Author Topic: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?  (Read 4674 times)

amha

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'01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« on: April 16, 2015, 11:24:40 AM »
Hi Mustachians!

I have a 2001 Civic LX that's due for an oil change. I last changed the oil about 10,000 miles ago (this was two years ago, with fully-synthetic 5W-30 oil, and those miles are almost all highway miles).

The oil cap on the engine says to use 5W-30 oil, but the manual says to use 5W-20. (Maybe the engine oil cap got switched at some point?) Is there a big difference? Am I harming the engine if I use 5W-30 for an extended period? Or is this a really pedantic question?

mikesinWV

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2015, 11:33:04 AM »
I've got a 2000 Civic.  I've used 5W-30 on it every time.  200k+ miles on it.  The owners manual should tell you what is recommended.

James

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Re: '01 Civic oil change––5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2015, 11:37:51 AM »
I would go with the owners manual, but frankly it won't likely matter between those two. Are you in a cold or warm climate? If in a hot climate go with the 5W-30.

There is a general idea out there that 20 will provide better fuel economy while 30 will provide better protection and life to the engine. I don't buy that, I doubt it matter much either way. But if you are worried about protecting the engine 30 might provide slight advantage. If you are wanting best fuel economy then 20 might have the edge. Really not a big deal though.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2015, 11:44:36 AM by James »

JLee

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2015, 03:09:34 PM »
I would go with the owners manual, but frankly it won't likely matter between those two. Are you in a cold or warm climate? If in a hot climate go with the 5W-30.

There is a general idea out there that 20 will provide better fuel economy while 30 will provide better protection and life to the engine. I don't buy that, I doubt it matter much either way. But if you are worried about protecting the engine 30 might provide slight advantage. If you are wanting best fuel economy then 20 might have the edge. Really not a big deal though.
Science! It's more than "a general idea."

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2012/09/fuel-economy-race-brings-expensive-oil-to-inexpensive-cars/index.htm
Quote
But what's behind so many makers of ordinary cars requiring expensive synthetic oil in the first place? Linden says automakers can save between 0.5 and 1 percent on EPA fuel economy tests compared with 5W-20 motor oil. The tests are run starting with a cold engine, so the lower viscosity reduces friction until the engine warms up.

Indeed, when Honda first presented us with details about the 2012 CR-V, company engineers emphasized that they had gained 2 mpg in EPA fuel economy ratings mainly by reducing friction in the engine and other mechanical components, not by introducing new technologies like direct fuel injection or continuously variable transmissions.

Night and day difference? Nope. :)

Either oil will do fine in a hot or cold climate. Here's some more info on what the numbers mean: http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

zolotiyeruki

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2015, 10:09:28 AM »
I'm more concerned with your oil change interval.  10k miles between changes?  Even with synthetic, I wouldn't be that brave.  There's a whole debate in another thread around here about service intervals...

JLee

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2015, 10:57:51 AM »
I'm more concerned with your oil change interval.  10k miles between changes?  Even with synthetic, I wouldn't be that brave.  There's a whole debate in another thread around here about service intervals...

10k miles might be fine with quality oil/filter, but I would change oil annually. Going for two years is asking for trouble.

The Beacon

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2015, 11:15:39 AM »
I'm more concerned with your oil change interval.  10k miles between changes?  Even with synthetic, I wouldn't be that brave.  There's a whole debate in another thread around here about service intervals...

10k miles might be fine with quality oil/filter, but I would change oil annually. Going for two years is asking for trouble.
it depends. If it is always high way driving, it should be fine. Oil itself does not degrade over the time. It is the water from short trips.   That is in theory.  i still recommend once a year just to be on the safe side.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2015, 12:26:29 PM »
I may be creating too much work for myself--I change the oil twice a year on our cars, one of which gets about 5k miles/year and the other 10k.

JLee

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #8 on: April 17, 2015, 01:36:32 PM »
I'm more concerned with your oil change interval.  10k miles between changes?  Even with synthetic, I wouldn't be that brave.  There's a whole debate in another thread around here about service intervals...

10k miles might be fine with quality oil/filter, but I would change oil annually. Going for two years is asking for trouble.
it depends. If it is always high way driving, it should be fine. Oil itself does not degrade over the time. It is the water from short trips.   That is in theory.  i still recommend once a year just to be on the safe side.

10k over two years doesn't indicate a lot of highway driving, but you could do a used oil analysis at the 1yr mark and check on the oil's condition.

Syonyk

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2015, 06:00:05 PM »
it depends. If it is always high way driving, it should be fine. Oil itself does not degrade over the time. It is the water from short trips.   That is in theory.  i still recommend once a year just to be on the safe side.

The base oil doesn't degrade over time, but the additive packages do (acid neutralization being one that typically fails first), water and fuel build up in the oil, and small particles that can get through the oil filter build up.

Once a year is probably fine for an infrequently driven vehicle (that's what I do on my truck, also because it takes nearly 4 gallons of oil and mostly gets highway miles), but I wouldn't push further than that.

southernhippie

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #10 on: April 17, 2015, 06:14:32 PM »
go with what the manual says.  Or even try Ow-20

Syonyk

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #11 on: April 17, 2015, 06:20:50 PM »
go with what the manual says.  Or even try Ow-20

That stuff is *expensive.*

And I wouldn't go down in oil weight for a car.  Especially not a 14 year old car.

JLee

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #12 on: April 20, 2015, 12:35:23 PM »
go with what the manual says.  Or even try Ow-20

That stuff is *expensive.*

And I wouldn't go down in oil weight for a car.  Especially not a 14 year old car.
The difference between a 0wX and a 5wX is in cold start conditions (the 0w will have better cold flow properties). The oil is the same once it reaches operating temperature.

oatsmagoats

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Re: '01 Civic oil change末5W-20 or 5W-30?
« Reply #13 on: April 24, 2015, 09:35:40 AM »
I used to have a 2001 Civic and the manual stated 5W-20.