We'll, since there are so many opinions here, and I am also used to changing the breakin oil it at 300 miles, I took an oil sample today. When the sample results come back, i will post. We will see what the deal is at 5500 highway miles (60%) and end the debate....

 

Have you considered drivetrain loss? Just a thought.

 

I used to work for Honeywell in the Fram filter division so I may be a little biased. I can tell you that Fram is tested against every filter on the market. We had a huge storage area of all these filters. Every filter has to meet certain requirements. While Fram is not the best at every test conducted, they are not nearly as horrible as most people will make you believe and outperforms many of the hyped filters. I really miss working there at times. Free filters, autolite products, and bendix brakes has its perks to a car person.

 

i went the other day with 6,200 miles and 50% oil life.. they honda guy told me i didnt need one till it was at 15%

the new cars can last up to 7500 miles i guess

 

 

I recently received an electronic mail marketing flier from local Honda dealer. It had a section in Breaking-In new engines, first oil change at 1000 to 1500 miles because of all the metal parts getting to know each other and working out a good finish/arrangement so they could have a long lasting relationship together. Just amazing how some people think that the Design Engineer writes the marketing collateral in the owners manual. The Design Engineer would like to have 20 psi of oil pressure BEFORE the engine is ever turned over (accusump), marketing would like the cost of maintenance to be $20/year. Do you think there are some compromises involved here? I perform the first oil change early on my new cars, on new Hondas I put in a bit of extra Moly (just as Honda break-in oil does).

 

Not sure about the bullshit part. I was in the same situation about 5000 miles at 50%. I do about 50-50 city/highway. I went to see the dealer about it and he said not to worry and change when the maintenance minder hits around 10%.
Then I got to 7800 miles when it just turned to 30%. I said to hell with and changed the oil anyway. I was not taking any chances that the maintenance minder worked as well as the gas mileage estimator.

 

I love the oil life indicator. Now instead of guessing when you should change it, you just look at the indicator and that's it. When it hits 15% you're ready for a change. Why more car companies don't do this I'll not understand. Honda should have taken it one step further and made the oil life indicator a separate screen because if you forget to cycle through the readouts it won't do you any good. I can see plenty of people not reading the owners manual not even knowing about the indicator.

Anyway, I don't know why anyone would want to change their oil sooner than they have to, regardless of whether it's your first oil change or you 100th. Fewer times I year I have to change my oil is more money in pocket.

 

Thanks for the analysis Roger. Once again we see the high Moly... 663. Assuming Honda knows best, I'd be hesitant to recommend anyone dumping the factory fill super early unless they replace with something of similar high moly content. I gotta think there's a reason it's that high because most standard oils aren't nearly that high.

 

The high silicon does bother me. I will be changing the oil this weekend...

To:



With this:



Adding this:

 

6000 miles, 50%...

 

I think that this maintenance reminder relies on total time as well. I have put less than 4000 miles on oil change since christmas and I am on 40% right now. I have done mostly city driving, but some interstate as well.

 

my parts store in the computer has many different oil filters that fit my 09 fit. they vary in price from 8-18 bucks

1. what oil filter is the best for the price
2. what synthetic oil is best? 10w 40 , 10w 30 , 5w 20??

 

1K I took the oil out - Now I'll follow the Honda Routine.

 

As a new Fit owner I think it's too bad that Honda isn't clearer about what they recommend.

My understanding from talking to my dealership is to wait until a year or 20% or less on the maintenance minder...whatever comes first.

But reading a lot...not all...but a lot of the posts it seems people are hearing different things from different dealerships.

With this much varied opinion, it really comes down to "I don't know".

If Honda didn't proclaim to have "break in oil", which they do, I'd easily decide to error on the side of often and early oil changes....if you can afford it, then why not? But the idea of running the original oil for an extended time due to it having additives that might be aiding in the break in of the engine severely changes the equation. Because obviously I don't want to change the oil out, if it's helping seat piston rings and break in The Engine.

I read the owners manual and am also hearing conflicting things. I've never read in my owners manual that Honda recommends a synthetic....only that you use a Approved Grade and weight oil. They actually recommend of course using dealership Honda Oil....which isn't synthetic. But I've read some posts saying Honda recommends synthetic.

Anyway the net result of all these varying opinions and supposed facts which spread the gamut across the spectrum of actions is that I don't know.

Honda should honestly print a page that is a simple statement of when to do your first oil change and why to do it that way. Because it seems opinion can vary from one interpretation of the owners manual and even vary from Honda Dealership to Honda Dealership.

I've got less than 3000 miles...so I suppose I still have time to decide and don't feel I'm doing any damage, but unfortunately this thread is so shotgun in it's opinion that I really have no idea what to believe.

 

'10 Sport AT... Currently at 8,149 miles and 40% after 5 months. Mostly on country roads and Interstate on my 58 mile (round trip) commute. At 7,000 the oil still had an amber color but had lost it's translucent look.

I'll do first change at 15%

And no... I won't post pics. Don't care who believes it... just posting for those who want to compare.

 

Hey rogers fit ,

Should I follow your lead and chose the same filter and oil?

If I cant get that filter and oil, would you have a second choice?

What is the 3rd picture of? Air filter?

Thanks

Im at 3700 miles, and feel like changing the oil at 30% left.

fit

 

I would most definitely use the oil.

The filter was discontinued. Read this.

They will come out with a new filter, and I will use that. For the mean time, I am using Napa Gold.

The third device is a powerful magnet. It is from FilterMAG: Magnetic Oil Filters finish the Job Your Filter Started.

I cut open my stock filter, and did find some metal particulate on the wall of the filter.


I run Amsoil in my diesels, with external filtration and oil analysis, far beyond the drain intervals. My Suburban diesel has 25K on the current oil.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Can you tell me why this brand of oil & filter is worth paying twice as much as a mobile one syn oil?

Does this magnet get replaced with each filter change?

Thanks

 

The magnet gets reused. it is a one time buy.

FYI, many automatic transmissions have a magnet in the oil pan. It does catch a good amount of magnetic particulate. While not all metals in a modern engine are ferrous (can be attracted by a magnet), the highest load bearing surface, the cam lobes, is made of a ferrous metal, as well as other parts of the engine. Removing any wear particle metal in the oil can only extend engine life by removing wear particles.

Oil choice is a highly debatable topic that can get heated at times, for an example, read back through this entire thread. There is much cloak and dagger in the industry to sell oil.

Many on this board have commented that the 3K oil change is dead. I agree. Of course, the Fit takes that into account with the maintenance minder.

I consider my car a long term purchase. As I age, my priorities have shifted. Early in my 20's, my priorities were to buy a new car every so often. Now I buy a car and keep it as long as possible. For example, my diesel Suburban has 177K miles on it, 14 years old, and i still tow 10K lbs of travel trailer with it. As such, I wish to keep my vehicles running as long as possible at a level as close to original power levels. That said, using parts and fluids that are very high quality becomes more important.

I was not necessarily a believer in Amsoil at first. When i first started using Amsoil and oil analysis, I was shocked to see that I did not need to change the oil in my diesel every 2500 miles. It became very convenient to not change the oil so often. Then I added an external filtration system. After several more analysis, I ran 28K on the oil before changing it. That was over a two year span. That was very convenient. I scheduled the oil change at a time that was convenient to me, no snow, warm weather, etc. I was sold on the connivence.

I even published a paid article on the event, on The Diesel Page - for the 6.2L, 6.5L, and Duramax 6600 (6.6L) GM Chevrolet and GMC diesel engines.

This link explains their bypass oil filtration system. While it is not the system I use on the Fit, it starts to make the case for Amsoil.

This link shows more info about their products and some smoke and mirrors in the industry. watch the video about the test mecanism. Then watch this link. See the errors in this video?

I remember watching an infomercial in my early 20's for a product that was supposed to allow an engine to run dry without damage. I do not remember the name of it at this time. However, they ran the product in a test engine, then drained it. They started the engine and ran it without oil, and then dumped sand in the open intake valve cover. The engine continued to run. Of course, the paid audience was amazed.

Lets talk about what is wrong with this.

First, they used an engine that i was extremely familiar with, the Chrysler slant 6. It is an older engine, no longer used, that was known for running fine without oil. I had one in a Dodge Dart i owned, which had run without oil for a short period of time without damage. So i immediately recognized this as a scam.

Second, they dumped sand in the valve cover. Since there was no oil in the system, this sand was not being circulated throughout the engine, so it could do no damage.

I identified this product quickly as a scam.

They also started an engine encased in ice blocks. Ice is at most 32 degrees, probably colder. This test was done in a commercial freezer. In my experience, this is usually about 0 degrees. Has your engine ever started at 0 degrees? So how does surrounding an engine in ice blocks make this more severe?

Answer is, that it does not.

Additives are not miracle workers. I do not believe in using additives. I start with a solid base, using a high quality oil.

Of course, I see Amsoil's advertisements. When I consider the use of a product, I consider more that the product claims. I look at what other people say, what my engineering experience and background says (Nuclear Power in direct control of engines producing more than 1 million ft/lbs of torque), and what else the company sells and promises with their products. So, to sell me on your oil, you have to sell me on most if not all of the rest of your product line.

There are conventional oils that perform fine. However, I tend to gravitate towards the higher end of product quality. Amsoil products have not made any claims that I do not consider outside the bounds of good engineering and common sense. In my opinion, they are the top of the line in quality.

This post will probably stir some responses that so and so oil is just as good, etc. One product, Royal purple, is a prime example of this. While i cannot attest to the quality of the oil, why would you dye an oil purple? Sounds gimmicky to me, thus is an immediate turn off. The crowd is not always correct. I've researched, and come to my conclusion. You have to do the research and make an informed decision for yourself.