[brucepick]

Welcome to the club! I've had mine just over two years now.

Plugs: NGK as spec'd by Honda. ZFR4F-11. This NOT the same as other Civics of the same year. I found them at Honda dealer (sometimes) and at Pep Boys, where I do not usually get parts.

OIL: Mine burns oil. About 20 oz per 1000 miles. Not all burn oil but it's not uncommon.

Oh yeah - it holds only THREE QUARTS! I've seen other HXs, pulled the stick and oil is far over the mark. Nobody believes it only holds 3 qt. You can bet the previous owner/maintainer overfilled it most of the time. Put in 3 qt when you change it. After a quick level check, spin it over, drive to warm it up and then drain down for 1-2 hours. Then check it and see if you agree.

I found that WalMart Synthetic 5W-30 blew right through the engine. Didn't burn much for a couple hundred miles after a change, then whooosh! Far more than 20 oz/K miles. My theory is that the "viscosity enhancers" which create the high viscosity number broke down quickly and then it was thin oil, maybe actually 5W-20. Tried a lot of things including mixing in 8-16 oz of Castrol 20W-50.

I settled on Rotella T6 synthetic, which is 5W-40. It seems to hold it's 40 rating (viscosity in hot engine state) so it doesn't blow through. Now it's using about 20 oz per 1000 miles. It's a diesel oil but also exceeds the spec's for the HX requirement. I get it at WalMart, and right now it's on sale at Advance Auto.

I talked with a good indy Honda shop, they wouldn't be afraid to run it on straight 20-50 if that's what it took to keep it from burning. In other words: yes, the car is spec'd for 5W-30 and 5-40 is thicker, but being thicker would not be an issue if the thin stuff blows right through. I like having the 5 rating for cold state, especially with winter coming. I don't want really thick oil in there at startup.