Greetings all. This site seems to be a great resource, and I'll probably be around to bug you with questions more frequently than you would like

I just purchased an '06 Civic LX MT. For the record, this is NOT an easy car to find right now in the TN area. The only two cars available in the state last week were atomic blue and white (neither of which the wife approves of). One dealer in Clarksville was kind enough to trade their white to a dealer in Louisville for a black version which I ended up settling on. When we got to the dealer yesterday they had it in the show room since it was the only one they currently had on the lot. After the purchase, they opened the doors and I drove it straight out of the building and onto the road. It was a rather triumphant way to end my first car purchase!

Now for the newbie's first question:

I plan to do as much of the maintenance as possible on my own, which I am completely new to. I've changed oil on cars before, but my experience doesn't extend much further than that.

The question is this: after reading the manual it seems that everytime they mention fluid changes, they ALWAYS recommend Honda products. They even go so far as to say using other products will damange your car and that they should only be used as emergency replacements. Now I know that the obvious answer here is that they are simply out to get more money. Still, do any of you use Honda products for maintenance, and if so, how do the prices run? I'm assuming they are only available from a dealer, right?

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to learning a lot from the knowledgable people around this forum.

 

Nice car, and welcome to HCF[sm=groupwave.gif][sm=groupwave.gif]

ATF (not ypur case), and Power Steering Fluid should be Honda ( or made for Honda vehicles, you can find them in your auto parts store as "Honda ATF or Honda PS fluid)

other fluids i don't know really

hope this helps

 

Honda does make very good maint supplies for cars, but if you go the the auto parts store and dont buy the cheapest stuff off the shelf, you can get stuff that rivals Honda quality, and some even exceeds.



So, what are your plans with this fine vehicle you have purchased? Any mods or just keep up on the maint?

 

I'm not going to rule any mods out, but I'm going to take it slow. Since I'm new to car maintenance in general, the idea of doing any kind of reconstructive surgery makes me a bit nervous

If you have any simple suggestions to get me introduced gradually, however, I'm all ears.

 

welcome to the forum![sm=hiya.gif][sm=hiya.gif] when i got my car i also saw this in the manual, i asked the guy at the dealership and he sead it dosent matter and the non-honda fluid might even be better for the car..i havent changed any fluid yet except oil, and i just used regular oil (non honda), and for brake fluid i topped it up with non-honda stuff also..for coolent,tranny,and stearing fluid i think im going to use honda tho, its a little more expensive (im not sure the prices) but i think it will be best for the car

 

Thats a good looking car welcome to the forum

 

at first clance i thought that was a hatch... welcome dude.

 

Beautiful car. Small things like and aftermarket air intake and exhaust wont hurt the car at all. You are just simplyu giving the car bigger lungs. I hope that was well put.

 

Stay with the Honda oil for 2-3 changes. The break in period on your engine is based on the engineering tolerances of Honda lubricant. After that, I suggest switching to Mobil 1. Its pricey in comparison, but the cost is outweighed in the engine life gains, and oil change frequency. Your Honda is designed to run for 200,000 plus miles...Mobil 1 will make sure that happens and beyond. And before someone asks, not I don't sell their products!

The intake option everyone is talking about replaces your stock "air filter and box" to allow better air flow to the engine. If you can change oil, you can put one of these on. It will add some horse power and it will probably improve your gas mileage. They range in price from about $65 for a piece of junk one to about $350 for the top. I recommend the AEM V2 (about $250). Check out their web-site, it will explain what intakes do and why the V2 is the way to go. You'll get an education while slowly being sucked into the madness of tunning your ride. Whahahaha!!![sm=guilty.gif]

Welcome, and I hope you enjoy cruisin the forum. Everyone here is very helpful and will go out of their way to help. NO one feels like a newbie around here unless they want too, thats how cool this place is.

 

Nice car, it looks real good in black. Seems liek there are a bunch of new members with 06s. Anyway, my suggestion is to do suspension mods. The reason i like suspension mods is that since you've bought a brand new car, there is a warranty on it. So you can't do major mods without voiding the warranty. But i think you can do suspension w/o voiding the warranty. Then you can go and have a boat load of fun AutoXing.