Unfortunately, my pride and joy, my 2012 Acura, is not a garage queen, and not a highway queen either. To pay the bills, I have to work in an urban area which is not easily accessible to public transportation, and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear. My MM tells me in an alarmingly short time that the oil life goes from 100 % to 90%. By my calculations, it is telling me to change the oil every 5000 miles. I am using the best quality synthetic oils,( either M1, or PP, or some other very good fully synthetic name brand) and Fram Ultra filter, so it seems this is a waste. How exactly is MM calculating what my OCI should be, and what, if anything can I do to slow it down?
How does MM work.
- Thread starter PeterGreen
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Oil Life Monitors run algorithms based off a few variables to determine oil life (no doubt based off the quality of oil specified in the owner's manual). They are pretty much designed for the lowest common denominator (people getting their oil done at a cheap Jiffy Lube type place with cheap bulk oil), so it doesn't care that you use "best quality synthetic" and "fram ultra" because its designed and runs its calculations for generic SN-quality and tearolator. What you can do is ignore it, or just change your oil every 5000 miles if you want to go by it. Don't worry about it too much..
Their may be an OLM out there that actually tests the quality of oil remaining, but I'm not aware of that.
Their may be an OLM out there that actually tests the quality of oil remaining, but I'm not aware of that.
Your type of driving is the worst possible for an engine, i would continue using the synthetic oil and following the OLM. Do not try extended oil change intervals with this engine.
It is not a waste by any means.
It is not a waste by any means.
And your motor is really, really expensive to open up for internal work.
If you can afford to follow the OLM I'd do it. It could be correct and it would be expensive to find out it's not.
If you can afford to follow the OLM I'd do it. It could be correct and it would be expensive to find out it's not.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Your type of driving is the worst possible for an engine, i would continue using the synthetic oil and following the OLM. Do not try extended oil change intervals with this engine.
It is not a waste by any means.
It depends on what oil type is recommended in the owner manual, if dino then using synthetic can extend OCI to 1.5-2.0 MM's. If synthetic is recommended then just follow MM.
Your type of driving is the worst possible for an engine, i would continue using the synthetic oil and following the OLM. Do not try extended oil change intervals with this engine.
It is not a waste by any means.
It depends on what oil type is recommended in the owner manual, if dino then using synthetic can extend OCI to 1.5-2.0 MM's. If synthetic is recommended then just follow MM.
Not a 2012 Honda product. If its a V6 with VCM lower the MM by 20-30% with synthetic (take my word and experience with this one).
Originally Posted By: Honda
Q: I use synthetic oil. Should I expect to get more miles before the Acura Maintenance Minder indicates that I need an oil change?
A: Acura does not recommend the use of synthetic oils in models that do not require them as your Acura was designed and engineered based on the oil recommended in your owner's manual. The Acura Maintenance Minder calculates your vehicle's needs based on the oil recommended by the Acura engineers that designed your engine. The use of synthetic oil will not extend the oil change interval.
Originally Posted By: Honda
Q: I use synthetic oil. Should I expect to get more miles before the Acura Maintenance Minder indicates that I need an oil change?
A: Acura does not recommend the use of synthetic oils in models that do not require them as your Acura was designed and engineered based on the oil recommended in your owner's manual. The Acura Maintenance Minder calculates your vehicle's needs based on the oil recommended by the Acura engineers that designed your engine. The use of synthetic oil will not extend the oil change interval.
Originally Posted By: Trav
Not a 2012 Honda product. If its a V6 with VCM lower the MM by 20-30% with synthetic (take my word and experience with this one).
Originally Posted By: Honda
Q: I use synthetic oil. Should I expect to get more miles before the Acura Maintenance Minder indicates that I need an oil change?
A: Acura does not recommend the use of synthetic oils in models that do not require them as your Acura was designed and engineered based on the oil recommended in your owner's manual. The Acura Maintenance Minder calculates your vehicle's needs based on the oil recommended by the Acura engineers that designed your engine. The use of synthetic oil will not extend the oil change interval.
Honda says exactly the same for S2000 with recommended 10W30 dino. They said synthetic can be used but must be the same grade 10W30 and same mileage. But I extended OCI to 50% more with mixed M1 60% 0W40 & 40% 0W20 to get HTHS 3.3 instead of HTHS 3.1 of 10W30. Since they recommended 5W40 for colder climate, and 5W40 HTHS is above 3.5, the mixed of 0W40 & 0W20 is a compromise.
I agree with you about V6 with VCM, if I have this engine I would use only synthetic and OCI will be no longer than MM.
Not a 2012 Honda product. If its a V6 with VCM lower the MM by 20-30% with synthetic (take my word and experience with this one).
Originally Posted By: Honda
Q: I use synthetic oil. Should I expect to get more miles before the Acura Maintenance Minder indicates that I need an oil change?
A: Acura does not recommend the use of synthetic oils in models that do not require them as your Acura was designed and engineered based on the oil recommended in your owner's manual. The Acura Maintenance Minder calculates your vehicle's needs based on the oil recommended by the Acura engineers that designed your engine. The use of synthetic oil will not extend the oil change interval.
Honda says exactly the same for S2000 with recommended 10W30 dino. They said synthetic can be used but must be the same grade 10W30 and same mileage. But I extended OCI to 50% more with mixed M1 60% 0W40 & 40% 0W20 to get HTHS 3.3 instead of HTHS 3.1 of 10W30. Since they recommended 5W40 for colder climate, and 5W40 HTHS is above 3.5, the mixed of 0W40 & 0W20 is a compromise.
I agree with you about V6 with VCM, if I have this engine I would use only synthetic and OCI will be no longer than MM.
Originally Posted By: PeterGreen
and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear.
Not trying to be a downer but the chances are you will be rear ended and car totaled before you wear the engine out. You could do 15K miles on synthetic.
and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear.
Not trying to be a downer but the chances are you will be rear ended and car totaled before you wear the engine out. You could do 15K miles on synthetic.
What weight oil does your car specify? My Element calls for 5W20, and that is conventional or synthetic.
My MM hits 0% right around 6,000mi with similar city driving. I've run 0W20 synthetic exclusively and had used oil analyses performed indicating that I can go up to 8-9000mi with that oil.
If your machine calls for 5W20, I believe that your MM is calibrated for conventional, so you should be able to go a little longer on synthetic.
If it does have the VCM system that seems to have some issues, I'd probably still run synthetic and replace it according to the MM.
My MM hits 0% right around 6,000mi with similar city driving. I've run 0W20 synthetic exclusively and had used oil analyses performed indicating that I can go up to 8-9000mi with that oil.
If your machine calls for 5W20, I believe that your MM is calibrated for conventional, so you should be able to go a little longer on synthetic.
If it does have the VCM system that seems to have some issues, I'd probably still run synthetic and replace it according to the MM.
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: PeterGreen
and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear.
Not trying to be a downer but the chances are you will be rear ended and car totaled before you wear the engine out. You could do 15K miles on synthetic.
He could do 15k on synthetic if it were purely highway miles, theres no way he could reach 15k with his commute.
Originally Posted By: PeterGreen
and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear.
Not trying to be a downer but the chances are you will be rear ended and car totaled before you wear the engine out. You could do 15K miles on synthetic.
He could do 15k on synthetic if it were purely highway miles, theres no way he could reach 15k with his commute.
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: PeterGreen
and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear.
Not trying to be a downer but the chances are you will be rear ended and car totaled before you wear the engine out. You could do 15K miles on synthetic.
Don't think that this hasn't occurred to me.
Originally Posted By: PeterGreen
and I spend a long time commuting in stop and go traffic each morning and evening. This means lots of sudden bursts of speed when the insane NYC drivers do allow you to merge, as well as much driving in first and second gear.
Not trying to be a downer but the chances are you will be rear ended and car totaled before you wear the engine out. You could do 15K miles on synthetic.
Don't think that this hasn't occurred to me.
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
What weight oil does your car specify? My Element calls for 5W20, and that is conventional or synthetic.
My MM hits 0% right around 6,000mi with similar city driving. I've run 0W20 synthetic exclusively and had used oil analyses performed indicating that I can go up to 8-9000mi with that oil.
If your machine calls for 5W20, I believe that your MM is calibrated for conventional, so you should be able to go a little longer on synthetic.
If it does have the VCM system that seems to have some issues, I'd probably still run synthetic and replace it according to the MM.
5W20 dino or synthetic is what the owner's manual recommends.
What weight oil does your car specify? My Element calls for 5W20, and that is conventional or synthetic.
My MM hits 0% right around 6,000mi with similar city driving. I've run 0W20 synthetic exclusively and had used oil analyses performed indicating that I can go up to 8-9000mi with that oil.
If your machine calls for 5W20, I believe that your MM is calibrated for conventional, so you should be able to go a little longer on synthetic.
If it does have the VCM system that seems to have some issues, I'd probably still run synthetic and replace it according to the MM.
5W20 dino or synthetic is what the owner's manual recommends.
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You could save a little money by changing the filter at least every other OCI.
Using top synthetic you should be able to run the MM to 0% then reset and take to 50% but you'd want a uoa to confirm
Most OLM's measure RPM's, cold starts, trip mileage, avg speed, eng temp, and are based on the recommended minimum spec oil.
I would use your oil of choice Syn or not, that meets your engine's specs, and run the OLM down to 10%, change the oil, call it a day, and sleep well.
I would use your oil of choice Syn or not, that meets your engine's specs, and run the OLM down to 10%, change the oil, call it a day, and sleep well.
Originally Posted By: PeterGreen
By my calculations, it is telling me to change the oil every 5000 miles.
5000 miles is a long ways to go on the type of driving you do.
You should move out to California and cruise the sunshine freeways.
By my calculations, it is telling me to change the oil every 5000 miles.
5000 miles is a long ways to go on the type of driving you do.
You should move out to California and cruise the sunshine freeways.
One gas fill-up probably costs more than synthetic oil and filter for 6 months. Why are we trying to take chances on something that is such a small percentage of your overall operating costs? You aren't running a fleet here...this is just 1 personal vehicle.
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