which mobil do we use for the diff?
which for the tranny . thanks

 

I replaced mine at around 6K, at the same time as my tranny.

Thoroughly disgusting. A Thick soup came out first for a few seconds then thinner fluid came out.

It reminded me of lancing a boil.

 

Is Mobil 1, 75W-90 Gear Oil fine for our Diff?

It was only diff. oil(good ones) I could find at autostore.

 

The Oil I have used, LE 607 with Almasol, is far superior to the Honda LSD fluid that was in the car. It has been proved via oil analysis by our own member RoadRage. The Moly is replaced by Almasol, a ceramic with the equilvalent function of the Moly that further resists break down.
Andy

 

yes, that is a good synthetic.


btw i would recommend changing it out again at 7000-8000 miles.

 

What's been described here for the condition of the differential fluid (dark / black, smelly, thick, etc) and magnetic drain plug debris does not alarm me. You can't expect 90W gear oil to flow the same as engine oil. The factory fill also may contain additives or friction modifiers desired for breakin. (I noticed the same dark appearance when changing the differential fluid to synthetic in my '93 Mustang at 25,000 miles......never touched since and still doing fine at 190k.) The idea that a new differential 'uses' a lot of oil seems far fetched to me.....if it doesn't leak out, where's it going? It's certainly not burned as oil might be in an engine. Most all new / rebuilt engines, gearboxes, etc. will have metallic debris collect on a magnetic drain plug. (The magnetic plug is simply doing what the designers intended it to do.)

I agree it's very interesting that Honda recommends such frequent differentail oil changes, but I plan to stay close to their recommendations for both the number of miles and type of oil. Since so few Hondas have rear diff's, and this was obviously a brand new component when the S2000 was introduced, I'd be stunned if Honda didn't complete a whole lot of testing before coming up with their recommendations.

You may change oil more frequently than recommended....it won't hurt except for the time and cost (as long as the proper lubricant is used). My guess is that, if the truth be known, any S2000 differential failures are either due to people trying to duplicate the published 0-60 mph times for the S2000 (abuse), using the wrong lubricant or not changing it on time, and not due to any design or manufacturing flaw. The fact is that you can't drive an S2000 like it's a Viper, and it requires proper maintenance like any car.

 

The differential is made by Torsen and has been used in 10's of thousands of Mazdas. It is the diff used in the Miata and the RX-7. It is very well characterized. The Honda diff fluid for this car is from their motorcycle division.

 

'Sorry 'bout that. When I said 'new', I guess I should have said "new to Honda" (heck the whole car was new when they established service intervals and released it to production).

In my 25 years of experience as an automotive engineer supplying components to these companies, it doesn't matter if their competitors used the same part they want to use, each company still demands their own proof (thru lab tests, field tests, whatever) that a part will survive. Furthermore, I'm sure there are many differences between the Mazda applications (cars) and the S2000 ----vehicle weight, gearing, engine torque output vs speed, etc, etc that make the S2000 differential installation unique from an engineering standpoint and would require it's own testing.

I'll say it again - I trust Honda did their homework thorougly before shipping thousands of cars around the globe; warranty and recalls are very costly.

Anyway, I for one don't have the resources (multi-million dollar test facilities) or experience (like Honda's in F1) to try to second guess their service recommendations. It won't hurt to change it as often as you like if it makes you feel better, especially if you drive aggressively, and it's your time and money. Anyway, I'll gladly let everyone know if my diff breaks....but I'm betting it won't. (No 'dropped clutch' standing starts, or full throttle at low rpm in my S2000....any guesses what would happen on garden variety Accords and Civics if drivers treated them that way?)

By the way, where are you located? Maybe Honda's reputation for building reliable cars (as long as they're not abused and are properly maintained) is different in your part of the world than mine.

I'll stand corrected if someone can honestly state that their diff failed, and has never been abused and has been properly maintained 'by the book' (i.e. by Honda's service manual.

 

I dunno. I've known a few people with Integras and Civics that drop the clutch and lay rubber that never had problems of any sort except short tire and clutch life.

These are FWD cars though.

 

When it comes to FWD and RWD, its a whole other ball game! In my GS-r, I NEVER replaced the case fluid and that car was subject to more races then any other car I have owned. I have noticed though that the S2 is so much more tempromental then many other cars. This of course is due to its great characteristics that make it an S2000. Best advice for this topic is every 15k if your driving it more then avearage.