Quote:
Originally Posted by brucepick
Welcome to the club! I've had mine just over two years now.
Plugs: NGK as spec'd by Honda. ZFR4F-11. This NOT the same as other Civics of the same year. I found them at Honda dealer (sometimes) and at Pep Boys, where I do not usually get parts.
OIL: Mine burns oil. About 20 oz per 1000 miles. Not all burn oil but it's not uncommon.
Oh yeah - it holds only THREE QUARTS! I've seen other HXs, pulled the stick and oil is far over the mark. Nobody believes it only holds 3 qt. You can bet the previous owner/maintainer overfilled it most of the time. Put in 3 qt when you change it. After a quick level check, spin it over, drive to warm it up and then drain down for 1-2 hours. Then check it and see if you agree.
I found that WalMart Synthetic 5W-30 blew right through the engine. Didn't burn much for a couple hundred miles after a change, then whooosh! Far more than 20 oz/K miles. My theory is that the "viscosity enhancers" which create the high viscosity number broke down quickly and then it was thin oil, maybe actually 5W-20. Tried a lot of things including mixing in 8-16 oz of Castrol 20W-50.
I settled on Rotella T6 synthetic, which is 5W-40. It seems to hold it's 40 rating (viscosity in hot engine state) so it doesn't blow through. Now it's using about 20 oz per 1000 miles. It's a diesel oil but also exceeds the spec's for the HX requirement. I get it at WalMart, and right now it's on sale at Advance Auto.
I talked with a good indy Honda shop, they wouldn't be afraid to run it on straight 20-50 if that's what it took to keep it from burning. In other words: yes, the car is spec'd for 5W-30 and 5-40 is thicker, but being thicker would not be an issue if the thin stuff blows right through. I like having the 5 rating for cold state, especially with winter coming. I don't want really thick oil in there at startup.
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My experience with the Pennzoil Ultra Full Synthetic 5w-30 that I have been using in my 1997 Civic HX and my 2003 Chevy Cavalier is the synthetic oil is slipperier than the conventional motor oil I had been using. Both of these cars do not burn or leak any oil. The full synthetic blows past the piston rings easier than the conventional oil. I know this by experience due to I have to check the oil level more frequently in both cars to make sure it is on the full mark. I just keep it topped off on the full mark.
The 2003 Cavalier would be down about 1/2 a quart with conventional oil at 3,000 miles with no top offs. This car holds 5 quarts. With synthetic in this car I am probably adding almost a quart of oil during my 4,000 mile oil change intervals. I know this car very well since I have owned it since it had 35,000 miles on it. The Honda Civic HX I instantly switched to synthetic when I bought it and also switched over the Cavalier to synthetic at the same time. I had always used conventional oil in the Cavalier and it had always only been down no more than 1/2 a quart using conventional oil at 3,000 mile oil change intervals. The synthetic oil is blowing past the rings a little more is all and both cars are doing the same exact thing with this oil. One benefit is I am adding new oil when topping it off. I check my cars oil around every 1,000 miles with synthetic.
Conventional oil is thicker and does not blow past the piston rings as easy in my experience.
When they say full synthetic oil is slipperier than conventional oil and that synthetic oil lubricates your engine better I do believe that.
I would not recommend synthetic oil for a car that had a bad case of burning oil though. It would want to blow past the rings more than conventional oil and probably make things worse while also being more expensive. I would use conventional oil for a problem car.