oil

[flamesuit on]

bought a civic a few months ago, seller says it's running mobil 1. i have to top off the oil maybe once a month. i hear synthetic oil can be the cause of leaks? before i experiment with regular dino juice i want to try running a more viscous synthetic oil to see if that will mitigate the oil loss, but this conflicts with winter.
my question is: what would you recommend for my next oil change, thicker 10w-30 oil to prevent leaks, or 5w-30 which is supposed to be better for low temps? car has 100k miles, 5w-30 is recommended year-round but 10w-30 is okay for warmer climates per the owner's manual.

[Moppie]

Do you have any idea how many different versions of the Civic have been sold around the world since 1973?

[flamesuit on]

Originally Posted by Moppie

Do you have any idea how many different versions of the Civic have been sold around the world since 1973?

sorry it's a 1998 with the base motor.

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by flamesuit on

sorry it's a 1998 with the base motor.

D13, D15, D16, or B16?
VTEC or not if its a D series?


Chances are 10W-30W will be fine if you do an oil change.
But, if your just topping it up, then using what ever is already in there keeps it simple.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by flamesuit on

b i have to top off the oil maybe once a month. .

Okay, WHY do you have to add oil? Is it actually leaking a considerable amount??

FWIW, adding oil once a month is quite common and does not indicate a problem, on it's own.

Plenty of higher-mileage engines will consume small amounts of engine oil just through their normal operation. This is simply a byproduct of regular engine wear. So, changing the grade of oil may not make any difference in that case.

Same goes for modest engine oil leaks. If the car is actually dripping a bit of oil on your driveway, it will do so regardless of the weight of oil in there.

Imo in recognition of it's higher mileage and looser tolerances, 10W30 in summer, 5W30 in winter is good.

FWIW if the engine was new and relatively tight, I would suggest 5W30 all the time.

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

Imo in recognition of it's higher mileage and looser tolerances, 10W30 in summer, 5W30 in winter is good.

FWIW if the engine was new and relatively tight, I would suggest 5W30 all the time.

If its a VTEC, then 10W-30W all the time is recomended

[curtis73]

Using a thicker oil to combat leaks will slow down the leak about 5% and potentially damage the engine.

Just fix the leaks if they're that bad.