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LSD Oil Change Time - Liqui Moly 85/90?

Old 02-10-2017, 06:46 AM
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Exclamation LSD Oil Change Time - Liqui Moly 85/90?

Hi all

Supercharged AP1. Time to change diff oil. No idea what previous owner put in there last. Would this Liqui Moly LS 85/90 GL5 be good for my diff? Bottle reads "for extreme loads and high performance applications" boasting good fuel economy and gear changing.

Old 02-10-2017, 09:11 AM
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We should have a rule for no more oil threads -- everyone has an opinion, with no hard data to back up personal preferences.

Here's the historical diff fluid hierarchy on s2ki over the years:
  • Are you super anal and OG? You harken back to the 90s when the S2000 was brand new, so you fill your diff with LE 607
  • Are you super anal and prone to falling into cults and setting wads of cash on fire to keep your s2000 warm in winter storage? Amsoil 75W-110 is the stuff for you!
  • Are you a normal human being, who cares for your car, but not actually crazy? Fill up with Mobil1 75w90 available from any auto parts store!
  • Do you actually want to blow your diff up? Use the "Honda" diff fluid, because it's actually made for the Pilot and NOT for the S2000. [Warning. Not sarcasm. Do not use Honda's diff fluid.]
And to answer your question -- manual says GL5. Weight is fine, although some guys here use much heavier. Depends on your climate.

Last edited by HarryD; 02-10-2017 at 09:14 AM.
Old 02-10-2017, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by HarryD
We should have a rule for no more oil threads -- everyone has an opinion, with no hard data to back up personal preferences.

Here's the historical diff fluid hierarchy on s2ki over the years:
  • Are you super anal and OG? You harken back to the 90s when the S2000 was brand new, so you fill your diff with LE 607
  • Are you super anal and prone to falling into cults and setting wads of cash on fire to keep your s2000 warm in winter storage? Amsoil 75W-110 is the stuff for you!
  • Are you a normal human being, who cares for your car, but not actually crazy? Fill up with Mobil1 75w90 available from any auto parts store!
  • Do you actually want to blow your diff up? Use the "Honda" diff fluid, because it's actually made for the Pilot and NOT for the S2000. [Warning. Not sarcasm. Do not use Honda's diff fluid.]
And to answer your question -- manual says GL5. Weight is fine, although some guys here use much heavier. Depends on your climate.
I think point number 3 describes me, haha
Can't get Mobil 1 locally but I found a good selection of Liqui Moly namely 85 and 75/90. Apparently the 85 is mineral based and the 75 is synth. It never gets to 0 degrees celsius here let alone minus 0 so the cold weight isn't too much of a concern for me. 90 should be more than sufficient for summer weather. I want more protection for the diff but I do not want to labour it by filling something too thick like 140 which is why I think 90 will be where I stay.

Oh and thanks for the Honda fluid heads up!
Old 02-10-2017, 11:29 AM
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What Harry says is true, there are too many personal opinions out there. What I can say is that I don't care for the thinner fluids , I think it is best to use a 110 viscosity, when the spec for the S2000 was developed in 1999 the SAE 90 was a different classification than what it is now, it is a much better match to 110 today. Personally I run SAE 110 in LE1605 fluid, but a nice 75w-110 would be a good choice like Amsoil carries or any other brand. I think viscosity choice is more important than the brand.
Old 02-10-2017, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by HarryD
We should have a rule for no more oil threads -- everyone has an opinion, with no hard data to back up personal preferences.

Here's the historical diff fluid hierarchy on s2ki over the years:
  • Are you super anal and OG? You harken back to the 90s when the S2000 was brand new, so you fill your diff with LE 607
  • Are you super anal and prone to falling into cults and setting wads of cash on fire to keep your s2000 warm in winter storage? Amsoil 75W-110 is the stuff for you!
  • Are you a normal human being, who cares for your car, but not actually crazy? Fill up with Mobil1 75w90 available from any auto parts store!
  • Do you actually want to blow your diff up? Use the "Honda" diff fluid, because it's actually made for the Pilot and NOT for the S2000. [Warning. Not sarcasm. Do not use Honda's diff fluid.]
And to answer your question -- manual says GL5. Weight is fine, although some guys here use much heavier. Depends on your climate.
You forgot the most important one, 75/140w. Which has saved my diff. Its what puddydad diff guru recommends and after using on my wounded diff and still going strong at 30k miles, I'm sold on it. The only reason why you wouldn't use it, is if your worried about eeking every bit of MPG out of the car, because the thicker hot weight oil in theory would put added drag on diff, but the added cushion/protection far outweighs any minuscule disadvantage in efficiency in my book. And its available on the shelf everywhere. I just get Castrol full syn.
Old 02-10-2017, 12:39 PM
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If Liqui Moly is what's available for you, I would use one of these.
Or both and mix them 50/50, should get you somewhere near a 75W-110
https://products.liqui-moly.com/oils...-75w-90-1.html
https://products.liqui-moly.com/oils...75w-140-1.html
Old 02-12-2017, 02:50 AM
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Originally Posted by zeroptzero
What Harry says is true, there are too many personal opinions out there. What I can say is that I don't care for the thinner fluids , I think it is best to use a 110 viscosity, when the spec for the S2000 was developed in 1999 the SAE 90 was a different classification than what it is now, it is a much better match to 110 today. Personally I run SAE 110 in LE1605 fluid, but a nice 75w-110 would be a good choice like Amsoil carries or any other brand. I think viscosity choice is more important than the brand.
Makes sense. Thanks
Old 02-12-2017, 02:51 AM
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Originally Posted by s2000Junky
You forgot the most important one, 75/140w. Which has saved my diff. Its what puddydad diff guru recommends and after using on my wounded diff and still going strong at 30k miles, I'm sold on it. The only reason why you wouldn't use it, is if your worried about eeking every bit of MPG out of the car, because the thicker hot weight oil in theory would put added drag on diff, but the added cushion/protection far outweighs any minuscule disadvantage in efficiency in my book. And its available on the shelf everywhere. I just get Castrol full syn.
How did you know your diff was wounded and which oil were you running at the time?
Old 02-12-2017, 02:52 AM
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Originally Posted by flanders
If Liqui Moly is what's available for you, I would use one of these.
Or both and mix them 50/50, should get you somewhere near a 75W-110
https://products.liqui-moly.com/oils...-75w-90-1.html
https://products.liqui-moly.com/oils...75w-140-1.html
Never thought of a mix lol. Perhaps I'll give this 85/90 a try, see how my diff likes it and then change to a higher weight if need be. Fortunately the stuff isn't too expensive (the fluid I mean). I'd like a balance between protection, performance and fuel economy without an extreme in either of those.
Old 02-12-2017, 11:11 AM
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There are a lot of other factors that one should take into account -- factored against the weight you choose:
  • Climate?
  • Normal conditions diff oil interval (per manual) == 30k miles
  • Severe conditions diff oil interval (per manual == 15k miles
  • Do you track the car?
  • Do you launch a lot? Do you abuse the diff?
If you're using 75w110 (or heavier) and dump it every 15k miles, but never track or abuse your car, it's overkill.

If you track your car or abuse it with daily launches (RIP diff), or have an awesome custom Puddy diff (just use what he recommends!), you'll want to err on the safer side of the weight spectrum.

I believe Billman used to use Mobil1 75w90 on his car and his customer cars for years [not sure if that's still the case?], and I see it on the shelf at every Autozone/AdvancedAuto/O'Reilly/etc.

I also pre-maturely dump my diff oil every 15-20k miles, despite never abusing the car, so I'm comfortable using the thin side of the spectrum here. Magnet is pretty clean each time.

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