >1km trips could be to blame. Oil filter choice questionnable too. Also, engine does not have the luxury of 1 hr drip drains.





FWIW