Didn't someone do an oil analysis and they were at almost 6K and 50% and the lab thought it was a good time to change the oil.

I still wary of going 8K or more on regular dino, synthetic would just make me feel better about it. I changed my oil at 1800 because it was 6 months since I bought the car. I didn't feel comfortable leaving oil in the car for that long. I now switched it to Mobil 1 0W-20 and will leave it in there until the OLM says 15% no matter the mileage or time.

Let's face it, we might argue about what is better or whatnot about when doing the first oil change but realistically. It will make zero difference for anybody here. Maybe your engine will last 1,000,000 miles and mine at 999,999 for changing it too early. Makes no difference at all as long as you change your oil regularly.

 

Synthetic is not always the best for your engine. Friend of mine has a Mazdaspeed 6, he switch to mobile 1 synthetic after 20k miles and several oil change later his engine seizes up. The dealership couldn't figure out why it seized at first but, after talking to mazda corporate, they said do not use synthetic oil. Use factory recommended oil. Luckily he had the engine replaced under warranty.

I never really see a point of using synthetic if it doesn't call for it. It really is a waste of money and potential problem with warranty. I'm around 8K miles now with oil life of 30%. I'll take it in for oil change when it hit 10%.

 

um honda says to use full Synthetic with the fit

 

I haven't had my first oil change yet but I doubt an economy car like Fit requires synthetic. My Evo required mobile 1 synthetic and I know Porches do too. I'll have to look in the manual but it might I don't know. All I’m saying is use whatever Honda recommends.

 

really? where? what changed about the ge8 that requires synthetic now? not even new civics require it, or the performance oriented si. usually only german cars get factory synthetic oil changes.



basically everyone here needs to ask themselves a question:


HOW MANY PEOPLE have come to this site complaining that BECAUSE they FOLLOWED the maintenance minder,and something BAD happened to their fit?



anyone?



still waiting....

oh wait! its because you will NEVER hear it. because regardless of what grandpappy told you, or regardless of what type of cars you have owned in the past, or if your a freakin' engineer only ONE entity knows your fit better than you: HONDA.

so DO WHAT HONDA SAYS. the reason this has been beaten to death is because we always have a few chest beaters who like to stress their 3k oil changes blah blah blah. lol on them for spending more money.

i cant remember who posted it but you are exactly right: people LOVE to make things harder for themselves. here honda takes the guess work out of maintenance and we STILL HAVE NO EFFING CLUE WHAT TO DO.

honda is not stupid. they are not going to equip your car with something that falsely states the condition of its internals just so that it messes up on purpose. otherwise, even with their short warranty, enough crap would happen within 36k that would require THEM To fix. come on people think about it!

and the minder does take into account different driving conditions.

i had a 2006 civic, which was the first car they implemented this on i believe, when i lived in asheville, nc: a very hilly area that has higher elevation than where i live now. now my drive in charlotte consists of mostly flat highway with a ton of cruising.

and guess what? my civic made me change the oil more often than the fit, because of the way i drove it, which was mostly city and tons of hills. my oil change intervals would last until about 5500 miles, with the fit i regularly near 8000. i have 53k on the fit as of now and i have not had any ill effects by doing what HONDA SAID TO DO.

all these folks who live in crazy cold or crazy hot climates would realize thant instead of jumping the gun and wasting money, their fit will take that into consideration. plain and simple. it does not get much easier than this.

SO

if you are a new fit driver, do yourself a favor, and just follow the maintenence minder, join the current century and just follow what mr. honda says to do. despite what some people on this board will tell you, if you follow the manual, and go by your maintenance minder, you will have many long and happy years with your fit, if you so choose to keep it that long.

 

wrong. i was going through the manual last night and they definitely recommend conventional honda oil, but say that synthetic can be used as long as it meets the same requirements.

 

If your friend's engine was going bad, it wasn't because of synthetic oil. Mazda just gave him an easy BS answer. I'll qualify my answer a bit, during my undergrad years I recieved a Bachelor's in Chemistry and another in Chemical Engineering.

Will running synthetic make a difference, no, not really. I do it because I want to, nothing more than that. I have no illusion that regular oil won't do just a good as a job. I just like using it.

And using synthetic does not void your warranty. Heck you can even use something like 20W-50 in your car and as long as it is API approved, Honda would have to directly prove that it was the 20W-50 that caused the problem and it will be hard to do because any API oil will protect the car.

I do agree with going with the OLI says but we should just do oil analysis and be done with it. When my 0W-20 is done with I'll pay for one and post it here.

 

Wrong

 

Who knows, it took them 2 weeks to figure out (have an answer). I think they have other cases where MS6 engine lock for no mechanical reason other than it was using synthetic as well.

 

i run mobil 1 0w/20 blackstone labs said i could go 11,000 mi
my car says 40% at 7500 miles.

 

When my next oil change become due, I'll be switching to Mobil 1 0W-20 myself.

 

ok so i am worng... my bad eldaino +rep for kicking this threads ass ill do what Honad says full Synthetic with the fit. and change the oil when the car tells me too and that my friends is that.

 

Hi all. so i had a quick question, i apologize in advance if it had already been answered in this thread. Anyways, my fit is at around 5400k with 60% oil life. I recently checked the oil level on the dipstick and it seemed really low (like almost below the lower dot on the dip stick). I was wondering if I should put more oil into the engine or should i just leave it until it is time for an oil change at the suggested 15% oil life. And if i should put more oil in, what oil should be used? Thanks

 

Just because the Fit uses a long oil drain interval is no reason NOT to keep the oil topped up. I'd definately keep an eye on my oil level and keep it near the full mark.

I'd get a quart of Honda oil at the dealership if I were you, Barney.

FWIW, my Fit still says "40%" oil life @ 7900 miles. The oil level has dropped 1/4" on the dipstick. This is mostly highway driving at moderate speeds and mild weather.

It's ironic, that a device that was supposed to eliminate uncertainty and confusion seems to have caused a whole lot of uncertainty and confusion.

 

I agree.

This is my first Fit...the minder and manual throws me off. But, I'm stickin with the plan...we all tend to over think and over worry about dino versus synthetic, change frequency, filters, etc. I worked for American Honda for 4 years in my mid 20's. Me and the other gear heads used to hound the engine tech guys about this shit -- they all said the same thing....unless yer racin' it, stick with Honda's plan - period. That was never good enough, so we kept at it...the dudes wouldn't budge. "Stick with yer maintenance schedule."

The debate over these topics transcend platforms - there's hundreds of pages of shadetree debating in my favorite motorcycle forum on oil, alone. Add fuel octane to the mix, and yer talking thousands of pages - most of that "info" could fertilized Iowa's cornfields for the next ten years. (e.g. "I've been putting Royal Purple in my Thumper for the past 2 oils changes with good results.") Good results? You mind telling me WTF those results are?? Barnyard mechanic testimonies are always fun, too. Yeah, Bubba, you poured black sludge outta that Olds Cutlass run on dino oil, and yeah we wish right along with you we coulda seen the condition of those seals, rings, etc....but what you forgot to mention was granny ran that thing into the ground 'cause that black sludge you poured out was the original oil that came with the car she bought 8 yrs ago. C'mon people...

There's a lot of emotion behind this. People who love cars and/or motorcycles wanna feel good about maintaining their rides. So synth oil away....change it every 500 miles if ya want...give that 10:1 engine a big drink of 93 octane if that's what pitches yer tent (and please, no NOS energy drinks in yer car/bike). It's more money...maybe it's worth it, maybe it's not - but it's a legal, owner high...so why not. Me? I'm gonna stick to Honda's plan...

 

Balderdash. Absolutely untrue. As all manufacturers will confirm for reputable lubrication suppliers.
Mazda does not recommend synthetic for the rotary engine (yes I know the 6 is not rotary but I do know Mazda uses syhthetics in their new 6 engines too) because that engine must burn off thin coates of oil and synthetics don't burn as well. but you will find FEW rotary racers who do not use synthetic oil at least part of the lubricant.
As an lubrication engineer I have tested thousands of well known brand name synthetic oil samples from good and failed engines and not one failed the lubrication tests. Synthetics were always better as well for lower hp losses and faster rev-up, and better metals protection.
Any engine that fails using synthetics are run beyond rpm limits or too low oil level exposing the oil pickup to air on corners. That engine would have failed quicker on conventional oils than synthetics.
Any other reason is a defective part, clogged oil gallery or passage, or something mechanical
That dealer and rep were looking to avoid liability or discovered something the owner or Mazda did that they just didn't want to confront.

I should add that there are oil sellers who claim to have a good synthetic oil but really do not and that could be a reason for a "synthetic" oil to fail. Simple analysis rejects those even before even testing.
So you need to specify whose oil the Mazda owner was using. It pays to use those oils with long and favorable reputations. Quality control is not something lab type suppliers are known for.

 

Everything runs better on synthetic, even lawn mowers. When I drain my oil thats what I use it for. And my fuel useage definitely is reduced. I get 6 to 7 weeks where I used to get 5.

 

The problem is really the capacity of the tiny oil filter to hold contaminants from normal engine. Its safer to change at 6000 miles on synthetic or 3000 miles on conventional oils. If honda bases their oil meter on pressure drop across the filter I could see it but otherwise if you run where contaminants are generated from high rpm, poor gas, dusty environment, many cold starts, or long periods sitting without running, etc, changing that filter more often is recommended, (check for 'variances' in their recs)

 

Just go with Honda oil. It's cheaper and never any problems.

You just need to change the oil more often.

 

I only have 350 miles on my GE8 right now but I'll just follow the Maintenance Minder when it comes to oil change intervals.

I'll be using cheap dino oil and Supertech oil filters from Walmart.

It's a Honda econobox, no need to use synthetic oil. But hey, if it makes you sleep better at night, by all means go for it. It's your money anyway.

I'd rather have the extra cash in my pocket

myke