oil change - Page 4 - Honda Foreman Forums : Rubicon, Rincon, Rancher and Recon Forum

Sooner · 08-18-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZZ71

Honda states the oil must be SG or higher and be also meet JASO MA spec.

Agreed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZZ71

Here is a scan of my 06 owners manual, the service manuals are similar. Read it completely in full context, it says 4-stroke oil or equivalent. Equivalent being the key word here, I do not read this to mean you can use any oil as long as its SG or higher and not energy conserving.

This is what I read from your owner's manual. Any oil with... API SG or higher, non-energy conserving, SAE viscosities 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30, and 10W-40 (dependent on conditions) and with a JASO MA rating is allowed. Honda "suggests" (key word)using Pro Honda GN4 or HP4 (w/out moly) or equivalent. And, the only way I know of to determine equivalency is to compare the ratings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZZ71

PS - Have been selling lubricants for over 30 yrs.....

Good write up on the oil viscosity 101. Although I don't agree entirely with the way you are reading the manual, you make one heck of a sales pitch and this has been good reading. Maybe you should do a full oil write up on a new thread (without the friendly arguments LOL).

Sooner · 08-18-2010, 05:23 PM

Oh, and I missed the note in your manual talking about the "Suggested Oils" (Pro Honda GN4 or HP4 w/out moly, or an equivalent motorcycle oil). It says "Suggested oils are equal in performance to SJ oils that are not labeled energy conserving on the circular API service rating." There's the equivalency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZZ71

So even if the owners manual does not list a 0W oil you can still use it with confidence. A 0W oil is just better overall and offers more temperature range protection...
...Also note the viscosity charts show 0W as the low viscosity and 40 as the high viscosity, so using a 0W-40 would not be unreasonable to use. Note - The 0W is usually only able to be met by a synthetic lubricant. Petroleum lubes cannot refine all the wax from the crude so its hard for them to meet that spec. I have never seen an 0W-X oil that was not synthetic.

Also just to clarify, I haven't found a "synthetic" oil on the Walmart, Autozone, O'reily's or Napa shelves that wasn't energy conserving, yet... I'd rather be running a reasonably priced synthetic (I have to keep up with 4 ATVs). I run Mobil 1 where I can in almost everything I own. But, 0W- anything is not a hot seller in Oklahoma.

Now a question. I really don't know the answer. Here where the summer temps hover in triple digits and the winters get down into the 20's (usually only on the coldest of days), is there any advantage/disadvantage to running 0W oils? In negative degree temps, 0W polymer oils are thinner allowing for cold start up. Amsoil says at start up, the 0W weights are so close you have to use special equipment to measure the differences. But in the warmer climates where 0W is unnecessary and thin, won't the thicker 5W or 10W oils provide better engine lubrication at start up?

joelukex4 · 08-19-2010, 10:24 AM

At Walmart go to the truck section of their oil area. They sell Shell Rotella T 5W-40 fully synthetic. It is not energy conserving, no moly additives and is JASO certified. See my above post. $19/ gal last time I bought it about a month ago. Every Walmart I have been to in the midwest sells it. It would be perfect for your needs.

This is not the Shell Rotella T 15W-40 which is a conventional oil. This would also be good for your needs during hot summer months. I have used this as well. Again diesel truck oil no moly additives and I believe this is also JASO certified.

wydglide · 08-19-2010, 10:28 AM

This thread is better than Free Popcorn! (Grin)

Sooner · 08-19-2010, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelukex4

At Walmart go to the truck section of their oil area. They sell Shell Rotella T 5W-40 fully synthetic. It is not energy conserving, no moly additives and is JASO certified. See my above post. $19/ gal last time I bought it about a month ago. Every Walmart I have been to in the midwest sells it. It would be perfect for your needs.

This is not the Shell Rotella T 15W-40 which is a conventional oil. This would also be good for your needs during hot summer months. I have used this as well. Again diesel truck oil no moly additives and I believe this is also JASO certified.

Thanks for the info. I'd much rather run synthetic. Plus, I drive a 3/4 ton with the Cummins Turbo Diesel. So, maybe it will work for both.

Sooner · 08-19-2010, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wydglide

This thread is better than Free Popcorn! (Grin)

It has been entertaining but I've learned a lot too.

Foreman450 · 09-08-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by action450s

Exactly, the most important line in your quote is motorcycle/atv oil. The brand is your own personal choice, the lack of friction modifiers is key. If you use a cheper ATV/motorcycle oil and change often, I cant see ANY harm from doing so at all.

^ THIS! I use Valvoline Motorcycle oil. Relatively cheap, easy to get and meets the SG and SJ standards. It is specifically for wet clutch bikes/ATVs and it says on the container "superior wet clutch protection".

BTW, what a great forum this is. I have a Foreman 450 ES and I've been lurking for a while and finally registered. i also have a couple of bikes and I've seen the above discussion so much on motorcycle forums that I just had to make an oil related reply my first post.

nbeaster · 09-08-2010, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sooner

Thanks for the info. I'd much rather run synthetic. Plus, I drive a 3/4 ton with the Cummins Turbo Diesel. So, maybe it will work for both.

There are three different Rotella Oils that I have seen. Rotella T is conventional 15w-45. Rotella T5 is a synthetic blend. Rotella T6 is the full synthetic 5w-40. Rotella T6 is a great oil because it doesn't get broken down by the injection system in diesels like conventional oils. It is also certified for use in wet cluches and is fine in transmissions because it doesn't have the long chemical chains that are typically used to increase viscosity. Heat and pressure from transmissions or fuel injection systems (in diesels) destroys those chains in conventional oils fairly quickly. We now have rotella t6 running in our powerstroke f-250, 3 trx500's, my volvo 850, rotella t in my jeep wrangler and chevy 1500 because they leak and burn oil and synthetic goes 3x faster.

I'm sold on it for as long as they keep making it. Good price, and it's known to be great oil.

08-19-2010, 10:24 AM	#33 (permalink)
joelukex4 Honda Addict Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: illinois Posts: 224	At Walmart go to the truck section of their oil area. They sell Shell Rotella T 5W-40 fully synthetic. It is not energy conserving, no moly additives and is JASO certified. See my above post. $19/ gal last time I bought it about a month ago. Every Walmart I have been to in the midwest sells it. It would be perfect for your needs. This is not the Shell Rotella T 15W-40 which is a conventional oil. This would also be good for your needs during hot summer months. I have used this as well. Again diesel truck oil no moly additives and I believe this is also JASO certified. Last edited by joelukex4; 08-19-2010 at 10:26 AM.

08-19-2010, 10:28 AM	#34 (permalink)
wydglide Honda Red Wing Rider Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: your Nightmares Posts: 5,460	This thread is better than Free Popcorn! (Grin) __________________ P.M. Campbell Co Lodge #778 99Yamaha Wolverine 06 Foreman TRX500 09 Foreman TRX500 25" Big Horn's Mad Dog Rear Bag Body Armor Bash Plate Gamin 76CSx GPS, W/RAM Mount Warn XT25 conversion to XT30 Glide Build Audio System I'm not Frugal, I'm a COB...(Cheap old B@stard)

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