My accord already has 108,000 miles, do I need to change the viscosity of my oil? What do you guys recommend? Or should I stick with original recommended viscosity by honda? Thanks much!

 

Ugh... stick the the manual... I have 183k miles and use 5W-30 Mobil1 year-round.

 

if you hear slight knocking, then maybe up it a step; otherwise if it's good, then it's good!

 

Isn't the recommended viscosity 5w-20?

 

Not for my car... manual says 5W-30, honda changed all of theirs vehicles to 5W-20 for fuel efficiency reasons? a while ago.

It honestly doesn't make a big difference unless you go out an buy 0w-50 or something weird like that.

 

Thanks Finch13

 

The 5W-30 replaced 10W-30 when car companies reduced the bearing clearances. If you have you good oil pressure stick with the 5 weight (5W-30). I use what I can find at a good price for Mobil 1. You have a valid question as the bearing clearance would increase with miles but who knows without taking the engine apart, but it is a Honda so I dubth if it has much wear.

 

Can someone clarify what the numbers mean on Oil weights? e.g. 5W-30 vs. 10W-40, etc...

 

I've run 5w-30 GTX in my car since new and the engine is still going strong at 337K. Doesn't use/leak any oil and still runs like a champ.

 

The numbers are viscosity indices. I you are a fluid mechanics geek, check bobistheoilguy.com to relate those numbers to actual units of viscosity.

The first number (like 5w) is the viscosity when cold. The 2nd number is the viscosity when hot. So it works like this...

5w-20 & 5w-30 should have the same viscosity when cold. But the 5w-20 will flow easier when hot.

05w-30 flows easier when cold vs 5w-30, but they should be about the same after warmed up to engine operating temperature.