Curious about oiling system.

[bluezipper]

As an old gear head I know that the majority of the wear that occurs to a traditional engine happens at start up, between the time that the starter starts spinning the engine, and the oil pump gets oil all the way to the camshaft which is usually the last thing to get oiled. I am quite a novice about hybrid tech however, and was wondering if anyone had some inside info on how the hybrid system deals with the frequent stop/start conditions of the auto stop function? I know we used to put electric pre-oilers on that switched on, and off with the oil pressurte switch, and that would make an engine almost last forever. Does Honda pre oil the engine before it cranks back up on auto stop? Or can we expect the engine to prematurely wear out as opposed to a traditional system that idles? If it does pre oil before resuming combustion wouldn't that effectually extend the life of the engine considerably? I'm just wondering if someone has an inside scoop on how Honda is dealing with the internal oiling system on an engine that makes many, many times more start/stop cycles than a conventional engine. If it pre-oils then the life expectancy of the engine should be longer than a traditional engine, if it doesn't then it would be considerably shorter. Thoughts anyone?

[Scotty001]

Originally Posted by bluezipper

.... <snip> ..between the time that the starter starts spinning the engine

A combination of things.. No traditional starter.. And 0w20 oil.. IMA tech with Auto stop/start had been around for a while and proven tech.

There are several threads on the subject. Here is one..

Auto Stop-Start Wear & Tear

[bluezipper]

Thanks Scotty this partially answers my question. I'm quite confident that the "starter" also being the IMA system is well equipped to start the engine many more times than a conventional starter. Even with zero cold weight oil there will still be a delay in hydraulic tension in the close tolerances within the engine wihout a pre-oiler. I was just wondering if anyone knew if honda employed a pre-oiler in the design or just relied on the rapid distribution of the zero cold weight oil, and perhaps a cleverly designed galley system. I have no doubt they dotted their "I's" and crossed their "T's" I was just curious if they were nice enough to put a simple pre-oiler in the design which would almost eliminate wear on the engine. Of course then they wouldn't sell very many new CR-Zs in 15 or 20 years because all the old ones would still be running perfectly. My thought is that they didn't because they do want the engine to wear out eventually. A pre oiler on a limited idleing hybrid would almost last a lifetime. Any aftermarket guys out there?(hint, hint)

[bluezipper]

On a side note I am thinking about running AMSoil 0-30 full synthetic on the next oil change. With identicle cold weight it should be OK I would think. The AMSoil full synthetic has a higher thermal tolerance, and longer molecular shear life than the Honda 0-20 synthetic blend. A mechanic at my local Honda dealer officially DID NOT recommend this as he can only OFFICIALLY recommend Honda oil. (wink, wink, cough, cough)

[Scotty001]

^ I'm not a gearhead but do not believe there is what you refer to a pre-oiler. I believe it is relying on the IMA tech and the recommended 0w20 properties for the most part. Others may chime in if I am incorrect.

There are full synth 0w20 products - Mobile 1 and Castrol are two that come to mind. Amsoil also has a 0W20. I'm using the Castrol product.

[Jayemtee]

There is no pre-oil system.

The Honda IMA system has been around well over 10 years as their technology continues to improve. The first gen Insights have autostop, and premature engine wear is not an issue even as these cars get hundreds of thousands of miles.

As an old gear head myself, it doesn't all add up. However, the evidence speaks for itself.

[bluezipper]

Thanks Jay. I'm confident Honda knows what they are doing, and I wouldn't have bought the car if I didn't think I could get a couple hundred thousand miles out of it. I'm just insatiably curious, and wonder if anyone has an inside scoop on the hows, and whys. Sans a pre oiler I bet there is some special galley work as I mentioned earlier. At times my car is auto stopped for 3 -5 minutes, and still never cranks back up til I'm ready to move again. I don't know if the oil pressure switch is bypassed while in auto stop so it doesn't operate or if the engine has a reserve capacitance for holding a certain pressure while stopped. The Honda techs at the dealer don't know yet either. I asked, lol. I just got a deer in the headlight look, and he said "I never thought about it." Google has rendered nil, and Honda doesn't think it a selling point so no mention on their official sites. Inquiring minds want to know!