Mr. Francesco

Im going to switch my oil over to mobile 1 synthetic when i get my car back. Im more of Mobile 1 person, so i rather have this in my car. my question is, which formula should i be using: green cap 10w30 or red car 15w50?

10w30 is recomended for import/european cars while the 15w50 is more for supercharged/turbo charged cars. my assumption is that i should use the 10w30 to start off, and switch over to the 15w50 once im forced induction.

can someone confirm this for me before i go and buy the oil or use the wrong stuff. thanks.

btw, any comments about mobile 1, and running synthetic oil in the s2000 are greatly appreciated. ive used the search and all i have really found out is that oil is all about preference: mobile 1, redline, castrol.

xviper

First of all, is your car broken in? How many miles on it now? Your owner's manual has a specific reference on when you should go synthetic. Some owner's have not followed the manual but since you are asking, perhaps it would be wise to follow the manual. If memory serves me correctly, that will be somewhere between 7500 and 10,000 miles. At this point, your oil consumption should have reduced and stabilized if it hasn't already done so.
FYI, I was using Mobil 1 10W30 before the supercharger and am now still using 10W30 now that the supercharger is on. I go to Mobil 1 5W30 in winter due to the extreme cold that is encountered here. I don't think it's a good idea to go with something quite as thick as 15W50 in our cars whether you are S/Cd or not. With a 9000 rpm redline (and even 8000 for the '04), the oil pressure in the high revs, even after 3 bars is reached, can be staggering. You might just blow something out. Stick to what Honda and Vortech and Comptech has recommended and don't second guess what they think is best.

craigjcoil

I am bone stock other than cold air on the engine. I use AMSOIL 10 - 30. AMSOIL is developed for HIGH perfomance engines... It holds up better under extreme conditions and only needs to be changed between 5,000 and 7,000 miles. It lubes better and has the durablility to hold up under the high revs the S puts out. Just my opinon and research. .... by the way it is rated in comparison to Mobile 1 as equal to mobiles 5- 40 due to it's superior lubracating abilities... so you can run it year round with NO internal wear... again... just my research.. do your own before you put anything in your motor...many racers swear by it..... even better than RED LINE... but everyone has there own opinion..

xviper

Amsoil is a fine product, however, it boils down to availability as it's sold only by "distributors". Where I live, there are only two such distributors (in a city of nearly 1 million people) and they are a couple of guys selling out of their homes. Whereas, Mobil 1 is available at many retail outlets. One has to weigh cost, availability and quality of product. It's not always as simple as getting the "best" stuff. Although it is "romantic" to have the "best" product, a "lessor" product may in fact, be more than good enough for a given application.

Road Rage

Mobil 1 - not Mobile!!!! The car is mobile, the oil is Mobil.

10w30 is best for moderate climates, 5w40 for high temp use; I would not go with a 15w50 as the flow and cooling rates will be affected - xviper's use of 5w30 is probably overkill even in Canada, but it can't hurt.

I am using LE 8130 10w30, but I am weird - i have insider info.

xviper, why not 5w40 year 'round? There is something to be said for sticking with one viscosity

honda606

I would definitely disagree with that based on the UOA's that have been showing up at BITOG lately. The more recent batches of AMSOIL 10W-30 clearly show their additive package is much lower than a year or two ago; honestly their almost neck and neck identical to Mobil 1's 10W-30 right now. I would consider using AMSOIL's 5W-40 "European formula" before I would use their 10W-30.

Guedo...to answer your question...there are probably some "better" alternatives to Mobil 1 but that of course would be relative and dependent on your opinion. From the research I've done Mobil 1 leans toward the thin side in viscosity, especially in their 10W-30 formulation. If I were you I would search through the thread I linked below. It will probably answer most of the questions you have. There isn't neccessarily one "best" oil for the S2000; however, RR's opinion is very well respected on the board and he has suggested Delvac 5W-40 numerous times. Perhaps you should consider giving it a try?

Oil Journals
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=195574

honda606

So you officially decided to go with the LE...how do others get this "insider info"?

How many miles do you plan to run it between changes? How much is a case through LE?

Mr. Francesco

sorry RR, im quite tired today. MOBIL 1 for now on.

Mr. Francesco

xviper, i bought my s2000 with 5,000 miles on it. i changed the oil at 6,000 @ Honda. Now she has over 7,000 on it. yes this is a very small interval to change the oil at, but i was rescently in an accident and my car will be at honda when i get it back from the body shop for an alignment.

so i figured since i want to run synthetic, now is the time since i have to take it to honda anyway. ill listen to you and run 10w30 mobil 1.

xviper

Actually, I've looked for this locally and I can't find it. If it were easily obtainable, I'd probably do exactly that.
I know for a fact that M1 10W30 will pour just fine as cold as -18*C (that's as cold as my freezer will go). But will it pour as well at -38*C? Not knowing this is the main reason I go with 5W30 in winter. If you think I'd be OK with 10W30 down to those temps, then I'll keep with it all year round. It seems to exhibit adequate oil pressure in the heat of our summers so a 40 weight may not be essential for me.