Honda manual trans & motorcycle oil?

[brian]

I have not read about anyone trying motorcycle oil in the transmission. When I talked to TooSlick he seemed to think it would be a worthwhile test. I am curious if anyone here has tried Mobil 10w-40 motorcycle oil? If not, I guess I will be the first! -brain

 

[LarryL]

Are you talking about Honda standard transmissions that use 5w-30 or 10w-30 engine oil?

 

[brian]

Yes, as the subject says I'm going to try in Honda manual transmission. Back in the late 1980's they allowed 10w-30, 10w-40, or even 20w-40. SG rated oil. Motorcycle oil is frequently ratee SG or SH. -brian

 

[MolaKule]

Motor oils are not opitimized for manual transmissions in terms of viscosity (thickness) nor for synchro engagement (friction modification). Try our MTL-P instead.

 

[LarryL]

I've been running Mobil 1 5w-30 in my 84 Honda five speed manual since new. At around 250k miles, or so, I replace all the bearings and seals because of noise, but the gears and syncros looked like brand new. I'm over 375k miles and the transmission works great, no noise, and it shifts great. But the 5w-30 engine oil is Honda's spec for this transmission, I just run the synthetic because it's just a few bucks more and you run it for a long, long time. I just hope it's doing a better job, but since I only have one Honda, I'll never know for sure.

 

[TooSlick]

Brian, I was thinking the new Amsoil 10w-40 Motorcycle oil would be good in these honda transaxles, so I think you're on the right track.... Ted

 

[brian]

How is the "new" 10w-40 motorcycle oil different than the "old" ? Is it still the same as the regular 10w-40 with just a different label? -brian

 

[Bror Jace]

I ran Mobil 1 10W-30 for a brief time in my '90 Integra's tranny. Shifting was noticeably worse than the old factory fill which had something like 30,-40,000 miles on it. I blame the coefficient of friction. Dumped the Mobil 1 quickly in favor of Red Line MTL and never looked back. --- Bror Jace

 

[Jimbo]

Friction modified oils are generally a bad idea for manual transmissions and this fact is not understood by the general public and most mechanics. The motorcyle formula motor oils are not friction modified, like the regular "energy conserving" motor oils due to the wet clutches in motorcycles. I use Redline MTL in a transmission that specifies Dexron ATF and it shifts better.