Smoothest Oil for Honda tranny

[Johnny]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Quote:
Remember that many Honda automatic transmission actually shift gears. This is WAY different than almost any other car company's method. They shift and feel different.


Why did Honda design their auto trans this way ?

Whats the pro/con of this Honda design ???

I can't think of any pros. Cons? Rough, jerky shifting, poor life, more susceptible to bad/old fluid. I can't understand why honda designed them this way. I think Honda should eliminate their transmission division and start buying them from GM, who makes great Automatics.


Have you ever owned a Honda?

 

[wgtoys]

Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn

how did it feel compare to OEM? what differences did you notice?


First, remember that in any such comparison we are talking about new fluid being compared to old, worn fluid. That said, the Castrol Import stuff seems to shift very cleanly and smoothly in our Accord. Crisp shifts without feeling at all harsh. I've had it in the car for about 15k miles and I don't notice any shift feel degradation either.

As far as the question of why does Honda build autoboxes the way it does: Who really knows? In my experience they work well and deliver very competitive fuel economy. Honda has a long tradition of doing some things very differently than other companies do. Check out the big difference between their design for a throttle position sensor and Toyota's some time .

 

[PandaBear]

Pro is for sure fuel economy, when you only have to go through 2 gears instead of 3 gears you reduce the amount of energy loss due to friction.

Another pro that I think is independent of the manual like method is the fast shifting that Honda (the old Honda to be exact) uses. Fast shifting reduce wears and energy lost but increase harshness. It is not much of a problem when your engine is underpowered but when you have a 300hp FWD, that can be a problem.

Honda went to a 3 axles transmissions instead of 2 axles manual like transmission in the 04-05 time frame for the V6 to increase reliability. Seems to work better, but of course, that's just a planetary gear in disguise.

 

[exranger06]

Quote:
Honda's automatic transmissions are unusual in that they do not use planetary gears like nearly all other makers. Instead, the Hondamatic and its successors use traditional sliding gears in parallel like a manual transmission. Honda was forced to invent their new system due to the vast array of patents on automatic transmission technology held by BorgWarner and others.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Honda_transmissions

 

[Carzzz]

for maxlife are you guys referring to MaxLife® DEX/MERC ATF? Is it a high milage ATF or synthetic?

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: Carzzz
for maxlife are you guys referring to MaxLife® DEX/MERC ATF?


Yes.

Originally Posted By: Carzzz
Is it a high milage ATF or synthetic?


Both.

 

[dishdude]

Weren't the original Saturn S-series like this also?

 

[JakeR22]

I've gone back and forth between Honda Z1 and Amsoil, drain and fills, started at 90k miles, drain and fill ever 20-30k. I never can tell a difference in shifting .

I'm going to try Maxlife next.

211k miles on the trans.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Interesting article on the development of Honda automatics for those interested.
http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1968hondamatic/

The main reason they don't use planetary gearsets was over patent infringements.

Pretty happy with Mobil 1 so far, but only been about a week. Got rid of some whines so far. Shifting is about the same.

 

[Boss302fan]

The Maxlife works great in my wifes 03 Acura MDX...

 

[gogozy]

appreciate those links to the sites that explain about Honda AT, its good to see some info on those.
MaxLife ATF works well for my 5AT TSX.

 

[Carzzz]

For Canadians, where do you get MaxLife ATF?
I checked Napa, Carquest, Partsource!
Only CarQuest sells them for $7/L with special order!

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

Originally Posted By: gogozy
appreciate those links to the sites that explain about Honda AT, its good to see some info on those.
MaxLife ATF works well for my 5AT TSX.

how does it shift compared to OEM? i have a 06tsx which is due for a change soon. willing to try other stuff other than OEM

 

[sciphi]

Refreshing the Z1 at 21k miles on my fiancee's 09 Honda Fit made it smoother and faster-shifting. 117 hp, we don't have to worry about horsepower destroying it...

 

[Boss302fan]

Purchased Maxlife ATF at Walmart...

 

[gogozy]

Originally Posted By: Carzzz
For Canadians, where do you get MaxLife ATF?
I checked Napa, Carquest, Partsource!
Only CarQuest sells them for $7/L with special order!

about $18 plus tax for 5L in walmart in Canada.

 

[gogozy]

Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
Originally Posted By: gogozy
appreciate those links to the sites that explain about Honda AT, its good to see some info on those.
MaxLife ATF works well for my 5AT TSX.

how does it shift compared to OEM? i have a 06tsx which is due for a change soon. willing to try other stuff other than OEM

i notice at least 2 drain and fill make the unit more desirable. overall i like MaxLife more than Z1. here is comparison from my personal experiences.
before switch: at ~40000km, the shift become very very soft, almost like rubber band feeling. the change was very slow over the years and so slow i think it's difficult to detect for daily driver (like how parents don't notice the growth of children compare to grandparents). a drain and fill with Z1 did bring the unit back to a more "connect" feel, but only last 8,000km.
after 3 drain and fill (over few weeks i recall) with Maxlife, 1st drain and fill work well for only few weeks, but additional drain and fill make the drive feel better even til today. the drian plug magnet have very little or almost nothing on it in all the drain and fill, if i have to say, the 2nd drain and fill on Maxlife has more but still like nothing.

shifting in all speed are more pronounce than Z1, still smooth, but no rubber band feeling within 20,000km. the shift in cold winter morning is much better than Z1. i feel the engine/5AT is more engaged, firm. sometimes i felt rough shift occurred at low speed, and maybe its on the ECU's attempt to achieve best fuel efficiency. i notice the car now seems to take longer to shift so i will do another drain and fill in few weeks and see if that helps. i do lots of short trips in summer and winter. so far i am happy with it! but i did hear 1 Accord user back out on Maxlife due to harsh shift.

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

does thinner or thicker atf fluid provide smoother shifts?

i'm thinking of going amsoil, redline or castrol import.....

 

[deven]

I have Royal Purple Max ATF in my 4th generation TL AWD. The shifting is the same but the delayed 3rd-4th gear engagement is no longer there. I also used to get a click/clunk sound when going from P-R-N-D and back with Z1 ATF. After the change to Royal Purple, I no longer have the cluncking.

I have tried Amsoil in another transmission and the main difference I perceive is that the Amsoil had a precise but firmer shift points from gear to gear.

If you want sportier shifts go with Amsoil/Red Line. If you want shifting meant for luxury cars go with Royal Purple, not lazy shifts but just not crisp and firm like Amsoil/Red Line. YMMV though.

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

yeah im not looking for hard firm shifts...want smooth shifts...

so thinner or thicker oil for smoother shifts?