Sup Honda fam I have a 97 Civic DX Non LS Trans and I can't seem to find a straight answer about which weight of oil I should use for my tranny, right now I'm using Conventional 5W20 not sure if this is to thin or not but I wanted to get a little more insight from you guys what do you all think?

 

Assuming you're talking about an MT, you should be using Honda MTF.

 

Is that better then what I'm using? and how much does a quart of that cost?

 

Before honda had MTF they use to specify 10w30 iirc, otherwise use honda MTF, its about $8 a quart at the dealer by me

 

Honda MTF, had to many transmissions go out with 10w30

 

old spec MTF was about equivalent in viscosity to 10w30 engine oil. in transmission oil numbers 10w30 is most similar to 75w90. see below.



new spec is more like the 5w20 you're using now. I've yet to see regular, off-the-shelf, non-track spec transmission oil that thin. go with the MTF from Honda. you can find deals ordering it online as some dealers tend to over charge for it.

 

Honda Fluids - Bernardi Parts

My go-to guys for OEM fluids, lubes, sealants, and all those other fun chemicals. Except HondaLok. I get that for free from the local dealership every time I get something.

 

I do the same, but Majestic also ships fluids now too. Go with whoever has best price.

 

Honda mtf

 

Found cases of 12 Honda MTF quarts for $88 shipped on eBay. Or on Amazon, they vary from $8-$9ish including shipping. You need 3 quarts (~2.3 qts) . Problem with Bernardi is the shipping rates. If you have a large order, you can absorb the shipping. But for small stuff, its a bit pricey....especially for fluids since they upcharge the shipping on that.

 

i have always used mobile 1 10w30. never had a problem. even in higher hp abused trans.

 

The main *tangible* advantage to MTF is cold weather shift feel. Beyond that, likely longer synchronizer life, etc.

M1 is like $7-8 per quart. Honda MTF is $8-9 per quart at a local dealer. Not much difference in cost. Dealers always have it in stock. So as long as you have a local dealer, the availability is the same for either as well.

I'm sure you're fine with 10W30 and you may not ever see an actual problem. MTF does offer advantages, though.

Torco MTF is another good one. Amazon has them for $10/qt. It improved the shifting feel on my S2000 and made the trans a bit quieter. It also doesn't get that notchy shift feel after 2-3 track days like the Honda MTF. Although, Honda MTF still has better cold weather shift feel. Since this car sees almost no cold weather use...Its not really a factor.

I use Honda MTF in my TSX daily driver at about a 35-40k mile interval. Shifts like silk even in the crazy silly Chicago winter.

 

I use penzoil syncromesh with good results. Anyone has an expert opinion about it?

 

aquafina doesnt show around here much anymore, but he is a tranny guru. he knows the size of teeth to the types of metal used to the capatability of other parts to make a hybrid trans etc. he coudl give a good answer

 

He's a knowledgeable dude for sure. Apparently, there is a way to "tag" people on HT that would alert them/link them to the thread.

Torco MTF is usually his recommendation over Honda MTF.

 

I was just going to say this. Everytime I've seen him (@Aquafina) recommend fluid for our manual trannies it's always Torco MTF over all else or Torco RTF if you are abusing and can spend the extra.

And if I recall, he also said conventional 10w30 over the latest version of Honda MTF but I might be remembering incorrectly there. I do know he said avoid synthetic 10w30 like the plague.

 

So glad some Freshman bumped this thread with nothing to add, just to get his post count up, and y'all ran with it, continuing to add nothing new.

 

toe may toe - toe mah toe
poe tay toe - poe tah toe


Or are you upset that there are those who think other fluids are better than your holy grail Honda MTF?

 

 

Nope. If you check my build thread, you'll actually see that I'm using Torco MTF for a stock, basic, normal DD, Honda MTF all the way. It's affordable, and it's reliable. For aggressive driving, Torco MTF, easy. For track/real performance use, Torco RTF. For the average user, though, there's no reason to waste the money on Torco when Honda MTF does the job just fine.

 

Torco MTF is $1-3 more than Honda MTF per quart. Its like $9-10 on amazon.

#outdatedinformation

 

Makes perfect sense.

 

Except Honda MTF doesn't do the job just as well. It does it worse. If you're cheap, use 10W-30 instead of Honda MTF.

 

Glad to see my memory does still work sometimes.

 

I was actually wondering about my memory as well, I read through this thread a few weeks ago and was surprised at how many people were saying to use Honda MTF when in my head I was thinking that for older transmissions (specifically before Honda changed the MTF formula) it was recommended to use regular 10W-30 motor oil.