FoxTypeR

Hello everyone, this is my first post here, as I just picked up my titanium baby on the 5th. I had a few questions that I decided would best go here rather than the tech garage because of the harsher driving conditions of this area.

Let me first start with my normal driving habits. This car is my daily commuter, I have an 8 mile commute on 635 (which those of you in the Dallas area realize takes anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour). As such, there's a lot of clutching, braking, and street starts. Add this to the drier and warmer climate of the summer, not to mention the dust, and you really end up putting a beating on your car (my last car was a '94 Mercury Cougar, which burned through two automatic transmissions and an engine in it's relatively short 117k mile career). I also do some moderate length highway driving up to Plano/Allen and the normal weekly or bi-weekly trip to Mesquite from North Dallas (around 15-20 miles).

Now that we have that out of the way, here's my question. I of course, have an all stock car (touring packing), and I'm curious what type of engine oil, oil filter, air filter, differential, and trasmission fluids everyone is using or would recommend using in their 6 speeds. At the time of this thread, I only have 550 miles on my car (I had 225 when I drove it off the lot a week ago) and I want to start taking car of it as best I can from the start.

I also have a minor request as well, which is what type of quick and in-expensive (under $500 preferably) performance/tuning upgrades would be a good investment. The catch is, I don't want anything that voids the factory warranty or will deplete engine/transmission life at a more rapid rate.

To those that took the time to read this, thank you. To those that respond, I would tell you I love you, but I would not dare risk the wrath of my wife (who actually encouraged me to buy the car I wanted over an RSX-S).

-Jason

tpryor

5w20 Castrol Oil (Dino oil, not synthetic).
Stock Oil Filter.
K&N drop in replacement air filter (good for a couple of mpg's).
Redline synthetic in gearbox and differential.

Performance tuning for $500:
K&N (mentioned above), about $50.
Cat-Back exhaust from Racing Beat, about $500

Some people prefer the Borla (I have had both - see the pictures in the signature), but it is typically more expensive and (in my opinion) not as well made as the RB unit.

Neither will affect the warranty and have no effect on engine life if you maintain your car properly.

Mine will be two years old in early July, I live in Houston and the above has worked for me. I change my oil every 2500 miles (NO dealer or mass market oil chage place - they always overfill it, even the dealers who are supposed to know better), spark plugs every 15000, clean the air filter every couple of months (also clean the Mass Airflow Sensor at the same time - only takes 1 minute), and have had no problems other than the production issues (such as the thermostat and a steering sensor).

Does that help?

Please keep in mind that this is MY $0.02 worth. Use the advice you want and discard the rest.

Tim

ezrider55

What he said plus do the protection mods in the DIY section. You want to protect the oil coolers and the AC condenser.

tpryor

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!

I forgot to mention that I had the protector screens for the oil coolers and the condenser. Good catch ezrider55, thanks.