THE FK8’s First oil change

This post will no doubt ruffle some jimmies and ignite some heated debates, but I’m going to post it anyway. This is only my opinion, and it is what I feel is in my best interest.

If you read any of the forums, or FB group posts I’m sure you have heard all the horror stories about people who have taken their cars to the dealership (or any other shop) and have had them mess something up. I personally never take any of my cars anywhere to get anything done. It’s just a fact that NO ONE cares for your car as much as you do. Sure, tons of people take their cars to the dealership or quick lube places all the time to get their oils changed and never have issues. It’s all in the statistics of it… there are so many people taking their cars in for service that the odds are usually in their favor. However, it only takes one time to catastrophically wreck your engine and I don’t like those odds.

Changing your oil is such an easy thing, there should be no reason you take it anywhere to get it done. Don’t even try telling me it’s because you don’t have time… it only takes 30-45 minutes MAX, and after you have done it a few times it should take even less time. If you’re going to tell me that you don’t change your own oil because you hate getting dirty… Then I’m sorry, you’re not passionate about cars. You’re only passionate about the attention you get from having cars as a hobby.

Enough of my judgy opinions, let’s get back on track here.

We are talking about changing the oil in my Civic Type R for the first time, and I’m going to show you step by step the process.

I chose to change my oil around the 1200-mile mark. This is purely my own choice and what I feel is best for the car. I, too, like you, have read on the internet somewhere that the Civic Type R comes with break-in oil and it’s best to leave it in there until the oil life reminder gets to 20% or below. They say there are added vitamins and minerals that help the engine break in better. Whether this is true or not, I have no clue. I can tell you, though, that, like most things in life, there are valid arguments from both sides on this one too. I choose to live my life by the adage: you can never change your oil too much. This is one thing that I have always lived by ever since I was old enough to drive.

Sure, over the years I have sworn by different brands or synthetic vs. conventional, and I can admit that I have fallen victim to some well-written oil theory posts out there too. But at the end of the day, I have always changed my oil at low intervals. 1,000-1,500 miles on my “race cars” and 2,000-2,500 miles on my daily’s. Despite the oil claiming it is good for 5k, 10k, or even 15k.

There are many, many people that have sent their oil into Blackstone for analysis and have proven that it is okay to leave your oil in for longer periods of time. I don’t care! I don’t care about saving money, I don’t care about depleting fossil fuels, I feel better changing my oil at low intervals. Heck, I’ll even do it before and after each track weekend.

Why did I choose the oil and filter that you see above? I LOVE OEM, and to me, there isn’t much better. However, in recent years, Honda oil filters haven’t lived up to the quality that they once did many years ago. This again, like any subject on the internet, can be debated till no end.

I decided on the WIX Filter for a few reasons.

• I know quite a few people that use this filter on the track and have great experiences.
• Very good a consistent reviews across multiple platforms.
• It’s no secret that the WIX brand makes some really quality stuff.
• They make a “XP” Extreme Performance filter (which ironically was out of stock everywhere I looked, so I had to get the regular one) Next time I’ll get the XP one for sure.

As for oil, I found this super nifty PDF from the HPD Formula Three program. The PDF is basically the manual for engine operating specifications, and in the manual it states they recommend 0W-20 full synthetic, either Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy or Phillips 66 Shield Valor 0W-20.

Below is the link to the PDF manual and there are quite a few neat things to read about. Keep in mind that this is specifically for the K20C1 engine, and this engine is making the same power as it does in the Civic Type R. If you were to buy an HPD F3 car, this is the instruction manual you would get to ensure the engine’s reliability and what would and wouldn’t void the warranty for it.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1617793/Honda-K20c1.html?page=2#manual

So why not OEM? It’s just preference for me. I do use the OEM full synthetic in Angie’s Fit, but her car only sees regular driving. I just don’t believe that the Honda OEM oil can stand up to the harshness of tracking the car.

If those are the only two oils recommended by HPD, then why did I get the Eneos Racing Street oil? Well, for me, it seemed like the Eneos met or exceeded all the same tests and standards as the other two oils. However, I have to say that the Phillips 66 Shield Valor also received very high marks too, even better than that of the Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy. Plus, I’m sure it could just be marketing, but the Eneos website talks more about “racing” with their oil than the Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy or Phillips 66 Shield Valor does.

I do have an upcoming track weekend on Sept 11th/12th, and I will be sending my oil to Blackstone for analysis. If you are interested in getting your own oil analysis done, I’ll put the link below.

Blackstone Laboratories

• The Civic Type R will Take 5.7qts of oil which is why I bought a case (or 6 bottles)
• WIX oil filter #57356 or if you want the XP one its #57356xp

Start by jacking up your car. On the Civic Type R, this can be a bit challenging since there are no lift points under the core support, much like Civics of yesteryear. For my solution to this, I take one jack and place it under the jack point on the side of the car (driver or passenger, it doesn’t matter). Jack the car up high enough to get the front wheel off the ground.

Now this will allow you to take another jack and roll it way under the front of the car. Pretty much just in line with the firewall, there is a jack point on the subframe.

Now jack up the center jack until the car is high enough to put jack stands under. (Or whatever height you desire) You can now roll the jack you had on the side of the car out and place jack stands on each side of the car on the jacking points.

Below shows a great shot of the center jacking point that you are going to use the second jack on. The reason you need to use the first one is to get the car high enough off the ground to roll the second one under the front of the car.

Jack stands get placed on each side of the car where the side jacking points are. (Where you would put the spare tire jack on) there is a thicker, larger part of the lip/seam of the chassis that’s about 3 inches long.

Once the car is secure in the air, you are going to remove the aluminum undertray to gain access to the oil drain pan and filter. To remove this, you will need a flat head screwdriver to turn x6 dzus style fasteners 180° and then a Phillips screwdriver to remove the two screws from the front of the undertray.

Below are the only 8 fasteners that need to be removed to lower the aluminum undertray, NOTHING ELSE! The tray will now be removed by sliding it towards the rear of the car slightly. Make sure when you go to reinstall, you have it slid back in properly.

While the oil is draining out, you should be able to slide your drain pan under the oil filter while still allowing it to catch the rest of the oil coming from the drain plug. Remove the oil filter, take the new oil filter, and make sure to rub a little bit of oil onto the rubber o-ring. This will help ensure a good seal and will hopefully prevent the rubber o-ring from getting stuck to the engine during the next oil change.

Some people prefer to pour new oil into their new filter before installing it. They do this because technically the oil filter needs to fill all the way before oil pressure can go through the whole engine. I just screw the empty oil filter on. Again, I have been doing it this way my whole automotive life and have never had any issues. But if you feel more comfortable filling the oil filter first then screwing it on, be my guest, I won’t be mad at you. We all have strange OCD tendencies and I respect some of them.

I also noticed that I had been scraping a little and figured it was a good time to replace some clips.

I had even lost some too, I would assume from hard scraping going out of driveways. Remember, I’m only on Swift springs with stock wheels and tires.

Best advice for ANY 10th gen owner! Get a bag of these clips.

Make sure you have reinstalled the drain plug and torqued it to 30 lb./ft. If you want to use a new crush washer you can. I don’t; I just reuse the same one and I’ve never had any issues. But the new crush washer is only .25 cents from Honda, and it might give you more peace of mind. Lastly, make sure the new oil filter is on tight. At this point, I leave the aluminum under tray off just so I can check for any leaks after putting oil in the car and running it for a few minutes. This will only save you the hassle of having to remove the under tray if there is a leak.

I bought this nifty funnel on amazon that threads right into my valve cover, this way there is no chances of me making a mess.

Add 5 full quarts of oil, then 3/4 of the sixth bottle, and that should give you the 5.7 quarts you are looking for. Make sure you run the engine and have the car back down on all four tires to ensure the car is level before checking the oil level on the dipstick. If you check the oil before you start the car or while it is still jacked up in the front, this will give you an inaccurate reading.

Once you have put oil back in the car, put the oil cap back on the valve cover. Start the car while still jacked up to ensure there are no leaks and everything is good. Turn the car off, reinstall the undertray, lower the car back onto the ground, and then check the oil level on the dipstick. You want the oil level to be at the top dot on the dipstick; if you are slightly above, it’s no big deal. Keep in mind that people who track their cars usually run a half a quart or even more just to ensure the oil sump is submerged, so they don’t lose oil pressure in high G turns. You’ll be fine if it’s slightly overfilled.

Why did I write a whole blog post about changing oil? Well, I know there are a lot of Civic Type R owners that are new to the hobby of cars. I also know that for some people, even something as simple as changing your oil might sound intimidating. Lastly, I want to empower everyone to truly enjoy every aspect of car culture and take pride in the ability to work on their own car. After all, it’s just too risky to have someone else work on your car.

There are many, MANY, MAAAANNYY opinions on oils, filters, and oil change procedures. Sure, cheap oil still needs to pass the same tests and be certified the same way, but some oils exceed the standards just as some oil filters are better than others. At the end of the day if you’re changing your oil frequently it shouldn’t really matter what specific oil or filter you are using. However, if you are driving your car hard, in harsh climates, or stop-and-go traffic this can cause oil to deteriorate quicker than normal. If you read the fine print on oils that say they have 5k, 10k, or 15k change intervals, it will say if you are using your car in harsh climates, stop-and-go traffic, or under extreme conditions the oil should be changed at 3k miles.

Even if you don’t drive your car often… Say 2000-6000 miles a year, it is still a good idea to change your oil every 3-6 months. Why? Oil becomes less effective as it ages, and by not getting the engine warm enough, excess moisture that forms in the engine will not be removed, which can lead to shorter engine life.

I’m only addressing the very “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the science of oil and oil theories. If you started reading everything there was ever written about oil and every different theory there is out there, you might not finish before you died.

I’ll save you your life and just tell you to change your oil frequently and at low intervals of either miles or months, whichever comes first.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. Remember, if you have any questions regarding this post or any other ones on the blog, feel free to reach out to me via email: Billy@FunctionTheory.com, Instagram @FunctionTheory, or just simply comment on the post below and I will answer.