Valvoline Maxlife ATF vs ????

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I'd say just about all off the shelf "synthetic" passenger car ATFs are about the same, Eneos is a little different since they use a base oil with a very high viscosity index and very little or no VII, which has it's advantages in making it extremely shear stable but also it has a disadvantage in extreme cold weather because it's more so a Dex/Merc and not Dex VI/Merc LV because the Brookfield at -40C is more comparable to a DEXIII/MERC than an LV fluid.
 
I'd say just about all off the shelf "synthetic" passenger car ATFs are about the same, Eneos is a little different since they use a base oil with a very high viscosity index and very little or no VII, which has it's advantages in making it extremely shear stable but also it has a disadvantage in extreme cold weather because it's more so a Dex/Merc and not Dex VI/Merc LV because the Brookfield at -40C is more comparable to a DEXIII/MERC than an LV fluid.
I live in Florida where it can get to 32 for 1 day but mostly the coldest is the low 40's.
 
Is there a better ATF for the money than Valvoline Maxlife ATF?
Is Eneos ATF any good?

For the money, as you said, it's hard to beat. I've found it to be good in vehicles requiring LV fluid (is that what you need, in fact?). I have found it to be superior to Toyota WS, for example, with less shearing. So I have and do use it without worry where appropriate.
 
I have a 2008 Nissan Titan. I have performance mods done to it too.
 
For the money, as you said, it's hard to beat. I've found it to be good in vehicles requiring LV fluid (is that what you need, in fact?). I have found it to be superior to Toyota WS, for example, with less shearing. So I have and do use it without worry where appropriate.
Does it mix well with WS? Any issues there that you know of? I'm debating whether I use Max Life for a drain and fill or just use WS.
 
Does it mix well with WS? Any issues there that you know of? I'm debating whether I use Max Life for a drain and fill or just use WS.
Yes it's fully compatible. I'd use the MaxLife and be happy. It's most compatible with WS or something like DexVI.

I've less than ideal, but not "terrible," results using it lieu of DexIII or Toyota T-IV/JWS 3309 applications.
 
Would I be better of spending more money on redline,amsoil ,royal purple ,etc?
 
Would I be better of spending more money on redline,amsoil ,royal purple ,etc?

I'm not an expert on those fluids in great detail, so someone else can contradict me. But my experience and thinking wrt that question is this:

a) I don't think a big $$ fluid is buying you much in your application unless it's very severe duty use. I did get a bunch of RP cheaply last summer and put it in my SUV. I did notice a small drop in temps (it was fairly small), and the shifting was slightly smoother than the full fill of (fresh and clean full fill with 30k miles on it) of Chevron MD3 (DexIII). I documented and posted about that last summer/fall and I'll see if I can find that thread and link it.

b) If you don't use the truck for towing in really hot weather a lot (I know you are in Fla.), I don't think I would worry that much about it. What I do for some benefit is I run an Aux. trans cooler and also add some LubeGard in my ATs. I think you'd get a lot more value out of an aux trans cooler in Fla. than big $$ fluid. A decent trans cooler is not that expensive and usually a not difficult DIY. The LubeGard has ester oil so it works well to keep crucial valve bodies clean, etc. and I use that route vs. big $$ ester synthetic fluids.

That's my thinking but there are always multiple ways to go and someone else can give a different perspective.

ETA: Here's my post from early last summer on adding about 1/2 fill of RP to my transmission. Update is I see I noted smoother shifting, but no temp change. To clarify, the temp sender is located in the test port in the transmission. That would show the fluid temp as it's leaving the valve body and give a good sample of what the temp is in the pan, as it's being measure after passing through the valve body but before hitting the torque converter or any gears or clutches.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/is-royal-purple-atf-worth-it.341747/

And again, someone else w/more experience can give a different opinion. I'm not that experienced with using those premium fluids - this was a limited experiment for me.
 
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Does it mix well with WS? Any issues there that you know of? I'm debating whether I use Max Life for a drain and fill or just use WS.
Mixes fine with WS.
Had it in a yaris 50/50 for over 30k.
Eventually flushed all the WS out.
Great ATF in almost anything.
 
What about Maxlife verses Tes-295 for a Dexron III application?
The Allison approved fluid is superior, Maxlife is essentially a Dex VI equivalent, which Allison would class as TES-389, which means it generally suitable for use the same applications that TES-295 are called for but at shorter intervals.
 
Is the an additive package within transmission fluid like there is motor oil? If there is then I would think that the better additive package would make for a better ATF. I am talking about Multi-vehicle ATF that covers a large range of vehicles/transmission types.
 
Is the an additive package within transmission fluid like there is motor oil? If there is then I would think that the better additive package would make for a better ATF. I am talking about Multi-vehicle ATF that covers a large range of vehicles/transmission types.
I tried email pqia.org about this and they didn't really help me regarding the additive packages in multi vehicle atf's
 
Can you mix multi-vehicle atf's? example -Valvoline Maxlife along with say Amsoil SS multi vehicle?
 
I have a 2008 Nissan Titan. I have performance mods done to it too.
I am no expert, but I have a couple Nissans, one with 380,000 miles on it - all my miles - and I think it has the same trans as your Titan, albeit with more HP in front of it. What I have learned is the RE5R05A trans was designed presumably for Matic J - which was a mid viscosity fluid probably pretty close to the Maxlife. Nissan shifted to Matic S in 2010, which is a much lower viscosity fluid in I believe around 2010, and said Matic S is backwards compatible.

I changed my Xterra completely to Matic S in around 2014 and have done only drain and fills since then, and with 380,000 miles it still shifts great. I also know lots of the Nissan faithful use Maxlife as well, and have good luck with it. Some have complained the shifts are stiffer with Maxlife, and imagine they are right because mine shifted smoother when I swapped it to Matic S, and my Fronty which came from the factory with S has always shifted smoother. However I think thats just preference not longevity.

Given those are two really good and well tested options, I wouldn't try to save a couple bucks using something else in your Nissan.
 
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I am no expert, but I have a couple Nissans, one with 380,000 miles on it - all my miles - and I think it has the same trans as your Titan, albeit with more HP in front of it. What I have learned is the RE5R05A trans was designed presumably for Matic J - which was a mid viscosity fluid probably pretty close to the Maxlife. Nissan shifted to Matic S in 2010, which is a much lower viscosity fluid in I believe around 2010, and said Matic S is backwards compatible.

I changed my Xterra completely to Matic S in around 2014 and have done only drain and fills since then, and with 380,000 miles it still shifts great. I also know lots of the Nissan faithful use Maxlife as well, and have good luck with it. Some have complained the shifts are stiffer with Maxlife, and imagine they are right because mine shifted smoother when I swapped it to Matic S, and my Fronty which came from the factory with S has always shifted smoother. However I think thats just preference not longevity.

Given those are two really good and well tested options, I wouldn't try to save a couple bucks using something else in your Nissan.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply back in such detail. Very cool guy you are my man!
 
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