does the vtec engine cause oil to burn?

[predlude101]

hey fellow luders,

 

im new to the honda world, infact im new to the automobile world. 2 months ago i purchased a 97 honda prelude. ive always loved these cars. i didnt really do too much research on them, i just new i wanted one and nothind was gonna stop me from getting one. well, after getting one ive learned that it requires premium gas (DOH).

 

anyway, what i wanted to discuss here is the oil. now when i purchased the car the previous owner told me that i should check the oil after every 3/4 gas fills as the vtec burns oil. so ive been pretty consisten in checking adding the recommended motor oil the manual suggests (5w30 SAE). well today i took the car to ez lube to get my oil changed and when the guy opened the lid there was smoke coming out. they changed the filter, added 10w30 castrol oil because of the smoke, he claimed its better for the engine if its burning oil (he was also trying to push more expensive motor oil "100% synthetic blend") which is what im gonna ask after this first inquiry. he checked the dip stick after filling it up and the oil wasnt golden as the previous time i changed the oil. he said that the car is burning oil. i asked him what would cause this and he said the rings in the piston. i dont have the slighest clue how much this would cost but i was wondering if the burning of the oil is due to the rings or if its true that this engine burns oil. people who have said this have said it with such certainty. others have said denied such claim with the same certainty.

 

someone wrote this on another forum

 

"no, vtec does not "burn" oil.....it uses oil pressure to engage. no one motor burns oil more than other because of vtec.....one motor will burn oil more because it needs new rings though.

 

vtec engaging alot means that the motor is being run harder more often and if there are bad rings it would cause more oil to burn......so in other words vtec doesnt cause the oil to burn faster.....bad rings and seals with a combination of harder driving does cause oil to burn faster.

 

there could also be other problems involved as stated by others already"

 

so after all this, what my question(s) are is

 

does the vtec burn oil

the average/ball park cost for piston/ring changes

and does the vtec engine require the higher end motor oil (which is what the oil guy said. i wasnt sure if he was genuine or if he was trying to sucker me into more unnessessary money)

 

thanks a lot guys. i hope this makes sense to all of you

[88prelude]

as far as i know no motor is supposed to burn oil...the way to tell if you are burning oil is if blue smoke is comming out of your exhaust...smoke, or steam, comming out of your engine oil fil on the top of your valve cover is normal because things that are hot are going to steam (my 91 eclipse with a rebuilt engine does the same thing) but if blue smoke is comming out of your exhaust then your piston rings are fried and one of the ways for this to happen is the car gets driven really hard...the more oil the engine burns the worse it is on the engine and if you dont get the rings replaced liquid oil will start comming out of the muffer and then you might as well throw the engine away so yea (my friends van does it bcause of the rings)

 

that is what i think based on my knowledge but you should have your rings checked and replaced asap