BG CVT Fluid Conditioner

[The Critic]

We have two CVT units in the family fleet- the Nissan's Jatco transmission and the Prius's CVT w/the electric motors.

I plan to do a drain and refill on both of them when they reach the 15k mark. The Prius transaxle has had a few UOAs posted on priuschat and the reports show high wear metals even after two drain and refills. So, either this transaxle sheds a lot of metal or the WS fluid leaves a lot of room for improvement.

I plan to maintain both transmissions with frequent drain and refills to keep them in good condition. On the Prius, a drain and refill is 3.5 quarts and will remove all of the fluid. The Nissan's CVT will remove about 5 quarts which is only 40% of the capacity; a complete fluid replacement for this transmission will require flushing.

I was thinking about adding BG's new CVT Fluid Conditioner to both of these cars at the upcoming fluid change. It is supposed to boost the anti-wear performance of the existing fluid.

http://www.kansasbg.com/Complete_Set_of_Spec_and_Tech/0302.pdf
http://www.bgprod.com/blendr/labQA-CVT.html

What do you guys think?

 

[JOD]

Originally Posted By: The Critic




I was thinking about adding BG's new CVT Fluid Conditioner to both of these cars at the upcoming fluid change. It is supposed to boost the anti-wear performance of the existing fluid.

What do you guys think?


I think you should read those PDS sheets again! The "fluid conditioner" is used to turn the universal CVT fluid into one which is appropriate for a chain-drive CVT.

So, it's not appropriate for use in the Prius. I'm not sure which Nissan/Jatco transmission you have--I think some have chains and some don't, but I'm not sure.

Where CVT's are involved, I'd be more comfortable with a fluid specifically designed for the application--but that's just me.

 

[JHZR2]

May be worth a shot buy you need to baseline it to something. Is there a good body of results for say, the prius such that we can say that the average across all those will be "close enough" to indicative of your driving profile/style?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: JOD

I think you should read those PDS sheets again! The "fluid conditioner" is used to turn the universal CVT fluid into one which is appropriate for a chain-drive CVT.


That is correct, but it can also be used as a fluid supplement.

"BG Universal Synthetic CVT Fluid Conditioner can be used as a booster in all other belt-driven CVTs."

I have e-mailed BG to see what they say.

 

[1999nick]

All CVT's will not live on the same fluid. Make sure to use the fluid that is specific to your different transmissions, and follow the directions for each transmission.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: 1999nick
All CVT's will not live on the same fluid. Make sure to use the fluid that is specific to your different transmissions, and follow the directions for each transmission.


I still plan to use the correct Toyota ATF-WS for the Prius, and the Nissan NS-2 for the Altima.

 

[eljefino]

No way on a warrantied car!

 

[JOD]

Gotcha. I guess the question would be "why?". The main purpose of the conditioner is to modify the additive pack of a fluid that's not suitable and to make it suitable for use. So, what would be the possible advantage of adding this to the correct fluid, unless that fluid is somehow depleted in use? You're changing the fluid, probably on a much more aggressive schedule than recommended by the manufacturer, so I highly doubt this is the case. So, unless you subscribe to the 'more additive is always better' theory, I don't see a reason to add it.

CVT HP additives are funny beasts. Their main role is to provide friction under high pressure, not lubrication. I just don't seen any upsides to adding this to the correct fluid. I do like the idea of an early drain to get the contaminants out of there, but this just seems unnecessary at best and a bad idea at worst.