s2000 oil choices 0w30 5w30 10w30 full synth?

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fuzzysig

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i have read some posts here and seems like theres one guy that actually tested the 0w30 in his s2000
and if i go on any other forum and ask people look at me funny like i asked a forbidden question... OEM FTW BRUH. honda knows better. if honda blah blah etc... no real answers.

so far ive seen aftermarked transmission fluid perform better in the j series transmissions
and b series transmissions.
and personally seen benefits of using 0w30 instead of 5w30 in few cars with rod knock( that actually went away after switching to 0w30 synth)



but in the case of s2000 it seems more complicated.
many say that honda did it for a specific reason
others say i think here that at the time s2000 was released they didnt have a better option in 5w30 so they went with the 10w30 due to the quality of oil


but now theres teh full synth 0w30 it seems like amsoil is true synthetic
and some mobil1 are also true synth but then i read that some later mobil1 is not true synth anymore and actually a blend of some [censored] i forgot what it was..


this one they sell at walmart is it still full synthetic or also a blend?

 
lol i donno. busy with driving boring [censored] sedans that cant break 15seconds
 
then theres another thing i see on forums is that true?

Quote:
The issue with some off the shelf 0W30's is that they're designed more for energy conservation at any temp. So they'll likely be on the "light" side of 30 when warmed up.

5W30 is kind of the same way. They're all usually designed on the thin side of 30.

Castrol Edge 0W30 is one exception, though. If you can find it at your autoparts store...use that. Its actually synthetic, and it retains viscosity at operating temp better than Edge 10W30. Amazon sells it as well


im stressing out because its cold and i see alot of people saying the s2000 motor is very picky when it comes to oil and that many of them blow up because of incorrect oil used(which im assuming incorrect weight like 10w-40 or something).
but i dont know if they are just parroting eachother or actually speaking from experience
 
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Originally Posted By: fuzzysig
then theres another thing i see on forums is that true?

Quote:
The issue with some off the shelf 0W30's is that they're designed more for energy conservation at any temp. So they'll likely be on the "light" side of 30 when warmed up.

5W30 is kind of the same way. They're all usually designed on the thin side of 30.

Castrol Edge 0W30 is one exception, though. If you can find it at your autoparts store...use that. Its actually synthetic, and it retains viscosity at operating temp better than Edge 10W30. Amazon sells it as well


im stressing out because its cold and i see alot of people saying the s2000 motor is very picky when it comes to oil and that many of them blow up because of incorrect oil used(which im assuming incorrect weight like 10w-40 or something).
but i dont know if they are just parroting eachother or actually speaking from experience


If you live on the Wet Side in Washington you can run your car on 5w-30 or 10w-30 all year and you will never have a problem. On the dry side 5w-30 will be good all year. Life is too short to worry about non problems.
 
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People run all kinds of things in the S2000. Most enthusiasts seem to stick to a 10W-30. I run Red Line 10W-30 in my NSX and S2000. I've also run M1 0W-40. My S2K has 189K miles on it and still runs strong.

No doubt s2ki.com will have more data specific to the S2000.
 
Great car, enjoy it. I was sent to California for a few years and lived in corporate housing where you couldn't do any major car work, so I bought an early S2000 to enjoy...drove it all over the state. It was probably the best all around and easiest to live with fun car I've had.

I used Redline 5w-40 as that is an allowed weight and, if I remember, it was the recommended eight outside of North America. Given the output of that engine, I felt more comfortable with a heavier oil. Honda lists only 10w-30 and 5w-40 in the US owners manual (at least the 2001 manual I still have), so I would certainly not go lower w/ 0w or 5w-30.
 
For the S200, I'd use Castrol Edge 0w30 or perhaps a synthetic HDEO like Rotella T6 5w30 or Delo 400 LE 5w30

But any synthetic 0/5/10w30 will give you no problems
smile.gif


The oil you pictured at Walmart is a full synthetic
thumbsup2.gif
 
Oils shearing is not that big of a problem in oils of today. The viscosity index improver polymers are extremely shear resistant. Also, base oils are becoming better with higher viscosity indexes, so less VIIs are needed. 0W-30 and 5W-30 oils are higher quality than a 10W-30. For your S2000, I would use a synthetic 5W-30 that meets a Honda and an ACEA specification. Mobil 1 0W-30 is also excellent in the cold.
 
I live in South Florida and have a 2004, turbocharged S2000. (Inline Pro stage one kit) I clearly get the best results with M1, 15W-50. I purchased the car with the turbo already installed and the initial oil was 10W-30 Amsoil, which clearly did not hold up all that well to the abuse. I'm sorry I don't have the UOA results handy, but they were not great. The 15W-50 is far better.

As far as M1 not being "full synthetic" forget ALL about that nonsense and remember it's a product very well engineered for a particular task. M1, 10W-30 has a LOWER pour point than the other synthetics, and has excellent HTHS.

FWIW, I get the best UOA results with M1, 10W-30 in my small fleet of Ford F150's. (4.6L, 5.4L and 3.5EB)
 
15W-50 would be too thick for a stock application. With a turbo, there are higher temperatures and pressures, so that oil is great. For a stock S2000, though, any 0W/5W/10W-30 that meets the specifications will work fine.
 
Also, any "full synthetic" oil is a blend between group III synthetic base oils, PAOs, and a little bit of esters. Some may be all group III, and some will have some PAOs and esters blended in.
 
The S2000 engine is not like any of the other Honda engines. I've had my S for 8 years now and have put 137k miles on it in the most demanding conditions, from -7F to 118F going up and down roads with 26% grades. We have done 700 mile day drives with a lot of that time over 4500 rpm's. No way I would run a 0/30(or 10/30) in my S, I've seen to many engines go south in high heat situations even with the Honda recommended 10/30 oil. You need film strength when the heat comes to keep the pistons from scoring the cylinder walls or losing a bearing.

I run M1 oil, but take a look at the cSt of these M1 oils
0/30 AFE 11@100 63@40
0/40 FS 13@100 71@40
10/30 10@100 63@40
10/40 HM 16@100 107@40
my mix of two M1 oils
16@100 109@40 so my mix has about the same viscosity of the 10/40 HM oil that I use to run(I will not run a SN oil in my S).
My mix has a high detergent and anti-wear package to help my S engine last till my wife and I are to old to get in or out of it.

Not to many know how to rebuild this engine and new blocks are getting scarce as hades(can't say the other H word) to find, so if you lose your engine your looking at finding a good used one and even those are getting hard to find. So take care of the one you have.

I would rather have a oil that was a little to thick when cold(let the S warm up for 45 sec to 1 min) than have a oil that got to thin when I wanted to have some fun and lose an engine.

ROD
 
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