Engine oil & Tranny fluid

cpiercecf · 04-10-2007, 12:51 PM

What is the best engine oil I should use and the tranny fluid. I know I should change the tranny every 15,000 or so I've heard. Anybody heard of BG Synchroshift? My buddie uses it in his GSX and says it works great but I know everything is diff. for our cars.

gomarlins3 · 04-10-2007, 03:15 PM

If your engine has over 10,000 miles on it, you can start to use synthetic motor oil if you choose. Personally I use Mobil1, but oil is usually a personal preference.

As for the tranny fluid, Honda's new MTF works well for our cars. DO NOT use Honda's diff fluid though, our cars do not like it for some reason. I use 607 Almasol SAE 90, but again that is just a personal preference.

Basically, there are many good products out there for our car, but from what I have read on other S2000 sites, those products were the ones that never had any problems.

ShadowX · 04-21-2007, 07:38 AM

BG Synchroshift is great stuff. It's very popular among Mitsubishi guys because the drivetrains in those cars like to self-destruct and BG manage to 'miraculously ' save other dying trannies.

I'm not sure if it's any better than Royal Purple or Amsoil, but it does seem to perform better than Mobil 1.

bjurasz · 04-21-2007, 02:35 PM

What is the reason to wait until after 10k miles before using synthetic?

bjurasz · 04-23-2007, 12:11 PM

Asked a different way. My 2006 gave an oil life warning at around 4,700 miles. I made my first oil change then and went straight to Mobil-1. Is this harmful and why? Thanks.

gomarlins3 · 04-23-2007, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjurasz

What is the reason to wait until after 10k miles before using synthetic?

I have been told that your engine is completely broken in at this point and any oil burning that your engine may do should not increase after that point. Our engines seem to act differently when it comes to oil consumption depending upon how they were broken in. I am guessing that the make up of synthetic oil runs differently than dino oil and would lead to more consumption if used at an earlier mile total, but then again, that is just my guess.

gomarlins3 · 04-23-2007, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjurasz

Asked a different way. My 2006 gave an oil life warning at around 4,700 miles. I made my first oil change then and went straight to Mobil-1. Is this harmful and why? Thanks.

Harmful? Not sure. I am sure there have been others that have done it as well and I haven't heard of any big failures due to synthetic being put in early. If it worries you, you could change your oil back now and run it on dino until 10,000. If it doesn't bother you, dont give it a 2nd thought and enjoy the drive.

bjurasz · 04-23-2007, 05:29 PM

Thanks Gomarlins3, good info. I'll watch for any oil consumption or drop in fuel mileage. One thing I have noticed, but cannot determine if I noticed this before or after the oil change, is the transition at the VTEC is not as violent as it was when the car was brand new. I've taken this to mean I'm getting more low-end power as the engine breaks in. My imagination? Getting used to the transition? Or something others have noticed?

gomarlins3 · 04-23-2007, 05:44 PM

I can't help you with the VTEC smoothing out thing, sorry.

ShadowX · 04-27-2007, 06:55 AM

As far as I understand it, during the break-in period, your newly milled block is nice and smooth on the inside, and your pistons rings are also nice and neat. On a microscopic level though, the two don't meet up nicely. During the break-in period, you rings scour the cylinder walls, making a more perfect fit. Without a proper break-in, this won't happen, allowing more blow by during th combustion, hence burning oil and reducing power.

So, if you switch to synthetic too soon, the superior protection provide by synthetic will actually impede a proper break-in. Having said that, I'm pretty sure a lot of high-end exotics come from the factory with synthetic, so go figure.

gomarlins3 · 04-27-2007, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadowX

Having said that, I'm pretty sure a lot of high-end exotics come from the factory with synthetic, so go figure.

This is true, but many exotics have engines that are built differently than our (somewhat) mass produced car.

bjurasz · 04-27-2007, 10:26 AM

Ok, this is bringing back some memory to me now. From what I gather the factory fill oil in our car has a break-in additive. Its not just motor oil. As such it needs to stay in the crank case for some period of time. My oil life monitor prompted my first oil change at about 4,800 miles and it is then I switched to Mobil-1. I don't think the problem is that its a synthetic, I think the problem is that it doesn't have the Honda additive. In other words, dumping the factory oil immediately for Havoline would have the same type of problem.

As per factory fill, even mass produced Corvettes have Mobil-1 as factory fill and have for some time. My 1992 did, for example.

So, here's to hoping that following the oil life monitor was a good idea for me. :O

04-10-2007, 12:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
cpiercecf Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 49	Engine oil & Tranny fluid What is the best engine oil I should use and the tranny fluid. I know I should change the tranny every 15,000 or so I've heard. Anybody heard of BG Synchroshift? My buddie uses it in his GSX and says it works great but I know everything is diff. for our cars.

04-10-2007, 03:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
gomarlins3 "Enjoy the drive" Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Kuna Idaho Posts: 2,807	If your engine has over 10,000 miles on it, you can start to use synthetic motor oil if you choose. Personally I use Mobil1, but oil is usually a personal preference. As for the tranny fluid, Honda's new MTF works well for our cars. DO NOT use Honda's diff fluid though, our cars do not like it for some reason. I use 607 Almasol SAE 90, but again that is just a personal preference. Basically, there are many good products out there for our car, but from what I have read on other S2000 sites, those products were the ones that never had any problems. __________________ Yablownowitz Racing brought to you by Anytime Fitness. Happiness is a nice road, great weather, and driving the S with Sue in the seat next to me. "Whatever you do, where ever you go, enjoy the drive." I know for a FACT that the last year of production of the S2000 is 2003!!!!! After that, it will be the S2200 under an assumed name.

04-23-2007, 05:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
gomarlins3 "Enjoy the drive" Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Kuna Idaho Posts: 2,807	I can't help you with the VTEC smoothing out thing, sorry. __________________ Yablownowitz Racing brought to you by Anytime Fitness. Happiness is a nice road, great weather, and driving the S with Sue in the seat next to me. "Whatever you do, where ever you go, enjoy the drive." I know for a FACT that the last year of production of the S2000 is 2003!!!!! After that, it will be the S2200 under an assumed name.

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04-21-2007, 07:38 AM	#3 (permalink)
ShadowX Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 7	BG Synchroshift is great stuff. It's very popular among Mitsubishi guys because the drivetrains in those cars like to self-destruct and BG manage to 'miraculously ' save other dying trannies. I'm not sure if it's any better than Royal Purple or Amsoil, but it does seem to perform better than Mobil 1.

04-21-2007, 02:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
bjurasz Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 131	What is the reason to wait until after 10k miles before using synthetic?

04-23-2007, 12:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
bjurasz Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 131	Asked a different way. My 2006 gave an oil life warning at around 4,700 miles. I made my first oil change then and went straight to Mobil-1. Is this harmful and why? Thanks.

04-23-2007, 05:29 PM	#8 (permalink)
bjurasz Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 131	Thanks Gomarlins3, good info. I'll watch for any oil consumption or drop in fuel mileage. One thing I have noticed, but cannot determine if I noticed this before or after the oil change, is the transition at the VTEC is not as violent as it was when the car was brand new. I've taken this to mean I'm getting more low-end power as the engine breaks in. My imagination? Getting used to the transition? Or something others have noticed?

04-27-2007, 06:55 AM	#10 (permalink)
ShadowX Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 7	As far as I understand it, during the break-in period, your newly milled block is nice and smooth on the inside, and your pistons rings are also nice and neat. On a microscopic level though, the two don't meet up nicely. During the break-in period, you rings scour the cylinder walls, making a more perfect fit. Without a proper break-in, this won't happen, allowing more blow by during th combustion, hence burning oil and reducing power. So, if you switch to synthetic too soon, the superior protection provide by synthetic will actually impede a proper break-in. Having said that, I'm pretty sure a lot of high-end exotics come from the factory with synthetic, so go figure.

04-27-2007, 10:26 AM	#12 (permalink)
bjurasz Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 131	Ok, this is bringing back some memory to me now. From what I gather the factory fill oil in our car has a break-in additive. Its not just motor oil. As such it needs to stay in the crank case for some period of time. My oil life monitor prompted my first oil change at about 4,800 miles and it is then I switched to Mobil-1. I don't think the problem is that its a synthetic, I think the problem is that it doesn't have the Honda additive. In other words, dumping the factory oil immediately for Havoline would have the same type of problem. As per factory fill, even mass produced Corvettes have Mobil-1 as factory fill and have for some time. My 1992 did, for example. So, here's to hoping that following the oil life monitor was a good idea for me. :O