Did A1 service (oil change and rotate tires)--What I learned

Gansan

Senior Member
First Name
Glen
Joined
Sep 13, 2017
Threads
9
Messages
392
Reaction score
396
Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
1999 NSX, 2018 Civic Type R
Country flag
So this weekend I did the A 1 service, which is oil change and tire rotation. Although the A service doesn't require a filter change, I did it anyway. Here are some random comments and things I learned.

  • I prepared by first getting all the parts I would need. Filter, drain plug gasket, 6 quarts Mobil1 0W20, low profile ramps to get the car up so my jack would fit underneath. I already had a 17mm box wrench and screwdrivers. I didn't have a cap-style filter wrench, but I have the giant plier kind I can use until I order it. I prefer the cap-style so I can use a torque wrench on the new filter.
  • I jacked up the car for the first time. First drive up the ramps. Then I maneuvered my jack under the front center of the car to get to the jacking point, which is ridiculously far back and in the center of the car. I couldn't see it from anywhere along the edge of the car because the surrounding plastic was blocking my view and the actual point is recessed, so I had to guess where to put the lift pad. I eventually got the car up and for the future, I marked the exact position of the jacking point with some tape on the undertray so that I can judge the position easily next time.
  • The Harbor Freight 1.5T "racing" aluminum jack I am using is not very good. The "rapid pump" feature just means you have to really bear down with weight on the handle to get the car up. The handle flexes noticeably as I raise the car. When you twist the handle to lower the car it's super abrupt and drops the car very suddenly. I basically drop it onto the jack stands. Very hard to lower the car gently like my old Craftsman jack, although not impossible with practice. The good thing about this jack is it's light and easy to take to a track event...if only it had a hard plastic case like the Craftsman, I would gladly pay extra for that. And a gentle lowering feature.
  • The front screws for the engine undercover were seized, like someone else mentioned. I could not budge them, so I squirted them with WD40 and got one loose. I applied more lube to the remaining screw with a cotton swab through a hole in the plastic on the backside and finally got that one out. To prevent this in the future, I put some anti-sieze on the threads. The cover itself is very thin and bendable. Be careful not to bend it.
  • The oil shoots out really far sideways when you remove the drain plug. I'm used to other Hondas where the hole goes down at a 45 degree angle, but this oil pan aims the oil stream straight back. It missed my drain pan and went over it. Onto my garage floor. I was moving the pan around as the oil drained and lost velocity. Use a big pan and be ready to catch the stream!
  • The filters are tiny. Smaller than my 88 D15 Civic. Smaller than my 90s Acuras. So my old Honda filter wrench doesn't fit. The new filter is 65mm so I'll need to get a new wrench.
  • When rotating the tires, I inspected them and pulled out the pieces of metal they had accumulated during my commute. There were a surprising number of screws and even a cotter pin stuck in these very soft tires. One screw had air behind it. :( So it's at the tire shop for repair as I write this.
  • These 20 inch wheels and tires are really heavy.
  • The suspension has some exquisite forged aluminum parts on it. Even the rear. Very nice stuff. I love to look at the car from underneath.
  • I saw some dried coolant in the engine bay. Sigh. I'll have to take it in to get it checked. They were on the passenger side engine mount, very small drops as if it sprayed as a mist. Maybe it is from the overflow tank.
Update:
  • My local Firestone did a good job in repairing my tire. I asked in advance if they could handle a 245/30-20 tire and the tech said he could do it, and I didn't see any damage afterward. Whew. The sales clerk was interested in the CTR and said he had already asked his wife if he could buy one.
  • When I reset the maintenance items, there is a confusing part in the UI when it asks to confirm the reset. Even if you are selecting #1, which is the "Rotate tires" item, it will state the current oil life as part of the confirmation. Before confirming, I tested what happens if I try to reset the "change oil" item, and it states the current oil life in the same way.
Update 2 (4-19-2020):
During these pandemic times, I've been working from home so my daily commute became zero. All my drives to get food were like 1-2 miles, so it was all super short drives. I would also go visit my folks once in a while which was about a 180 mile round trip. As a result, in the interval from May 2020 to April 2021, my maintenance minder went down from 100% to 15% in 2763 miles. Definitely the shortest interval ever for me. No doubt calendar time factors into the algorithm. B1 maintenance done. :thumbsup:
Sponsored

 
Last edited:

Driveitlikeuboughtit

Banned
Banned
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Threads
84
Messages
876
Reaction score
588
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
2018 CW CTR
Country flag
Although the A service doesn't require a filter change, I did it anyway.
You know Honda, the guys who designed and built this car, states that changing the filter every oil change isn't optimal. They, the ones who sell oil filters and oil change services, were the ones who did the research and confirmed what some were saying for years. The filter is just warming up when you change the oil the first time.
 

shihabp79

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Threads
8
Messages
885
Reaction score
486
Location
Dallas
Vehicle(s)
'17 Civic Type R #2740
Country flag
I just did my first A1 service at the dealership because the first service is free if you bought the car from them. Don't remember the sales guy tell me that at the time but hey, still saved me $74 + tax.
 

frontlinegeek

Senior Member
First Name
Jason
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Threads
6
Messages
765
Reaction score
313
Location
New Brunswick, Canada
Vehicle(s)
2020 CRV Touring, 2017 Civic EX Sedan Honda Sensing
Country flag
You know Honda, the guys who designed and built this car, states that changing the filter every oil change isn't optimal. They, the ones who sell oil filters and oil change services, were the ones who did the research and confirmed what some were saying for years. The filter is just warming up when you change the oil the first time.
I am far from one of those "change your oil every time you drive your car" type people but the cost on the filter is so low that it is inconsequential and certainly will never hurt anything if it is changed every time. The Honda schedule is that the filter is only changed on the B service, so every other oil change.
 

Maverick1

Senior Member
First Name
Doug
Joined
Jun 4, 2018
Threads
12
Messages
169
Reaction score
130
Location
Socal
Vehicle(s)
VW GTI
In 40 years of driving and changing my own oil, I've never changed the oil without also changing the oil filter.
Just common sense in my opinion.
 


OP
OP
Gansan

Gansan

Senior Member
First Name
Glen
Joined
Sep 13, 2017
Threads
9
Messages
392
Reaction score
396
Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
1999 NSX, 2018 Civic Type R
Country flag
In 40 years of driving and changing my own oil, I've never changed the oil without also changing the oil filter.
Just common sense in my opinion.
Common sense can become outdated. Even though I have always changed filter and oil together, I am pretty confident that car makers have likely thoroughly tested having filters go twice as long and they haven't found any bad effects. After all, they're the ones who are going to do warranty coverage. The main reason to do the filter now is to fully get rid of the old oil that is inside it and trapped in the passages. It's only important if you are OCD about having sweet honey-colored oil after your oil change. :)
 
Last edited:

Frixos

Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2016
Threads
9
Messages
38
Reaction score
4
Location
MS
Vehicle(s)
MINI Cooper R56, 2016 Civic EX
Country flag
You know Honda, the guys who designed and built this car, states that changing the filter every oil change isn't optimal. They, the ones who sell oil filters and oil change services, were the ones who did the research and confirmed what some were saying for years. The filter is just warming up when you change the oil the first time.
After owning a MINI Cooper, who recommends 15k miles oil changes, my faith in recommended maintenance is not that strong anymore.
If the replacement of oil filters every other oil change was common standard across the industry, then I'd be more likely to get onboard with it; however, I do not know anyone but Honda saying this, and I haven't seen an article expounding why that's better.
 

Driveitlikeuboughtit

Banned
Banned
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Threads
84
Messages
876
Reaction score
588
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
2018 CW CTR
Country flag
After owning a MINI Cooper, who recommends 15k miles oil changes, my faith in recommended maintenance is not that strong anymore.
If the replacement of oil filters every other oil change was common standard across the industry, then I'd be more likely to get onboard with it; however, I do not know anyone but Honda saying this, and I haven't seen an article expounding why that's better.
Mini doesn't deserve any faith. Honda has earned some in the engine life/reliability department.

Honda doesn't recommend a mileage interval because it estimates oil life based on real time variables at the user level. No need for a blanket "one size fits all" recommendation like that anymore. The oil filter change recommendation was based on a study Honda and a few other automakers commissioned that showed that oil filters improved (better filter/flow properties) with use until they were compromised, which wasn't until well past 2 oil change intervals. You'd think they would gradually degrade until complete failure, but that simply wasn't the case. You can dig around and find it.
 

neteng101

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2016
Threads
7
Messages
459
Reaction score
268
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring
Country flag
Common sense can become outdated.
You haven't a clue how much I chuckled over that line. Its true - common sense goes out the window in the name of progress... sure they tell you that your cars these days are designed for X/Y/Z like engines using lighter weight oil, but that's not necessarily about what's best for the engine, its what best for mileage numbers and the environment. So before you go tossing out common sense saying its outdated, ask yourself why the tune has changed.

There's times you should change out the oil way before the mileage/time/computer tells you to do it as well. Don't just follow everything blindly like a lemming... tire pressures, they can be finely adjusted to suit the conditions. The recommended tire pressure isn't the best tire pressure to run in all circumstances.
 


Driveitlikeuboughtit

Banned
Banned
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Threads
84
Messages
876
Reaction score
588
Location
USA
Vehicle(s)
2018 CW CTR
Country flag
You haven't a clue how much I chuckled over that line. Its true - common sense goes out the window in the name of progress... sure they tell you that your cars these days are designed for X/Y/Z like engines using lighter weight oil, but that's not necessarily about what's best for the engine, its what best for mileage numbers and the environment. So before you go tossing out common sense saying its outdated, ask yourself why the tune has changed.

There's times you should change out the oil way before the mileage/time/computer tells you to do it as well. Don't just follow everything blindly like a lemming... tire pressures, they can be finely adjusted to suit the conditions. The recommended tire pressure isn't the best tire pressure to run in all circumstances.
Ooh, the anti-expert expert. Common sense does become outdated. All the fucking time. Common sense once had us using leaded fuel. It's more powerful - it's common sense to use it! Common sense had us using asbestos in everything. It's fireproof! Common fucking sense! Why build lighter cars, they can't be safer! It's common fucking sense!

When should you change the oil when the oil change life minder doesn't think you should? Maybe if it's been sitting longer than a year? I'm not sure if the minders have time sitting without use as a factor. Otherwise, you have studies to back up what you're saying, right?

I'm telling you why the tune changed. Someone did an actual scientific study on oil filter life and the results weren't what most expected. Nobody is following shit like a lemming.
 

Maverick1

Senior Member
First Name
Doug
Joined
Jun 4, 2018
Threads
12
Messages
169
Reaction score
130
Location
Socal
Vehicle(s)
VW GTI
Ooh, the anti-expert expert. Common sense does become outdated. All the fucking time. Common sense once had us using leaded fuel. It's more powerful - it's common sense to use it! Common sense had us using asbestos in everything. It's fireproof! Common fucking sense! Why build lighter cars, they can't be safer! It's common fucking sense!

When should you change the oil when the oil change life minder doesn't think you should? Maybe if it's been sitting longer than a year? I'm not sure if the minders have time sitting without use as a factor. Otherwise, you have studies to back up what you're saying, right?

I'm telling you why the tune changed. Someone did an actual scientific study on oil filter life and the results weren't what most expected. Nobody is following shit like a lemming.
Do you have to swear every post you make, it's not appreciated or necessary.
I really think you can get your point across without using vulgar language.
 

neteng101

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2016
Threads
7
Messages
459
Reaction score
268
Location
NJ
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring
Country flag
Otherwise, you have studies to back up what you're saying, right?
I'm going to tell people again - stop being lemmings. Even manufacturers contradict themselves...

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/518/motor-oils

Oil recommendations and other manufacturer recommendations are often to accomplish some goal of their own. Why we shouldn't follow them is simple - use your outdated common sense will save you in the long run and prolong the life of your car.

But hey - its your car, and if you don't care about it feel free to follow along like a lemming to someone else's agenda. Studies are all flawed, there's always an agenda... someone else's, not yours.
 

18CarEnthusiast18

Senior Member
First Name
N/A
Joined
Apr 27, 2018
Threads
14
Messages
504
Reaction score
161
Location
NC
Vehicle(s)
2018 Type R
Country flag
Meanwhile I am going to remain in the back of the room just sitting here and taking it all in... haha :popcorn:
Sponsored

 


 


Top