The definitive gearbox oil thread

[MattMPS3]

As Im sure many of you have seen, we have for too many gearbox oil threads, lets pool our collective knowledge and post our experiences with the various brands and viscosities of oil available.
Please use the template below (in a convenient copy and paste format) and share your experiences with the community.

If there are any areas you think I should add, or expand on please feel free to PM me.

Car:

Oil Brand:

Type / Viscosity:

K’s on vehicle at time of change:

Oil change number:

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10:

Comments:

I have included the diff woong noise factor, as it is one of the biggest areas that raises concern amongst people when this type of oil change is made, it is on a sliding scale

0 - more woongs than a Chinese phone book
10- "I cant believe its not butter" no noises and my gearbox feels smooth

I have also attached a very good read on many of the leading brands, oils were thoroughly tested to the point of failure in a variety of scenarios.


Please keep this thread to the topic at hand.


Matt.

Gear Lube White Paper.pdf

[MattMPS3]

OK I better go first,

Brand: Royal Purple

Type / Viscosity: Max Gear 75w90 - GL5

K’s on vehicle at time of change: ~25000

Oil change number: 1

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 2

Comments: Very noisy diff and gearbox, had difficulty engaging gears on cold mornings until fluid had warmed up a bit.

__________________________________________________ ____________________________

Brand: Redline

Type / Viscosity: MT90 75w90 - GL4

K’s on vehicle at time of change: ~45000

Oil change number: 2

“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 7

Comments: Much quieter than I was experiencing with the Royal Purple , shift is noticeably smoother and feels more precise.

[lup15]

think you also need to put in the template which car 3, 6 and which gen.

Sorry off topic, but anyone care to give me a ride in their car who does have the wong noise? I think I may have it, but not too sure if it is really. Im in brisbane

hopefully will turn into a resourceful thread

edit: had a quick squiz of that white paper, where can we get the amsoil oil lol

[Nexus]

Brand: Penrite
Type / Viscosity: SYN 75w90 - GL5/GL6
Vehicle : 2007 Mazda 3 MPS
K’s on vehicle at time of change: ?
Oil change number: ?
“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 10
Comments: Just right, IMO

Mazda changed oil as warranty. TOTALLY resolved cold start "wong" noise, improved gearbox feel.

[MattMPS3]

Good idea about including the make, have added it to the first post.
Its easy to replicate the noise, find somewhere quiet and do a slow full lock turn from a standstill, as the clutch packs in the diff slip they make the noise "woong woong" its not very loud, and totally harmless, but freaks people out none the less.

[lup15]

Ah ok, yea I do have that. Dont mind the noise if its harmless. I was reading the other sticky about the wong noise and it seems GL4 is better than GL5 for our boxes.

Just another suggestion to add to the template is gear shifting performance. I rather smooth gear shifts than worry about the wong noise

I'm running stock fluid, so wanting to change it out for something that performs better

[Lachlan]

Im with you there. My gearbox feels like its working on 50/50 oil & sand, so looking out for the best GL4 for tranny, but don't trust Mazda to do the right thing if I talk to them about it.

[boost]

Brand: Penrite
Type / Viscosity: SYN 75w90
Vehicle : 2007 Mazda 3 MPS
K’s on vehicle at time of change: 60k service
Oil change number: 1
“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: Quiet. Zero wong wong.
Comments: I originally asked Mazda to change the oil due to poor shifts. It is much better than the factory oil. You still have to change a little slower when the car is cold, but shifting has improved alot!

Seems to have gotten even better since I have done a few k's with it.

[Cton]

Im with you there. My gearbox feels like its working on 50/50 oil & sand, so looking out for the best GL4 for tranny, but don't trust Mazda to do the right thing if I talk to them about it.

Use castrol VMX 80. It's the proper spec for the gen 2.
Tunehouse did mine after Mazda had done it because it sucked when I got it back from Mazda.
It's perfect now!

[IceValk85]

anyone care to share their gearbox oil and diff oil choices for the MPS6?

my 2006 cruches gears when cold if im not careful and gentle, and is a general pain to shift smoothly.