S2000 break-in question

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I have an S2000 with 300 miles on it. At the end of May I have my first track day scheduled.
Question is, do I change oil for track day? I plan to with Amsoil 10W30.

Also, why does the manual recommend not changing oil before scheduled maintenance time? It lists this as one of three break-in rules.
 
Honda factory oil has a lot of moly and probably more zddp for break-in. I would probably wait until after the first schedualed change to go to a synthetic.
 
Originally Posted By: glxpassat
Honda factory oil has a lot of moly and probably more zddp for break-in. I would probably wait until after the first schedualed change to go to a synthetic.


Problem is, I will not reach that before track day. Would you track it on factory break-in oil?
 
I wouldn't track the car with so few miles. Honda is very adamant about factory filled oil specially for S2000, I would not change out factory filled oil until the oil maintenance minder goes down to 10-15%.

By the way, I have '04 S2000. It's a nice top down car for summer, actually it is nice to drive it all year long in So Cal.
 
I would not run the trackday until the break-in period is up, especially if the manual has any rpm limitations for certain mileage. As far as changing the oil, keep the breakin stuff in there as long as you can, maybe do a filter change and top-off?

On the other hand, other people say "break it in like you plan on driving it", but the S2K is built to the limits from the factory and I'd hate to see any problems arise, especially as you are under warranty and you'd have to explain yourself why you did not follow the manual's recommendations (if that's the case".

All IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: glxpassat
Honda factory oil has a lot of moly and probably more zddp for break-in. I would probably wait until after the first schedualed change to go to a synthetic.


What does this "moly" and "zddp" do?
 
The high molybdenum content in the breakin oil is from assembly lube in the engine. The ZDDP is an additive that oil companies use in every engine oil for anti-wear. All of the UOA's that I've seen for the S2000 show the OEM fill to be either formulated or sheared to a SAE 20. That means it will be a considerably lower viscosity than the oil you will eventially start using in your new S2000 (10W-30 or 5W-40). The S2000 is the only car I've ever bought that insists that you not change the OEM fill early. This is old school IMO, where you use a thin oil for breakin, and then switch to a higher viscosity oil later to hold what you have after breakin.

Do I have the answer you are looking for to get ready for your track day? No. But I can tell you that my 2004 S2000 seemed to take a long time to breakin. It's been awhile, but I remember saying to myself that this car keeps getting stronger and stronger everytime I drive it. I finally changed the OEM fill at 3300 miles. Not because I thought the oil was shot or the engine was finally broken in, but because I was getting tired of the annoying start-up valvetrain noises. I did dyno the car with the OEM fill, but didn't track it until it was about 8 months old.

My personal recommendation would be to leave the OEM fill in there until 3-5K miles and then switch to the 10W-30 ATM. You will be very happy with the results. Be careful not to over-rev (mishift) at the track. That's the only thing that will hurt your engine.
 
I'd follow the advise above. I would hold off on track day and oci till engine is brokn in and the manual says to change the oil.
 
I agree with all of the posts that recommend waiting until it is a little more broken in. If it were mine I would put 3,000 miles on it before a track day. I would also keep the FF in for that long. At the first change I would run a Honda filter and Redline 10W-30 oil. Good luck!
 
I doubt the factory fill is a 20 weight.
Don't forget (INDYMAC
55.gif
) that just about every dino 10W-30 UOA "we" have seen on S2ki shows they shear down to 20 weights within 3000 miles.
That could easily be within 1000 miles too.

Anyway..
The S2000 has an engine with FRM cyliner walls.
FRM = Fibre Reinforced Metal.
Honda uses this stuff for the F20/F22 to get lower friction between the piston & cylinder at 9000/8000 rpm.
The FRM cylinderwalls need their break-in period and IMO they need dino oil to do it right.
This is no engine to "drive like you stole it" to break-in!
Stick to the miles and revs mentioned in your manual during the break-in period.

thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
The high molybdenum content in the breakin oil is from assembly lube in the engine. The ZDDP is an additive that oil companies use in every engine oil for anti-wear. All of the UOA's that I've seen for the S2000 show the OEM fill to be either formulated or sheared to a SAE 20. That means it will be a considerably lower viscosity than the oil you will eventially start using in your new S2000 (10W-30 or 5W-40). The S2000 is the only car I've ever bought that insists that you not change the OEM fill early. This is old school IMO, where you use a thin oil for breakin, and then switch to a higher viscosity oil later to hold what you have after breakin.

Do I have the answer you are looking for to get ready for your track day? No. But I can tell you that my 2004 S2000 seemed to take a long time to breakin. It's been awhile, but I remember saying to myself that this car keeps getting stronger and stronger everytime I drive it. I finally changed the OEM fill at 3300 miles. Not because I thought the oil was shot or the engine was finally broken in, but because I was getting tired of the annoying start-up valvetrain noises. I did dyno the car with the OEM fill, but didn't track it until it was about 8 months old.

My personal recommendation would be to leave the OEM fill in there until 3-5K miles and then switch to the 10W-30 ATM. You will be very happy with the results. Be careful not to over-rev (mishift) at the track. That's the only thing that will hurt your engine.

Factory fill for an S2000 is (or at least used to be) 10-30. I think most cars came with M1 from the factory. It may shear down to a 20wt. later, but it rolls off the assembly line with 10W-30.

As for not changing oil early, I believe that Honda recommends this for all of their cars.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Throckmorton
Factory fill for an S2000 is (or at least used to be) 10-30. I think most cars came with M1 from the factory. It may shear down to a 20wt. later, but it rolls off the assembly line with 10W-30.

As for not changing oil early, I believe that Honda recommends this for all of their cars.


No S2000 came with M1(Mobil maybe) as factory filled. Actually, Honda against using synthetic oil in S2000 during the first 7,500 miles.

Summary of Honda Service Bulletin in Fall 2001 for S2000:

"If the oil is changed at 3,500 miles because the car was driven under “Severe Conditions,” replace the factory fill oil only with 10W-30 petroleum-based oil."

"Do not use any synthetic oil for the first 7,500 miles. Synthetic oil is excellent protection for the car's engine, but it should not be used before 7,500 miles since it will not allow the rings, bearings, etc. to "break in" properly."
 
OK, some good stuff for the new S2000 owner here. It's great that he will have some more info to make his decision.

I do feel confident that the OEM fill is dino. Whether it is a 20 or 30 weight at the start is immaterial to me. It shows all the characteristics of a 20 when tested. There's nothing wrong with that (thinner), and it certainly works well for breakin purposes.

I was not aware of the Fall 2001 Service Bulletin. Thanks HTSS. I wonder why it wasn't included in my 2004 owners manual. I guess they decided to leave out the fine print. Anyways, I guess I kind of broke mine in by the book. I drove it easy for 600 miles, then I let her rip. Changed the oil and filter at 3300 with AMSOIL 7500XL 10W-30 (petroleum based group III oil) and a Honda PCX-15400-004 filter, and then changed the oil again at 7500 miles with MaxLife syn 10W-30 (another petroleum based group III oil) and Honda filter. All's well at 46K miles for me. Zero consumption (if you have any consumption with an AP2, it's unusual), and all oils I've tried so far work well. I'm using GC with 3 ozs of ARX right now.

I think Spitfire's theories are very plausible, and should be considered. He is also very knowledgeable as a S2000 powertrain mechanic. I don't think you can stump him with an issue!
 
Thanks for the help guys.
My track day looks as if it might be moved to mid July (track not ready). This is good news for me. I hit 600 miles today and got some Vtec time in. Now I guess I have to decide between dino or synthetic change before track day. I am leaning towards dino, then Amsoil at 7k miles.
Thanks again guys.
 
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