Pushing S2000 6K RPM, when should change oil

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The S2000 will rev to 9k all day long and do it for 200k miles on 10w30 conventional. It’s a gem of an engine. It has a very long rod ratio, and short stroke. It’s piston speeds at 9k are probably that of a typical engine at 6-7k. It’s far easier on oil than today’s T-GDI engines.
 
Make sure you are using a good quality oil in the appropriate spec found in your owners manual, keep the oil full and clean, and let the engine warm up before romping on it. You will be good.
 
Yes the engine finally engages the big cams at 6,000rpm or so and will easily rev to 8,000rpm+ with ease.

If it was me, I'd run it no more then 5,000 miles on a good synthetic just to make sure the engine is well protected. That F20C / F22C engine in the S2000 is amazing and worth the $20 synthetic oil change every 5k miles.

I believe the OEM spec is 7,500 miles.
 
The F20C is a simple engine with a stout build. Check the valve retainers for cracks and you're all set.

If you make an S2000 live below 5k rpm it's a gutless chore to drive. Let it sing!
 
All engines can run to the OEM redline or Rev Limiter, well, not quite "all day long" as that is a racing duty cycle, but certainly as often as you want shifting gears or occasional runups. It should not affect your OCI in any way unless, as mentioned, you're racing and holding the motor there for extended periods of time (as in hours, not minutes). That requires changing oil after every race.

OEMs determine the redline based on what the motor can rev to on a regular basis. It is not some exotic performance level that should be treated gingerly. If you modify the OEM rev limit to beyond the factory specified RPM, you invite damage but even then, moderate increases are probably OK. You can calculate a safe RPM limit if you punch in the stroke, piston weight, rod length, etc into an automotive calculator. Many engines have conservative rev limits, while others are already near the safe RPM limit based on those criteria.

A conservative piston speed is about 3,500 feet per minute. Many OEM redlines are below that speed, so there is often room to safely increase a factory redline.

4,000 fpm is probably the maximum you would want to go with a stock engine with cast pistons, and that is possibly in engine damage range, with conventional pistons, rods and conventional crankshaft. Valve float may also be an issue. Modified engines (race parts and clearances) with forged pistons, high strength rods and forged crankshaft could probably handle 5500 fpm (typical drag race engine piston speeds, remember that is for about 30 seconds total exposure (burnout & race).

The most likely failure item is the rods. The stress is greatest as they decelerate towards top dead centre (the weight of the piston is pulling the rod apart then; the rods can handle quite a bit of pushing stress).

A NASCAR engine which redlines at about 11000 RPM has roughly the same stresses as a Formula1 engine at 21,000 RPM, due to the variables mentioned. So there is no "automatic" RPM that every OEM engine is safe at. You need to do the math to find out.

Also, it's extremely common with OEM tachometers for the tach to read low. So for example your 7200 RPM indicated might only be 7000.

In my Miata I have the Rev Limiter set at 7,450, which is 450 RPM above the factory redline of 7,000 and a piston speed of 3,450 fpm; stock pistons, rods and crank (all Miatas have forged cranks).

The original engine (1.6l) had a factory redline of 7,200, and that motor saw the rev limiter regularly. I had bought a replacement 1.8 motor for that car, and planned to run it until it broke before replacing it, but got tired of waiting. I pulled that running motor at 280,000 km
 
The f20/f22 was to meant rev, so if you want to have any fun in it driving over 6k rpms is a must. When I had my 06 it saw redline everyday, these motors are pretty stout have no worries and go have some fun!
 
Thats a race built engine. Use quality oil with oe filter. I believe there's oil squirters that spray the underside of the pistons for cooling. That is one sweet engine highest horsepower to displacement in its day and its naturally aspirated.
 
Use a quality oil that meets or exceeds the specs in the manual with a quality filter that flows well and drive happy. Those engines are bulletproof.
 
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Originally Posted By: KnicksGiants
So if I do trust the Honda to not get damaged at 6k RPM, should the oil change sooner than otherwise?


Journal bearings have more MOFT with higher PRM as long as the oil temperature is kept down to maintain that MOFT. You can actually do more damage to bearings by really lugging the engine at low RPM while under a heavy load.
 
Have you ever driven a manual Honda (besides the S2k)? I can say with experience that pushing them to redline daily is fine. Now, the S2000 is an even better variation (rev and build wise) of Honda engineering. Have no worries. Just use good oil and filter with 5k-7.5k OCI and you will be fine.

I beat the snot out of my old 93 Si, revving up to 7200 on an absolute regular basis. I know it's not 9000k RPM. I was a poor college kid and just got crap oil changes. That engine was still running smoothly at 275,000 miles when I sold it. So worry not my friend.
 
Originally Posted By: jcartwright99
Have you ever driven a manual Honda (besides the S2k)? I can say with experience that pushing them to redline daily is fine. Now, the S2000 is an even better variation (rev and build wise) of Honda engineering. Have no worries. Just use good oil and filter with 5k-7.5k OCI and you will be fine.

I beat the snot out of my old 93 Si, revving up to 7200 on an absolute regular basis. I know it's not 9000k RPM. I was a poor college kid and just got crap oil changes. That engine was still running smoothly at 275,000 miles when I sold it. So worry not my friend.


No I have not.

I was thinking about that Toyota concept car SF-R or whatever it’s called. It could retail for $10k because how simple of a roadster it is. But these used 2 seaters are not bad alternates lol.
 
If you find an S2k for
The FR-S is a good car. Brother-in-law has one and it has given zero trouble. Not much else like it being sold new today.
 
Ive been own S2000 before, you can tell from my username. I just used M1 or Castrol with Honda oil filter.

Too bad, its now hard to find good ones. 99.9% of them are beat crap out of their life.
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Originally Posted By: s2krunner
Ive been own S2000 before, you can tell from my username. I just used M1 or Castrol with Honda oil filter.

Too bad, its now hard to find good ones. 99.9% of them are beat crap out of their life.
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I wouldn't say it's hard, you just have to pay. There are plenty of mint S2000s trading hands with under 50k miles.

I miss mine. Had a 2003, Silverstone over full red.
 
I’m the original owner of a 2007 with 90k on it. I don’t normally go quite to redline, but I go over 8k just about every time I drive it. Most other S2000 owners I know run 10w30 according to the maintenance minder. I would be more concerned about frequent changes of the diff.

Suggest you get on the forums at S2ki or S2kca. Find some drives, and meet some other owners.
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Originally Posted By: cifzo
I’m the original owner of a 2007 with 90k on it. I don’t normally go quite to redline, but I go over 8k just about every time I drive it. Most other S2000 owners I know run 10w30 according to the maintenance minder. I would be more concerned about frequent changes of the diff.

Suggest you get on the forums at S2ki or S2kca. Find some drives, and meet some other owners.
smile.gif



I think at some point there will be a wave of cheap new 2seaters as manufacturers realise there is quite a market for them. That was quite a golden age with the MR2, S2000, and Miata.
 
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