RedLine 75W80 In The Mazda

[SF0059]

This last weekend I changed the MT gear oil in the Mazda. I had about 9k miles on the car at the time.

You might ask why I would do this on a new car. Well, the Aisin manual in the car has a reputation for being notchy, especially into 2nd, so I thought I would try to smooth it out. I filled it with 6 oz of LubeGard Gear Fluid Supplement and 1.6 quarts of RedLine 75w80 synthetic. RedLine is one of the few premium brands to make that weight of gear oil, which is why I chose it so I could stay within warranty spec.

I'm glad I did it, because when I drained the old oil it was still translucent, but it had a bunch of metal flake in it from breaking in. The result was that the car does shift much smoother. 2nd is still a little finicky, but much less so. I will say, I wish I had gone with Liqui-Moly Ceratec as the friction modifier instead of LubeGard. I plan on changing this again in about 30k miles (one year of my commute) and I will probably use Ceratec and see if that makes much of a difference.

Once the car is out of warranty at 120k, I will probably switch to the less economy-minded 75w90

Props to RedLine, they make some killer gear oil.

 

[stockrex]

I used redline in my rx-7s, shifted good.
Why switch, redline is a only few $$$ more.

 

[SF0059]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
I used redline in my rx-7s, shifted good.
Why switch, redline is a only few $$$ more.


Sorry, how I phrased it was confusing. I'm going to stick with RedLine but replace the LubeGard with another product, probably Ceratec.

 

[Olas]

DO NOT use any additives, only redline MTL.

Manual gearboxes use GL4 which NEEDS friction for the syncro rings to match up to the speed of the next gear.
By using any kind of additive or friction modifier you will make the shift quality worse.

GL4 only! No adds!!

 

[panthermike]

Nice that it smoothed it out, RL products are top of the line. I would say from my own experience though, before stopping the Lubegard, give it some time first. I put the gear supplement along with plain 80w90 in my old '77 F250 manual trans and it got smoother with a little bit of time. Left it like that for three years and it still is in there(although I don't have it anymore). I'm getting ready to swap the FF diff fluid in the Ram and am going with RL 75w140 and the LG yellow.

Plus, I would think Ceratec might be too much in this application? Although I'm no expert on the subject. You could also just use RL and be fine. I love those Mazda 6's by the way, great cars!

 

[MolaKule]

Quote:
I will say, I wish I had gone with Liqui-Moly Ceratec as the friction modifier instead of LubeGard.


I would not add any Aftermarket anything to MTF since it already contains the proper amount of friction modifier additives.

Aftermarket additives of any kind will Compete with the friction modifiers contained in the MTF.

 

[4wd]

That MTL pictured - is that the one that subs for GM Synchromesh ?
I need to change transfer case and want to step up from AC Delco.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Adding moly might make your gears crunch during shifting. You don't want it too slick,like the other poster said,you need some friction in there to make the synchronizers work properly.

 

[mightymousetech]

Use MTL in both the BMW and Civic. Good stuff. Takes a while before it feels really good though. And agree with no additives. Use the Redline as is.

 

[CT8]

MTL works great do not add junk to the oil.

 

[eagle23]

IDK if this will apply to your Mazda, but when I had my 2007 Miata, I also changed to the Redline oil, same weight as yours as I recall.

It did make quite a difference in the notchy feeling, though I have understood that Mazda designed the gearbox in the Miata to feel like a worn XKE Jag gearbox, to replicate that old sports car feeling. They did accomplish that.

FWIW in your future gear oil changes, see if the Ford gear lube of the same weight can be used in your Mazda. I don't recall the specs, but had read on Miata sites that it was even better than RL. I had to try it

and I think got it on Amazon.

It's a lot more expensive, like $20/quart but the Miata only needed two quarts.

WOW! Not exactly silky, but almost, and an improvement still over the RL, for which I still have immense respect.

HTH

 

[Fsharp]

The Lubegard is probably fine, but it's an ester additive and redline is already ester based so it's a little redundant. Definitely no moly or ceratec in there.

 

[Greggy_D]

I have to say, in my Mazda 3's MT I preferred Amsoil's fluid over Redline's.

 

[SF0059]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
That MTL pictured - is that the one that subs for GM Synchromesh ?
I need to change transfer case and want to step up from AC Delco.


I'm honestly not sure. Maybe check RedLine's website?

Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
I have to say, in my Mazda 3's MT I preferred Amsoil's fluid over Redline's.


I would have considered Amsoil if they made a 75w80. For the time being I want to stick with warranty spec.

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Adding moly might make your gears crunch during shifting. You don't want it too slick,like the other poster said,you need some friction in there to make the synchronizers work properly.


I'm definitely not adding Moly to the MT. Liqui-Moly's Ceratec (ceramic formula) is recommended in transmission applications. That is the only thing I would use.

Originally Posted By: CT8
MTL works great do not add junk to the oil.


I usually reject all additives unless they are made by Liqui-Moly or Lubegard. I find that they always do what they claim to and they are well-engineered. My decision to try LubeGard in this application is based off the incredible difference their ATF Red formula made in other applications I have used it in. I understand your aversion to it... that is OK.

I'll update this thread later on. Hopefully, it will smooth out with time.

Thanks for all the feeback guys!

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Quote:
I will say, I wish I had gone with Liqui-Moly Ceratec as the friction modifier instead of LubeGard.


I would not add any Aftermarket anything to MTF since it already contains the proper amount of friction modifier additives.

Aftermarket additives of any kind will Compete with the friction modifiers contained in the MTF.


What they said....

And based on my experience the shifting will get better as you drive and shift.

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted By: SF0059
Originally Posted By: 4WD


I'm definitely not adding Moly to the MT. Liqui-Moly's Ceratec (ceramic formula) is recommended in transmission applications. That is the only thing I would use.

MTL works great do not add junk to the oil.


...I usually reject all additives unless they are made by Liqui-Moly or Lubegard. I find that they always do what they claim to and they are well-engineered. My decision to try LubeGard in this application is based off the incredible difference their ATF Red formula made in other applications I have used it in. I understand your aversion to it... that is OK.



It is not an aversion.

Being a formulator AND a gearhead, the recommendations and warnings given by myself and others are based on years of testing of many formulations and MT teardowns.

Will LiquiMoly replace your synchro assembly because the Ceratec particles have interfered with the MTF's friction modifier and resulted in accelerated wear? I doubt it.

 

[4wd]

MolaKule: Where did I write that ? I'm not for additives that defeat additives in anything - Just asked about a Redline sub for synchromesh in transfer case - then found it via Google - got some on eBay ... no plans for additives...

 

[badtlc]

Unless something has changed recently, that Mazda MTX is designed and made by Mazda, not Aisin. The current MTX should be one of the two skyactiv MTXs developed by mazda back in 2011 timeframe.

I had one in my skyactiv Mazda3. Great MTX. MTL worked wonderful.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: eagle23
IDK if this will apply to your Mazda, but when I had my 2007 Miata, I also changed to the Redline oil, same weight as yours as I recall.

It did make quite a difference in the notchy feeling, though I have understood that Mazda designed the gearbox in the Miata to feel like a worn XKE Jag gearbox, to replicate that old sports car feeling. They did accomplish that.

FWIW in your future gear oil changes, see if the Ford gear lube of the same weight can be used in your Mazda. I don't recall the specs, but had read on Miata sites that it was even better than RL. I had to try it

and I think got it on Amazon.

It's a lot more expensive, like $20/quart but the Miata only needed two quarts.

WOW! Not exactly silky, but almost, and an improvement still over the RL, for which I still have immense respect.

HTH


The ford oil is too thick. stay away.

 

[SF0059]

Originally Posted By: badtlc
Unless something has changed recently, that Mazda MTX is designed and made by Mazda, not Aisin. The current MTX should be one of the two skyactiv MTXs developed by mazda back in 2011 timeframe.

I had one in my skyactiv Mazda3. Great MTX. MTL worked wonderful.


It appears you are correct, it is made in house, not by Aisin. Thanks for the correction!