Oil for 2018 Honda Civic Sport 1.5T

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jwa

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Oct 13, 2008
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Haven't reached my first change yet, but OLM seems to be counting down 10% every 1000 miles, so i'd guess it wants ~10k OCIs.

1. What kind of vehicle you have
- 2018 Civic Sport.

2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
- 0w-20, API certified

3. Where you live
- North AL

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
- Some of everything

5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
- Daily commute is about 32 miles round trip, 90% highway/interstate.

6. Whether your car has any known problems
- Have heard fuel dilution is a common issue with DI turbos.


From reading around some I've seen that M1 EP/AP are 60-70% PAO which might make them a good fit for a 0w-20 in a turbo.

Tried to do some research on the Honda brand full synthetic, couldn't really find much: Honda 0w-20 MSDS, PQIA . I'm not 100% sure what i'm looking for though.

I've also considered Motul 8100 Eco-Lite 0w-20. Maybe would like to try Redline in the future but for now am sticking with API certified oils while under warranty just in case.

Right now I'm leaning towards just getting some M1 0w-20 EP and a M1 EP filter from Walmart. Thoughts? Would Motul (or something else) offer any advantages over cheaper M1?


Thanks!
 
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Lots of threads here about your Earth Dreams 1.5. TGDI engines are prone to fuel dilution and yours unfortunately is the example used most often. Watch your dipstick level for any rise in oil volume or fuel smell. Stick with the d1G2 oils and consider a 5k oil change. Poster Danh has a lot of experience in this instance.
 
Nothing wrong with using any of the M1 0w20 offerings. They will serve you well in terms of good performance and service life and warranty compliance.

Amazon has Idemitsu's Zepro 0w20 at a good price. This particular one is their "advanced moly" formula. I know some people on here like moly, and the Japanese OEM's like it, too. Idemitsu is an OE supplier to most if not all the Japanese car companies, and they do a lot of business with Honda. Amazon does offer Idemitsu's other 0w20 formulas for $23-25 for the 5qt jug. All are API SN/RC, and at least one is d1g2.

The Motul seems like great stuff and worth considering as well.

Another good option is Liqui-Moly. They probably have a good 0w20, and their products are available at almost any Napa.

My first choice would be Idemitsu, then Motul, then any of the M1 variants, then anything dexos1 gen2.
 
Any oil brand thats carrying spec of Acea a5. acea a1 its not for turbos engines. My own experience with Honda engines is that they run best on 0w-30, 5w-30
 
A UOA would be very interesting. The Sport has a little more HP and recommends premium over the slightly lesser 1.5T Civics. Maybe Honda has the Sport model tuned a little better and is less subject to fuel dilution.
 
I plan on sending in some samples for analysis to check on this fuel dilution issue. What’s the consensus here on Blackstone vs. Oil analyzers?

Also I’ll probably end up on Redline oil or a 0w30 (or both) but for now I’m interested in just sticking to what it says in the manual and keeping the receipts. Who knows, may not even be worth it though.

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Originally Posted By: wemay
AFE 0W-20


+1


Why AFE over EP or AP? I thought the longer OCI variants were more robust.
 
Originally Posted By: jwa
I plan on sending in some samples for analysis to check on this fuel dilution issue. What’s the consensus here on Blackstone vs. Oil analyzers?

Also I’ll probably end up on Redline oil or a 0w30 (or both) but for now I’m interested in just sticking to what it says in the manual and keeping the receipts. Who knows, may not even be worth it though.

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Originally Posted By: wemay
AFE 0W-20


+1


Why AFE over EP or AP? I thought the longer OCI variants were more robust.


Of fuel dilution is a concern definitely go with Oil Analyzers. They use gas chromotography, which is about as good a method as consumers can find. Blackstone uses human observation of a sample’s flashpoint, which seems to always underestimate dilution by a lot.

One hint if you use Oil Analyzers: if the sample viscosity looks OK they may shortcut and assume dilution isn’t an issue (the report will say <1% or similar). When you submit the sample mention fuel dilution is a concern and please use gas chromotography even if viscosity looks OK; the report should then give a percentage with “GC” next to it.
 
Bumping up this post again...

Just recently passed 5k miles, noticed the oil level on the dipstick is above full now, figured I should go ahead and change it despite the OLM reading 50% life left.

Ordered a couple analysis kits from Oil Analyzers to send off a sample and quantify the amount of fuel dilution and viscosity loss.

I have a 5qt jug of Honda-approved 0w-20 Mobil 1 AP I picked up on sale (Dexos gen2).

But my question is, would it be worth mixing in a quart of something like Redline 0w-30 to try and combat the fuel dilution issue, rather than going straight 0w-20 M1? I've read that Group V oil tends to handle TGDI engines better and the issues they bring (fuel dilution, LSPI). Thoughts?
 
Originally Posted By: jwa
Bumping up this post again...

Just recently passed 5k miles, noticed the oil level on the dipstick is above full now, figured I should go ahead and change it despite the OLM reading 50% life left.

Ordered a couple analysis kits from Oil Analyzers to send off a sample and quantify the amount of fuel dilution and viscosity loss.

I have a 5qt jug of Honda-approved 0w-20 Mobil 1 AP I picked up on sale (Dexos gen2).

But my question is, would it be worth mixing in a quart of something like Redline 0w-30 to try and combat the fuel dilution issue, rather than going straight 0w-20 M1? I've read that Group V oil tends to handle TGDI engines better and the issues they bring (fuel dilution, LSPI). Thoughts?




Good idea changing at 5k

As for your other question the fuel dilution is a engine design issue. Oil will not solve it. 5% gasoline dilution is the same regardless of the type or grade of oil.
 
Right, the percent dilution is the same but the resulting viscosity is not.

For warranty purposes, no one but me has to know that one of the quarts in the sump is a little thicker and more shear resistant, giving me some extra cushioning when the viscosity starts dropping.
 
If you got high fuel dilution it might be worth documenting this with the Honda dealer / service. Insist that they run a diagnostic (instead of dismissing it as “normal for this model”) , attach the UOA to your file, this will get documented especially if you pay the $80 or whatever a diagnostic is these days. Might want to do the UOA with Polaris or whomever does a real fuel dilution determinations (not extrapolating from visc / flash point).
 
Originally Posted By: nap
If you got high fuel dilution it might be worth documenting this with the Honda dealer / service. Insist that they run a diagnostic (instead of dismissing it as “normal for this model”) , attach the UOA to your file, this will get documented especially if you pay the $80 or whatever a diagnostic is these days. Might want to do the UOA with Polaris or whomever does a real fuel dilution determinations (not extrapolating from visc / flash point).


Apparently, in China, Honda was forced to recall vehicles because of this issue, and it's the exact same engine worldwide AFAIK. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china...e-idUSKBN1FW124 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china...e-idUSKBN1FW124

Until they offer a similar ECU re-tune in the US, i'm not sure what the dealer can do for me.
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On the bright side, I don't think UOAs have been showing alarming wear metals to go along with the fuel dilution, so at least maybe the oil is still able to properly do its job even with some fuel in there.

I think my plan will just be to change it a little soon and/or use a little thicker oil to compensate. Maybe try to keep the revs a little higher as well (avoid loading at low RPM). I plan on keeping the car for a long time.
 
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