Too Tall

Last I heard Red Line uses ester base stock, Amsoil and Mobil 1 PAO base stock. I don't have any experience with Red Line, so I don't know how comparable its effects compare to Amsoil.

There is no agreement on oil subjects on any forum. Make your best guess and take your chances.

When my wife's 07 Civic with auto tranny had 27,000 miles on it, I started researching Amsoil's effects on different forums. All sorts of reports how Amsoil destroyed their transmission, but I never found any with any detailed reports. Instead of ignoring the recommendations to use only Honda Z1, I decided to drain out all the old Z1, replace with new Z1 to get out as much burnt oil and contaminates as possible, then I did one drain and refill at a time with Amsoil with about 1,000 miles between Amsoil drain and refills. I've done 2 drain and refills with Amsoil, and none of the problems others have reported.

It's your choice.

Brenden

iTrader: (1)

It's usually a driver preference between Royal Purple, Redline, and Amsoil for the honda MTF, but if you live in a really cold climate, the amsoil will be better. It's kind of like the mac vs pc debate, both do the same thing, cost a lot, and are marketed to be better than the rest, but at the end of the day are NEARLY the same. It's up to you to decide, and seeing how you already have the Amsoil in hand, the decision has been made, put it in, then report back with your review on it.

lazlong

X2. It's HOT in tx.

lazlong

So you're telling me at anywhere from 3000-6000 miles your engine doesn't seem a little more sluggish than right after an oil change?

I'm not religious about the oil change, sometimes it happens at 3000 miles sometimes at 6000 miles- the car tells me when it wants it.

MindBomber

Does it really vary that much?

My performance and mileage never seems to change, it does decline slightly towards the end of my oil change cycle but never early. My driving is pretty consistent and I live in a mild climate though, so that may be a factor.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

to be honest i cannot tell the difference 10 months later when i change the oil, it still feels like day1 but i do use lc20 in there as a stabilizer. the oil comes out looking pretty new and nowhere near black. i almost feel bad changing it. and my car always gets a workout because i rarely drive in D anymore, its usually d3 due to too many hills that i need power to drive normally. so rpms are always between 2-3k even when cruising.

Too Tall

I have NEVER experienced any motor, car, motorcycle, boat, diesels, lawn mower, grandpa's 50 year old farm tractor, that gets sluggish towards the end of oil change interval. Assuming engine tune, carb or fuel injectors, etc, are clean and in good tune. I never let my engines get that bad.

I highly suggest you get some old engines out of a junk yard and pull them apart. Look for stuck piston rings, scored cylinder walls, rough bearing surfaces, sludge, varnish, grit stuck every where. That will give you some appreciation of what oil is supposed to do and what happens when it doesn't lubricate very well.

I guarantee your engine is full of sludge, varnish and grit stuck every where. It has to be to cause so much internal drag you can actually feel it. The whole purpose of oil is to let all the parts slide against each other with minimum friction.

The particular brand, or even worse brand(S) of oil you use, and actual driving conditions, too long between oil changes, all contribute to your problem.

Some interesting side notes:

Back in the days of carbs, when synthetic oils first came out, changing to a synthetic would actually increase idle rpm because of internal drag reduction. You actually had to turn the idle down.

Nowadays, the better synthetic oils will reduce internal friction enough to see an increase in fuel mileage by 2 or 3%.

When I changed my 07 Civic's auto tranny fluid at 27,000 miles with Honda Z1 fluid, I did notice the tranny shifted better. But that was just a first step to get out as much of the contaminates as possible before changing to Amsoil.

At the very least, you need to cut your oil change intervals is half, You can try better oils, and I also suspect you do a lot of stop and go driving without letting the engine oil warm up. Doing any type of engine flush will be risky. Make sure you change the oil filter a lot to avoid plugging it up.

lazlong

I think the case may be that I'm very sensitive to my vehicle. It's just a slight difference in terms of sluggishness. As to mpg, yes, it has a significant drop (6-10 mpg). But, what do you expect? It's a salvage title I bought for dirt cheap in '07. I've put 109K on it with absolutely no trouble from the engine. As to the rest of the car, well...

And, no, not a lot of stop and go. I go about 75 mph down the highway most the way to and from work against traffic.

K20Z3

Guarantee you that its just a placebo effect. Same thing that happens when you get a "fuel system cleaning".

lazlong

^^ Exactly. It seems to not work as hard when accelerating.

Too Tall

Loosing 6-10 mpg is not simply a placebo effect. It's an engine grinding itself to pieces. Get a used oil analysis and prove it to yourself.

lazlong

^^ I'll give ya that. It's just that every 4 cylinder I've ever had has done the same thing.

smithhonda03

I went ahead and used the Amsoil Synthetic Synchromesh MTF and heres my verdict. Since I have no clue what was previously in the trans. I don't not have a real point of comparison, my guess is the Honda MTF that prob. came from factory. The AMSOIL exceeded my expectations from the approx. 50mi. I have put on it so far. Cold start shifting is a noticeable improvement(today was 45-50*F) All gears shifting smoothly and the vehicle drives more at ease, like its using less* effort to maintain or accelerate to a certain speed. However, I have also switched out spark plugs, to NGK Iridium, new air filter, and the switch to synthetic amsoil 0W20 engine oil all of which may also be contributing factors to this "gained performance." Updates are to come as I rack the miles on and I will post my results if people are interested in the longevity of this product. So far, i'm genuinely pleased. Keep up the good work Amsoil.

john2plus8

didn't notice any difference

Silver02EX

iTrader: (3)

It doesn't matter if you use w20 or w30... Your car will very likey get totaled, gets sold, or the body will rust out before the engine blows up. I have never seen an oil related issues in any engine because a certain brand was used, or using a w20 or a w30.

metalshredder

I'm kind of in the same boat as SmithHonda03. I picked up this car over the weekend, it's the only one I could find with a straight chassis; and I have no idea what was in it, or what was done as far as maintenance.

I took it by the dealer's express lube only because I temporarily live in an apartment and they kinda frown upon us changing oil, so I opted not to 'learn' a new car's oil change on someone else's driveway...

They put 5w20 in it, the sticker was a Quaker State sticker, but I forgot to ask if it was actually that, or the Honda oil that i hope they would be using...maybe I'll call back.

I plan on doing a tune up too, NGK plugs, air filter, etc....MTF change.
According to Amsoil, this 5-speed wants 5w30 MTF. The honda MTF is about $7.50 a quart at the dealer nearby; and as for anybody else, the only 5w30 I can find is motor oil.

Don't shoot me down for asking a stupid question, but....5w30 motor oil vs 5w30 MTF.....what's the differnece? Is there one?

Too Tall

There are differences between engine oil and gear oil, but I can't remember much beyond that. Motorcycle oils are made to work in both engine, transmission, and wet clutches. But automotive oils are not interchangeable. Follow the recommendations in your owners manual and read the descriptions on the oil bottle.

metalshredder

I was looking at Royal Purple too, and even when you drill down into Manual Trans, and click on 5w30, it still looks like its showing me a quart of motor oil...wtf, right?

danwat12345

You have been tracking your MPG and it literally goes down 6-10MPG!!???

I don't think this is possible. Do u realize how much more heat is being produced that the cooling system has to get rid of? The engine would be vibrating the crap out of the car and probably would have a hard time redlining itself. It would probably seize up if you tried.

Next time you do an oil change .. cut the oil filter in half and see what's in it... maybe do an oil analysis.

lazlong

And is sluggish.

What do you expect, it has 190K+ on it. I bought it with 88K in early '07.

lazlong

I've seen plenty of people use engine oil in EF and EG trannies with no problems. Maybe a little stiff on shifting. Haven't seen anybody do it on newer ones tho. Just go with the MTF, it's only about $2 more than a quart of engine oil right now.

metalshredder

Yeah, I was thinking I'd go with the Honda MTF, at least for now. God knows what's in there now, maybe like the other guy said, the stuff that came from the factory 140k miles ago...

smithhonda03

Yeah the new Honda MTF will do the job just fine, 5w30 means that the MTF will have similar viscosity to that of 5w30 engine oil, just different chemical make-up targeted toward transmissions as opposed to engine I believe, dont quote me on it. Amsoil was my first preference only because I used all their products on my snowmobiles and stand by their claims. However Quart for Quart and prices considered the Honda MTF is a great choice, Amsoil great as well just more $$$ for that label.
Other than basic air element replacement, and engine oil, plugs(I recommend NKG Iridium) if you looking for some basic and cheap DIY to get the car in great running order take a look at this thread--https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...e-up-mods.html

Excellent write-up by gearbox

bsmith

Maybe I have just been lucky with changing my vehicles from mineral oil to synthetic at later miles and having no issues and they vary pretty good in model. 99 Mustang Cobra at 85k miles, 03 Lancer at 90k miles and now my Civic at 147k miles.

rc3087gadc

Hi I have a 2008 civic with no owners manual . Just trying to read the dam oil dipstick as to where the full mark is and find the oil filter . Any susgestions.

ballys20

Hi all, purchased a used 2009 civic LX. Changed the oil and filter without any problems. But in the digital dash - when I start the car, it indicates that the engine oil life is at 15%; drove it for 30-40 miles; smooth and no problems - then re-start the car and now the oil life says 10%????? I just changed the oil - HOW do I re-set (other than turning it to the mileage odometer reading). Thanks for any help

scot0410

Push the selector until you see the oil percentage. Once there, hold it in for 8 seconds or so until the percentage display blinks. Release the selector and push it back in for a few seconds until it displays 100% again. Release selector and you are done.

ballys20

scot0410 - tried your suggestion as well as CraigW - key at II, engine off (tried also with engine on) pressed the sel/reset held for 8 -10 secs and nothing flashes - nothing at all. Any other ideas of suggestions - Now the oil like indicates 5% - even though I changed the oil 3 weeks ago and have driven less than 300 miles.

Any other help would be appreciated!!