Yea, yea, go ahead and flame my arse. I know, there's a "library," etc. to look this stuff up. That said----two things: 1.) Products change. 2.) I read through it and wasn't 100% convinced I knew what I needed. Since I'm gambling with my diff and tranny, I'd prefer to be 110% correct. Thanks for understanding what I am sure you all call a "common question."

Flame on...

MY00 with 5,900 original miles. I use the car on sunny, dry days as a toy. I will likely auto x is from time to time, but it won't be a regular thing. I won't be driving it when it's less than 45 degrees outside.

I'm looking for:
--Diff Fluid
--Tranny Fluid
--Brake fluid

I'd like to have shifts that don't grind---smooth, please. If you have a suggestion, please let me know where I can find it for the best price.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Shumax

 

Diff fluid will be any GL5 rated 90W or equivalent (lots of people use 75w90). Try to use synthetic if possible, M1 is a popular choice because it is readily available and is generally regarded as a high quality gear oil.

Transmission, use the new Honda MTF (stuff with a white cap) or buy some GMSMFM.

Now, for the slight bit of flamage. Products don't change THAT much and the information available in the oil journals isn't more than 4 years old. You should still be able to make a decision based on what you read there. That's all the flaming you'll get from me.

Now, if it were my car under those circumstances here's what I'd do.
1) Go to a shop that sells marine supplies and pick up a straight 90W GL5 rated Marine gear oil. Honda makes an OEM GL5 rated gear oil for bikes but it's hard to find, they might have the same product for boats but I'm not sure. In any case, I always see a better selection of 90W gear oils at marine supply shops.
2) For the transmission I have been wanting to try a product from Specialty Formulations called MTL-P. There's a writeup on the stuff in the oil journals. It looks like a great product and it will be my next fill when I change my MTF out in the fall. They also sell GL5 gear oils, so you could just order some gear oil and transmission fluid from the same place and have it all done with in one easy step.

I've been experimenting with different gear oils and I can say that I'm beginning to like the oils that are closer to a straight 90W. I recently changed my differential fluid from M1 75w90 to QuakerState Full Synthetic 75w90. The QS was much louder in the differential, so much so that I could easily pick out a slight diff whine at highway speeds with the top up.

I put some Schaeffers #267 80w90 in the differential last night and the rear end is MUCH quieter. For that reason I think I'm going to stick with high quality gear oils from now on. The S2000 holds less than a quart of fluid in the differential, so whatever ends up in the diff needs to be of high quality. I'm getting off my soap box now.

 

well said, 90crvtec

 

I'll start with the flaming first
You say your not sure even after reading through endless pages of suggestions for fluids, endless threads on which gear oil, tranny stuff or magic potion you should put into your engine/tranny/diff and you hope that NOW after posting a thread which is going to do nothing but give you endless opinions on the same stuff you just read, your going to know.

well your wrong.

Its your choice and IMO nothing that is going to be said in this thread is going to be anything different then what you've already read. done rambling

I use amsoil 75w-90 in the diff and am very happy with it. Used to use mobil1 and was happy with that too. just thought i'd try something new.

I used to run GMSMFM in my tranny but switched to the new Honda tranny fluid recently and am very pleased with it.

Brake fluid? I run some stuff from valvoline out of their fullsyn line. I doubt brake fluids are going to be that much different unless your using some shop brand.

Good luck

 

110%

And the problem with transmission fluid is that each S2000 seems to respond differently. I've read a lot of posts on here from people saying that Honda's new MTF isn't any better than the old stuff. Other people say GMSMFM breaks down too quickly while some say that they don't experience any breakdown at all. Personally, the new Honda MTF made enough of a difference to me that I'm using it and don't plan on draining it for quite some time. It feels as good to me as the GMSMFM and so far it is holding up better than the GMSMFM ever did.

Unfortunate as it may be, for the transmission you're going to have to pick a fluid and see if you like it or not. It's quite literally down to personal preference on your part. However, you can rest assured that whatever transmission fluid is mentioned here (GMSMFM, Honda MTF, MTL-P, etc. etc.) will be perfectly safe in your car. We wouldn't tell you to use something that would harm your vehicle, so whatever choice you make you can rest 110% assured that you're keeping your car well maintained.

We all have our reasons and personal opinions for why we run certain brands and/or types of fluid in our cars. However, in your case the car is only going to be used in fair weather (45F or higher) and when used will be driven spiritedly. This is why I'll stand firm on my recommendation for a straight 90W gear oil for the differential. Chicago can get cold in the winter, if this car was your DD I'd say put 75w90 in the rear but since it's only going to see warmer temps with spirited driving, try to use a thicker gear oil. You're on your own for the transmission.

 

Thanks everyone!

I bought the following from Ganley Honda in Cleveland:

(1) LE-607 Diff fluid
(2) Synchromesh Manual tranny fluid
(4) Washers---diff and tranny
(1) OEM touch-up paint
(1) Shin-etsu grease

Total was $46.56 plus $7.50 to ship.

Candidly, I wanted to use Hardtop Guy, but the individual prices were a bit high, which is fine since he supports us. The shipping; however, was far too high---more than double; almost tripple. Add those two together and there was about an 18% price difference.

Can't wait to swap it all out.

Thanks for the help and the "flames."

Shumax