My '07 Accord maintenance minder just called for a trans change. I'm using DW-1. I am not of fan of these universal spec fluids. DW-1 is synthetic and back-specified for Z-1. Stick with Honda for the trans.
ATF for honda Acccord
- Thread starter Voltmaster
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted By: martinq
After looking over the PDS I'd have to say that this is definitely a low-performance spec. There is no listing of any of the current-gen specs here that you expect to see in a modern high-performance fluid. Definitely would not recommend for unless it was unique situation (only product available, exceptional value, etc).
I personally use it because both of our transmissions operate better on it than on MaxLife. I've used MaxLife in both, but prefer the Castrol in both. I may go back to DW-1, but won't be using MaxLife again. The shifting is harsh and notchy on the CR-V, and it gets to be harsh and notchy in the MDX after so many miles. I think these Hondas shear ANY fluid, even MaxLife. MaxLife may not shear too bad in a Dex VI application, but I sure didn't care for how it worked in our Hondas. I don't know if it was viscosity- or FM-related.
After looking over the PDS I'd have to say that this is definitely a low-performance spec. There is no listing of any of the current-gen specs here that you expect to see in a modern high-performance fluid. Definitely would not recommend for unless it was unique situation (only product available, exceptional value, etc).
I personally use it because both of our transmissions operate better on it than on MaxLife. I've used MaxLife in both, but prefer the Castrol in both. I may go back to DW-1, but won't be using MaxLife again. The shifting is harsh and notchy on the CR-V, and it gets to be harsh and notchy in the MDX after so many miles. I think these Hondas shear ANY fluid, even MaxLife. MaxLife may not shear too bad in a Dex VI application, but I sure didn't care for how it worked in our Hondas. I don't know if it was viscosity- or FM-related.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I think these Hondas shear ANY fluid, even MaxLife. MaxLife may not shear too bad in a Dex VI application, but I sure didn't care for how it worked in our Hondas. I don't know if it was viscosity- or FM-related.
I don't think the shear will be significantly different between applications but the clutch material will be. Choosing a fluid to suit shift-behaviour is one aspect, durability, lubrication performance and flow are others.
I'd be curious to see if you notice a change going back to DW-1. Surprised to hear about the MaxLife but it's certainly possible.
I think these Hondas shear ANY fluid, even MaxLife. MaxLife may not shear too bad in a Dex VI application, but I sure didn't care for how it worked in our Hondas. I don't know if it was viscosity- or FM-related.
I don't think the shear will be significantly different between applications but the clutch material will be. Choosing a fluid to suit shift-behaviour is one aspect, durability, lubrication performance and flow are others.
I'd be curious to see if you notice a change going back to DW-1. Surprised to hear about the MaxLife but it's certainly possible.
Originally Posted By: martinq
I don't think the shear will be significantly different between applications but the clutch material will be. Choosing a fluid to suit shift-behaviour is one aspect, durability, lubrication performance and flow are others.
I'd be curious to see if you notice a change going back to DW-1. Surprised to hear about the MaxLife but it's certainly possible.
Our Acura has the V-6 transmission with 92k miles on it, and our Honda has the I-4 transmission with 72k miles on it. My experience with fluids in these has varied. I will try to be brief.
We bought the Acura with 58k miles on it, from my parents. ATF was FF Z1. I did a 3 qt drain-and-fill with DW-1 at (I'm guessing) 70k miles. Great improvement. I did another 3d&f with DW-1 at around 75k miles. Shifting was even smoother. In hot weather, it was what I would classify as "too smooth". You couldn't feel it shift. On hot fluid on a hot day, it felt like it was slipping the 1-2 shift. Either the 1-2 shift was very slow, or the clutches were slipping and there was some significant torque management going on with the engine. So at around 80k or so, I 3d&f'd with MaxLife. Much better, much more positive shifting. Did another 3d&f with MaxLife at 85k. Although the MaxLife doesn't seem to deteriorate as fast as the DW-1 does, it still doesn't shift all that great. Some shifts are slow, some are firm...doesn't feel super consistent. At 90k, I 3d&f'd with the Castrol and like it so far. It seems a good compromise between the slippery-smooth DW-1 and the sometimes notchy MaxLife.
We bought the Honda with 46k miles on it, from a Honda dealer. They use MaxLife at that dealer (and Valvoline WB for motor oil). Transmission shifted extremely positive/firm. Just thought that's the way it was (I didn't know at the time that it had MaxLife in it). My in-laws bought a 2011 CR-V new. I drove it and the transmission shifted very smooth, and I wondered what was wrong with ours. I did a 3d&f with DW-1, much smoother. None of the slip-shifting as in the Acura. I went back to MaxLife in the Honda after my initial good impression of it in the Acura, and the Honda was back to shifting too firm. So I tried the Castrol and really like it. I've got two d&fs of Castrol in the Honda now. I tried the Castrol in the Acura because of how good it works in the Honda. No perceived degredation or change in shift behavior over time either.
So that's my story with various fluids in our Hondas. I might go back to DW-1 in the Honda. I had no issues with it in the Honda besides cost. I likely won't go back to DW-1 in the Acura, because of the poor shifting performance. Any comments/feedback are appreciated.
I don't think the shear will be significantly different between applications but the clutch material will be. Choosing a fluid to suit shift-behaviour is one aspect, durability, lubrication performance and flow are others.
I'd be curious to see if you notice a change going back to DW-1. Surprised to hear about the MaxLife but it's certainly possible.
Our Acura has the V-6 transmission with 92k miles on it, and our Honda has the I-4 transmission with 72k miles on it. My experience with fluids in these has varied. I will try to be brief.
We bought the Acura with 58k miles on it, from my parents. ATF was FF Z1. I did a 3 qt drain-and-fill with DW-1 at (I'm guessing) 70k miles. Great improvement. I did another 3d&f with DW-1 at around 75k miles. Shifting was even smoother. In hot weather, it was what I would classify as "too smooth". You couldn't feel it shift. On hot fluid on a hot day, it felt like it was slipping the 1-2 shift. Either the 1-2 shift was very slow, or the clutches were slipping and there was some significant torque management going on with the engine. So at around 80k or so, I 3d&f'd with MaxLife. Much better, much more positive shifting. Did another 3d&f with MaxLife at 85k. Although the MaxLife doesn't seem to deteriorate as fast as the DW-1 does, it still doesn't shift all that great. Some shifts are slow, some are firm...doesn't feel super consistent. At 90k, I 3d&f'd with the Castrol and like it so far. It seems a good compromise between the slippery-smooth DW-1 and the sometimes notchy MaxLife.
We bought the Honda with 46k miles on it, from a Honda dealer. They use MaxLife at that dealer (and Valvoline WB for motor oil). Transmission shifted extremely positive/firm. Just thought that's the way it was (I didn't know at the time that it had MaxLife in it). My in-laws bought a 2011 CR-V new. I drove it and the transmission shifted very smooth, and I wondered what was wrong with ours. I did a 3d&f with DW-1, much smoother. None of the slip-shifting as in the Acura. I went back to MaxLife in the Honda after my initial good impression of it in the Acura, and the Honda was back to shifting too firm. So I tried the Castrol and really like it. I've got two d&fs of Castrol in the Honda now. I tried the Castrol in the Acura because of how good it works in the Honda. No perceived degredation or change in shift behavior over time either.
So that's my story with various fluids in our Hondas. I might go back to DW-1 in the Honda. I had no issues with it in the Honda besides cost. I likely won't go back to DW-1 in the Acura, because of the poor shifting performance. Any comments/feedback are appreciated.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
We bought the Acura with 58k miles on it, from my parents. ATF was FF Z1. ... At 90k, I 3d&f'd with the Castrol and like it so far. It seems a good compromise between the slippery-smooth DW-1 and the sometimes notchy MaxLife.
Thanks for the detailed report, that's interesting. How many miles on this Acura now?
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
We bought the Honda with 46k miles on it, from a Honda dealer. ... I've got two d&fs of Castrol in the Honda now. I tried the Castrol in the Acura because of how good it works in the Honda. No perceived degredation or change in shift behavior over time either.
That certainly sounds like a reasonable test with some repeatable results and you prefer the shift-feel of the Castrol. Would you consider doing a UAO on the Castrol sometime in the future?
We bought the Acura with 58k miles on it, from my parents. ATF was FF Z1. ... At 90k, I 3d&f'd with the Castrol and like it so far. It seems a good compromise between the slippery-smooth DW-1 and the sometimes notchy MaxLife.
Thanks for the detailed report, that's interesting. How many miles on this Acura now?
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
We bought the Honda with 46k miles on it, from a Honda dealer. ... I've got two d&fs of Castrol in the Honda now. I tried the Castrol in the Acura because of how good it works in the Honda. No perceived degredation or change in shift behavior over time either.
That certainly sounds like a reasonable test with some repeatable results and you prefer the shift-feel of the Castrol. Would you consider doing a UAO on the Castrol sometime in the future?
Originally Posted By: martinq
Thanks for the detailed report, that's interesting. How many miles on this Acura now?
It has about 92k miles on it now.
Originally Posted By: martinq
That certainly sounds like a reasonable test with some repeatable results and you prefer the shift-feel of the Castrol. Would you consider doing a UAO on the Castrol sometime in the future?
I would have no problems sending a sample for a UOA, but I'm frankly not interested enough in it to shell out the money. I also haven't ran one particular fluid enough times in a row for the sump to have a majority concentration of any of them, which makes a UOA less useful (and which makes it more difficult for me to make any determinations about the fluids I've run).
I'm also likely draining fluids and switching fluids often enough such that the transmission is always trying to adjust to the different frictional properties of each fluid. For that reason, I'm at least half sure that I'm going to start the Honda back on DW-1 and just do it once every other oil change (about 15,000 miles). I may also try DW-1 back in the Acura, but over more miles to see if a slower introduction of it makes a difference.
Thanks for the detailed report, that's interesting. How many miles on this Acura now?
It has about 92k miles on it now.
Originally Posted By: martinq
That certainly sounds like a reasonable test with some repeatable results and you prefer the shift-feel of the Castrol. Would you consider doing a UAO on the Castrol sometime in the future?
I would have no problems sending a sample for a UOA, but I'm frankly not interested enough in it to shell out the money. I also haven't ran one particular fluid enough times in a row for the sump to have a majority concentration of any of them, which makes a UOA less useful (and which makes it more difficult for me to make any determinations about the fluids I've run).
I'm also likely draining fluids and switching fluids often enough such that the transmission is always trying to adjust to the different frictional properties of each fluid. For that reason, I'm at least half sure that I'm going to start the Honda back on DW-1 and just do it once every other oil change (about 15,000 miles). I may also try DW-1 back in the Acura, but over more miles to see if a slower introduction of it makes a difference.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I'm going to start the Honda back on DW-1 and just do it once every other oil change (about 15,000 miles). I may also try DW-1 back in the Acura, but over more miles to see if a slower introduction of it makes a difference.
Sounds like a good plan. Keep us posted.
I'm going to start the Honda back on DW-1 and just do it once every other oil change (about 15,000 miles). I may also try DW-1 back in the Acura, but over more miles to see if a slower introduction of it makes a difference.
Sounds like a good plan. Keep us posted.
Originally Posted By: martinq
It sounds to me that Castrol Transmax IMV is a lower-performance, rapid-shear formula like the Dex/Merc of old. If this is the case then I'd certainly not recommend it over a more modern/performance spec like DW-1 and certainly MaxLife.
Valvoline MaxLife is NOT spec'd for both the old Honda Z-1 AND the newest DW-1. Whereas the
Castrol Transmax IMV fluid is.
The Valvoline MaxLife is the lower quality product according to manufacturer specs.
It sounds to me that Castrol Transmax IMV is a lower-performance, rapid-shear formula like the Dex/Merc of old. If this is the case then I'd certainly not recommend it over a more modern/performance spec like DW-1 and certainly MaxLife.
Valvoline MaxLife is NOT spec'd for both the old Honda Z-1 AND the newest DW-1. Whereas the
Castrol Transmax IMV fluid is.
The Valvoline MaxLife is the lower quality product according to manufacturer specs.
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Valvoline MaxLife is NOT spec'd for both the old Honda Z-1 AND the newest DW-1. Whereas the
Castrol Transmax IMV fluid is.
The friction characteristics of these two are the same. DW-1 is a more durable, likely synthetic-based fluid similar to MaxLife, not a high-shear, older-spec one like Transmax IMV. I think the DW-1 mention might be a slip-up. If it is indeed valid then they probably 'just' fit within the viscosity limits but it doesn't look promising.
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
The Valvoline MaxLife is the lower quality product according to manufacturer specs.
MaxLife is most certainly a higher-performance and more capable fluid according to the specs and the UOA that we have.
Valvoline MaxLife is NOT spec'd for both the old Honda Z-1 AND the newest DW-1. Whereas the
Castrol Transmax IMV fluid is.
The friction characteristics of these two are the same. DW-1 is a more durable, likely synthetic-based fluid similar to MaxLife, not a high-shear, older-spec one like Transmax IMV. I think the DW-1 mention might be a slip-up. If it is indeed valid then they probably 'just' fit within the viscosity limits but it doesn't look promising.
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
The Valvoline MaxLife is the lower quality product according to manufacturer specs.
MaxLife is most certainly a higher-performance and more capable fluid according to the specs and the UOA that we have.
- Status
Similar threads
