I asked our Valvoline reps about this:

0W20 and 5W20 have to at least be a synthetic blend. This is the only way they can make oil this thin, and still carry such great lubrication qualities.

The stuff Honda carries is most likely a blend.

The Valvoline "Conventional" 5W20 oil we carry is a synthetic blend.. even though it does not say so on the bottle.

The reason they don't always advertise "synthetic" on these bottles is because the oil has to meet certain standards in order to legally be classified as a synthetic oil. These oils, even though technically at least partially synthetic, don't necessarily meet all of these standards. It's basically all for "C.Y.A." purposes.

They wouldn't go into further details with me, claiming "Trade Secrets". One of these days I'll get around to doing some more research on the subject...

 

First of all Honda doesn't make oil. So someone must be making it for them and bottling it in the Honda bottle. This happens all the time with everything from car products to vitamins. How many brands of 0-20w do you see on the market today? Not very many, so it only makes sense that one of these, most likely Mobil, is making and packaging it for Honda. I use Mobile 1 AFE 0-20w and have no problems with it at all. In the last few months it has been a regular product at my local Advanced Auto parts.

 

From my research "conventional" 0w20 is still partly synthetic. That is just the nature of that weight of oil but it can't be called synthetic because it does not meet the technical specs. I've seen a lot of criticism of the Mobil 1 synthetic because it's still blended. I'm switching to AMSOIL 0w20. It gets good reviews and is no harder to find than Mobil 1 (I have to order the AMSOIL from the company and nobody anywhere near me stocks ANY 0w20). The AMSOIL 0w20 costs $28.20/gal at preferred customer pricing, compared to $6.20/qt that my dealer charges for conventional.

On a side not to those suggesting Wal-Mart as a place to get 0w20 oil. If we're presumably driving hybrids because of the reduced environmental impacts, why do business with a company that has millions of square feet of abandoned stores all over the country and imports almost everything it makes from countries with lousy environmental regulation using ships powered by diesel oil?

 

If that was really the compelling reason to switch to a hybrid, then kudos *I* switched to one for a more personal reason, the reduced impact to my budget.

 

While it is arguable how much 0W-20 will increase fuel economy vs. 5W-20 / 5W-30, all other factors the same, 0W-20 will improve fuel economy just based on the lower viscosity.

The additional benefit with lower viscosity is better cold starts in the winter which is when the majority of engine wear occurs.

As the industry moves toward lower and lower viscosity engine oils:
10W-30 to 5W-30 to 5W-20 to 0W-20, there will be more 0W-20 available at dealerships, quicklubes, etc.

Toyota recently announced that they are moving to 0W-20 across the board.
In the July 1, 2008 Edition of Flashpoint, ILMA has announced that Toyota has officially decided to switch the recommendation on engine oil for certain vehicles from SAE 5W20 and SAE 5W30 to SAE 0W20.

ILMA reports that these changes will affect all Toyota brands, including Toyota, Scion and Lexus. The change will also appear in owner's manuals.

Please read more about this announcement here:
http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/...8-07-01/1.html

Here is a link to download the TSB:
http://www.chrysanindustries.com/pdf..._tsb071002.pdf

As more owners request 0W-20, the dealerships will be encouraged to carry the 0W-20 in BULK and reduce the overall cost to the customer.

My local Toyota dealership offers a 0W-20 oil change for $44.00 using the Toyota genuine oil in quarts - including filter, oil disposal, etc. I am hoping that the price will go down if/when they get the 0W-20 in BULK.

So, let's continue to request 0W-20 at your Honda, Toyota dealerships. Hopefully they will get the message!

 

Yes. Generally, 0W-20 requires the use of Group III base oil or higher which in the USA is considered "synthetic."

Here is a link to a site from Lubrizol that talks about the future of engine oil and the upcoming GF-5 specification: http://www.gf-5.com/

 

First post here:
The previous owner of my 2003 HCH was my dad. I just bought it (for the family discount price of $1000) from him last month. It has 138,000 miles on it, the last two being me. At 100,000 miles my dad decided he was getting a HCH-2 so stopped changing the oil, then proceeded to drive another 36k miles on 5w20 oil he got at jiffy-lube, I think it was conventional. It was well maintained until this point.

The week before he bought his new one I borrowed it to go to the beach and noticed a knock. At 136k miles I changed the oil to 0w20 Penzoil (cheapest synthetic 0w I could find) and the 5w20 came out thick with a metallic tinge. The next week my dad took it to the Honda dealership when he got the HCH-2 and had them do a 36k scheduled maintenance and some other stuff to get it ready for me (nice guy) which encompassed an oil change (not sure what type they put in), CVT fluid change, radiator flush, brake fluid change, new pads/rotors (they were warped), and a battery test (they said it was operating at 97% capacity, my dad says it seems to discharge a little faster as compared to new).

Well with all the awesome maintenance the car once again handles like it was new and I've been getting 50mpg on flat trips, but average about 46mpg a tank because I commute from the valley over a mountain to the next mountain. The pinging is still there, I tried 93 octane and I think it got quieter but maybe it was only psychological. I think the noise is coming from the valve train due to internal damage from bad old oil. I believe it has v-tec and other complicated honda stuff so who knows what's making the noise in there.

My friend suggested AMSoil 0w20 so I ordered some and plan to change it but if that doesn't work I was wondering if anybody has taken off the valve cover or even swapped a cylinder head in this car? I looked on partsamerica.com and autozone.com and can't find a replacement head. Any suggestions?

-Matt

 

At $4 vs $5 a quart on five quarts, we're talking about all this to save five bucks? Or even ten bucks for synthetic? Did I miss something?

I certainly get annoyed when the dealer tries to charge me $50 for an oil change, although jiffy lube isn't really much better at $39. But saving ten or twenty bucks still isn't enough to get me to spend an afternoon searching around for oil, dinking around under a car in the garage and running around town looking for a place to dispose hazardous waste. That's money well spent IMO.

 

Pinging doesn't come from the valve train. With electronic engine management, I'm not sure it is that likely your car is pinging.

Perhaps you just need a valve adjustment?

 

I am the same way. For a while I would bring in my own oil - (ENEOS Fully Synthetic 0W-20), and have the dealership do the oil change for $15.

But, now my dealership offers a complete 0W-20 oil change for $44.

You just have to specifically request the 0W-20.
To save time, call the service dept and ask if they have 0W-20 and how much do they charge for a 0W-20 oil change.