OK; sorry for the poor topic title

My S is already reaching the 6k miles point (I've put 5k miles on it in 2 months, constantly hooning it to the Dales and/or lakes just to drive those great roads).

Anyway; The time has come to go synthetic and with me looking into brake fluid lately I've stumbled accross many threads that also touch on the various other life-bloods that the car depends upon; namely Diff oil, Gearbox oil and Engine oil.

I'm off work ill today with what appears food poisening after a dodgy burger yesterday whilst at the Oulton Gold Cup so have been sat viewing the web most of the day; Mainly figuring out prepping the car for it's inaugural trackday in September.

So I've done a lot of reading/research on the subject of oils and other fluids.

OK; Engine Oil first; What's the general concensus here? I've found LOADS of threads with folks saying which oil they use/prefer/have tried etc; Some appearing to be fairly standard stuff and others using more exotic stuff such as Motul 300V, see this thread :-
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...0&#entry9520205

I remember seeing the chap who owns/runs Spoon on a BMI video (May have been 'Type R Legend') saying something that has made me think about this, along the lines of..

'Engine oil is not fine whiskey, the equation of more expensive=better doesnt necessarily work here; If you're unsure about the correct oil to use then just use the one the manufacturer recommends, this will be one of the better ones' or some such words, for some reason this wise mans words have stuck in my head and bear in mind that this chap was talking about track prep as well as day to day useage.

So on that basis, What are the benefits of the more exotic/expensive engine oils over what Honda would put in? ie, why are so many people on here using oil's other than the handbook recommended stuff? I'm sure there's a good reason, hence me asking.

Next; Diff Oil; What are people using here if not what Honda generally recommend and why?

Gearbox Oil; Same again? I can imagine that a gearbox oil could give a different feel to gear changes and so could see why people have preferences here.

For some unexplained reason I find myself attracted to Motul but I'm not sure why this should be

 

Have a good read through the oil journals.

The comparison of 10W30 oil tests by s2ki's former resident tribologist, Road Rage, make excellent reading. Amsoil compares well, whilst RR states that Redline, Motul etc. would no doubt be a good equivalent.

As for diff oil, Almasol LE607 which has recently been replaced by LE1605 is held in high esteem although I'm unsure whether this would affect warranty.

AFAIK, only Amsoil MTF (synoil) and OEM are approved by Honda therefore retaining warranty. Honda MTF has been refined in latter years and is apparently much improved over earlier examples. Another tried and tested alternative (over in the States anyhow) is GM friction modified MTF available trhough AC Delco. I'm not sure on it's availability over here because I was unable to source any last year through their UK distribution channels.

HTH

 

[QUOTE=OldDogmeat,Aug 26 2008, 04:48 PM] What are the benefits of the more exotic/expensive engine oils over what Honda would put in?

 

Another oil thread

Please read the FAQ

Why are people using stuff not advised in the manual...?

Well the manual doesn't state a fully synthetic, and this is fine for most people, but if you drive the car very hard then it can be better long term to go for fully synthetic.

I have always used Motul on all my cars (and that's a lot!) mainly because i'm from a Subaru background and a lot of the big bhp guys had good results with it. I have a trade account with them, just for personal use

 

Warranty! that never even crossed my mind but is quite obvious now you mention it S2ook. I'll speak to my local dealer about this as I'd like to go Synthetic for the reasons MB suggests above.

Yep apologies for dragging this up again; it's just that when you trawl the past posts you find loads of threads but the majority of the ones that are 'on the money' with answers can literally be years old, and things change.

I generally do try to make my questions quite specific when dragging up subjects that have been hammered over the years but have likely failed on that front this time.

 

Blimey; Just jumped to your link above S2ook and then jumped off on the first link from that thread/faq. that is concerning..

Honda dealers using diff fluid that's intended for other models in the S's diff

I think I'll have a good chat with my local dealer, who will be changing the fluids for me, and see if I cant supply the fluids myself without any warranty issues.

 

Well I've just done a 54k service, about 7k miles after I replaced all three fluids. I've gone for Silkolene Race 5W40, Amsoil MTF (definitely quieter and less notchy into 2nd than the Castrol stuff I last used - Bristol Honda use Castrol lubes) and Motul 90PA for the diff. At first glance/listen, they seem to be doing the job. I've always used the Silkolene and it seems to make the engine a touch smoother (sound and feel) than the normal Castrol 10W40.

So, I'm not saying they're the best, but I've noticed a small but noticeable improvement by using them. Although the biggest improvement by far was a change of spark plugs!

 

Replace any old oils with new stuff (even of the identical composition) and you should notice an improvement!

You need to get in the oil industry if you can detect the difference an engine oil makes whilst being able to remove the effect of spark plugs

 

Yep, fair comment, I just felt it revved a little more freely with synth as opposed to the previous mineral oil, but as you say, could be just the fact it was new. But the Gearbox & Diff oils are not very old at all, so there's definitely a difference to be felt/heard in the gearbox (not so much in the diff though).

Or maybe I'm in the wrong job!

 

Smooth operation doesn't necessarily equate to longevity.
Does it Si?