Gernby

Except for a '90 Honda Civic SI, that I totalled after only 9 months and 16K miles, I have kept all of my cars till they had well over 100K miles (130K - '82 280ZX, 120K - '86 Honda Civic SI, 140K - '91 Acura Integra, 149K - '93 Lincoln Mark VIII). I hope to be able to do the same with this one. I think that the wear and tear on this engine would be significantly reduced if it had a pre-luber to pump oil for a period of time before AND after the engine is run. A step better than that would be a pre-luber combined with a remote start that could allow the engine to warm up for a minute before leaving the garage.

marcucci

The engine will see wear for all of 10-20 seconds during startup, if that. I think it is horribly minute when compared to the racing you will be doing. What oil filter and oil do you use? That is probably of much greater concern... I would also recommend an oil temp gauge so you can be sure the oil is at an optimal temp (you may need a cooler) and I would also suggest a baffled oil pan.

Gernby

Initially, I was thinking about wear during startup, but after reading that the pre-luber will continue circulating oil after the engine is shut off, I think that would be an even bigger bonus. Imagine coming off of the track after a 25 minute lap session, and just cutting the engine off. Don't you think that it would be much better for the whole system if the oil continued circulating for a couple minutes after the engine stops?

I use Mobil 1 10W-30, with a Bosch "Premium" filter. I would like to have an oil temp guage, but I don't know how to integrate it into the OEM cluster of guages without screwing up the look of my "daily driver". The temp of my oil filter was 176 degrees F at extended idle, and went up to 202 degrees F after a drive. What temp is TOO hot?

Doesn't the S2000 already have a baffled oil pan?

cdelena

I have not considered the luber or these mods.. help me understand.

- All reports of oil temps at the track indicate temps stabilizing in the 250F range which is well within the norm for high quality oil. I expect mine is the same give or take a little.. why would I want to change anything?

- The engine has a full baffle plate that separates the sump from the crank. The baffled oil pans seem to do little beyond damping oil movement a little and funneling dollars to Japan. What will it do for me?

- My only experience with auxiliary oil pumps is to cool turbo bearings so the preluber is new to me. Since any engine I have kept and maintained has had good friction surfaces for as long as I needed them (120K miles max) what do you think this would buy me?

marcucci

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gernby
[B]Initially, I was thinking about wear during startup, but after reading that the pre-luber will continue circulating oil after the engine is shut off, I think that would be an even bigger bonus.

Gernby

My S2000 is my daily driver. I have no desire to start cutting holes in my dash board to mount guages that will only provide usefull information for the 1st track session. After that, I may never look at the guage again, but I would really pay for the modification when I sell the car. A pre-luber would have a 1 time cost, a few hours of effort, a long-time benefit (arguable), and a bonus when the car is sold (arguable). I don't see any comparison between the two modifications.

Gernby

I guess my whole concern about longevity primarily stems from the fact that I expect this engine to be much more sensitive to wear than the average engine. One of the S2000s that participated in our last Dyno Day dropped a significant amound of power in just a few thousand miles. If there were a bunch of S2000s out there running strong after 100K miles, I wouldn't have any concern. I have been hard on all my previous engines, and never had a single problem with any of them, but I am not expecting this engine to be so tolerant in its old age. I hope I'm wrong.

marcucci

I think you are very wrong. This engine has a much better r/s ratio of any other Honda engine made, that I'm aware of. That means greatly reduced side-loading and (hopefully) improved piston/ring/wall wear chars. Even with the increased RPMs, the engine should be under much less stress even in racing than, say, an Integra Type R. Honda pulled out all the stops trying to get this engine "right."

As for the gauge, I don't know what you're talking about- I have an a/f gauge mounted such that I can remove it in about 20 minutes and no one would be the wiser. It's "permanent" enough that even autocrossing, I don't have to worry about it going anywhere. You'll see it this weekend (if you go to the BMW event). There should be nothing "permanent" about the oil gauge.

I suspect that there will be some significant work involved in the oil pump, even if you can get a sandwich adaptor to work well. Maybe not.

Gernby

Like I said, I hope I'm wrong. I was not saying that the engine WOULDN'T last long. I said that I didn't expect it to. This has always been an assumption. However, I've always been extreme about the care and maintenance of my engines, and I've never had one with such high capabilities.

There have been so many studies about how cold starts account for anywhere from 60-95% of total engine wear (depending on what you read), so naturally, I have interest in reducing that. However, it does seem that the only downside to this is the cost. I doubt the benefit would justify the >$500 cost. I didn't realize such a device would be that expensive. I don't consider the effort to be an issue, since I enjoy projects like these.

Marcucci, Does your guage LOOK good? Would your wife find it particularly appealing to look at on the way to dinner? What is the maximum oil temp you've seen? I look forward to seeing it this weekend.

The purpose of this thread was to see what you all thought about it. I am not TELLING anyone to go do it. I appreciate everyone's feedback.

marcucci

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gernby
[B]There have been so many studies about how cold starts account for anywhere from 60-95% of total engine wear (depending on what you read), so naturally, I have interest in reducing that.