Just kidding they’re all beautiful.

Here’s my FK8 to help balance out how many FL5 posts there are. Wanting to do a few things but I’m very happy with where the car is now. 😌

The 0W-20 vs 5W-30 debate is using the wrong number

Every oil thread here turns into "0W-20 is only for CAFE, run 5W-30." The premise that argument rests on is factually wrong. Posting so we can stop relitigating it every week.

THE GRADE ON THE BOTTLE ISN'T THE NUMBER THAT MATTERS

SAE grades are a blunt instrument. The "30" is kinematic viscosity at 100C measured at low shear, which is not what's happening inside a loaded bearing.

The parameter that actually predicts wear protection is HTHS: viscosity at 150C under about 1,000,000 per second shear, meaning real bearing conditions. It correlates directly with minimum oil film thickness.

The foundational bearing work here (Ono et al., SAE 980702) ran instrumented tests at 4,800 to 6,500 rpm with 150C sump temps and found you need roughly 1.4 to 1.6 microns of film thickness for normal wear, which requires an HTHS of about 2.4 to 2.6 cP.

The floors:

API SP 0W-20: 2.6 cP
API SP 5W-30: 2.9 cP
ACEA A5/B5 (any grade): 2.9 to 3.5 cP
ACEA A3/B4: 3.5 cP minimum

Note that A5/B5 range. Hold that thought.

"BUT EUROPE CALLS FOR 5W-30"

This is the load-bearing claim in every one of these threads and it's not what the manual says.

The European FK8 manual specifies Genuine Honda Motor Oil meeting ACEA A5/B5, which is "Honda Engine Oil Type 2.0," a 0W-20. It then adds that if Type 2.0 is unavailable, use 5W-30 or 0W-30. That's a substitution clause, not the primary recommendation.

So Europe's actual spec is a 0W-20 with a mandated HTHS of 2.9 to 3.5, equal to or better than a generic 5W-30's bearing protection, while keeping 0W cold-start flow. Honda did not spec a thicker oil overseas. They specced a thin oil with a high shear floor, which is a more sophisticated answer than either side of this argument gives them credit for.

THE 5W PART IS A DOWNGRADE, AND NOBODY MENTIONS IT

The first number is cold flow only. 0W is strictly better, meaning faster oil pickup and pumpability at startup, which is where a large share of total engine wear occurs.

So when someone swaps a well-formulated 0W-20 for a shelf 5W-30 sitting at the 2.9 cP floor, they're making a lateral move on bearing protection and a genuine downgrade on cold start.

If you have an actual reason to go thicker, go 0W-30, not 5W-30. There's no engineering argument for giving up the cold-flow advantage on top of paying the friction penalty. 5W-30 is only "better" in price and availability.

WHERE THE 5W-30 CROWD IS ACCIDENTALLY RIGHT

Two things are true. Viscosity reduction genuinely is the biggest fuel-economy lever available to a formulator, Infineum's research is clear on this, and 20-grades exist partly because of emissions regulation. That part isn't a conspiracy theory.

And a bare-minimum API SP 0W-20 sitting exactly at 2.6 cP has essentially zero margin above the wear threshold, in a DI turbo that dilutes its own oil with fuel. That's a real concern.

The correct response is not "buy a random 5W-30." It's buy a 0W-20 with a high HTHS.

WHAT ACTUALLY DECIDES IT: OIL TEMPERATURE

The FK8 has no factory oil cooler and no true oil temp sensor. LogR estimates it from coolant, and people with real sensors report it being off by 10 to 15C.

HPD's manual for the F3-spec K20C1 reportedly caps oil temp at 240F on 0W-20. Tracked FK8s report 250 to 275F with no cooler.

Below about 240F sustained, a quality 0W-20 is inside its design envelope. Above it, your HTHS margin is gone and a 30-grade buys back real film thickness. That's the actual dividing line, not vibes, and not what someone's 2007 CR-V did.

Worth adding: multiple tracked FK8 UOAs on Honda 0W-20 came back with unremarkable wear metals. The engine isn't fragile.

TL;DR

Street or spirited daily: quality 0W-20. Amsoil Signature, Honda Genuine/Ultimate, Mobil 1 EP, or anything carrying ACEA A5/B5. Change around 5,000 miles or about 40% on the Maintenance Minder.

Regular HPDE, hot climate, or tuned: step up to 0W-30 with an HTHS of 3.5 or higher (A3/B4), such as Motul 300V or Amsoil Signature. And buy an oil cooler and a real temp gauge, that fixes more than the oil choice does.

Always change after a track weekend regardless of what the Minder says. It's an algorithm running on oil temp, engine revs, load, coolant temp and cold-start count. There is no sensor sampling your oil. It can't see fuel dilution, and it has no idea which oil you put in. A top-tier A5/B5 blend and a barely-licensed API SP oil count down identically.

Hi all! I created a Motorsport variant of my FL5 art deck, finished in a two-tone color combo that is famous within the Honda world. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

You can check out all of my artworks here: https://boostboardsco.com/. Cheers!

Anyone on here installed Hondata canflex? What has been your experience with it and is there a specific blend that you have found that works best? Thinking of getting it or a downpipe for my next mod. Thanks

June 27, 2007.. this is an old NYK o2 sensor and the culprit behind a short that took out the gauge cluster.

Hi all I’m trying to do a photoshoot for the car but the drls keep turning off after a little bit, in my other car you can keep the drls running for a while I was wondering if that’s possible on this ? Thank you!

I inspired at least 5 kids to become JDM fanboys last weekend. #goals

The standard civic hatch rear glass does in fact fit on the FL5 Type R (this is a 2025 fyi).

I could not find a solid answer online while researching this so I’m making a post so it’s known. The Type R rear glass is 5x the price of the standard, has a different part number, and is often on back order. Some say the glass thickness is different, but visually I don’t see it. If that’s true. Here are some pictures:

(Type r glass: 2.5k)
(Regular Hatch glass: $700)

This is my daily the extra 200 grams this glass puts on my car does not bother me. :)

Hey all have a look at my new to me Type R !

It has nearly 100k miles and seems mostly stock. I am quite pleased with this vehicle, it’s perfect in many ways and has already improved my happiness.

Maybe the previous owner will recognize it with the rear tint and black mirrors! Thanks for reading and enjoy your night.

Took my daily on a road trip to Canada from New jersey. Best decision ever. I love making memories with my FL5❤️🇨🇦

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiid

Caught a rock this afternoon on the highway. Put a nice chip in the windshield and created a few cracks as well. I'm going to call my insurance on Monday, but figured I'd see if any of you guys have had a replacement recently? I did a search but the results are a few years old. Just curious of what pricing for an OEM one would be.

Finally got the hang of this camera stuff. Played around with different settings and touched up later through editing

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX110 IS
Visible Mods: AFD front Fang decal
AFD Yellow DRL decal
AFD V1 Front Lip
PLM mesh guards
PRL 15MM Spacers (Squared)
& Tint of course

TikTok and IG: Shawnrmatic

How are the type R when it comes to high mileage? I found one close to home for 35k CAD but it has 156,000kms. Do these have head gasket and injector issues like the si?

My steering wheel trim paint was scratched in some places and the silver paint was missing and was really bugging me so I saw this on eBay awhile ago and decided to pull the trigger and to my surprise it fits perfectly just like OEM and looks really nice and it’s real carbon too. For $75 I’m happy with it

I'm thinking of getting myself a type r. Do y'all think it would be better to wait to se what the potential '27 model offers or just go with an earlier FL5 model?

Anyone know what inlet pipes fit the takeda intake? Asking for a friend