"losing oil" - better to go back to regular oil?

[disappoint]

But is it really enough to switch away from synthetic and stop an oil consumption issue? They all meet the same specification, is there really an appreciable variation?

If you want a thicker oil, why not switch to 5w40 synthetic and be done with it?

I might be missing something here...

Because that's not a thicker oil. It's still 5 weight oil. Did you not know what the W in 5W-30 meant? If so I'd say you sure were missing something there.

The 30 or 40 is the range of viscosity which is dependent on temperature due to the additives.

If you want a thicker oil, use 10W-30 or 40. Be prepared for lower gas mileage though.

 

[disappoint]

Nothing to worry about. Some cars are DESIGNED to burn oil. A good example is the E39 M5, it burns roughly 1qt every 1000 miles, which is normal!

Personally, I'd use conventional oil in your car. Synthetic isn't necessary. IIRC, your manual likely has 7500mi oil intervals on conventional oil. I know my stock S2000 did.

LOL designed to burn oil. What is it a friggin 2 stroke engine? Some people will believe anything their exalted BMW/Mercedes/Lexus dealer tells them.

Bbbbbyes your excellency I will pour more oil in at once your highness! bbbyes your majesty of course I will change the defective high pressure fuel pump at my cost your exalted one! anything to keep driving my status symbol please your highness I beg of you!

 

[Miramonti]

From what I understand, the thinner the oil is, the easier it will be to penetrate further into a worn gasket that otherwise a thicker oil might not yet have penetrated far enough to become a leak. Then once a leak is created, the leaking oil and oil pressure will further deteriorate the gasket seal and cause the leak to increase over time. I guess that's why some people love Lucas stuff because its so darn thick and can slow a leak considerably.

So I'm guessing that's what the mechanic was referring to with your car. I have a 2k vtec and while I've never seen a drip, there is some mild wetness underneath the timing belt area. It's not bad and I only have 80k 'easy' miles on the car so I'm in no rush to change the timing belt and surrounding seals (but would be wise to in the next couple years.)

 

[JCH13]

Because that's not a thicker oil. It's still 5 weight oil. Did you not know what the W in 5W-30 meant? If so I'd say you sure were missing something there.

The 30 or 40 is the range of viscosity which is dependent on temperature due to the additives.

If you want a thicker oil, use 10W-30 or 40. Be prepared for lower gas mileage though.

The first number, with a W, is essentially the "cold" viscosity and the second number is the "warm" viscosity. I assumed that the engine would spend most of its time "warm" and burn most of its oil when warm, and would therefore benefit from a higher "warm" viscosity oil. I may be mistaken, but I recall hearing about some cars having bad issues when thicker "cold" viscosity oil was used in very cold weather, which is why I did not suggest it.

 

[Miramonti]

If you're losing oil faster than normal ('normal' meaning you shouldn't need to add oil before a regular oil change), then the engine is either burning it, or there is a leak. If there is no smoke, it's not burning it aggressively (and your engine with only 80k miles shouldn't be), so you must have a leak.

The best thing you can do is jack up the car, put it onto jack stands, get underneath, and see for yourself, and don't blindly trust a mechanic.