Castrol MV Import users

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I have a 2005 Honda odyssey and I am looking to try Castrol Import MV ATF fluid. I was going to try Maxlife but after having a conversation with a local transmission shop owner who is known around town as really knowing his stuff and doing good work I am thinking Castrol might be better. I would like to hear about anyone who has had good luck with it and if so how many miles have they run. Going back to my conversation this gentelman went into explaining how with my generation Honda transmissions (he rebuilds many of them) have had better luck running a slightly higher viscosity fluid. He went into more than I understood but apparently in an effort to increase fuel ratings many automakers started looking to reduce parasitic loss everywhere and in the transmissions you will find that it was done by moving to smaller fluid pumps and some long explanation as to why the torque converter would drag at idle causing fluid to overheat (issue with 05 honda transmission mine already had torque converter replaced under warranty) also something was said about how as a transmissions got older the tolerance between the pump housing and wheel? would cause the pump to have to work harder so on and so forth.... I should have said at the beginning that I know next to nothing about transmissions so I won't pretend to say more than what I can remember from the conversation but long story short higher viscosity oil in the Honda transmissions of that year range would help longevity as well as reduce heat. So I found the cs values of Honda Z1, DW1, Maxlife and Castrol and sure enough Castrol was slightly thicker 8.0 cs vs 7 and 6 or so.... Any way I know thats long but I thought it was an interesting conversation and I thought I would throw it out there as part of the conversation about how well is Castrol working for Honda owners.... By the way he said that in later years manufacturers have done a better job of learning how to match components and lower viscosity fluid to help achieve the fuel savings they are looking for as well as maintain durability but like most things trial and error was in play in the beginning.
 
Your warm FL location doesnt benefit much from a thinner fluid.

Use a fluid that mentions the required spec.

Valvoline Maxlife, Valvoline Import, Castrol IMV, Castrol Synth.... are common in local autopart stores.

I'd bet that there might be a bit more shearing with the thicker fluid.

Honda's are not as picky as many claim.
 
Why use IMV when Castrol full synthetic is the same price? And Maxlife is even cheaper.

And as greasy said, Hondas aren't as picky as people say they are. I've used Mag 1 Low-Vis, Castrol synthetic ATF, and course Maxlife. With no problems.

And those [censored] V6 automatics won't last regardless of what you use, regardless of how often you change it.
 
Originally Posted By: Greasymechtech
Your warm FL location doesnt benefit much from a thinner fluid.

Use a fluid that mentions the required spec.

Valvoline Maxlife, Valvoline Import, Castrol IMV, Castrol Synth.... are common in local autopart stores.

I'd bet that there might be a bit more shearing with the thicker fluid.

Honda's are not as picky as many claim.


Thanks for the reply and I like your Lurking sig... I lurked for almost a year before I signed up and decided to get into the mix.... Anyway apparently the z1 did have some shearing issues and dw1 is better at holding up over time, so even with a lower starting point it won't loose as much over time as z1 did. I just know Honda puts a bunch of friction modifier in and thats what gives them that smooth shift and when people try aftermarket ATF they often say they shift different and they will sometimes use additive to add in that friction modifier. I know some say it will cause less heat and less damage to slip less but apparently Honda does a good job of managing that with dw1 its just the early 2000's units that had issues that supposedly were helped by thicker fluid. I know my van had a update done that forced the torque converter to lockup faster and at lower speeds so Honda sorta verified there is something to the torque converter issue.
 
You may want to discuss a trans cooler or larger cooler, if you have one already, with your tech guy and get his thoughts. One of my girls has a 2013 Odyssey but previously had two others. They put a large(r) OEM cooler on one of them and did not have any problems over about a four year term until they got the next one. I can't recommend that because I simply don't know more but talk to your guy. There is an endless list of aftermarket suppliers of coolers as well.
 
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Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Why use IMV when Castrol full synthetic is the same price? And Maxlife is even cheaper.

And as greasy said, Hondas aren't as picky as people say they are. I've used Mag 1 Low-Vis, Castrol synthetic ATF, and course Maxlife. With no problems.

And those [censored] V6 automatics won't last regardless of what you use, regardless of how often you change it.


I hear ya its upsetting that Honda had to drop the ball on this.. I asked the same question to this guy about why not synthetic and he explained that he would normally agree about synthetics ability and in many other applications its a great answer but in this specific case the thicker oil is better than the benefits of synthetic and again he went into great detail about how it did this and when he rebuilds Honda at's from that generation he always uses a thicker Dex iii and sometimes adds friction modifier or whatever he needs to if he wants to adjust the slip.. Like I said in the beginning I don't really know anywhere near as much as I'm sure many here do about this but he knew what he was talking about and it isn't beyond imagination to think that sometimes there are answers that go beyond conventional thinking as in why synthetic isn't always better every time in every application. But I would still love to hear from anyone using Castrol ATF in a Honda.
 
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
You may want to discuss a trans cooler or larger cooler, if you have one already, with your tech guy and get his thoughts. One of my girls has a 2013 Odyssey but previously had two others. They put a large(r) OEM cooler on one of them and did not have any problems over about a four year term until they got the next one. I can't recommend that because I simply don't know more but talk to your guy. There is an endless list of aftermarket suppliers of coolers as well.


He actually installed a larger Hayden cooler for me in the recent past and always puts one in after a rebuild. I think his comment was I see lots of heat related failures and I don't see cold related failures :)..... Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Only Honda ATF for me.


I dont blame you if you have never had an issue why mess with it. I assume all of yours are 4 cyl? They are known to be easy on the transmissions compared to the v6's of that era in Honda.
 
Originally Posted By: Jake777
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
You may want to discuss a trans cooler or larger cooler, if you have one already, with your tech guy and get his thoughts. One of my girls has a 2013 Odyssey but previously had two others. They put a large(r) OEM cooler on one of them and did not have any problems over about a four year term until they got the next one. I can't recommend that because I simply don't know more but talk to your guy. There is an endless list of aftermarket suppliers of coolers as well.


He actually installed a larger Hayden cooler for me in the recent past and always puts one in after a rebuild. I think his comment was I see lots of heat related failures and I don't see cold related failures :)..... Thanks.


I took a quick run back though odyclub.com (I see you've been there too) and find that so-called plate and fin coolers are more efficient than the tube type if that is any help. Any cooler is helpful apparently but that one got the most recommendations in the threads I saw. Best of luck to you.
 
If I were you I would use Honda DW-1 and do a single drain and fill every year / 10K miles. Thats what my schedule is on the Accord. It keeps the fluid fresh and clean.
 
Yep those Honda transmissions are super fragile, you heard it from the owners. OEM fluid, 10k changes and save up for the replacement.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Yep those Honda transmissions are super fragile, you heard it from the owners. OEM fluid, 10k changes and save up for the replacement.


Most owners won't need to "save up". Chances are you will get 150K+ out of a Honda transmission by simply following the maintenance in the owners manual. I know of 2 people that have the 6th gen Accord, 1 has near 200K (automatic with V6) and no issues, the other has 190K (auto I4) also on original tranny with no issues. Neither of these people are what you would call proactive when it comes to maintenance.
 
Originally Posted By: Jake777
... So I found the cs values of Honda Z1, DW1, Maxlife and Castrol and sure enough Castrol was slightly thicker 8.0 cs vs 7 and 6 or so....

Yes Castrol IMV starts a bit thicker, it's mineral based, not a synthetic ATF like ML and other synthetic ATF's.

However if you want to read a related topic about the difference between syn and non synthetic ATF MolaKule has an excellent thread on the difference. Basically synthetic ATF's start at a lower viscosity but have much better sheer stability than non synthetic ie., they maintain their viscosity longer. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...er_#Post3014880

Got about 65k miles using MaxLife between two Hondas, one an 01 Civic with 220k+ miles. Do single d&f every ~25-30k miles.

However, last time I did a d&f on the Civic I used Castrol IMV, at the time it was more convenient to purchase at Dollar Gen and about time to d&f. It's now at least 10k+ miles later and it too seems to be working fine.

So in my experience I wouldn't let a higher starting viscosity alone be the deciding factor, but if it makes you more confident that's ok. But following a regular maintenance interval is more important imo and experience.
 
My 2nd gen Ody has 50k+ miles on Redline D4 with regular refreshes, no issues. This car spent most of it's life in FL and is on it's original trans. I highly recommend, in addition to a ATF cooler as mentioned, adding a trans fluid filter. Many choices available. Check on the trans and engine mounts for signs of wear.

Many Odyssey owners remember having bad experiences with Z1 burning and being totally inadequate. Honda denied any problems and lots of forum dwellers said to just trust OEM, they know what they are doing. Then the new fluid came out with almost full backwards compatibility and Z1 was erased from use very quickly. I see no reason to trust Honda on their fluids or really anything else when it's obvious that the accountants and advertisers trump the engineers more times than not. I like my van and I know I can do better than blindly using all OEM fluids in it.

I run IMV in my Vibe. No problems but it's only been 2 years and it's AT doesn't seem to be picky.
 
Thanks everyone I think I will try and use something other than dw1 next time. I plan on a drain and fill every 15k. I already have a hayden cooler and will have to look into filters.
 
Using Castrol IMV on a '10 Civic AT. Only 5K miles so far but so good. Planning D&F after 18K usage so 13K to go.

DW-1 is about $7 a quart delivered from Curry Acura in NY. Likely cheaper at your locale due to less shipping cost. Unit price was $6.17 on 17Apr15. That's only $1.50 more per quart than Castrol IMV (Castrol IMV was $5.50 at WalMart). Planning to use DW-1 next as I now have a case (12) on the shelf.
 
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