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So, the SA told me that mineral oil will be cheaper by about 300 rupees for the 4-ish litres, but because the gap had reduced so much, they don't stock it any more. Of course, it helps their bottom line too. I dislike the unavailability of 0W30 too; I am concerned about the long-term effects on the engine. Also, the fact that none of the grades recommended in the manual are available at HASS bothers me.

Sir,
Is Idemitsu 0W30 still available at Honda ASS?

Last time I checked in March, it was not available since they were transitioning to xW20.

Thanks.

It is certainly not available at HASS anymore, but same grade and same brand is available at MASS (Maruti). Here's the link confirming the same:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ti-suzuki.html

Regards,
Saket.

naturally, since Honda has changed the specs from 0W30 to 0W20 across the board. This is the same grade as in the US and other markets. I think it is valid for all Honda Petrol engines.

Wow. I didn't know that you can use the same grade of oil regardless of local temperature range. What did I miss?

I think Honda's ASCs are stocking lower viscosity oil meant for newer engines. I doubt if an engine from the late 90s or early 2000s will take an xW-20 oil. An 5/10W-30/40 or higher would be more like it.

For me it's a simple thing; if the ASC does not stock oil meeting the viscosity specified in the manual I just get the specified oil from the market. I may be wrong but I'd be extremely wary of using 0W-20 in a car engine that required xW-30 or xW-40 in our climatic conditions.

To get clarity on this, let me coordinate with my ex-collegue who has joined Honda recently. Maybe he can clarify or connect me with the right person who can answer this precisely.

As rightly mentioned by you, the viscosity of the engine oil is very critical for the longitivity as well as performance of an engine (R18A1 in our case) which was of 2006-12 circa when 0W30 and 5W30 was the acceptable grade.

Its stability cum performance on the new gen oil grade i.e. 0W20 needs to be ascertained as it might do more harm then good.

My City owner manual does not mention 0W20 oil grade.
So, I would want to refrain from using it.

Thanks.

@R2D2; @vaasu; Let us assume that Honda makes the same engines everywhere. I happen to have checked the US site for some other info, and found the oil specs, they listed 0W20 as a valid oil for all temperature conditions. Remember Arizona is afaik no cooler than Rajasthan. Also, a company as finicky as Honda, esp about their engines can be expected to be careful, so I personally think 0W20 is kosher for all current generation engines.

There are things silly in Honda. For example the details of the Cabin Filter for the Civic were missing on their site (I got to see the ASS data also). The exploded drawing is there, but no specs for the filter. So I just got it by mail order.

Sir, I may be terribly wrong with my contention and would concede to any manufacturer's recommendation 999 times out of 1000 when it comes to critical fluids like engine oil. This is that one exception. :)

Yes, I agree some parts of CA, CO or even TX do face India like high temperatures during the summer. However, the currently produced R18A and other engines MAY have had some internal modifications or changes in the manufacturing process(es) and tolerances that allow them to utilise thinner oil.

Therefore I also believe using whatever is specified in the India specific Civic manual (manufactured from 2006 to 2011/12) would serve the engine better than switching to a lighter oil which may or may not suit the engine given our climatic conditions.

My contention is by no means based on any scientifically obtained data, not by a long shot, but just a suggestion based on the fact the owners manual contains all pertinent information required to maintain a car of that particular generation or manufacturing year.

For e.g. Toyota has shifted to 5W-30 mineral in all their current engines whether petrol or diesel from the 15W-40 mineral oil they used previously as OEM fill. I reckon this to be an acceptable change because this viscosity is mentioned in my car's manual. However, should Toyota recommend a xW-20 in the future I'd still continue to use a xW-30/40, not their new recommended oil.

Once the warranty/extended warranty period is over the manufacturer would not be too concerned about an old car. They have "no skin in the game" so to speak. As owners it is up to us to keep our rides in the best shape possible.

@R2D2; My Civic is now with my son in Gurugram. He is even more careful than me in these matters. Let us see what is put in by Pearl Honda. He does over 25,000pa as against about 5,000 by me. This was the reason for the swap. I have his City AVN with me.

All,

When braking from speeds of above 100 Kmph, I can feel the front front left wheel wobble which leads into the steering wobble as well.

This wobble is not present when braking at speeds of less than 100 Kmph.

What could be the issue?

Best,
Enigmatic

Hi Mate, most probably the brake discs are culprit here, kindly visit FNG and get them inspected (he will be able to suggest whether these needs to be changed or you can get them skimmed at lathe and continue for another 5k or more kms).

Regards
Kunal

Going back to the topic of engine oils here's a post where MSIL's dealer acknowledged using the wrong grade of oil in a Wagon R.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post4221435

I quote:

Quote:

I was shocked to see that the oil replaced was of 0W20 grade while Maruti recommends 5W30 for this engine. Wrote to Maruti that how can a dealer workshop make a mistake like this and what if any mechanical problem occurs due to this? No reply from either Maruti or the dealer. After waiting for five days, forwarded the mail once again and this time cc'ed to Mr. CV Raman and Mr. RC Bhargava. That did the trick. GM of the dealership called me the very next day and was very apologetic for the mistake caused by them and told me they use 0W20 in the K series WagonR and this was a mistake from their side.

Manufacturers revise lube recommendations for new generation vehicles/engines and dealers follow instructions. Those of us with older vehicles would be better off if we used oil grades recommended in the manual.

I had the same problem when my car was relatively new and had done less than 40,000 kms, after changing the front brake pads along with the discs (expensive though!), the problem was solved.

Or you can 'skim' the front discs as many have done here on this thread.