sorry, dont mean to take over your thread here, but a quick question...
how often does tranny fluid as well as differential fluid need to be changed?
thanks

 

I'm sure the schedules are in your owner's manual but most owners do it much sooner - the reason being this drivetrain takes a lot of punishment. One the early recommended solutions to "help" transmissions that are notchy or grinding was to try a change -- this coming from knowledgeable Honda tech'ys. As long as reasonable safety issues are addressed these are both fairly easy tasks for shade tree mechanics and if not, they are not that expensive to have done at a dealership.

 

To clarify, the early users who came back to Honda were people who tried GM Synthetic MTF. There was a lot of raves initially and then a lot of folks switching back. As for this new FM stuff, it seems too new for many S2000 owners to have any long term experience.

 

I change the diff and tranny every other oil change.

 

I didn't change to GM Synchromesh FM until 63k miles, and it definitely feels much, much better than fresh Honda MTF. I had been using Honda MTF up until that point, and even when new, it didn't feel nearly as good as GM Synchromesh FM. I was dead set on selling my car - because I hated my 1-->2 shift that much - until I figured I'd give GM Synchromesh FM a try as a last resort. The gearbox is still pretty notchy when cold, but it's worlds better than Honda MTF.

But you're right about the lack of long term evidence. I currently have a little over 1k miles on the GM Synchromesh FM, and it feels fine, but of course that's nowhere near a legitimate test of longevity. Only time will tell how it holds up... If my gearbox eventually reverts to the notchiness and crunchiness I had with Honda MTF, then I'm just going to get rid of the car. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this stuff holds up.

As for my warranty, I'm out of the factory warranty anyway so that's not a big concern in my case. Besides, I've already complained several times about the crunchy 1-->2 shift, and the dealers and Honda don't seem to care, so as far as I'm concerned, the ball's in my court now. But yup, warranty coverage could certainly be a concern to people under the factory warranty. I'd have to give it more thought in that event.

I think S2Ki member gernby has had GM Synchromesh FM in his car for a while. I don't know the details, but believe that's the case from reading the GM Synchromesh FM threads in Under The Hood.

 

Thanks for all you advise.

 

No one beat the GM Synchromesh drum louder than I did and I'm proudly using Honda MTF. And I'm never going to use the GM product again. The GM fluid works great for several thousand miles and then it's garbage. Second gear would grind much worse than it ever did with the Honda fluid.

Use the GM product if you don't mind changing your transmission fluid every two to three thousand miles.

I have tried everything that is "readily" available and some that weren't and I like the Honda MTF the best.

 

King Motorsports which has a marketing tie-in with Redline Oil, still recommends Honda MTF over any Redline products for the S2000.

Although I'm temped to try the GM FM stuff, I have the patience to wait - as my car's a keeper.

 

gm products are not suitable for our transmissions. stick wth honda mtf, you won't be sorry in the long run...

 

Just curious - with the Honda MTF, does your 1-->2 shift sometimes grind when cold?