Road Rage

I received 2 quarts today, and did some primary analysis. Usual stuff, focusing on on viscosity, as measured in centistokes, and also in the tendency to web, as well as the estimating of the lube's ability to provide fast splash lubrication.

Unless you race in temperate climates, I would not recommend this. It's viscosity at 40 deg C is very thick, and it tends to stay on the gears with little splash until it gets quite hot - great for racing diffs. Remember that splash lubrication is less important for racing diffs, which usually have pumped lubrication and forced external cooling.

The tendency of the lube to stay on the gears means there is appreciably less oil in the "sump" of the differential available to cool by heat transfer, so if you decide to use it, I would overfill by at least .25 quarts - easy with this molasses.

I will say that it surely does provide heavy shock resistance, so if you like to do clutch drops at 6-9k on hot days this could be your cup of tea.

The stock Honda fluid is above average in viscosity - it appears to be a straight 90w. That is hard to source, but as a mineral oil it does provide better high temp protection than 75w or 80w-90 mineral gear oils, which can shear down significantly.

Recommendations?

For fair weather drivers in climates where it does not go much lower than 10degF, and who drive moderately until the car is warm:

I think I would go with either Red Line 75w140 or Amsoil Series 2000 75w140. It flows freely at low temps, provides plenty of splash lubrication, and provides much higher hi-temp protrection than that a 90w or a multi-vis 90w (75/80).

For people in very cold climates, with daily drivers, and who like to get in and gun:

Red Line or Amsoil S2K in 75w90.

I have 3 quarts in the lab freezer right now:
RL 75w90, Amsoil s2K 75w140, and Shockproof. Temperature will be about 5degF. I will follow up with cold weather impressions.
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I got the lubes down to about 8degF.
The Shockproof was very thick and stuck like bubble-gum to anything I put it on - it really did not even move off of a Phillips screwdriver tip (my makeshift "gear") until it hit about room temperature. I personally would not use this in temps below 55 deg or so - in my personal car, which gets driven only a little bit in the winter, I would go with the Amsoil S2K 75W140 or 75w90. The 140 will keep the diff noise much lower.

The Amsoil 75w140 thickened but still provided adequate flow, although in temps this low I would give it several minutes to loosen up a bit.

The RL 75w90 of course flowed readily.

krazik

I absolutely don't recomend the Shockproof HW for low temps. Especially anything below freezing. But in the cold mornings so long as you let the car and diff warm up, the diff is always going to run much hotter than ambient temps.

I'd stick to my claim tho that for non freezing temperatures the SPHW works great. We're all hard on our diffs in all but the laziest of daily driving. Every launch, hard shift, etc., Especially those running more than stock HP. The SPHW fluid takes this abuse very well and will give you more life out of your diff.

If your just a average driver who takes good care of your driveline, doesn't drive too hard or shift to hard the 75W90 or (75W140? - First time I've seen it recomeneded) might be better.

Anyhow, Road Rage thanks for the info. I love real data.

BTW: I have a bottle of the SP LightWeight sitting around I'll send to you if you want to check it out in your lab freezer. It was sent to me on accident from my supplier.

Prolene

Thanks, RR, for the info. Fwiw, RamJet put in 75w-140 after I had them put in the 4.77s.

Voodoo_S2K

Thanks for the info

Road Rage

Glad to help. Krazik, we agree on the usefulness, but limited usefulness, of the SPHW. I think the 75w140 is a good overall strategy, esp. if you had an emergency in really cold weather and had to get going.

I had tested (oil analysis) the Amsoil Series 2000 engine oil (ya gotta love the name, right), and it is state of the art. It has very high TBN, high anti-wear additives, and is a true synthetic using PAO base stocks. The S2K gear oils likely are also made to a high standard. Plus, they are amber and resemble the stock fluid, so there is no issue about warranty claims.

I tend to agree with XViper that a slight overfill is usually all plus, no downside. In a contained system like a diff, extra fluid gives extra cooling capability, as well as full coverage even in sharp corners at speed. Just shoot in a coupla extra squirts and plug the filler fast.

In the tranny, not really needed since there is forced pumping. And overfill in the engine is of course not recommended, due to windage losses and possibility of foaming. All lubes have silicones in them to reduce or eliminate foaming, but foam is essentially a non-lubricant, and should be avoided.

Thanks for the offer to send me some other lube types, but I think we should stick with mainstream products, and I am scratching my head trying to understand the applicability of a low vis shockproof oil that somehow would eclipse the gear oils that mfr's base their designs on - a bit dicey in my book.

For example, the Mustang forums for the 2003 Cobra had a lot of web experts saying "Tremec recommends GM's Syncromesh", but I checked to TTC's website, talked to one of the engineers at an SAE convention, and got a hold of the parts/rebuild instructions - all said use Dexron III (Mercon V) ATF. I had tried MTL in there, and it was not good - went to a synthetic ATF. Plus, as I have reported elsewhere, there is some evidence of premature syncrho block wear on trannies using MTL on the Cobras - while it is fun and often necessary to second guess the lube and mechanical engineers, and while it is also true that some lubricants are selected for low-cost and easy of availability, it is also certainly true that often, what the factory recommends is a good overall strategy.

The really cool thing is that great advances have been made in mineral oil products, and modern mineral engine oils are uniformly excellent. The real advantange of synoils is in the drivetrain where the lower fluid friction and high pumpability can make a difference in gas mileage, and in extended drain intervals.

spider

Very helpful info. Thanks.

E30M3

Don't forget that the SP oil has solid particles in it which are the "secret" that help absorb the shock loads. They gradually get smaller and smaller as they experience the shocks until they are effectively out of the picture. In some cases in about 500 miles! I'd regard the SP stuff as a race only lubricant unless you're a masochist for diff oil changes.

Stan

xviper

You've confirmed what my first impressions were of the Shockproof in regards to: "Boy, is this stuff THICK!" I will be finished my evaluation period of this diff oil long before winter gets here, than goodness.

Road Rage

[QUOTE]Originally posted by E30M3
[B]Don't forget that the SP oil has solid particles in it which are the "secret" that help absorb the shock loads.

Voodoo_S2K

Why, are only large conglomerates allowed to achieve breakthroughs?