The definitive gearbox oil thread

[Roldy]

I'm pretty sure it's part of the normal series

[OzMPS747]

Ahhh ok.
Well Another up date.

Went and bought today Castrol VMX-M . Changed it over from Valvoline Dura Gear to see if there is a difference.
Still Early stages as the oil needs to settle a bit in but first impression when i drove out of my driveway the Wong came back as soon as i hook turned the wheels and i sorta thought to myself what have i done . But as i continued down the road went for a drive around the block. The wong seemed to disappear as i think the oil got to flow to the whole area of the box. Shifts feel very smooth just Like the OEM stuff, lsd working good pretty punchy under load, torque steer middle.Will see how it works on cold starts tomorrow. Ill let you know in few weeks how i go.

As i only have 1 more oil to test before i go broke lol this is ridiculous but i thought why not im picky, if im not satisfied with this then its going to be REDLINE MT90 the most expensive oil you can get.

[daoutlawz]

Dude, you're doing all of us a favor keep it up!

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk 4

[tenchu]

so what would you people say the over winner is?

[slixx]

Penrite Progear 75w85
Every single time for me

[Rayd]

I'm swapping out my redline MT-90 for nulon 75W-85 soon. Will update thread soon

[slixx]

I don't think you can ever get rid of the cold start stiffness, but I've read here that's got to do with the triple synchos

With the Penrite 75w85, I find the stiffness is limited to the first 5-6 shifts and then its becomes much smoother

[Rayd]

I don't think you can ever get rid of the cold start stiffness, but I've read here that's got to do with the triple synchos

With the Penrite 75w85, I find the stiffness is limited to the first 5-6 shifts and then its becomes much smoother

The MT-90 cured all issues I was having for the first 5000kms, then it just became so much more worse than it was previously!

I've heard that the nulon oil is good though , looking forward to changing it

[Roldy]

definitely keep me updated guys cause I am looking at doing my gearbox oil very soon, so many options to pick from haha, theres penrite, nulon or castrol in my options.

[Rayd]

Ok - first impressions of the nulon 75W-85 Smooth shift is WOW
cold shifts no problem, warm shifts even smoother! WAY better than the redline stuff i was running before, it feels like a whole new gearbox!

[slixx]

I have the Penrite 75w85 in, but that viscosity is def the way

[AzzA SP20]

I would like to add to this thread

Just changed my G'Box oil in my Gen2 over the weekend.

currently at 33000k's and by the looks of it was still the original factory oil sitting in the box.

I used Redline MT85 (75-85).

First impressions... almost locked out of first
as to be expected though... I dropped the oil, did the change, then left it for 2 days until I actually moved the car

anyways... once i started to drive it, was great

first shift from 1st to second was more of a 'notch' than a semi grind feel. second to third like butter (2nd shift), 3rd back to 2nd was just another 'notch' no grind. then after that all shifts were happy days!
Reverse is easy to slide into, and reverse to First is super quick and smooth.

3rd to 4th, 4th to 5th and 5th to 6th all also have a large improvement

LSD seems more sorted out with this oil too

very happy with this oil so far... I am a big redline fan and have always gone back to their products in our other cars.
In all our other cars we have used royal P, amsoil, Nulon, Penrite, Castrol, and the US castrol. Everytime we always switch back to Redline MT.

One thing I will add... it tends not to last quite as long as other brands.
i.e. 25000k's is fairly normal for the oil to start loosing its ability, we have found that the redline stuff looses its ability about 5K sooner than other oils... but for the increased shifting feel and smoothness its worth it.

Redline stuff has also proven to be much better on the track on our other cars too, tends not to 'foam' like alot of the others have.

[projectrracing]

I always shift throught the gears before I start on of my cars. Double brass synchos in a hypoid gearbox with clutch plate lsd, 180,000km old/worn. no one fluid works best. But just doing the shifting process before start up means I dont have to fight the gear stick while reversing out of the garage. Which is normally your first 2 changes of a drive.

[OzMPS747]

Hi All

Writing an update about my ultimate oil search.

Well i changed out the Valvoline 75-85 as it wasn't exactly 100% rating around a 7-10
Then i changed over to Fuchs 75-90 to try thought to myself German engineered oil should be good. Again it was about a 7-10 with some grinding 2-3 gear.
Dumped that and i went a bit thicker thinking it will stop the grinding used Fuchs 80-90 what it said on their Lube guide was a 8-10 still grind a bit once and a while. Went to Mazda Service guys had no clue telling me the synchros are gone and box might need a rebuild also he said to use 80 and 75-90 grade i was thinking to myself tell me something i didn't know people there useless. Box is good as never had a problem when i bought the car few months ago and the original oil was smooth done 60k service at a workshop and since then its never been the same. Drove my mates s2 mps no problem gears smooth azz. Mine were like that . Could be my engine mount went but not sure how to tell if it did. If theres anyone in syd that could have a look at the car maybe give me some advice id greatly appreciate it.

Also after the Fuchs 80-90 which was a 8-10 when really hot really buttery but to get there took some time. I got frustrated so went back to reading forums again and from my research and testing i concluded it down to 3 oils
VMX-80
Redline T90
Redline 85

Now i changed back to vmx80 now seems to be a 8.5-10 cold good gear good and you still get the clunk sound 2nd and 3rd ( occassionally) if you know what i mean its on other forums. Overall will give some time might adjust more.
I dont want shifter kits or weights as the STD feel is fine for me and never needed to be adjusted. before i done my 60k service.

Anyone had experience with the redline stuff as i havent used it before?? or know of a oil that has excellent shift feel??

[lovecolt]

Could just jack up the car and duck under the car to look at your rear mount. It's quite easily recognized if its stuffed or not. And more than likely, it is due to your rear mount.

[lovecolt]

Question: At repco's Penrite computer, it said MPS3 takes 2.5L of GB oil. But from what i have seen on threads, people seems to be using a tiny bit more than 2.5L (stop till overflow method)

So, should i go ahead and change the GB oil with just 2.5L (even if its didn't overflow)????

[SP23HO]

I recently drained 2.6L out of my gearbox.

Refilled bout 2.7L.

I think my mechanic said that because its jacked up on a angle it didn't overflow like previously suggested.

We went by measurement instead.

[Robmps]

Question: At repco's Penrite computer, it said MPS3 takes 2.5L of GB oil. But from what i have seen on threads, people seems to be using a tiny bit more than 2.5L (stop till overflow method)

So, should i go ahead and change the GB oil with just 2.5L (even if its didn't overflow)????

Mine took 2.8 liters

[GibbA]

Yeah mine was a bit under 3 quart, did the fill until it runs out the level kind of job.

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[OzMPS747]

yeah takes around 2.7 for mine. Also i wanted to know has anyone on the forum used redline MT90 or MT85 because i finally got to change mine again to MT90 as ive been through so many different oils. I get great gear feel no grind or notch but i get wong noise with Mt90 can other users confirm they have it to with this oil. Do i need to add a slip addictive something to make it quiet didnt have it with VMX80. Shifts feel better then castrol but if i can get rid of the wong noise then id be a perfect OEM replacement according to my research and tests. Done some reading and alot of people recomend the MT85 is spot on but no mention if they get wong noise?? They recon its a newer and better blend with addictive s then MT90 alot of Subarus and Evos use it u think be good in out gearboxes??

I would appreciate some feedback for a Fellow MPS