So I got my car inspected recently (I'm the second owner, just bought it) and it came up that soon I'll need to replace the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and possibly trans fluid soon. Any recommendations on some high-quality/performance fluids that would work best?

 

Any details on the car ?

Year/miles/etc

 

04 5AT, just over 160k miles.

 

Everything is not required but if I were you I would do the following since am a little anal...you can get away with the just the Engine oil change but well here is the list....

Spark Plugs - Check and replace if needed...no need to check all 6...you can make out the condition by looking into 2-3 of them...Replace with NGK Iridium IX
Coolant Flush - Please use Acura Type II Coolant
PS Flush - Please use Acura PS Fluid
Engine Oil change - I use Redline but you cant go wrong with Mobil1/Pennsoil/Amsoil/etc...you will find various opinion...but i would recommend 5W30...
Transmission Flush - I am using Redline Racing Type F ATF since the stock Z1 fluid is crap...you can do with that or Redline D4 which is a decent oil or the Acura DW1 (newly released)...
Brake Bleeding: Use and Dot 3/4/5.1....Please do not use Dot 5
Engine Air filter: Check and replace if needed. If planning on replacing do look into Cold Air Intakes...
Cabin Air filter: Check and replace if needed....
Check the belts and make sure they are ok until 50-60K miles....
Check the brakes/tires

This is an awesome community which is always willing to help....there is DIY (do it yourself) post with tons or pictures/videos to help you change everything at home...you can find the list here:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-garage-faq-3g-tl-newbies-553554/

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Definitely look into iridium based spark plugs. It's an easy DIY and I can guarantee you'll notice the difference.

Also, for ATF fluid, I've heard great things about Amsoil Synthetic fluid. I looked into it today and had a great talk with a mechanic that also works part-time at the Advanced auto parts I went into today. He was keen on Mobil One sythentic too but I haven't found anyone else make any comments about it through this venue.

I completely agree with the above comments, everyone is helpful and informative. LOTS of great DIY step-by-step info on this site.

 

Looking at the estimate from NTB, and looking at the prices i looked up for all the parts....all I can say is wow. Me and a few friends and a few hours on a weekend could do this!

 

I've always used Mobile 1 synthetic...worked amazing for me, to be honest, but I was always curious if there was maybe something even better out there...i've hear someone mention Amsoil before.

 

Amsoil does make great oil....the reason I went Redline is because its an esther based fully synthetic group 4 oil....

the only oil in the M1 family which is group 4 is Mobil 1 EP (Extended Performance)....and since its does not have cleaning agents that Redline does, I used to seafoam my car everytime I did an oil change....waste of precious $$$....

The TL transmissions are very sensitive...I would not put anything in there which is not been tested by other members on here....the statement "if their car is running fine on it, mine will too" stands true here....

But you have to realized you have high high miles and switching to anything might hurt the tranny....I would slowly phase out the stock fluid....for the tranny flush its recommended to do a 3x3 (drain and refill 3 quarts a total of 3 times)....

I would do a drain and refill every 1000 miles....so you can see how the car is reacting to the new stuff you putting in it....if its good you continue....if not you can go back to stock without hurting anything....

I would also change your transmission 3rd and 4th pressure switches....i missed this out on the list i posted earlier....

 

Friends can help friends change fluids.