New car (CR-Z)! Help plan a maintenance schedule.

[09_GXP]

I just picked up a new 2011 Honda CR-Z and am planning my maintenance schedule for it. Currently the car only has 300 miles on it so I have some time before any maintenance comes due. The car sees a pretty easy duty cycle, 35 miles to work on mostly interstates and occasional 200+ mile road trips. I am expecting to put ~25k miles on it every year. The oil spec’d by Honda is 0w-20 and even though that light of oil makes me a little uneasy its been used enough by members of this board that I feel safe with it and will continue using it. The car has a MM that recommends the service schedule but I will most likely not be following that for a couple reasons. #1: I enjoy working on my cars so I look forward to oil changes and #2 from my work experiences I have seen too many engines torn down after long OCIs that look like [censored]. I don’t mind spending a little extra $$$ to have some fun and keep my cars running great.

With all that being said my initial plan will be to run 7500mi OCIs with a UOA after 15000mi. I am thinking of changing out the FF @ 2500-3000mi and then performing the next change @ 7500mi to get on that schedule. The next decision will be what oil and filter combo to run.

Filters: The older Honda filters, before they were made by Honeywell, seem to be a decent filter. I’ve also ran Bosch and M1 filters in the past and been happy with them.

Oil: From the research I’ve done it looks like my options are Honda Syn-Blend and Full Syn, PP, PU, M1, and Edge. Are there any other’s that I’ve missed (I know Toyota has a 0w20 but putting that in a Honda just seems wrong to me)? I haven’t seen anything but M1 on the shelves around here, but I haven’t been looking to hard either. Also, I haven’t seen anything that would point to one of these being any better than the others.

I am open to any suggestions/comments.

 

[bepperb]

Honda and Ford have been using 20 weight oils since model year 1999. Don't think twice about that.

Your initial plan sounds great.

The oil will be limited by what you can find. I'd use M1 or the Honda oil since those would be easiest to get your hands on in 0w-20.

For Honda filters, I've used quite a few and cut them open. I stick to Wix or PureOnes. I think you'd be happy with those or the Bosch (very similar to PureOne) or M1 over the Filtech Honda filter. Honda also has a filter from Toyo Roki that is better than the Filtech and similar to the others.

 

[beast3300]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
Honda and Ford have been using 20 weight oils since model year 1999. Don't think twice about that.

Your initial plan sounds great.

The oil will be limited by what you can find. I'd use M1 or the Honda oil since those would be easiest to get your hands on in 0w-20.

For Honda filters, I've used quite a few and cut them open. I stick to Wix or PureOnes. I think you'd be happy with those or the Bosch (very similar to PureOne) or M1 over the Filtech Honda filter. Honda also has a filter from Toyo Roki that is better than the Filtech and similar to the others.


Since 01.

To the OP: Your plan sounds solid!

 

[OldCowboy]

Honda 4 cylinder engines do quite well on 20 weight oil (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...251#Post2293251)

I'm not sure what OCI Honda recommends, but with your duty cycle you can probably exceed their recommendations. Of course, only UOAs will tell.

I probably wouldn't put Toyota oil in a Honda. I've heard that exploding engines can result!

Just kidding about the Toyota oil.

 

[adamjeeps]

Your plan sounds good, I always liked changing the FF at about 2500-3000 miles. What kind of mpg have you been seeing?

 

[09_GXP]

Originally Posted By: adamjeeps
Your plan sounds good, I always liked changing the FF at about 2500-3000 miles. What kind of mpg have you been seeing?


Haven't filled the tank up yet but the computer is reporting 46-49mpg. From what I've read on the CR-Z forums it seems to be pretty accurate. For reference my 2010 Yaris would get 45-46mpg for the same trips.

 

[Oregoonian]

M-1 0w20....sounds perfect for your driving habits. It should easily do 7,500 (it really could go to 10K). PP would be another excellent choice.

Filters: Purolator PureOne should do the trick for a 7,500 OCI....

Another filter suggestion would be to use an Mobil 1 EP....which can go up to 15K....and use it through two oil changes.

Best wishes in your new vehicle.
_____________________________________________
02' Ford Focus (2.3L Duratec PZEV) / 98,500
PP 5w20 / Purolator PureOne / OCI: 7,500 +/-

 

[Hokiefyd]

Any OTC 0W-20 will be great. Don't forget about Valvoline SynPower 0W-20. I haven't yet seen a jug of it, but you can get it in quarts pretty readily.

I have used Mobil 1 0W-20 in our Acura with the Honda J35 engine and it ran real nice. I currently have Pennzoil Ultra 5W-20 in it and like that even better. I look forward to the proliferation of 0W-20 oils from Pennzoil to compete with the Mobil 1s and Edges and SynPowers out there.

I would leave the FF in until the MM tells you to change it.

 

[Indydriver]

I recently went through the same thought process as you regarding our new V6 Accord. I ended up mail ordering a case of Honda full syn #-9037, a six pack of OE filters and crush washers. This will buy me a couple years time to learn more about SN 0W-20s as well as see what Pennzoil is going to do. I also put a sale case of M1 0W-20 on the shelf just to deepen my inventory. Personally, I think you probably can't go wrong with any 0W-20 syn on the market. These are not severe applications.

 

[Audioquest]

I would be changing oil as per the recommendation of the Honda MM. I've had 4 Honda's with the MM system and would like to think that the Honda engineers knew what they were doing when they designed it. My current 2010 Civic had it's first oil change when the MM was at 15% (roughly 8000kms or 5000mi) and that is a very reasonable interval. I've had CRVs that have gone 12000kms between oil changes as per the MM. If you're planning on using a synthetic oil, there is no reason not to follow the MM and save money in the long run.

 

[Gene K]

Just follow the Honda MM as stated Honda has been pretty accurate. Hybrids can get away with higher mile OCI because of higher fuel mileage.

You are going to have to recalibrate your personal oil change sensibilities.
45 Mpg Hybrid + 4 Qt Sump + Synthetic = 12,000 mile OCI
15 Mpg Truck + 5 Qt Sump + Synthetic = 5,000 mile OCI
Those are equally hard on oil.

Honda doesnt like to see the breakin oil dropped early. They have some really high levels of moly in it.

 

[adamjeeps]

Call me crazy, but I don't see the correlation between mpg and OCI.

 

[09_GXP]

Originally Posted By: Gene K
Just follow the Honda MM as stated Honda has been pretty accurate. Hybrids can get away with higher mile OCI because of higher fuel mileage.

You are going to have to recalibrate your personal oil change sensibilities.
45 Mpg Hybrid + 4 Qt Sump + Synthetic = 12,000 mile OCI
15 Mpg Truck + 5 Qt Sump + Synthetic = 5,000 mile OCI
Those are equally hard on oil.

Honda doesnt like to see the breakin oil dropped early. They have some really high levels of moly in it.


Could it go past a 7.5k OCI? Probably. But things can start to go "bad" in a hurry if it goes to long, and without doing a UOA every 1k . I don't feel like pushing the oil to its limits just to save a couple $$$. Risk >> Reward

FWIW: The CR-Z owner's manual doesn't say anything in it about running the FF the full 1st OCI like some of the other Honda models.

I've seen 1 OCI from someone who changed their FF when the MM recommended @ 10.3k and only had a TBN of 1.0. Which according to Blackstone is okay but every engineer I've ever spoke with as said the oil should be changed when TAN > TBN.