Hello!

I have a 96 accord lx 2.2l with 247000 and its time for an oil change. I live in SC and wondered if there is a better weight and brand that is preferred over another. I use my car for everyday use and out of town driving. I currently use castrol gtx hm 20w50. Is that too heavy??

Any help is appreciated.

 

You should be using 5w30... I don't know why you switched from what is specified in the manual.

That heavier oil isn't doing anything better for your engine. Heavier oils, when not used properly, can be too heavy to get between bearing clearances and other tight spots. Heavier oil is also not the correct fix for an oil leak, if that's the case.

Keep on using whatever oil you've been using, at your mileage it won't really be beneficial to spend extra money on the "good stuff"

 

I know now what weight and brand I will use....

 

For older engines, you could also consider using a Heavy Duty Engine Oil (HDEO) instead. The main concern with the use of HDEO over PCMO (Passenger Car Motor Oil) is that HDEO contains a lot more phosphorus (in ZDDP), which could potentially poison the catalytic converter and O2 sensors. Many people find that high phosphorus levels are a non-issue with emission system life (see this BITOG posting). HDEOs also don't have friction modifiers so your fuel economy could potentially be marginally lower.

If a 50-weight oil isn't specified in your owner's manual, I would say that 20W-50 is too heavy. If you like using such a thick oil, any 15W-40 grade would be cheaper, slightly more fuel-efficient, and would have plenty of antiwear and detergent additives. 30-weight HDEO is also available (10W-30, 5W-30, 0W-30) as well. Being in SC, you could do fine with a 10W-30 like Shell Rotella T.

 

use 5w-20 or 5w-30 in winter and 10w-30 in summer any major brand will do ,, if climate in winter is not very cold use 10w-30 all year around