UK S2000 Viscosity discrepancies !

[robertcope]

Completely agree regarding 0W-30 and 5W-30. Some believe that the 10W-30 recommendation is for shear stability, which makes sense in the context of oil from the era. These things burn a lot of oil, so perhaps there is a NOACK advantage, too? Either way, modern oils are better and probably not an issue in either of those areas.

I believe the manual is the same everywhere, but I could be wrong. What I understand is that it was Honda UK that recommended 5W-40, not "Honda, Inc". It's interesting how differently the "branches" of a brand operate. Honda UK recalled early motors to refit piston squirters, while in the USA we didn't get that recall. The theory there is that the old squirters are fine for typical US duty cycles which are lighter than the UK. Who knows how much truth there is to it.

robert

 

[Garak]

It certainly could be the same specification everywhere, particularly for such a specialized vehicle. For the shear stability and so forth, I'd have as much confidence in an A3/B4 oil as a 10w-30 ILSAC, too. And yes, each country's OEM has their own little things they do differently than other countries. Here, for instance, Infiniti/Nissan barely push the ester oil, thanks to prohibitive cost.

 

[garlicbreadman]

for the f20 engine, i would put 50/50 5w-30 and 5w-40 to give you something in between. Those engines burn oil so a thicker oil would slow down consumption and keep it quieter.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
0w-30 is what I ran in mine. It did just fine in southern Bavaria.

Would I be correct in guessing that was an A3/B4 0w-30, rather than an ILSAC 0w-30?

In any case, for the OP, I would be comfortable with any A3/B4 lubricant, and you'll find them in 0w-30, 5w-30, 5w-40, 0w-40, and even other grades. They'll all have a minimum HTHS of 3.5, which would be the likely intention of the 40 grade called for in the manual.


I believe it would have been an A3/B4. It was some time ago. I used a Fuchs Öl for one change and Castrol for another. Sold the vehicle shortly after that - got an offer from an air force guy I couldn't turn down.

 

[Garak]

That makes sense. There probably wasn't a lot of Castrol 0w-30 ILSAC stuff floating around there.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: garlicbreadman
for the f20 engine, i would put 50/50 5w-30 and 5w-40 to give you something in between. Those engines burn oil so a thicker oil would slow down consumption and keep it quieter.



Or one could just run a Euro 0w-30/5w-30 and end up with an oil in that range and not have to worry about their "rigged up" product not meeting the performance levels of each of the individual ones.

 

[RationalRussian]

It is a non internally modified S2K im assuming, my vote is for mobil 1 0-40. A thin 40 weight with a stout additive package, higher zddp levels to give you peace of mind while chasing that 9k redline. My two cents.

 

[Sipha]

Originally Posted By: RationalRussian
It is a non internally modified S2K im assuming, my vote is for mobil 1 0-40. A thin 40 weight with a stout additive package, higher zddp levels to give you peace of mind while chasing that 9k redline. My two cents.


Yes a standard S2000. Thanks for the advice, however I'm leaning towards the Redline 5w30 as it's a thicker oil than most 5w30's almost like a 5w40 which is recommended in the UK. I like the additive package and the fact it's a true Group V ester.

Thoughts?

 

[biodiesel]

Originally Posted By: Sipha
Originally Posted By: RationalRussian
It is a non internally modified S2K im assuming, my vote is for mobil 1 0-40. A thin 40 weight with a stout additive package, higher zddp levels to give you peace of mind while chasing that 9k redline. My two cents.


Yes a standard S2000. Thanks for the advice, however I'm leaning towards the Redline 5w30 as it's a thicker oil than most 5w30's almost like a 5w40 which is recommended in the UK. I like the additive package and the fact it's a true Group V ester.

Thoughts?


You can't go wrong with either one. I would personally go with the M1 0W40 but that's only because I can get it at Chinamart with the current rebate and end up with 5 qts for around $12. Considering Redline 0W30 and/or 5W40 runs about $12 for a single quart it makes M1 the no brainer option.

Seeing as though you're in the UK just compare pricing. If you can get the Redline for a price similar to M1 then by all means go with the Redline.

 

[Sipha]

Within reason price isn't an issue I just want what's best for the engine.

The other option is Castrol Edge Titanium FST 5W40. It's cheaper but probably inferior?

 

[Olas]

Originally Posted By: Sipha
Within reason price isn't an issue I just want what's best for the engine.

The other option is Castrol Edge Titanium FST 5W40. It's cheaper but probably inferior?


You get what you pay for, and Redline is more spendy than Castrol

 

[Shannow]

And I'd dare say that Castrol has a vastly better understanding of how lubricants work than Redline, and have run more, and wider range of tests.

Edge 5W30 A3/B4 has an HTHS of 3.6, so meets the OPs requirements perfectly IMO.

 

[Sipha]

Redline 5w30 is £78.00 ($110.38) for 5.7 litres
Castrol Edge Titanium FST 5W40 is £62.05 ($87.82) for 6 litres.

Worth the extra £16 for Redline?

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
And I'd dare say that Castrol has a vastly better understanding of how lubricants work than Redline, and have run more, and wider range of tests.

Edge 5W30 A3/B4 has an HTHS of 3.6, so meets the OPs requirements perfectly IMO.

If there is Castrol Edge 10W30 with HTHS of 3.6 or higher then it is a better choice then Edge 5W30. The main reason is lower NOACK. otherwise Edge 5W30 with 3.6 HTHS would be good in F20 engine. Consider that this engine can redline at 9,000 RPM at any gear, including 6th if there is enough room on Autobahn.

The 2 used oil analysis for my 2004 S2000 showed the viscosity had been sheared down by about 1.0 after only 4-4.5k miles. If I do the full 7.5k OCI then it may shear down by 2 cSt. Even with thinner oil the wear metals were pretty low at no more than 1 PPM for 1,000 miles.

I will use higher HTHS in my S2000 for next oil change, probably no less than 3.5.

Honda didn't do very good job in selecting oil for S2000 for the first 5 years from 1999 to 2003, they recommended only dino 10W30 for all climate and everywhere. Only 2004 they added 5W40 and only for colder climate below 0F.

Honda clearly avoided using the word "Synthetic" in their oil recommendation, but everybody know that there wasn't and is no dino 5W40. From my experience/opinion I think Honda should recommends an oil with no lower HTHS of 3.5 for both F20C and F22C.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
And I'd dare say that Castrol has a vastly better understanding of how lubricants work than Redline, and have run more, and wider range of tests.

Edge 5W30 A3/B4 has an HTHS of 3.6, so meets the OPs requirements perfectly IMO.


Not only that but the Castrol and Mobil products have actually passed the extensive OEM testing regimens to achieve approval.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Sipha
Yes a standard S2000. Thanks for the advice, however I'm leaning towards the Redline 5w30 as it's a thicker oil than most 5w30's almost like a 5w40 which is recommended in the UK. I like the additive package and the fact it's a true Group V ester.

That would be suitable, but perhaps costly. Any A3/B4 would satisfy the notion of being thicker than an ILSAC 5w-30 or ILSAC 10w-30.

 

[Olas]

Redline 5w30 is 3.8HTHTS and it won't shear with heat or fuel.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Redline 5w30 is 3.8HTHTS and it won't shear with heat or fuel.


seriously, fuel won't change it's viscosity ?

How does that work ?

 

[bobbydavro]

0W-40 are not recommended, i personally think they cause TCT rattling in these due to the base oil thickness.

Im not sure what Redline will give you over other brands in this application.

On hard driven cars they do dilute a little so a 5W-40 gives you a bit more robustness against viscosity drop.

The car will happily run on a 2.9 HTHS oil with normal use. but remember most engine failures on these are low oil level induced and result in scored bored or spun bearings.

 

[bobbydavro]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Redline 5w30 is 3.8HTHTS and it won't shear with heat or fuel.


The fact it is a high HTHS suggests to me that it will shear as its being propped up with a decent amount of VM to get that sort of number. Fuel doesnt shear, it dilutes.