Hey Scotty I own an 08 accord 3.5 v6 6mt and its been serviced by honda its whole life. I just bought the car and I went to the dealership to pull all the service records and saw that jonda has been using 0 weight for about 100k now. It has 145 on the clock. I just found a mechanic to do an oil chance for me and he recommended I switch back to the 5 weight the car says to use. What oil should I stick with?
5w because thats what they came with out of the factory. Only newer cars take the 0w oil
Actually, there is a global call by Honda advising that cars originally specifying 5W-20 oil should switch to 0W-20 oil. There are few exceptions, but your car is not on exemption list. Hence, use of 0W-20 is perfectly fine.
F.S.
The switch to 0w is STRICTLY for fuel economy. Almost all car manufacturers are doing this now. BMW did this recently, but I'm still using 5w-30. It's never freezing here in Socal; I don't need a 0w. In hotter climates, you want a heavier oil so that it doesn't thin out quickly from the heat.
I feel like you should consult your Owner's manual. I am sure they have provided the weights of oil that your car can work with. I have on my Honda too!
They are both 20 weight oils when they heat up. 0w will be slightly thinner when its cold, which may help in very very cold climates.
I would still chose the 5w though. Its what was recommended first. Ford did something similar to that. My ranger originally called for 5w30, and then all of a sudden they started telling people to use 5w20. Obviously the manufacturers are valuing the fuel efficiency standards over the protection of our engines. I'm still using the 5w30 and the truck is approaching 240k miles.