Hiho, Silver!
I bought an HX in October of 2,013 based on what I read on here and love the car! Honestly, one of the best modifications is
Fumoto Valve | Qwik Valve™.
The HX (and EX) have aluminum pans. I think they are thicker than the steel ones, but they are only rated for 36 ft-lbs of torque, instead of 40, and oil change kids like to use impact instead of torque wrenches. When I changed my oil for the first time, there were aluminum threads on the steel plug, it would not tighten properly, and leaked, so I replaced the pan.
As far as instrumentation,
MPGuino seems to be the best for the HX, because that car has lean burn, standard MPG gauges only estimate fuel use based on air flow, and lean burn uses less fuel, but more air, so other MPG gauges would show your economy dropping, instead of improving. The MPGuino is not something you can simply plug into your car, you need to build and install it, so I still do not have one. I originally went with
UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center, $70, plus shipping ($7.85 for me), with a $9 rebate. Some users prefer
ScanGauge MPG gauge: improve your fuel economy - EcoModder.com, which is $150 through this site, shipping included.
Many users download smartphone apps and purchase OBD-II bluetooth dongles. Here is the one I ordered:
Amazon.com: BAFX Products - Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool - For check engine light & diagnostics - Android ONLY: Automotive
This is the cheapest one on Amazon:
Amazon.com: V1.5 Super Mini ELM327 Bluetooth OBD2 OBD-II CAN-BUS Diagnostic Scanner Tool: Automotive
This is the mount that I purchased:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Smar...hone+car+mount
Torque is pretty popular. I use
CaroO Pro (Blackbox & OBD), but I want a dash cam.
One last thing to know, many of us have needed to replace oxygen sensors, $400 from the dealership, and aftermarket ones do not work. Baltothewolf shared this
http://www.amazon.com/NGK-24300-Oxyg...ef=mp_s_a_1_19 and said it was $120, but it was $143.10 when I checked in October, and $244 now. I bought one through
NTK 24300, $175 plus four dollars to ship. It just arrived today. I have been trying to figure out the rest of my life, so I have not installed it yet, but it is extremely simple!