Amsoil OE 5w20 - 8,000 miles - 06 Honda Civic LX

[Artem]

Decided to pull a sample from one of the many cars i service. This girl ran the OLM (or MM "Maintenance Minder" as Honda calls it) down to -487 miles past 0% oil life (way past the 15% when Honda suggests you change the oil)

Looks like the oil held up well. They don't travel much so its mostly City short trip driving to college and back. Not sure how long this fill was in there but i pretty much put it in right when the OE line came out and i got my hands on it... however long ago that was. (if anyone remembers when that was, let me know)

Looks like with a little bit of top off (the oil level was LOW at the time of the OC) this oil could have made it right up to 10k before being completely spent. Comments?

P.S. I have Amsoil XL, which is rated up to 10k in my 07 Civic EX and based on these results, i'll sample @ 10k to see how much life is left in the XL which has Amsoil's Extended-drain Boost Technology to compare to the OE. Should be interesting.

 

[chubbs1]

"Lots of active additive left, and the oil is fairly acidic."

What does that mean??

Anyhoo, looks like a fine UOA, I would step up to the XL for the added protection for your short trip driving.

Thanks for posting!

 

[Artem]

I wouldn't call 2.0 TBN as "plenty left" but we all know Blackstone and their famous, contradicting comments

TAN looks fine to me, based on some of my previous UOA. AZO starts at 3.6 NEW.

 

[buster]

Just follow the OLM. It's pretty accurate.

 

[The motor guy]

I thought I read one time that TAN can't be accurately determined on synthetic oils. Maybe that was nitration and oxidation. I can't remember. Maybe someone can set me straight

 

[Artem]

Thank you buster but i feel the OLM is a bit conservative in the Civics. I think 8k on this oil / driving conditions are pretty much dead on for this engine. @ 15% oil life it would have probably been around 6,500 miles or so. I feel that's too early with the efficient R18 engine in the Civic + somewhat synthetic OE Oil.

 

[ajchien]

Thank you for posting the UOA with the mileage AND the OLM number. That builds confidence the the OLM.

 

[Artem]

No problem. From my experience, seems like Honda's OLM is pretty spot on and a bit on the conservative side... At least the civics anyway.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I wouldn't call 2.0 TBN as "plenty left" but we all know Blackstone and their famous, contradicting comments

TAN looks fine to me, based on some of my previous UOA. AZO starts at 3.6 NEW.


Why are you mentioning AZO when the oil used was OEM?

IIRC, Molakule said the starting base TAN number was around .5, but maybe that was before additives?

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: ajchien
Thank you for posting the UOA with the mileage AND the OLM number. That builds confidence the the OLM.


For reference, you can look up my latest UOA from my 07 Civic EX (identical car) when my OLM was @ 15% with 7,500 on the oil. This is a result of my civic seeing more highway driving so the MM extends the oil life.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
Originally Posted By: Artem
I wouldn't call 2.0 TBN as "plenty left" but we all know Blackstone and their famous, contradicting comments

TAN looks fine to me, based on some of my previous UOA. AZO starts at 3.6 NEW.


Why are you mentioning AZO when the oil used was OEM?

IIRC, Molakule said the starting base TAN number was around .5, but maybe that was before additives?


The oil was Amsoil OE. I figured since all of their oils were re-formulated, everything must be without the same spec... Or close to it.

I can send in a virgin sample of Amsoil OE to prove my point but I really don't see a need for it.

 

[buster]

Maybe you should have changed it when the OLM said 15%. I don't see much advantage of using OE compared to any SN rated oil. You should move up to the XL.

 

[Artem]

@ $3.99 a quart, its a bargain to me. I'm not comparing it to any other oil.

This client wants the cheapest oil I could offer, which is OE. Although XL and 10k OCIs are tempting to me, (and I'm using it in my EX) this client isn't looking to extend their OCI. They ran the oil longer then I recommended for whatever reason. I told em to change it at 15% oil life or roughly 6,500 miles to be on the safe side.

 

[Patman]

I don't understand the whole "change the oil at 15%" deal. If Honda wants owners to change at 15%, why don't they just recalibrate the monitor so that 15% equals 0%? I know it's nit picky, but it just seems strange to me. In my Corvette, when the OLM hits 9% the display tells me to CHANGE OIL SOON and only when it hits 0% does it change to CHANGE OIL NOW (and that's when I wait to do it and my UOAs have proven it's completely safe)

I'm going to be a rebel and wait until 0% to change my 2006 Civic's oil! (except on the first change, which I will be doing at the very last moment before the snowy weather hits us this fall)

 

[Artem]

I guess its a mental thing. People might actually thing they are running the oil down to 0% oil life. 15% is a feel good number to make the owner not feel like there's no more oil life left. Haha. Who knows.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I guess its a mental thing. People might actually thing they are running the oil down to 0% oil life. 15% is a feel good number to make the owner not feel like there's no more oil life left. Haha. Who knows.


Good point, that makes sense!

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Artem
@ $3.99 a quart, its a bargain to me. I'm not comparing it to any other oil.

This client wants the cheapest oil I could offer, which is OE. Although XL and 10k OCIs are tempting to me, (and I'm using it in my EX) this client isn't looking to extend their OCI. They ran the oil longer then I recommended for whatever reason. I told em to change it at 15% oil life or roughly 6,500 miles to be on the safe side.


That is a very good price actually.

 

[Jim Allen]

The oil held up well considering the use, though Hondas in general seem gentle on their oil. Hey, a New Glen Campbell single... "Gentle On My Oil."

K-Visc held well (starts at 8.7) and ended up at 8.3, despite some fuel dilution.

TAN is most useful when you have the starting number because some oils do start out a little acidic. Otherwise, it's just a number. To a lesser degree, TBN is the same deal. Starting 12 and ending up at 2 vs starting at 7.9 and ending up at 2, which the OE did.

Is $3.99 the normal retail? And it's a PAO base, I assume? Pretty good deal. If only they made a 10W30 CJ-4 OE I might jump on the bandwagon.

 

[Artem]

I agree that the OE's TBN retention is pretty good for 8k, also considering that this was the first time Amsoil has been in the engine. According to the owner, all previous oil changes have been at some fast lube joint with the cheapest juice they have available.

+1 for Amsoil.

 

[dmiko]

Where does it say to change oil at 15%?
From http://www.rbhonda.com/maintenance-minder-system.htm

Oil Life % Message What to do
15% Service Due Soon Plan to take your vehicle in for service.
5% Service Due Now Take your vehicle in now for maintenance.
0% Service Past Due Service is overdue. Take your vehicle in now.

From https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/om/NV0707/NV0707G00016A.pdf
...5 to 1 percent, you will see a. ''SERVICE OIL LIFE'' message

Bottom line: Honda doesn't say you need to change oil at 15%; dealerships do. Honda says 5% or lower.