You're My Boy, Blue

[rherold9]

Where's the pic of JRay shot-putting a damper into a field...

Somewhere deep in the MMemories thread

[ScottyB]

Where's the pic of JRay shot-putting a damper into a field...

Somewhere deep in the MMemories thread

here you go.  this is Chase Court on Reservoir.  Neff intersection up ahead behind APB Management.  if anyone finds that shock in that field, i'll pay shipping to get it back.  its a historical keepsake now.



and this photo, if you haven't already heard me explain a couple times, also has to do with another episode of me screwing up my car.  top shelf MM lore if there ever was any.

[Senor_Taylor]

That's a beautiful photo

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[ScottyB]

did a little maintenance on Sunday while i was waiting for some varnish to dry.  currently sitting at 96k miles, plugs aren't due until 105k but close enough.

originals coming out and OEM Densos going back in for another 100k miles


scene of the crime.  getting better at pulling the cowl/lower windshield trim, which is a must due to the cab-forward design.  as others have told me it really does open up the whole back of the bay nicely.  just a PITA.


here's the originals after about 8 years of service.  i'm not a plug reading expert but i think they're fine...the car certainly drives fine.  i putz around town a lot so i'm not surprised the ground straps are a bit ash colored from a lean burn.  we also have 10-15% ethanol content in our gas around here which i've heard will add a white deposit.  otherwise the base color and insulator color look about right.  i looked at some S2000 plugs as well and they seem to come out the same.


another view



the gaps were all basically factory, pretty amazing and goes to show what a quality iridium plug will endure.  my guess is i'll never touch the plugs again unless its a tuning necessity for later mods.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Came here expecting hilarity. It did not ensue. For once, I'm glad for your sake.

[JPolen01]

How involved is removing the cowl? I'm only around 76k miles so I have no intention of changing the plugs any time soon - just curious. My commute is now about 8 miles round trip so mileage is increasing at a snail's pace.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Removing the plugs on the Fit is so complicated, i'd sell it before changing plugs

[ScottyB]

Came here expecting hilarity. It did not ensure. For once I'm glad for your sake.

i still have 2 quarts of Amsoil to swap into the gearbox, probably this weekend. don't worry, there's plenty of time left for my personal brand of cruel and tragic shenanigans

How involved is removing the cowl? I'm only around 76k miles so I have no intention of changing the plugs any time soon - just curious. My commute is now about 8 miles round trip so mileage is increasing at a snail's pace.

its not...hard. its just a bunch of pain in the dick kind of stuff that makes it a hassle the first couple times until you figure out what you need and how hard to push/pull on the plastic trim, then it becomes a 5 minute job. all you're doing is pulling the center plastic rain tray, and then the metal cowl (which is also an integrated strut bar) underneath. The tray is snap on and plastic plugs, and the cowl is 10 and 12mm bolts.

for instance, the first time, i thought i had to pull the windshield wipers to get all the plastic off. you don't, there's just a method to sliding the rain tray out from underneath the arms. also the first time, i broke some plastic plugs, so i used my trim tool the next time and it never happened again. you have to yank on the cowl piece in the engine bay pretty hard to get it out the first time due to corrosion/dirt/paint sticking and what not...after the first big yank its never hard to get out again. took me about 40 minutes, putzing around.

in reality its just 2 big parts, a spark plug cover, and fasteners. and of course the actual spark plug socket for the plugs, which take all of 3 minutes to take out once you get all the cowl stuff out of the way. but i'd be lying if i said that i haven't been putting this job off because...dammit i just don't wanna take all that stuff aparrrrrt....

[.RJ]

and of course the actual spark plug socket for the plugs, which take all of 3 minutes to take out once you get all the cowl stuff out of the way.

I hate how engines are buried under the cowl/firewall these days. Valve cover gasket on my E90 involves removing a TON of shit and is a 6+ hour job instead of 20 minutes in my parking space.

[Sijray21]

You own a bmw now, fancy pants. Get a newer vw or an older Honda and your set. My plugs took me 10 minutes after my 15 min oil change :-p.

[ScottyB]

Valve cover gasket on my E90 involves removing a TON of shit and is a 6+ hour job instead of 20 minutes in my parking space.

IS THIS NOT WHY YOU WENT TO COLLEGE, YOU PEON?


but for real, 6 hours? go home BMW, you're drunk

[V1GiLaNtE]

Came here expecting hilarity. It did not ensure. For once I'm glad for your sake.

i still have 2 quarts of Amsoil to swap into the gearbox, probably this weekend.  don't worry, there's plenty of time left for my personal brand of cruel and tragic shenanigans

[ScottyB]

i hate to disappoint everyone, but i didn't break anything again!

the 6 speed in these has notoriously picky synchros particularly on 2nd and 3rd gear.  i was fortunate to buy an example with the trans still shifting very nicely.  anybody who's been in these cars for a long time says the same thing about making them last a long time, happily: change the trans fluid very often.  i'm still "new" to what the car likes, so i decided to heed the advice.  the fact that its much easier to swap the trans fluid than the engine oil makes it a quick project to knock out.

its been about a year on the Honda MTF i filled it up with after i bought it and decided to swap over to some Amsoil Manual Synchromesh to freshen it up, but also to find out if it would work better than the Honda stuff.  i was also curious to see how the fluid looked.

would have liked to use the crawler but it just sits too high.  had to lay on the wet floor.  nice.


DANK PRODUCT PLACEMENT


welp.  that's about as clean as it gets, i should have ran it longer.  hell i probably could have saved it and used it again.


gratuitous floof boi doin a *blep*


so, yes, while i'm sure it didn't hurt anything to change the fluid, i think it was unnecessary.  i'll wait longer next time.

driving impressions:  the Amsoil shifts MUCH better on cold upshifts and better all around once warm.  i flogged the car pretty hard up and down the gears and it'll let me row 'em as fast as i can change them with no complaints.  the Honda MTF would hang up sometimes if i pushed it too quickly, as if it took an extra half second for the synchros to mate up.

HOWEVER, one thing i found odd was that cold downshifts on the Amsoil is really bad.  leaving my neighborhood i had to go from 3rd to 2nd at about 10mph and it completely locked me out of 2nd for so long that i had already rolled through the right turn at the intersection by the time i was able to engage 2nd.  i had to double-clutch it until the car warmed up.  i have to assume its just slippery to the point that the synchro teeth are gliding past each other rather than meshing.  2nd gear was the worst...downshifting in the other gears was a little clunky but i didn't get locked out.

kinda sucks with temps dropping even more now, but i'm willing to deal with a mile or two of the occassional careful downshift for how much better it feels when its hot.  the Honda MTF never felt great when cold either, which sealed the deal for me that i think i'll stick with Amsoil from here on out.

[.RJ]

kinda sucks with temps dropping even more now

yeah, you might have to wear a hoodie next week.  sounds rough.

[ScottyB]

yeah, you might have to wear a hoodie next week.  sounds rough.

i almost had to turn the heat on in October once

[*insertusernamehere*]

Yes, these are normal honderp shifter complaints. Carry on and treat her gently til she lets you in, she just likes to be warmed up.

[JPolen01]

Yes, these are normal honderp shifter complaints. Carry on and treat her gently til she lets you in, she just likes to be warmed up.

Can confirm. Until the trans is warm in these cars it is not happy.

[Sully]

My s2k kicks me out of second at least once a day now. But that's the only problem. Usually when cold. Usually upshifts. Seems more frequent now than it was. Then it grinds like crazy when you try to go back into second right away. I'm on Honda mtf. Should definitely change it though. Not sure if I'll stick with Honda mtf or try something different.

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[ScottyB]

Can confirm. Until the trans is warm in these cars it is not happy.

My s2k kicks me out of second at least once a day now.

glad to hear this isn't isolated. cranky honda transmissions are what make a honda, a honda. as it stands mine is great once its warm, just really demands patience when its stone cold.

[Jewels]

My Buddy Hunter is having some issues with his Trans in his Civic SI. I think its same year as yours Scott but definitely same generation. I've passed along what you did in hopes that new Trans fluid solves some of his issues. He's not mechanically inclined so its sort of like talking to the wall, but I'm hoping he trusts me enough to listen and if anything get Jason to at least look at it.