This could be your car...

[sjs]

sjs,

It wasn't 11K miles since his previous oil change. As NSXnBRLA pointed out, the car had 55K miles, with most of the miles put on in the previous year. So the number of miles since the last oil change could easily be 30-40K or more.

I don't read it that way. Looking back I see that the original author does not give nearly enough info to arrive at a reasonable guess.

Originally posted by NSXnBRLA
.. just drive it a year and change your oil, oh, maybe once?

That could just as easy be interpreted as 6 months between changes, but I think it rules out 30-40k unless the guy is a salesman and uses the NSX for all his travel.

 

[westernb4]

You can't drive 40K+ miles without changing the oil - in any car, not just the NSX - without adverse consequences...

An acquaintance of mine owned an early '70's Olds Cutlass from new, and had NEVER changed his oil--only added oil when needed--and the car had somewhat over 120000 miles.

 

[Black Knight]

alright....i have to agree with many nsxers here that the oil was not the primary factor for such damages.

we gotta give honda more credit than that? if the nsx poops out at an average of 11k miles with one oil change, that's just disappointing.

i've once visited a honda dealership when i still had my S2000. he said one owner redlined his new S2000 daily and came for his first oil change at around 7 or 8k miles. he only had one quart left in his engine!! the engine was fine but of course it's very dangerous.

i drive 5 to 6k miles a year and change oil about once a year. i redline all the time....who doesn't?

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Some people just have to much money.

 

[nsxtasy]

Especially synthetic oils either get burnt, or contaminated.

You have it backwards. Conventional oils are more susceptible to breakdown at high heat ("burnt") than synthetic oils are. That's one of the primary advantages of synthetic oil over conventional oil. However, both are subject to contaminates, which is why synthetic oil and conventional oil both need to be changed at a given frequency.

i have to agree with many nsxers here that the oil was not the primary factor for such damages.

No one said that.

Since there was only one quart of oil left in the engine, then that was likely the primary case of the damage.

if the nsx poops out at an average of 11k miles with one oil change, that's just disappointing.

No one said that, either.

As sjs and others point out, the information about how long this car went between oil changes is vague. We can pick apart the statements from NSXnBRLA, but that's not very meaningful. NSXnBRLA, if you know for sure how long the engine went between oil changes, please chime in. In the absence of such information, I think it's safe to say (based on the low level of oil in the engine) that the owner probably went way too long between oil changes, and way too long without checking the oil level in the engine. In fact, I would bet dollars to paper clips that the owner doesn't even know how many miles he drove since he did either one - which would prove my previous statement.

The owner's manual for the NSX tells you to change the oil every 7500 miles for normal driving conditions, or every 3750 miles for severe conditions, a category into which many drivers fall. There are also time intervals which are apparently not relevant to this particular case. If you go 11K miles or 40K miles (or technically, even 7501 miles), you are violating Honda's recommendation. However, the more serious violation IMHO is that of checking the oil level. The owner's manual tells you to check the oil level at every gas stop. Admittedly, I suspect that many of us probably ignore that advice - and maybe that's acceptable when you know that your engine consumes no noticeable amount of oil between oil changes that you do every 3-4K miles. But if you aren't changing your oil that often, the least you should be doing is checking the oil level at least that often (and preferably much more frequently). And if you don't check the oil level or change it every 3-4K miles (which is quite a long interval), then you are asking for trouble. Again, in any car. And again, IMHO.

 

[BostonNSX]

so back to the topic.
what went bad on the engine above?
looks like burnt.. ?
what happened?
was the owner on car when "that" happened?

 

[apapada]

You have it backwards. Conventional oils are more susceptible to breakdown at high heat ("burnt") than synthetic oils are.

I never said "breakdown", but instead said "burnt" like in "blue smoke coming out of the tailpipe and you are going to need to add some...". Please read more carefully next time and do not put words in my mouth. And yes, the reason that Synthetic oil breakdown at much higher temperature/pressures is the advantage over the conventional ones.

 

[sjs]

Most of those miles were put on in that year. Im not talking about any easy driving either. Major lack of concern for this one. What ashame. Had maybe 1qt in it when it got towed to my shop. The rest of the story is coming

An apology is due. I completely missed this on my first pass. Not that I think it's likely that someone put so many miles on their NSX in one year (over 100 miles per day, seven days per week year round) but at least I know where nsxtasy got some of his references. Now that I see it, the last sentence supports my supposition, which is that the primary cause was not bad oil, but lack of oil.

BTW, my prior reference to high RPM was not clearly stated. I too use the full power band regularly. What I had in mind is sustained redline in low gears, and over redline on downshifts. I bought an NSX engine with a spun rod bearing from someone who autocrossed a lot and had this happen, and have heard of one other which did the same. Both claim that they were not low on oil, so I gather that the constant high G pitching traps a significant amount of oil in the heads and block, starving the pickup. But that's a whole different topic.

 

[sjs]

I'd be interested in running the VIN on this car to see if mileage was logged each year. I don't think 'it's a privacy thing since it won't tell us the owner. How about it NSXnBRLA?

 

[nsxtasy]

I never said "breakdown", but instead said "burnt" like in "blue smoke coming out of the tailpipe and you are going to need to add some...". Please read more carefully next time and do not put words in my mouth.

You did indeed state that synthetic oil is more susceptible to burning. Here are your exact words: "Especially synthetic oils either get burnt, or contaminated." And that statement is not true. Conventional oils are more susceptible to getting "burnt" than synthetic oils, and equally susceptible to getting "contaminated".

 

[nsxxtreme]

This engine is on the way to the machine shop. You dont wanna see the closeup of the crank. FYI its a 1998 model with 55K miles.

Actually I wanted to see the carnage!!

I know someone that owns a Lexus SUV he never changed the oil the entire 3 years he owned it. Well the motor finally died and somehow he convinced Toyota to pay for it. He though since it was a luxury car it didn't need any maintanance, DOH!! Some people can be very smart at other things, but when it comes to cars they are completely clueless.

 

[apapada]

You did indeed state that synthetic oil is more susceptible to burning. Here are your exact words: "Especially synthetic oils either get burnt, or contaminated." And that statement is not true. Conventional oils are more susceptible to getting "burnt" than synthetic oils, and equally susceptible to getting "contaminated".

I did mention "burning", not "breakdown". It is an interesting argument since I disagree about conventional oils being more susceptible to getting "burnt". And here is why... When an engine has enough wear to allow oil to reach the combustion chamber, synthetic oil which does not "breakdown", maintains the same viscosity and keeps finding its way inside a combustion chamber, and continues to getting burnt in the combustion chamber. On the other hand, the viscosity of mineral (conventional) oils changes dramatically to the point of creating a "seal" around these areas of high temperature. Although this can seem a positive effect at first, it is not (as it will eventually starve those areas from "fresh" oil and lubrication). Hence, it is my understanding that in an engine which has enough wear, if you add synthetic oil, you will end up burning more than if you used conventional.

 

[AKUDOU]

I don't get it!!

Why drive a $80,000 car and never check or change the cheapest insurance you have to sustain its life. I would be willing to bet that there kids run around all day with shitty pampers.LOL

 

[sjs]

I did mention "burning", not "breakdown". It is an interesting argument since I disagree about conventional oils being more susceptible to getting "burnt". And here is why...

You guys keep talking apples and oranges, missing/ignoring the other's intent. I too first interpreted "burnt" to mean vaporized, scalded, whatever, cooking the oil where it makes contact with an extremely hot surface and leaving a deposit behind and/or just increasing viscosity and contaminates. The residue is often referred to as “coke”, a common term in steel manufacturing and coal burning. That's particularly a problem with turbos that are run till they glow then shut down without cooling. The bearings are said to “coke up”. Synthetic lubricants are designed with a much higher flash point and are therefore less prone to this problem.

Your later description of “burnt” could be considered related, but your focus was only on the oil which was ultimately consumed through combustion after being allowed into the combustion chamber as a result of being “burnt” as we first interpreted your words. To me that’s addressing the symptom rather than the problem, which is why I missed your meaning the first time.

 

[RP-Motorsports]

When MOBIL 1 first came out, I called MOBIL and asked a bunch of questions. The 1 thing that stuck in my mind was that with conventional oil, its molecular formula breaks down from the first shear. A steady downward path is followed. 100% synthetic oils will shear, but will actually re-formulate a new molecule with a chemical reaction. The oil will stay fairly consistant for up to 50,000 miles (less with severe duty) and then drop off sharply. I know people who have done the magnetic lab test. Synthetic oil always prevails, with Amsoil being top dog usually. I personally use Mobil 1 exclusively. I am betting on a head failure due to low oil.