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My 2005 Civic LX Couple is going on 60,000 miles, just got a job with pizza delivery, and I'm in need of some advise on what would be best for my car.

Brakes: Currently mine are squeaking on occasion with average everyday use, so this would mean that I need to replace them soon, right?
How much would it cost for this?

Tires: I've had the same tires since I've bought the car and it's nearing the tread bar now- I've been looking around for some high quality tires and found these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e&autoModclar=
- Please give me any input if you can find a better deal or a better tire.

Oil: I've been going with regular oil, and I've been thinking about switching over to synthetic.
I'm pretty sold on Pennzoil Platinum because of the cost and high rating, but just heard about Pennzoil Ultra- what's the difference?

>> My transmission is fine when I drive heavy on the accelerator, but when I drive average (below 3k RPM's) I can feel the gears shift and it sort of bumps up and it's not so smooth (not slipping).
Is this a sign of needing new transmission fluid as well?

Anyhow thanks for reading the long post, and any advise on any of these points or anything else you think my car should need replaced let me know.

Thanks!
- Paul

 
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i dont have all the answers, but since no one else has replied I'll give you my opinion.

you will put alot of miles on your ride delivering pizzas. I bought a beater back in the day when i did so i didnt put too many hard miles on my reliable car. if you have a little spare cash and find the right deal it might be worth considering. sell beater when your done. i found a 500 saturn drove it for 8 months delivering pizzas and beat the crap out of it. sold it for 350 and saved on depreciation.

brakes- there is a metal wear indicator in the pad that makes a screeching noise when they are worn. should only need to do fronts. rear last a long time since they aren't doing much of your braking. replace pads if you are mechanically inclined. there are sure to be DIY's on here or on youtube. easy job, plus your factory warrenty should be ending soon so you don't have to worry about voiding that for doing your own work.

tires- everyone has their own preference. they are a little pricey, but tirerack has good deals. try and get some high effeciency tires, but consider weather conditions in your area. if winter has an influence, saving a couple $ in gas isnt worth the accident sliding through a stop sign. common sense.

oil-use what you are comfortable with. if your doing your own oil changes you can easily justify using synthetic by offsetting the labor charge. use a quality oil filter. I use either Mobil 1 ($12)or pureone filters ($6). fram is junk! google it if you don't want to take my opinion on that one, someone will defend their cheap walmart filter manufactured by some Taiwanese 11 year old laborer. now is a good time if you do want to make the switch. higher mileage runs a slight risk of cleaning sludge that may actually be plugging any leaks in seals leading to an oil leak. you would also get to stretch out your oil change intervals by a significant amount. gearbox will surely promote lubecontrol lc20. i don't know the product, however i did just purchase lc fp plus fuel additive/injector cleaner. no product review yet. people seem to love it though so i don't see any complaints.

transmission- is it slipping? a hard shift isn't indicative of transmission failure but slippage is. ie: does rpm increase 300+ in between the shift before engaging the next gear? DRAIN & REFILL! do not flush. if you haven't already, you are past due. your transmission doesn't have n external filter, but an internal one. you can knock debris around transmission causing more damage than benefit. use only honda fluid. some on here will recommend gm syncromesh. i don't have any experience with it so i cant give an opinion on it. easy job. there are DIYs on that here too.

a new airfilter & plugs (ngk or denso) would be good if you haven't already. you might as well get the best mpg possible when you are driving for work.
Get a wheel alignment if needed. it will increase mpg and premature prevent tire damage on your new set. find a reputable shop. there are minimum standards that they must meet. a poor shop might just minimums while others will try to do thier best to get it perfect. cartalk.com is a great website to find a good mechanic under mechanic files.

Try to do your own work on the simple things if you dont already. its a great way to save money on things that you have to do as a result of your job.

the most important thing i can say is drive with a light foot & coast approaching lights when traffic permits. save your engine, brakes and tires. You dont want to replace all this later or you will offset your profits repairing your vehicle. Its a great means to make a buck but also expensive if you don't treat your vehicle as a work expense. I used to get paid mileage so if you can save gas money by getting the best possible mpg you profit more. your customers are usually going give the same tip regardless of how quick you get there, as long as your not late of course. You are putting alot of hard miles stop and go, cold starts if you aren't working the busiest pizza joint.



disclaimer- fluid changes- dont over/underfill. overfilling can cause just as many problems with improper lubrication of your engine.

sorry for the lengthy response

 
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^ yeah what he said (great response).

In a nutshell change your transmission oil, motor oil, spark plugs, and air filters (cabin AND motor). Check the wear of your engine belts, brake pads, and tires (replace if needed)...

then you should be all set. The owners manual also has a diagram of what should be replaced/checked and when.

 
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Ya laack basically said it all.

Tires: really all tires are good but different brands have different treads for performance reasons. I myself either go with yokohoma or nitto they are both great tires. I would say go with them or even hancock. They are pretty pricey but worth it.

Brakes: I go with hawk brake pads, they are great for performance on braking.

Motor oil: I go with Mobil 1 and always have. Great oil. And go with either k&n, hamp, or honda oil filter.

Transmission: Just change the fluid in it. Go with honda fluid.

After that just go with the simple spark plugs, spark plug wires, air filter, and check fluid levels like anti freeze, brake fluid, windshield fluid. Keep the engine bay clean to. With just these simple things then your car will last for a very long time without anything going wrong.

 
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I was able to put together a list for my auto shop:
---
1) Oil Change - Pennzoil Platinum (Synthetic)
2) New Tires - Potenza RE960AS
3) New Front Brake Pads
4) New Transmission Fluid [Honda OEM] - Drain and Refil (Do not flush)
5) New Airfilter
6) New Spark Plugs and Spark Plug wires
---
Thanks a bunch for the input guys, really appreciate it

And buying a new car just for delivering pizza sounds tempting, but I'm only 18 and planning on riding out this civic until I finish college. I was checking around car prices and the biggest piece of turd saturn I could find in my area, that could run, was going for $1k- which I'm not sure would be worth buying considering I'd be losing mpg and would likely have to make some repairs during it's use.

 
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ok we have coil packs not wires so you dont need those. and everything else besides the tires you can do yourself they are very easy to do yourself and there is a diy section for all of them with picturesyou just need some minor tools.and if your going to switch to synthetic get AMSOIL oil and filter the 5w-20 can go 10,000 miles and the 5w-30 can go 25,000 miles if you feel comfortable going that long so additives are not needed.

 
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Lol i forgot the d17 does have coil packs sorry.

 
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that would be funny if his garage charges him for spark plug wires.

 
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Lol that would be sweet, coil packs are damn expensive.

 
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My 05 Civic LX just hit 76k, but there's a few things I've done to it and it still runs pretty smooth. Not too hard in the maintenance dept. here. In case you're worried about experience, I had very little before getting this car. Something like brakes or an oil change may take longer than it should when you first start, but you'll get faster at it the more you do it. Looking at your list, I would strongly urge you to do it yourself instead of paying the shop for it.

Couple o' opinions on your parts:

1) Brakes

I've driven on stocks, Hawk HPs, and Duralast Golds (AutoZone pads, Pep Boys are almost identical). If you want stopping power, I would recommend those Hawks. They lasted me about 2 1/2 years, and I drive a bit aggressively. I also like to hit the brakes to mess with my passenger once in awhile. Only reason I have new Duralasts now is because my left brake really didn't give me much warning before it went out. It was starting to scratch my rotor, and I didn't have a backup ride. Couldn't afford to wait for the Hawks to ship to me, so I had to get these. I immediately noticed a difference in stopping power. They worked pretty well last night when I slammed the brakes on the freeway, was really surprised. But rolling to a red light and other casual braking, I notice the difference. My only issue with Hawk HPs is the brake dust. Be prepared to clean your front tires. Mine were a little hard because I have the Special Edition rims, lots of spokes to get in between. The dust comes off easy, you just have to wipe manually, car washes usually don't get it. Other than that, awesome brakes.

2) Tires

Potenzas are what most of the Civics roll on stock. I switched to Yokohama YK520s about 30k ago and they're still doing great, better handling than the stocks. If you're still gonna order the Potenza tires, I'm sure those would work out for you though, considering Honda's been putting them on most of the cars.

3) Oil

As far as that goes, I'm still looking into which oil would be better for me. Switched to synthetic last change, car felt good and runs fine, but I'd like to learn more about our options. For the filter, I've put on a K&N and a PureOne. Haven't really noticed a difference, but PureOne is a LOT cheaper than a K&N.

Other than that, spark plugs should be up for a change. I've been heavily recommended for NGKs. Don't put Bosch in a Civic, that's messed with a few people and they ended up pulling them out. The NGKs are worth a little more.

Air filter should also be looked at if you haven't done it yet. Changed the intake with a kit, and that only took about 90 min. with a few simple tools. Good kits are made to use all the factory holes and bolts, so you don't have to rig it to fit or drill anything. Awesome plus to the gas mileage.

Suspension work is best done OUT of the dealer. Just did mine recently. Dealer wanted about 1200 for shocks/struts all around - parts and labor. You'll need an alignment afterwards too. Add about 70-90 bucks for that depending where you go. Here's the cool part. I went online and found a full set of Tokico Blues for about 400 bucks w/shipping. Most mechanics I look at wanted about 50-75 bucks per corner to install them. I found Speed Factory Tuning and they put them all in for $150. Would have tried it myself, but I need my car right away for work sometimes. Alignment was $70. All in all, I got a way better ride with better parts for half of what the dealer wanted. Pep Boys and similar rip-off shops estimated the job closer to $850, alignment not included. If you're thinking about getting suspension work, wait on the alignment until then. You'll just end up doing it twice. Speed bumps are no longer my enemy (still lowered, but I don't hit anymore) and most entry ramps don't come close to hitting my exhaust anymore. Huge difference.

A little lengthy, but I hope all the stuff I've had to go through helps someone else out that has any questions.

 
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Perfect feedback, just what I was looking for.
Thanks a bunch.