Will, so there have been no UOA's done on Elf oil?

 

Resolute (or anyone else),

Have you ever seen any test results from gear oils? I was thinking about changing my differential oil, and wasn't sure if there is a specific brand I should go with or stay away from.
thanks.

Andrew

 

No one has done any UOA's with Elf oils, or their Total counterparts. Stuff is pretty rare.

As far as gear oils- I have been wanting to do a write up on gear oils, chemistry, and classes for some time. There are UOA's to be had on gear oils, but they are hard to do on your own since they are left in service for so long.

For a differential oil, I would highly recommend Motul Gear300. I have seen several independent tests, one of which was done by the SW Research Institute and is proprietary to the company that funded it, that Motul makes a great gear oil in terms of wear protection, oxidative stability, and shear strength. They have a good product there.

For the 6MT, it's a bit harder. I know exactly what oil I would run in my own gearbox, but it is impossible to find in the US. The problem is, we need a GL-4 oil, and that's a bit tricky. Aside from the old issue of copper corrosion from EP additives that some cheaper gear oils use to get GL-5 certified, GL-4 oils are spec'd primarily for the amount of FM in the oil. (friction modifiers). GL-5 oils are designed to minimize friction and thus are great for beveled gears such as the diff. But transmissions with synchros need to be able to carry the rotational energy for proper engagement. To do this they need friction in the oil to keep synchro speed up during shifting, so that energy can be transferred effectively from one gear to the next through the synchro. This si the biggest case against GL-5 oils in our tranny. Shifting will suck compared to a good GL-4. Which one to use that is available? Tough call. I would personally say Redline MTL mix. But I'm curious about Motylgear. It's a blend, but I think it's more GL-4 than GL-5 applicable, which is the opposite of how Motul's Gear300 leans. Silkolene Pro SRG 75 I'm really curious about, but that stuff is pricey.

Will

 

thanks for the info Will.....

I just ordered a couple quarts of the Motul Gear300. it should be here tomorrow or Friday for this weekend's project.

 

Amsoil 75w-90 API GL-4 synth in gear box and Amsoil's severe gear synth 75w-90 in diff is what I've been running for ~15K so far.
No uoa's, but noticed smoother shifts in my gearbox with Amsoil's GL-4 than Nissan's oem GL-4.

 

I don't think Amsoil makes a product that isn't going to be a good choice. I've never used their stuff, but I have seen nothing but good data for all of their products available for the Z. I wouldn't hesitate to use their gear oil if I was an Amsoil customer.

Will

 

^

 

woo hoooo i was able to find some 0w30 castrol syntec euro formula at a local autozone.

i think you edited the oils you started suggesting out of your initial post though?
about what should the OCI be for my girl's Z? 5k easy? 6k easy?

i would search through this whole thread but man, i'm getting old LOL


edit: i'm also using the Mobil M-110 filter. it's basically an elongated version of the stock one. more oil capacity/filtration, and i'm guessing slightly less oil pressure. anyone see a problem with using that filter?

 

6k is good for the oil, and that's the same M1 filter I use.

Will

 

Here's my Second Test with M1 0W40 with 3000 miles. Resolute mention that Iron tend to be high with M1 0w40 and my second test seem got a bit higher than before. The only change I can think of is this mileage are taken during the winter. I have extended the mileage from 2500 to 3000miles and also I have driven the car much harder during the winter season not to mention it had 20 Dyno Pulls when I had my Water/Meth Installed for a minor tune.

I'm not sure if I should be concern with the Iron #'s but I might switch to Rotella just to see if it makes a difference.

I forgot:
I have a Single Turbo on Stock Block with 25K miles on the motor right now.

 

I responded in the FI thread about this, since you're boosted. But, for those who won't see it,

The iron is high.

The critical metals are your lead, copper, and chromium, and they all look very good here, with low levels of wear. Especially for a FI engine. The oil also didn't shear and is the same grade as when new. It held up well.

But, the iron is high. This isn't critical and nothing to worry about. However, you might get the same great protection of the bearings and rings as you have here, with another oil that will also reduce your iron wear. Try the M1 TDT 5W-40 or the Rotella T-Syn 5W-40 that QuadCam has been running.

Will

 

Thanks, very helpful as usual.

 

Will,

I changed my diff oil this week. You forgot to mention how bad that Motul Gear300 oil smells. That stuff is powerful. I just cracked open the bottle to look at it and immediately closed the bottle. my kitchen smelled like GEar300 for the next 2 days.

 

LOL, yeah, it's all the sulfur additive they use. Most gear oils contain a good amount of it.

Will

 

I'm getting ready to do my 30K miles and I'm planning to change my diff oil. I was just going to use what ever Nissan uses so should I use Gear300 instead?

 

I bought the Gear300 from Resolute's recommendation. I haven't seen much info on it, though. I figured it was time for a gear oil change though. 40,000 miles is enough! I didn't have too many shavings on the magnetic drain plug, so I imagine the gears are in pretty good shape.

 

ENEOS just released gear oil in the US. Im curious as to how it will compare to the Motul. I will be trying this in my car and seeing how it hold up. Any way to compare the ENEOS to Motul without analyzing it after 30k miles? I would love to see some results much sooner then this.

I will have UOAs available for the ENEOS 0w50 and 5w40 oil here shortly. So far its looking good but I need another analysis back to compare.

 

For what its worth to anyone I am seeing about 1-2% decrease in fuel consumption with Amsoil in the driveline of both cars here. Shifting is noticably easier than RL or RP as well.

 

^ Interesting. I run Amsoil in drive-lines. Will keep note of that and see if same results with me...thanx.
Agree with the easier shifts. Very noticeable compared to Nissan's oem oil.

 

You guys need not to go crazy over all these Blackstone results. Too many variables involved and to few studies to conclusive decide one oil is better than the next. The little advantage on has over the other does not mean the data is statistically significant. Someone one should do a large controlled study...haha.