Hello everyone and welcome in this video sponsored by Pennzoil we are going to be talking about how to break in a new
differential so this is the old original stock differential out of my s2000
and I swapped in a new differential with a different final drive ratio
so changing the amount that these gears spin when this spins to a more aggressive ratio
so that it could put down a bit more wheel torque in each gear now when you change over to some new components
and you've got new components in your differential you want to make sure
that those components last and so there are a few things that you want to keep in mind for about the first 500 miles
which you're driving so first of all I mean the obvious thing is don't be super aggressive with it
so you don't want to do hard launches. You don't want to do power shifts
you don't want to do hard down shifts for about those first 500 miles
you don't want to get super aggressive with it another thing to keep in mind is you don't want to travel super long
distances for those first new miles on that
differential so those metal
components are trying to mesh together and find that perfect fit and in doing so they'll wear off some of the hot spots
but it can create
additional heat for those you know first 500 miles or so and so you want to keep your trips relatively shorter
you know 15 20 miles or less or so?
so that that differential doesn't get too hot so if it is wearing something down
you don't just do it all in one run and get it too hot and then cause some permanent damage to the differential
instead keep the trips a little bit shorter and that will allow that thing to wear and then if it starts to get hot you're
stopped by that time and then you're wearing it down a little bit more as you continue driving later in the week etc
whatever that may be the other thing to keep in mind is if it is a truck you may not want to do heavy
towing or any towing for that matter for those first
500 miles if you can avoid it that way you're not putting too much heat into the differential not asking too much from it initially
allow those components to wear down and find a good mesh
and then worry about you know what you're gonna actually be using the vehicle for after those initial 500 miles now after those initial
500 miles you're gonna want to drain and change that oil out and
one thing that can be useful is a magnetic drain plug
and so this is actually the stock magnetic drain plug out of my s2000 some
vehicles will come with it some vehicles may not
but it's a good idea to get one of these which you can put on the bottom of the
differential and that way any of those you know minor metal shavings that are coming off from that break-in
they'll stick to this rather than continue to pass through the differential through the oil that's passing around it and you can see
looking on this one
you know there is like kind of a fine powder of metal that has kind of been grinded off from that break-in process
this does have a little about 500 miles on it this oil
so you can you can see you know that that metal has shaved off and
you know that there was some wear occurring with that differential and that's normal that's normal to see
but you don't want this metal to be passing around the gears
you'd rather just trap it and get rid of it
so you can use these magnetic drain plugs capture it clean this off and then put it back in
and so you're good to go now. I am replacing the diff oil in mine with Pennzoil Platinum. This is a full synthetic axle oil
which is API GL-5 and it has a limited-slip additive,
so it can be used with limited slip differentials, and this is
75W-140 oil and the builder actually recommended going up a bit in the viscosity the stock
differential calls for a straight 90 grade oil
this is a 75W-140 and so why might you want to go up in grade?
and if you're just using it as a daily driver, and you're not putting more power through it
you've just got a new differential, and that's it you want to go with what's recommended
but you know this differential the one put in the car has been built a little for a little bit more power
and if you're going to be putting more power through it or for example you're taking it to trackdays, autocross days, things like that a
thicker oil can help protect it more now
it's going to cause you to get worse fuel economy, and it's not going to be as efficient
but assuming you get good flow that thicker oil
will allow for more protection and part of the reason behind that the logic of that is
let's say you're putting a lot more power through that rear differential
well that means you're putting more heat into that
differential and so as you put more heat into the differential the oil of course gets hotter
now the hotter and oil gets the lower its viscosity becomes so if you start using a thicker oil
viscosity grade from the start it can get to higher temperatures and still act like the original oil grain
at a lower temperature, and so that's why I'll be putting this in I am planning on putting more power in the car
at some point in time and you know having some fun with the car
and and when you're putting that additional heat through the differential you want to make sure it's protected
so the builder recommends using this 75W-140 where you can get a bit more protection at those higher temperatures,
assuming you're actually putting more power through it now again
if you're just driving around town and not going long distances things like that not putting a huge demand on that differential the stock
recommendation is certainly the way to go
but I'm choosing to do this because I will have more power going through it
and I do hope to have some fun with it eventually so a huge
thank you to Pennzoil for sponsoring this video
and thank you guys all for watching if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.