Install the Syn 75-90 Penrite, cold shifts are smoother and once its warm the shifts are still good.
the wong noise is like 2/10 basically saying you have to listen very hard to hear it!.
Also another not the LSD seems to be working better now, coming out of corners the front stays in line when it used to spin up and wash wide.
Ok just to give you a quick round up of what ive done and now im happy with my results.
Brought new car with crappy gear changes and gearbox wine. Changed unknown gear oil to vmx 80. Liked the change and thought it made a huge differemce + cold starts were now pretty close to normal or what they should be anyway. Then after doing some reaserch and talking to some people i was told i put the wrong oil in and i should have the penrite stuff as its what mazda suggests. So after 2 months i dropped the oil and changed to penrite SYN 75 90.
I wish i hadnt it was clear the next morning how much harder it was to change gears when it was cold and i was so dissapointed. BUT once the gearbox warmed up after about 20mins of diving the gearchanges were really nice but the gearbox wine / diff wine was noticably louder. So at this point i felt like a bit of an idiot for putting the penrite in and wished i hadnt but was going to put up with it for a few thoused ks to see if it would get anybetter.
I then put in a heavier gear knob and SSP.I also added solid shifter bushes. the short shifts felt nice but my crunching gears became more noticable and cold starts even harder.
After a bit i took the ssp off and changed back to VMX 80 and now .... finally I LOVE IT
The heavy TWR gear knob and VMX 80 finally ended up being the best combination that has solved most of my problem and now changing gears is sooooo much easier and less gear wine as well. Cold starts are finally managable again and i feel much happier driving my car now.
VMX 80 + Solid shifter bushes + TWR Weighted Gear knob + Rear engine mount = fix gearbox shifting issues as much as possible
Sorry for long post but i thought id share my experience with it all. Hope this helps
Last edited by mazda3mps; 02-11-2011 at 10:25 AM.
Where did you purchase it from ????
I purchase the MTF gear oil and LSD additive from Serco the Australia distributor of Torco oils
http://www.serco.com.au/
Brand: Penrite
Type / Viscosity: SIN 75w90 - GL5
Vehicle : 2008 Mazda 3 MPS
K’s on vehicle at time of change: 45K
Oil change number: 1
“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: N/A
Comments: Not worried about wong wong, but I certainly wasnt 100% happy with the way my gearbox shifted until i put this stuff in. The difference is like night/day. Shifts are easy (as they should be).
Have only just put this oil in and taken it for a 30 km run but with plenty of shifting, and it feels alot better already. The gear stick just seems to slot into gear much easier.
Last edited by EX-XR6T; 18-12-2011 at 11:49 AM.
A quick addition to my previous comments, took the car for another run and Reverse is alot easier to find now (In a good way). I recommend changing the Gearbox oil as one of the first things to do with your MPS if your not feeling the love with your box
Update - 18-12-11. Have decided to change the oil to the Castrol mineral VMX-M due to the shifts not performing as id like, and this works even better than the Penrite. Ive done 1000+ kms with it in (about 600kms more than what ive done with the penrite in).
Im not sure if this is due to the Penrite i put in being GL5, but the GL4 VMX is noticeably better again. I dont mind it being mineral is i plan to do regular changes and at only a cost of $42 for 4lts its a good buy.
Last edited by EX-XR6T; 18-12-2011 at 11:51 AM.
Read this entire thread.
It seems as though what works for some doesn't work for others and it's highly confusing to get a definite answer.
My summary is
Gen 2: VMX80
Gen 1: Penrite SIN 75W90 (recommended by one Mazda delaer although some unhappy) or Castrol VMX-M (some prefer over SIN and reocmmended by Mazda) or Redline MT90 (however, seems to be noisy and give large woong woong factor)
Am i right? Going to go have a look around at lunch time and see whats avail. From a price point it seems castrol cheapest, then penrite, then redline - so maybe it's best to start cheaper as there seems to be nothing against the vmx-m and work up from there.
AMS oils
Transfer/rear diff - SAE 8OW-90 SYN GEAR LUBE GL-5/MT-1 5LTR, Lubrication Management - Australian Amsoil Importer 5lt - $90 x 1
Gearbox - SAE 75W-90 SYN MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND TRANSAXLE GEAR LUBE 0.946, Lubrication Management - Australian Amsoil Importer - .946lt = $27.00 x 3, need 2.55lt
Engine
0w-30 - SAE 0W-30 100% SYN MOTOR OIL 3.78LTR, Lubrication Management - Australian Amsoil Importer - 3.78lt = $68.00, need x2
10w-40 - SAE 10W-40 PREMIUM PROTECTION SYN MOTOR OIL 3.78LTR, Lubrication Management - Australian Amsoil Importer - 3.78lt = $68.00, need x2
05 VR 6 MPS LUXURY - WHATS STOCK????
Winner of Most modified @ Smokeys car meet
UP an coming events: Winton Track day 17th December
Remember pay by the 16th of November and get free lunch and drinks on day
Next install: New Head, ARP Studs, Upgraded VVT, BSD, Mazdaspeed Coil Cover, Injector seals + studs
Redline in my transfer case/diff and fully synthetic nulon fast flowing 10w40 for engine.
Noticed a slight difference in getting it into gear.
there's a reason why AMS is some of the best oils, just look at their 1200+whp evo chuck nulon in that and see how long it last , i run nulon in mine atm but as soon as i get my engine forged up and a new gearbox AMS all the way
I've just browsed the Penrite Lubricants website and the recommended gear oil for a Gen 1 3MPS says it's "Not suitable for Limited-Slip Differentials". I think that might be a typo. The Recommended for Gen 1 is 75w-90 and the Gen 2 is 75w-80.
Strange this recommendation would be, but I can verify that Penrite produce great lubricants, and are locally made also (just 10 mins drive down the road from where I live). They often provide a greater level of protection for the applications due to better blending processes and developed with local conditions in mind.
Talking to anyone at Penrite, they don't give you BS about their product, they just give you the facts. Vehicles old or new, they can recommend a product suitable for the needs.
Car: MPS 3 Gen 1
Oil Brand: Redline
Type / Viscosity: MT90
K’s on vehicle at time of change: ~44k
Oil change number: 1
“Woong Woong” Factor out of 10: 3 (same as stock oil)
Comments: I'm wasn't concerned about the wong noise, though it would've been nice if the new oil quietened it down. However the shifts are definately smoother. My stock oil wasn't that bad in terms of shifting, but this is another level of smoothness. Shifting while cold is not a problem (wasnt on stock oil either). I've yet to see how the oil is when very warm as the stock oil had problems shifting in 3rd when the oil was warm with high revs.
Car: MPS 3 Gen 2
Oil Brand: Castrol
Type / Viscosity: VMX80W (this replaces the old VMX80)
K’s on vehicle at time of change: ~67K
Oil change number: 2
“Wong Wong” Factor out of 10: 10 (no traces)
Comments: Experienced the nise at around the 65K mark, lived with it then it started to give me the shits. First attempt was using AMSOIL MTG90 (75W90), the noise increased. Within 1 week replaced with Castrol VMX80W, noise gone. Gear shift is like running a hot knife thru butter
Is the Penrite SIN 75W90 or VMX-M suitable for MPS 6? Currently running MT90 still a bit of wong wong..
Last edited by dazza; 18-12-2012 at 09:45 AM.
'05 6 MPS | BNR S3 | JBR 3.5" Intake | Corksport Airbox | CP-E 3.25" TMIC | M2 DP | CP-E CBE | CP-E/TT Diff Mounts | Autotech HPFP Internals | JBR REM, PMM, TMM | SURE Shortcut | SURE Countershift | SURE Anchors | Denso ITV22s | JBR TIGs | EGR Delete | Coolant Bypass | PTP Inj Seals | MD OCC | H&R Springs | Bilstein B8 Shocks | Car-LED Tails | Badgeless Grille | 6000k HIDs | OZ Ultraleggera 18x8 +48
Maybe vmx80