Right Motor Oil...

[AccordCoupe666]

My 96 accord coupe has about 129,000 miles on it. I was gonna change it and use a fully synthetic oil this time. There are so many brands and some made for high mileage like Castrol High Mileage and Valvoline Maxlife for 75k miles or more. So should i use one made for high mileage or just any synthetic? I mean are there any real differences between brands and regular syn vs. high mileage syn? or are they all the same?

[phoenixitc]

You will probably get advice on the different options however just keep in mind that once you go to synthetic you should not go back to regular oil. This is what I've been told each time I mentioned switching. My 95 has 113k miles, runs well, burns virtually no oil between changes every 4k miles. I can't see the need to pay the higher price for the new high-mileage oils that claim to work for 75k or older engines. I don't believe the new 75k oils are synthetic blends, just new formulation of standard oil. One thing to consider is the type of driving you do.

[BullShifter]

You can switch between synthetic, synthetic blend, & regular oil any time you want. The only time you shouldn't switch is when the engine came "factory filled" with synthetic(Corvette, Vipers, Porsche, etc.) Just try to avoid mixing different types in the engine. The brand is more a personal choice than anything, Mobil1 & Penzoil are the one I most commonly use. High mileage oil has additives to swell seals to slow down any leaks, full syn. will leak like water.

[integrasedan]

i've used synthetic on my old high mileage Toyota and got more leaks, because it cleaned the engine so well and the molecules of synthetics are smaller, i think.

on my integra 96,000 miles had leaks already, so i used Valoline Maxlife. It is regular oil except it has more seal conditioner, friction reducers than regulars. So it makes the engine seem a bit smoother. 101,000 miles now, my leaks doesn't leak as much.

I would experiment and try which one you like best.

[mrgibby]

dang wish i had read this earlier, i just got back w/ a change worth of Mobil 1 synth., and i had a little leak already
oh well, i've used Maxlife too, and i like it. Was goin for a rebuild soon. I'll save the synth oil til after that i guess.