I just bought my first car - a '98 Civic EX 5-speed with 110,000 miles. (For $4k, you can do a whole lot worse, and it was from a dealer so I have someone to yell at if it goes wrong.) I'm having a new water pump and timing belt installed for the sake of safety, but was wondering what else I might do to return the car to factory-fresh levels of performance. While I'm a fairly technically adept sort of person (I've fixed everything from computers to air compressors), I'm a newbie auto mechanic, and was hoping to stick to the easier stuff - oil, air filters, etc. A few of the ideas I had include the following:

1. Oil. I'm told that some of the fancier stuff (notably Mobil 1 Extended Performance, which is a Group IV oil derived from synthetic stock) can make a difference, and that changing the viscosity a bit can help older cars. Any thoughts?

2. Fuel injector cleaning. The cars runs dandy, but dyno tests of old cars I've seen have shown that poor injectors and other effects of age can do horrible things to horsepower output. I'm only hoping for the ~120 HP at the crank the car came with from the factory, but hopefully some futzing with the fuel injectors can help.

There's two ways I know of to clean out fuel injectors: Fuel additives and pure-solvent flush. The first is seems pretty easy - dump the fluid in your gas tank and go for a long drive - but, aside from dubious effectiveness, I've also heard tales of damage to catalytic converters. The second method is much more difficult - use an air pump set to the appropriate pressure to force a concentrated solvent through injectors after removing them from the car - but has a greatly reduced chance of damaging the rest of the engine assuming I don't botch the removal and replacement, something I've never done before.

3.Tires. The included tires are crap, and need to be replied ASAP. Can anyone recommend some good all-season tires? This car will be driven quite a bit on ice and snow, so year-around performance is important.

4. Transmission fluid. Any way to check the condition of this stuff?

5. Seafoam. Does this stuff actually work? And if so, should I disconnect the catalytic converter to avoid damage?

 

Im really a Valvoline guy and not into synthetics... I know i just dont like paying 30 dollars for mobil 1 when i can pay 16 for perfectly good premium oil. Its true that synthetic can go around twice as long but whats the point if your going to be paying TWICE as much? Same thing really. However synthetic is better for harsher driving conditions, so if you drive harsh, and since you say theres ice and snow where you live (synthetic does alot better than regular oil in extreme conditions, too hot or too cold) id say go with synthetic.
For transmission fluid you cant really tell its bad unless you experience hard shifts, no smoothness. Check if its filled up properly, if its not and your transmission feels rocky you should change it. I hear ALOT of good things about seafoam, Im actually going to try it for the first time tomorrow. Its supposed to only do damage to cars with a lot of mileage, they might not withstand all that crap going on. But on a civic as everyone knows, 100xxx is new!! I hear it does bad on cars pushing 200xxx like my car!!! lol. Ill inform you on my results! Wish me luck

 

1. You don't need it but synthetic oil is definitely better and I recommend it. You can also go longer without changing it. Advance auto parts and Auto Zone have oil-change specials every month where you buy an oil filter and oil for a sale price. What's on sale varies per month. I like Mobil1 with a Mobil1 filter. Purolator gold filters are also great.

2. Try some Lucas fuel additive (about half a bottle per full tank of gas). Great stuff. However, pump gas already has fuel additives in it to clean the injectors... so it's probably not that bad. You only have 110,000 miles too, so your engine is likely in great condition as long as it was taken care of. I would still do the Lucas additive but keep in mind that your injectors are probably fine already.

3. I never have to drive in snow/ice so I can't help you there.

4. You can check it by opening the fill bolt, but you really should just change it. It's very easy and cheap. It is supposed to be changed every 30,000 miles anyway, so you should change it regardless of what condition it is in. Use Genuine Honda MTF. It's like $7 a quart. You need 2 quarts. You open the drain bolt, let it drain (make sure car is level so it all comes out). Then you close the drain bolt and open the fill bolt. Stick a hose in it with a funnel on the other end and fill until the level of fluid reaches the bottom of the fill bolt hole (it will start coming out at this point). Then put the bolt back in and you're done. You will end up with a little bit of MTF leftover.

Transmission Fluid DIY
better DIY...

5. Seafoam is great stuff. You don't have to disconnect the catalytic converter but it is certainly not a bad idea... you eliminate the risk of damaging the catalytic converter by removing it. Make sure you use the seafoam before changing the oil (add 1/3 can to oil, 1/3 to gas tank, 1/3 sucked in through vacuum lines). Drive 50-100 miles like that and then change the oil. Change the spark plugs too (use OEM NGK V-power)

Seafoam DIY

 

If you truly live in a place that has seasons, you need 2 sets of tires. A good all purpose tire for spring, summer, and fall... and then a good set of winter tires that can handle snow and ice. I live in texas so I just use a good warm weather tire and never change it during out 2 week winters. Last tires I bought were Yokohama AS430's. good all around tire with a 60K mile warranty.

 

I just did it!! Put 1/3 in gas tank 1/3 in oil with the car off turn it on let it warm up and let the vacuum hose suck the rest up! Turn it off wait 5 minutes and turn it back on. There will be a nice little smoke show! I have 220xxx miles on my car and its running like a beast! Im gonna change the oil in a bit