6MT Transmission Fluid Recommendations

[Briankbot]

Apparently Toyota Motorsports is using Redline MTL according to my February 2015 copy of SportsCar, the SCCA's magazine. This is from SportsCar's street tire test at Toyota's Torrance, CA campus using FRS pro/celebrity race cars:




I will add that I have been using Redline products for about twenty years (I was 15 at the time. I'm not that old I swear!) and recently put Redline MT-90 in my transmission but have not been completely satisfied with the results. I have been planning on trying Amsoil 75-90 but may give the MTL a shot based on this info. My only concern is if using lighter weight oil than the factory recommends will affect transmission longevity.

[toby714]

i had motul 300 and switch to pentosin to give it a try. i was a little dissapointed with pentosin and gear shift in the morning still arent as smooth. shifts from 1 to 2 isnt as smooth as motul.

[venturaII]

After having my transmission out to do some warranty work on the clutch slave and t/o bearing, the dealer eventually refilled it with Toyota LV 75W GL4 gear oil (after first fucking up and refilling it with Subaru GL5 oil, and THEN forgetting to replace the fill plug...). I had to work with the parts dept to find the correct replacement fluid, but eventually they called their regional tech support line, and was told to us the LV fluid (Low Viscosity?). It's been as cold as -15F here for several mornings, and the first shift from 1st to 2nd usually has a small crunch (any transmission is going to crunch at that temp...), so I either just start in second or don't short-shift it when it's ice cold, which results in much better quality shifts. Warm weather shift quality seems fine. Not quite as buttery as the OEM fill when warm, but still shifts ok.

[N234]

Please remember that OP is looking for suggestions for a Canadian winter, not a Long Beach winter.

I cannot recommend an oil, but my second gear solution is to idle in neutral when i start the car, and stay in first gear for almost one minute as I leave my 15kmh laneway.

After this, I have no second gear issues at all. It's all about warming up that fluid, imo, because -20C is not operating temp. I don't think a different MTF will allow me to get into second gear any sooner.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by N234

Please remember that OP is looking for suggestions for a Canadian winter, not a Long Beach winter.

Not sure if you're referring to my post or not, but I don't consider -15F and 110" of snow (and it's still just February) to be Long Beach weather...

[N234]

Originally Posted by venturaII

Not sure if you're referring to my post or not, but I don't consider -15F and 110" of snow (and it's still just February) to be Long Beach weather...

I was not.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by N234

I was not.

Roger that, then.

[Lurkasaurus Rex]

Originally Posted by N234

...my second gear solution is to idle in neutral when i start the car, and stay in first gear for almost one minute as I leave my 15kmh laneway.

After this, I have no second gear issues at all. It's all about warming up that fluid, imo, because -20C is not operating temp. I don't think a different MTF will allow me to get into second gear any sooner.

^^This works for me. We hit -28 overnight here a couple weeks ago, and regularly have been seeing -5 and lower. I have a 1/4 mile drive to the road through my complex. If I start my car and idle for a minute in neutral, then slowly cruise in 1st about half way to the road, I can shift to 2nd pretty smoothly.

Side benefit - My neighbors love me for driving slowly through the complex and it keeps the noise down.

[billyk]

Originally Posted by N234

I cannot recommend an oil, but my second gear solution is to idle in neutral when i start the car, and stay in first gear for almost one minute as I leave my 15kmh laneway.

Exactly! Read my prior post in this thread and other related threads. It's actually getting that syncro spinning that you are accomplishing in that first minute of operation. Sure, the oil warms up eventually, but in the first seconds of driving, it's the syncro that you are getting going.

Not all of us have the opportunity to stay in 1st for 60 seconds, depending on streets, traffic patterns, etc. But you are right - keep it in 1st as long as you can, for me it's 5-10 seconds, and the "2nd gear issue" goes away.

Changing gear oil is a cool thing to explore to tweak your FRS to be just the way you like it. There are lots of great gear oils available to choose from. But, it's just not needed if it's primarily the "2nd gear issue" you are trying to resolve.

[billyk]

Originally Posted by Lurkasaurus Rex

^^This works for me. We hit -28 overnight here a couple weeks ago, and regularly have been seeing -5 and lower. I have a 1/4 mile drive to the road through my complex. If I start my car and idle for a minute in neutral, then slowly cruise in 1st about half way to the road, I can shift to 2nd pretty smoothly.

Side benefit - My neighbors love me for driving slowly through the complex and it keeps the noise down.

Bingo!!
Very cool.

[Xinshadow]

I'd be interested to see where each person keeps their car as well. It's been pretty cold the last few weeks in Northern IL and I can imagine there's a lot of difference in the transmission behavior simply from sitting out overnight in -10 F weather vs sitting overnight in a 35 F garage.

Since my garage always stays above freezing, I think Ill try the Motul, I've used it in previous cars and it's worked well. I notice though that FT86Speedfactory carries a normal and an LS version specifically for limited slip diffs that's a couple bucks more. Any significant differences between the two?

[continuecrushing]

Originally Posted by Xinshadow

I'd be interested to see where each person keeps their car as well. It's been pretty cold the last few weeks in Northern IL and I can imagine there's a lot of difference in the transmission behavior simply from sitting out overnight in -10 F weather vs sitting overnight in a 35 F garage.

Since my garage always stays above freezing, I think Ill try the Motul, I've used it in previous cars and it's worked well. I notice though that FT86Speedfactory carries a normal and an LS version specifically for limited slip diffs that's a couple bucks more. Any significant differences between the two?

Non-LS is what you want. The LS has additives in it that help certain limited slip differentials, but NOT our type. So you can run the LS stuff in our diff, but it won't do anything extra or better.

If you do feel you need the LS stuff for some reason, DONT put any in your transmission...rear diff only.

also, Modbargains has a 4L Motul Gear 300 kit which is all you need to change diff/trans fluid, and there is a coupon right now too!

[megamarines]

Dropped Motul 300 in my Trans just a few hours ago. Like day and night from stock stuff; shift flawlessly and is like butter.

[n8dog11914]

I was finally able to change my transmission and differential fluid this afternoon. I went with Millers 75-90 (GL4/GL5) transmission fluid. You can also use it in the differential but I already had some Subaru High Performance Gear oil laying around.

Results are very positive thus far. The shifting seems to be noticeably improved over the OE fluids. I also concur that the diff and trans drain plugs were absolutely clogged with sludge so it was nice to clean those off. I'll update the cold results later this week when a cold front moves in.

Unfortunately, after cleaning up I noticed I left off the transmission fill plug washer. Anyone had any leak issues because of this? I would think that the drain plug washer would be more important than the fill plug washer. Either way, I'll probably get under there again and put it back in.

http://performanceracingoils.com/ee-...-oil-p-87.html

Thanks,