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EP3 10w60 oil used for over 10k km - no issues but I have questions

A

AeroNotix

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46
Hi,

2005 EP3.

I know there are a few threads on oil and what kind go use but I still haven't found ant conclusive evidence on whether 10w60 is a reasonable oil to use.

When I bought my EP3 the oil in it was 10w60. Ive done two oil changes in 10k kms and I've always topped up the oil with 10w60. (Castrol edge btw).

My questions: since this oil is not a standard issue oil. Why would this oil have been chosen?

I have a few theories but don't want to cloud responses with my own theories.

Secondly, I've seen a few posts that indicate when they switched to 10w60 from say 5w30 the car felt sluggish and the posters immediately reverted.

Now, I'm ready for an oil change and I am considering changing to a more standard oil. 10w60 is a pain in the arse to find sometimes and it worries me that the car may not have the ideal oil in it. I want the car to last as long as possible.

The way I drive the car is this: 40% of the time I'm driving like a bellend. Redlining every gear and extended periods of being in VTEC and higher rpms.

40% of the time it's general commuting and a to b kind of stuff. Barely any VTEC.

The rest of the time I'm on the motorway cruising at around 180-220kph. It's actually the motorway miles when I notice the majority of my oil being "used". And after my typical drive of 800km roundtrip to the in-laws is when I see an appreciable amount of oil gone (100-200ml).

Given all that, would anyone recommend me to change oil? I don't want to bang in a thinner / standard oil only to find that the 10w60 was masking an oiling issue somewhere.

Thanks in advance
 
I've always used 10w60 as advised by two separate specialists that I use.
 
Can you see any negative impact it would have on the engine given my style of driving? It's driven "hard" for the road but certainly nothing like what you may see on track.
 
Does seem a little thick personally. Modern engines are made to such high and tight tolerances that you require a thin grade oil to correctly lubricate the engine.
5w30 is the grade Honda recommend. 5w40 is popular as it has a slightly thicker viscosity at high temperatures which will help with oil pressure.
For your driving you’ll never need anything thicker as your oil temps will never get that high on the road.
Also, using a much more thicker oil to compensate for high oil temps is a false fix. If you’re suffering from excessive oil temperatures you need to improve the oil cooling, not thicken the oil. Oil will degrade at high temperatures no matter what the grade is.
 
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iirc the K20 uses an oil spray system in the lower half of the cylinder to aid with cooling of the pistons too, I wonder how that would be affected by such a thick oil?
 
Cant comment on 10W60 experience, but I think its a good idea to go a touch thicker on a car with higher milages as the engine has more wear - looser tolerances so the thicker oil will address this somewhat.

Mine does seem to burn a bit less now i've moved from 5W30 to 5W40 but don't think i'd go much higher than that.
 
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