What type of MTF is everyone running?

Rich19Si said:

I only use Honda MTF. I trust the engineers who built the engine has chosen it for good reason. After all, Hondas are known for reliability for a reason and their engineers are why.

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That's a fine stance to take, and I'd probably err on the side of Honda MTF or an equivalent that could easily be bought in a brick and mortar store... but I can't argue with tangible results of different "boutique" fluids.

Honda actually has a less than stellar track record with their automatic and manual transmissions. There's TSBs all over the place for Honda and Acura. I've had one accomplished on the 6-speed auto in my '14 Odyssey. There's piles of doom and gloom back on their older 4 and 5 speed autos. For those of us in the RSX crowd, by the time they came out with TSBs for a "real" fix for our 6 speed manuals... our cars were already past the warranty extension period, despite it being acknowledged the issue was for all Type-Ss. So... rather than go out-of-pocket, I tried 2 or 3 different MTFs other than Honda. One was worse, to be honest... and pretty much prevented shifting when the car was cold in the winter-months in NY State. Amosil was the best and effectively cured. If you goodle "acura 3rd gear popout", you'll get a ba-zillion hits... can't remember the TSB # but it came out in '08 I think... well after production had wrapped. There was a sister TSB that came out covering the Hondas that had the same issues. Use of a different fluid was a consistent, low cost option to allow the cars to have good operation of their transmissions through the life their owners had them w/o paying to have the transmission rebuilt. I'd call that a win.

"Infamous 2nd gear crunch" is one of the largest threads on our site for the CTR section with nearly 1500 postings... and the non-CTR folks definitely have our fair share of threads/postings for ours too.

l've really enjoyed my Hondas/Acuras… and think they have a fun to operate transmission... but they're far from perfect. If memory serves, I had my RSX for 3 years and put 40-50k miles in it... and started the search for a better MTF at the mid-way point of mileage because I was a bit frustrated with how notchy it was and how I'd pop-out of 3rd gear when pushing the car. (shrug) It was a cheap experiment that worked (once I found a MTF the transmission took to) and make the transmission operate smoothly w/o 3rd gear popout the last year or two I had it for the $30 or so it cost for the fluid.

Rich19Si said:

I only use Honda MTF. I trust the engineers who built the engine has chosen it for good reason. After all, Hondas are known for reliability for a reason and their engineers are why.

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Using Honda OEM is fine. It meets Honda's requirements in protection the transmission as long as you follow the change interval. But you should know it was not "chosen" by Honda engineers. As is the case with a lot of Honda parts (and all other car manufacture's), it was sourced out, and the decision was most likely made by what I call pencil pusher's. Minimum requirements on paper are published, and the manufacturer that meets this requirement at the lowest cost are selected. And because manual transmissions have similar designs, Honda OEM fluid was not specifically designed from the ground up for Civic MT's. For example, if a GM car has a similar type MT, theoretically you could use Honda OEM fluid in it!

So anyway, sticking with Honda OEM fluid is good, but what others are saying is that there are other safe alternatives that offer better performance, smoother shifting, and longer change intervals. It's all about preference

amirza786 said:

Using Honda OEM is fine. It meets Honda's requirements in protection the transmission as long as you follow the change interval. But you should know it was not "chosen" by Honda engineers. As is the case with a lot of Honda parts (and all other car manufacture's), it was sourced out, and the decision was most likely made by what I call pencil pusher's. Minimum requirements on paper are published, and the manufacturer that meets this requirement at the lowest cost are selected. And because manual transmissions have similar designs, Honda OEM fluid was not specifically designed from the ground up for Civic MT's. For example, if a GM car has a similar type MT, theoretically you could use Honda OEM fluid in it!

So anyway, sticking with Honda OEM fluid is good, but what others are saying is that there are other safe alternatives that offer better performance, smoother shifting, and longer change intervals. It's all about preference

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From personal experience, every car I've had that I kept OEM products, fluid, filters have been flawless through ownership compared to the first cars where I went with 3rd party products which were nightmares.

I'm not telling anyone what to choose or what to stay away from. I simply answered the OP's question with what MTF I used. If someone asked what car brand I bought and I reply Honda because XYZ, there would be those who disagree.
I haven't had problems with OEM products, so there's no reason for me to go elsewhere. I'm sure many of us had a previous Honda and bought it again without considering other brands because of our great experience with the brand.

Rich19Si said:

From personal experience, every car I've had that I kept OEM products, fluid, filters have been flawless through ownership compared to the first cars where I went with 3rd party products which were nightmares.

I'm not telling anyone what to choose or what to stay away from. I simply answered the OP's question with what MTF I used. If someone asked what car brand I bought and I reply Honda because XYZ, there would be those who disagree.
I haven't had problems with OEM products, so there's no reason for me to go elsewhere. I'm sure many of us had a previous Honda and bought it again without considering other brands because of our great experience with the brand.

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Nothing wrong with using OEM. I use mostly OEM in my Toyotas and Lexus (oil filters, ATF fluids etc). The only non OEM parts I use are air filters, and for my rear differential fluid on the Lexus I will be changing that to Amsoil Synthetic gear oil.

Your doing the right thing.

Thanks for all the input everyone!

See my signature. Just so you know, most MTF is made by one company and re-branded, so take what people say with a grain of salt for anything other than the name they mention.

Oil on the other hand is a different story.

Mark11 said:

then why bother going to an aftermarket fluid?

there isn't any point, no aftermarket fluid will protect BETTER then OEM,

i don't get this obsession with aftermarket fluids

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So you are saying there is no way possibly to purchase a fluid that is better than oem?? oem fluid is as perfect as anyone can and will ever get to perfect?? LOL

Mark11 said:

then why bother going to an aftermarket fluid?

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Mark11 said:

there isn't any point, no aftermarket fluid will protect BETTER then OEM,
I don't get this obsession with aftermarket fluids

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Because Amsoil is better. You have a longer change Interval. It gives you smoother shifting. Way smoother shifting. From the technical specs of both OEM and Amsoil, Amsoil performs better and has better shear protection. I Don't want fine, I want excellent.

If I'm to be honest here, I don't get your obsession with what others use

amirza786 said:

Because Amsoil is better. You have a longer change Interval. It gives you smoother shifting. Way smoother shifting. From the technical specs of both OEM and Amsoil, Amsoil performs better and has better shear protection. I Don't want fine, I want excellent.

If I'm to be honest here, I don't get your obsession with what others use

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what happened to your Si, amirza????

parshisa said:

what happened to your Si, amirza????

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I was driving more and more in traffic, and I needed something more comfortable. In September I bought a low mileage, very clean 2010 IS350 Sport from a friend, and sold my Si. Loved the car, but driving manual in traffic was killing my legs. Plus, I wanted to get back into a V6

Drew36 said:

This is the exact bottle I am running.

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how many bottles did you buy? 2 liters should do?

parshisa said:

I'm running Amsoil. Had it for almost 30K and just had another change 600mi. Good stuff, happy with the results all around.

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Same here. Had mine changed right after I bought it with 23k miles (I'm extremely picky with vehicle fluids). The only issue with it I've noticed is that when the fluid is cold (like 30 and below), I have to bump it into 6th gear.

Honda_RacerX said:

gm synchromesh with friction modifiers

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Used that in my 06 TL when I had the third gear issue where it kept kicking it out, solved the problem instantly!

lhughes21 said:

Used that in my 06 TL when I had the third gear issue where it kept kicking it out, solved the problem instantly!

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Same exact issue I had on my 05 TL 6mt lol. That GM synchromesh stuff is the sh*t

I used the Amsoil Synchromesh in my Si and it felt buttery smooth. I had also tried GM synchromesh and I didn't feel a difference. Then I used Torco MTF and that felt the best to me. I purposely changed fluids trying to find the one that felt the best to me. I traded my Si with 33,000 miles for for a Type R with 2000 miles on it. I put Amsoil in it and wasn't thrilled with the results. I'm In south florida so it's not cold weather related. I tried Torco next. About an 70/30 Mix of MTF and RTF. It feels absolutely incredible. I highly recommend trying Torco. My last 2 Honda's have shifted the best with Torco. Either all MTF or of you're pushing way higher HP than stock or tracking the car I would try 50/50 MTF - RTF. Torco told me they're releasing a Honda specific mix which is basically 50/50 but you won't need to buy too much extra to get the 50/50 ratio.