Well, I'm back after a long absence, and boy, have I got a question for you guys. After searches here I could find some answers, but not others.
The first question is, what is your opinion of the "universal" red ATFs that BG Products and Performance Plus (Safety-Kleen) offer? Their chart of specifications supposedly met by the ATF look very similar, and I wonder if the two companies use a common source. In other words, are BG's and Safety-Kleen's actually made by the same company? Compare and see:
BG ATF compatibilities
Performance Plus ATF compatibilities [see page 2]
If you look closely at the second doc, you'll see a lot of typos and formatting problems suggesting it was copied, pasted, and edited (poorly) from another source. For example, Mercedes-Benz specs appear after Mazda specs as if these were more Mazda specs, without the words "Mercedes-Benz".
Note that both claim to meet Mazda's blue FZ ATF specs.
Some of you have said in other threads that you don't see how any one product could meet all those different manufacturers' specs because of conflicts between some OEM specs and others. Makes sense.
Without getting into too much detail, let's just say I am familiar with Mazda and the Type FZ fluid, and the factory reman facility has seen several FZ (Skyactiv) transmission cores that had failed after being filled with red ATF. This was probably done at third-party shops and not at dealers, presumably using one of the two products above. It isn't certain that the red ATF caused the failure, but in my opinion it's suspicious.
The Safety-Kleen rep was recently trying to get the facility to try its universal product because it, like BG's, supposedly meets the FZ spec. The facility uses drums of Idemitsu FZ to test remanufactured units.
The second question is, what is your view of MOC Products and its blue ATF that is claimed to be FZ compatible? Here's a link:
MOC Products blue ATF
By the way, MOC claims that one of its other (red) ATFs is also FZ compatible:
MOC low-friction red ATF
Finally, I am aware that Ravenol makes a blue FZ equivalent:
Ravenol FZ ATF
Without intending to, maybe on my first post in a while I'm starting a flame war...
Edited to add:
I noticed that the boutique guys—Amsoil, Red Line, Royal Purple—do not have an FZ equivalent. Using their sites with Mazda Skyactiv models will not give a recommended ATF. This to me is significant because Amsoil's ATF years ago, before CVTs and other new products, was claimed to be universal, and it no longer is. Instead Amsoil has been offering new products for newer specs. Also, Red Line even has an ATF for Ford Type F, but not for Mazda FZ. Puts BG's and Performance Plus's claims in a new light...
The first question is, what is your opinion of the "universal" red ATFs that BG Products and Performance Plus (Safety-Kleen) offer? Their chart of specifications supposedly met by the ATF look very similar, and I wonder if the two companies use a common source. In other words, are BG's and Safety-Kleen's actually made by the same company? Compare and see:
BG ATF compatibilities
Performance Plus ATF compatibilities [see page 2]
If you look closely at the second doc, you'll see a lot of typos and formatting problems suggesting it was copied, pasted, and edited (poorly) from another source. For example, Mercedes-Benz specs appear after Mazda specs as if these were more Mazda specs, without the words "Mercedes-Benz".
Note that both claim to meet Mazda's blue FZ ATF specs.
Some of you have said in other threads that you don't see how any one product could meet all those different manufacturers' specs because of conflicts between some OEM specs and others. Makes sense.
Without getting into too much detail, let's just say I am familiar with Mazda and the Type FZ fluid, and the factory reman facility has seen several FZ (Skyactiv) transmission cores that had failed after being filled with red ATF. This was probably done at third-party shops and not at dealers, presumably using one of the two products above. It isn't certain that the red ATF caused the failure, but in my opinion it's suspicious.
The Safety-Kleen rep was recently trying to get the facility to try its universal product because it, like BG's, supposedly meets the FZ spec. The facility uses drums of Idemitsu FZ to test remanufactured units.
The second question is, what is your view of MOC Products and its blue ATF that is claimed to be FZ compatible? Here's a link:
MOC Products blue ATF
By the way, MOC claims that one of its other (red) ATFs is also FZ compatible:
MOC low-friction red ATF
Finally, I am aware that Ravenol makes a blue FZ equivalent:
Ravenol FZ ATF
Without intending to, maybe on my first post in a while I'm starting a flame war...
Edited to add:
I noticed that the boutique guys—Amsoil, Red Line, Royal Purple—do not have an FZ equivalent. Using their sites with Mazda Skyactiv models will not give a recommended ATF. This to me is significant because Amsoil's ATF years ago, before CVTs and other new products, was claimed to be universal, and it no longer is. Instead Amsoil has been offering new products for newer specs. Also, Red Line even has an ATF for Ford Type F, but not for Mazda FZ. Puts BG's and Performance Plus's claims in a new light...
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