06 Civic SI - PP 5w30 -10.3k on oil, 77k on engine

[JoeFromPA]

Hi all,

I've been waiting with baited breath for this oil report

Please read the background I've written prior to interpretation.

This UOA shows the following:

26-36k on engine: Amsoil Series 2000 0w30
36-50k on engine: Amsoil SSO 0w30
50k-66k on engine: Amsoil SSO 0w30
~66k-77k on engine: Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 (this UOA posted now)

Sump capacity: 5.5 quarts.

Consumption: From 0-26k miles, it was 1 quart every 1500-2000 miles. Switching to Series 2000 dropped that to 3-4k. Amsoil SSO was routinely 4-5.5k per quart.

The Pennzoil Platinum seemed to increase at first and then slow down towards the end. I added 2.5 quarts total to this sump, or about 1 quart per 4000 miles. Seems reasonable given my harder driving (see below).

Oil filters: Purolator PureOne every time, except 36-50k I used a Amsoil EaO oil filter

Air Filter on all: K&N Panel Filter. The K&N was cleaned at 36k and then run non-stop till 66k and freshly cleaned. So this most recent UOA shows the effects of, essentially, a completely cleaned and re-oiled K&N filter.

Additives: None

Gasoline: Any and all, almost always 93 octane and never below 92 octane.

Tune: Original state of tune. Valves have not yet been adjusted, original spark plugs.

Driving Conditions: I still commute 65 miles round trip each day, but for the past 4 months I've started doing some more in between trips (grad school). On this oil change, I've never driven the car harder. I cruise at 4000 rpms (about 80mph). I hit redline/tap the 8300 rpm fuel cut somewhere between 5-8 times a day, and usually in 2nd, 3rd, nd 4th gear. I sometimes let the engine brake at 6000 rpms for a minute or two.

I never beat on it till it reaches operating temperature (i.e. 15+ minutes of driving). I never drive it until it's been idling for 15-20 seconds, in the cold it's more like 45-60 seconds. I never idle it for more than 2-3 minutes straight. I typically drive it between 3000-4000 rpms to help it warm up.

So, enough with that, the results:

My interpretation: Fantastic! I am extremely pleased with the trending, the silicon considering a freshly cleaned K&N, the extreme lack of anything exhibiting a concern. The viscosity shear is reasonable and did not appear to affect the oil's ability to protect. Also, SSO definitely stayed in grade but was hanging on by a thread (albeit, given significantly more mileage). So I consider the fact that PP only sheared slightly out of grade to be ok.

Anyway, I'm overall just very very happy. My car used a total of 8 quarts of oil here (5.5 quart fill-up + 2.5 quarts top-off). That's $32 + a $6 oil filter for this 10k run. SSO was running me about $78 for 16k worth of oil interval (9 quarts @ $8 per quart + $6 oil filter), so I'm saving and I intend to run the next fill of PP to 12k miles.

Lastly, I took a look through my oil fill cap at the camshaft lobes I could see. They quite literally look brand new. I'm going to take the valve cover off next winter for my 100k tune-up and take some detailed pictures.

Any and all thoughts welcome.

Joe

 

[hate2work]

I'd say this oil held up well, especially given how brutal you were on it. Nice job

 

[buster]

Shell makes a very good oil. Sheared a bit, but the Fe was reduced by 1/2.

 

[The Critic]

Wow, the oil thinned a lot.

Although the oil performed well (heck, maybe dino would perform just as well considering the amount of make-up oil), it is unacceptable to me for a supposedly top-tier synthetic to have this much viscosity loss.

BTW Joe...nice to see you posting here. I enjoy reading your posts over on InsideLine. My username over there is sodaguy.

 

[cos]

Ya, looks great but I'd expect it to given the large sump for such a small engine (1.8 liter?) and all the make-up oil.

Is it common for the Si motors to use a qt every 1500-2000 for the first 26K?

 

[Carzzz]

Originally Posted By: cos
Ya, looks great but I'd expect it to given the large sump for such a small engine (1.8 liter?) and all the make-up oil.

Is it common for the Si motors to use a qt every 1500-2000 for the first 26K?


Civic Si has a K20 high revving engine!

 

[Pablo]

Good to know your engine is so clean!

All the numbers are very similar. It's just the oil consumption that would drive me crazy. Glad our two Hondas use ZERO oil.

 

[Johnny]

Same here Pablo, our two Honda Elements use no oil.

Now, I would not push it to 12K. Platinum has NEVER been advertised or sold as an extended drain oil. The max I would push it is 10K. If it were actually mine, I would change it at 8K.

 

[FZ1]

Surprised it did so well for so long. Ouit whie you ahead. 10k max.

 

[jeepman]

Great report. Reports like this are what finally sold me on PP and make me sleep good at night. Of course, the usual naysayers will predict gloom and doom if you go further and don't have Mobil 1 in the sump, but those Honda engines are so easy on oil, and with the good TBN number you are seeing, I wouldn't hesitate to run it farther. The viscosity is just a little lower than where Havoline DS starts fresh, so don't sweat it. Congrats on a great combination.

 

[mechanicx]

Honda's seem easy on oil but this one sure wasn't easy on shearing the oil or burning it.

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

what is shearing?

 

[JoeFromPA]

Thanks for the comments all.

The Civic SI is not tough on oil by nature. Dino oil reports of 6k on the oil (per the OLM) usually show good solid results.

But it is tough on the oil when driven hard, as I like to do. Some days it's almost like I'm tracking it. The glorious thing is that it doesn't have a ton of power, so beating on it isn't insane.

The manual states the car should take 4.8 quarts with an oil filter. However, myself and many other SI owners know that it takes 5.5 quarts before it gets to thefull line on the dipstick.

The consumption is steady and most likely a result of the low-friction high-rpm ring design. No ill side effects have occured, and as with the other oils it seems to help keep the engine clean and freshen up the sump

The oil can obviously go longer as a function of TBN, but I agree that it has now sheared out of grade and despite it obviously doing fine, it may be worse next time. Since it'll now be getting alot more water build-up and cold start abuse, I'll stick to 10k for the winter run.

Johnny - Rotella T Synthetic and many other modern oils aren't billed as long-drain, but show fine after 10k. Considering the plethora of oils out there that now need to run 10k intervals on the engines stock OLM, I'm guessing that most modern SM-rated synthetics can easily do longer drains.

Pablo - So clean. Can't wait to share a few pictures. Btw, I'm trying to get a few more LGT owners to go with amsoil severe gear 75w110 for gearboxes with higher levels of gear chatter after switching to a non-OEM sprung-hub clutch.

Critic/Sodaguy - Thanks! Good to see you too. I love IL, but I've drifted away a bit. My future is in used cars as far as I see it, and IL still hasn't really launched a "cool used cars" part of their LT blog fleet. I make good money, but my wife and I are probably going to have a baby in 2 years and I no longer see the need to lose so much money on depreciation

 

[Corvette Owner]

I was wondering about 5.5 quarts in a Civic AND your oil usage, then I read, "The manual states the car should take 4.8 quarts with an oil filter. However, myself and many other SI owners know that it takes 5.5 quarts before it gets to the full line on the dipstick."

How do "you and other owners" KNOW that it takes 5.5 quarts ?

This could be why you are "burning" oil ! Overfulling oil sometimes causes the crankshaft to hit the oil causing aireation of the oil, not a good thing.

Some 1997-2004 corvettes show only half full on their dipsticks when the correct amount of oil is used (6.5 quarts), but some owners insist on putting in another half quart. That is wrong. It doesn't hurt the engine (GM says you can put in another quart when road racing, but you should drain it out afterwards), but it is not the correct amount.

Try using what the Manufactor recommends and see if your oil consumption doesn't dissappear.

I'm not slamming you, but it really bothers me when some owners think they know the car better than the manufactor who spends millions of dollars on engineering and testing.

 

[buster]

Quote:
The consumption is steady and most likely a result of the low-friction high-rpm ring design. No ill side effects have occured, and as with the other oils it seems to help keep the engine clean and freshen up the sump


Agree. My Accord has always used 1/2qt per 5k miles. 123k and runs like new.


PP has a starting Tbn of 10. It can handle 12k mile drain intervals IMO. Of course it depends on the vehicle

PP also meets most stringent API/ACEA and OEM specs like HTO-06. Great oil.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
it is unacceptable to me for a supposedly top-tier synthetic to have this much viscosity loss.



SSO sheared as well and was almost a 20 grade. SSO IS a top tier synthetic.

 

[02zx9r]

Looks good. I would stick with 10-12K intervals.

 

[JoeFromPA]

Corvette Owner - I understand your comments. I have filled with 4.6 quarts and had my oil not even show on the dipstick.

Long ago (as in, 50k ago), I started filling with 5 quarts and then driving for a few weeks (letting some color appear in the oil) and then topping off the oil after a full night of sitting on a flat surface.

The oil is not being overfilled. There are none of the other signs I would expect if I was overfilling, such as increased wear due to cavitation. The oil is not discoloring at a rapid rate due to high acidity and being filled with air constantly.

Furthermore, when it burns down a quart (I don't always top it off), it doesn't STOP burning down. It continues to be consumed at a steady pace. So overfilling is not indicative of oil consumption here, as when it is consumed it does not slow consumption.

The Honda K20 series of engines is a very well known oil burner as a result of the piston ring design. What I'm seeing is quite literally average: about 1 quart every 4-5k miles.

My initial consumption of 1 quart every 2000 miles was high for this engine, but it was steady, no problems could be seen, and over 50k miles ago it slowed down.

I enjoy the consumption. Gives me an excuse to pop open the engine cover and feel like I'm doing something

 

[JoeFromPA]

Buster - I feel the same way. SSO was undergoing significantly more stress (i.e. 4-6k more miles), and it did shear, but it also definitely stayed in grade.

That being said, a little viscosity shear when not paired with increased engine wear isn't exactly a sign of the apocalypse. So I say no big deal

However, it does reinforce that this may not be the oil of choice in harder-use engines for long intervals.

 

[addyguy]

Nice results. A little suprised at how much it sheared, considering the top-off.

With regular top-offs replenishing the oil, 12k is easily do-able here. I understand Johnny's concerns, BUT PP is 'built' like a long-drain oil, even if it isn't MARKETED as one!