Oil Life

[Elmacho]

Recently I noticed that my Si had taken a lot of oil, and it was well below the lower dot, so I added a quart, and scheduled an oil change. It has about 4100 miles on it and the oil life states 40%. I said screw it, they recommend 5000 miles, I will just get it a little early. So I go to my closest Honda dealership today and talk with the service guy for a couple minutes, then he says he needs to give the car a once over. Well I did't and don't see how that is necessary since it's just an oil change, but I kept quiet and let him do his thing. He got in and checked the mileage and oil life meter. He tells me "you don't need to get your oil changed, you should get it when the meter says 15%" I tell him that I was concerned that the car was taking in a lot of oil and that I had to add a quart. He said he had never heard of that with a Si yet. We talk a little more and he decides to check the oil, and since I just added a quart, it was pretty clean, and a little above the bottom dot. He recommended that they just top it off and I wait until the oil life states 15%. He tells me that the oil life number is not based upon mileage, but its actually very advanced. I am no car whiz so much of what he was telling me was going straight over my head. Basically he said that it's based on your driving conditions as well as mileage, such as the number of miles you drove that day at certain RPM's etc. He also stated that it measures something in the oil to determine how old and dirty it is. I took his word for it. He topped it off and I got out of there. Anyway, as I was driving home, I started thinking that this doesn't make much sense. Right before I had to add oil myself, the oil life was at 40%, the oil was old and black. After the new oil was added, shouldn't the oil life increase due to the addition of the new oil? Now like I said, I am no car expert, I don't even change my own damn oil, so I might be totally off. However, this just doesn't make too much sense, and the oil life meter remains a mystery to me as to how it calculates the percentage. Anyone have any ideas?

[Mikey6p]

The mechanic I talked to said it went by revolutions of the crankshaft. So if you rev it high a lot, you need to change your oil earlier. And if you keep the revs low most of the time, it will last longer.

[Downpour]

you kno, what you said was the same thing ive been wondering. there are a few threads out there on this forum stating how the SI guzzles oil, and that you have to add a bit. now, some other guys ive talked to (outside this forum) tell me about the viscosity of the oil. as the oil gets older, it also thickens, causing less lubricatoin. now, when you add more new oil, i dont exactly think the lubrication will be up to scratch as it was before. That is to say, it will not be the same as the optimum level, which is ALL new oil. so it is always good to drain it out and put in new oil to maintain the lubrication level and keep the engine alive and clean.

now i am not car expert either, so please correct any general mistakes i have made. thats just how i see this oil situation. am i right?

[Elmacho]

The mechanic did mention viscosity of the oil, and I am wondering the same as you, because adding fresh oil should thin out the old oil, causing your oil life % to go back up. Wouldn't you think?

[Cybergypsy]

I was at honda yesterday, mine has 40% and i have 5400 miles, hesaid to leave it in .......it better for the engine.....

[HAQER]

The mechanic I talked to at a Honda stealership in my area said since its a high revving sports car then to change it at 50% or about 3000 miles. I told him I was just coming to them for the 2 free oil changes and then I would go somewhere else so I know he wasn't just saying that to get me to come back more often.

Also, he said he's buying the four door GG Si when it comes out, so he's all about the Sport injection.

[berkshire40]

this might have already been discussed, but the first oil change might be different. read the owners manual...thats what its there for

when the car comes from the factory it has special additives in the engine to condition it for its hopefully lengthy operation. you dont want to change the oil too soon the first time around because those additives need to remain in the engine. this according to my dealership.

[Cybergypsy]

Originally Posted by berkshire40

this might have already been discussed, but the first oil change might be different. read the owners manual...thats what its there for

when the car comes from the factory it has special additives in the engine to condition it for its hopefully lengthy operation. you dont want to change the oil too soon the first time around because those additives need to remain in the engine. this according to my dealership.

ditto....

[radiocontrolhead]

i thoguht mine was really weird. i had about 4800 miles and my percentage was at 0%, i finally went in when i was 40 mils past zero at about 4900 miles on the car.. How are you guys getting a 50 percent at 5400 miles?

perhaps a recent oil leak coudl be the cause? they were fiddeling w/ it, topping it off numerous times when i was there for teh same problem. coudl that be a problem? I dont usually vtec a lot. i hardly do it. i know some guys on teh board are rev happy all the time. any time fo the day. are they experiencing that maintaince meters percentage dropping rapidly?

[Skyline4life]

i got about 325ish miles on it..and my oil life is still at 100% is that supposed to be?

[Cybergypsy]

Originally Posted by Skyline4life

i got about 325ish miles on it..and my oil life is still at 100% is that supposed to be?

yep thats right

[iVTEC]

I read in some other threads that the oil life meter simply makes calculations based on your driving conditions and that it doesn't actually measure anything. I'm not a Honda tech, so I wouldn't know for certain myself.

Regarding your oil burning issue, many people at ClubRSX complained about burning oil in the RSX with the K20A2 engine (the forerunner of the K20Z3 in the Si). It seems that if you hit VTEC a lot, you'll burn oil more quickly. I didn't do it very often, only when needed to merge onto the freeway. So I didn't have any problem with burning oil in my RSX-S. People also complained about burning oil more with Mobil 1 0W-30. I used Amsoil or Royal Purple. No problems.

Originally Posted by Elmacho

Recently I noticed that my Si had taken a lot of oil, and it was well below the lower dot, so I added a quart, and scheduled an oil change. It has about 4100 miles on it and the oil life states 40%. I said screw it, they recommend 5000 miles, I will just get it a little early. So I go to my closest Honda dealership today and talk with the service guy for a couple minutes, then he says he needs to give the car a once over. Well I did't and don't see how that is necessary since it's just an oil change, but I kept quiet and let him do his thing. He got in and checked the mileage and oil life meter. He tells me "you don't need to get your oil changed, you should get it when the meter says 15%" I tell him that I was concerned that the car was taking in a lot of oil and that I had to add a quart. He said he had never heard of that with a Si yet. We talk a little more and he decides to check the oil, and since I just added a quart, it was pretty clean, and a little above the bottom dot. He recommended that they just top it off and I wait until the oil life states 15%. He tells me that the oil life number is not based upon mileage, but its actually very advanced. I am no car whiz so much of what he was telling me was going straight over my head. Basically he said that it's based on your driving conditions as well as mileage, such as the number of miles you drove that day at certain RPM's etc. He also stated that it measures something in the oil to determine how old and dirty it is. I took his word for it. He topped it off and I got out of there. Anyway, as I was driving home, I started thinking that this doesn't make much sense. Right before I had to add oil myself, the oil life was at 40%, the oil was old and black. After the new oil was added, shouldn't the oil life increase due to the addition of the new oil? Now like I said, I am no car expert, I don't even change my own damn oil, so I might be totally off. However, this just doesn't make too much sense, and the oil life meter remains a mystery to me as to how it calculates the percentage. Anyone have any ideas?

[K20Z3Si]

I always change the oil at 3k it starts to look a little dirty around 3k witch is good, it shows its doing its job. but if you want it to last the longest i would change it at 3k.

[si_civic]

+2 on the special additives. I'd wait.

[xc0n]

wait so how do you get your oil life back up to 100% because i just had my oil changed and its at 30.... i do hit vtec everyday 2/3 times

[Car78412]

Originally Posted by xc0n

wait so how do you get your oil life back up to 100% because i just had my oil changed and its at 30.... i do hit vtec everyday 2/3 times

Was your oil life monitor reset? It is easy to do it yourself. Just see the owners manuel. Non Honda service places may not know how to reset it.
I change my oil at 3,000. The oil life monitor says I am at 60%. I dont care..Oil changes are cheap. Engines are expensive.

[JerrfyLube]

That oil life meter thing is about worthless IMO...if it was actually taking samples of the oil and telling you how much life it has left, thats one thing...but to go off of mileage or crankshaft revolutions really doesnt mean a hill of beans. A highly trusted ASE master mechanic told me this several years ago..."Regular dino oil...every 3,000-5,000. Synthetics, double that."

Screw that oil life meter....mine will get a diet of Mobil 1 every 6000-7000 miles.

[BlitzDC]

Took mine in at about 3400, no questions asked. I also lost about a quart by around 3k and the oil was pretty black. I would go back and tell them you want an oil change...Customers always Right!

[bizzybearfigiblue]

i'm one of the ppl who redline daily. my oil life was at 5% @ about 4800miles. my oil was a little low. and when i changed it, it was BLACK. i use Royal Purple 5w-30

Originally Posted by xc0n

wait so how do you get your oil life back up to 100% because i just had my oil changed and its at 30.... i do hit vtec everyday 2/3 times

u have to press sel/res button until it's on oil life. then u hold the sel/res button, you'll see it flash for about 5-10 sec, then it resets to 100%.

Originally Posted by JerrfyLube

A highly trusted ASE master mechanic told me this several years ago..."Regular dino oil...every 3,000-5,000. Synthetics, double that."

Screw that oil life meter....mine will get a diet of Mobil 1 every 6000-7000 miles.

just b/c it's synthetic doesn't mean u have to wait til ur @ 6000 miles to change it. it all depends on ur driving condition. even the oil that states 10,000 miles on the bottle doesn't really last for that long.

[JerrfyLube]

Originally Posted by bizzybearfigiblue

just b/c it's synthetic doesn't mean u have to wait til ur @ 6000 miles to change it. it all depends on ur driving condition. even the oil that states 10,000 miles on the bottle doesn't really last for that long.

Very true...you can change it at 5 miles if you so desired....


But its been proven time and time again that synthetics outlast regular dino oils in terms of lubrication....


I run my vehicles pretty hard usually and send in oil samples to be tested every so often...ive never had one come back that showed signs of a dire need of an oil change, even at 6000 miles while using synthetics.


Another wrench id like to throw into this ongoing battle of oil life is air filters. Youd be amazed at how much faster your oil gets dirty and looses its lubrication properties when your running a CAI or other style of intake that uses a K&N style cotten gauze filter....or just a plain K&N drop in for that matter. There is a reason they flow more air...