A couple VOA's for those interested... the BMW MTF is not the OEM one from the dealer, but a Pentosin that is sold for that application & said to meet OE specs. The GM Synchromesh is the official GM parts version (non-FM).
VOAs: BMW MTF-LT-2 & GM Synchromesh
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Holy MAGNESIUM Batman!!
MolaKule
Staff member
The Pentosin stuff looks like and has a viscosity and additive package of a DexronIII/Mercon ATF.
I'm curious, What's the difference in shift feel of these two.
I'm curious, What's the difference in shift feel of these two.
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Originally Posted By: MolaKule
The Pentosin stuff looks like and has a viscosity and additive package of a DexronIII/Mercon ATF.
I'm curious, What's the difference in shift feel of these two.
I need to try the Synchromesh again now that it's warmer outside to give it a better rating on shift feel. If I had to give them a brief rating:
-Pentosin/BMW MTF-LT-2: shift feel is pretty good overall. Just a tad notchier than Redline D4, but close. This stuff supposedly will last more miles than the Redline, which I may not have believed before, but after my D4 stuff feeling bad after 2 track events I decided to try it. Also the Redline stuff would fall off at the track when it got hot, and shifts would get real notchy until I let the trans cool down a bit.
-GM Synchromesh: shift feel was good overall, but it felt a bit thick in my trans. At least when it was cooler out and took some time to warm up... But I never did get the "nasty-notch" like my Tremec TR-6060 trans tends to do with most ATF's. I may try this fluid again, before my next track event and see how it does when it heats up.
Problem is I really need to do 2 or 3 changes to get most of the oil fluid out as there's a pump, lines & cooler that hold around a quart of oil.
The Pentosin stuff looks like and has a viscosity and additive package of a DexronIII/Mercon ATF.
I'm curious, What's the difference in shift feel of these two.
I need to try the Synchromesh again now that it's warmer outside to give it a better rating on shift feel. If I had to give them a brief rating:
-Pentosin/BMW MTF-LT-2: shift feel is pretty good overall. Just a tad notchier than Redline D4, but close. This stuff supposedly will last more miles than the Redline, which I may not have believed before, but after my D4 stuff feeling bad after 2 track events I decided to try it. Also the Redline stuff would fall off at the track when it got hot, and shifts would get real notchy until I let the trans cool down a bit.
-GM Synchromesh: shift feel was good overall, but it felt a bit thick in my trans. At least when it was cooler out and took some time to warm up... But I never did get the "nasty-notch" like my Tremec TR-6060 trans tends to do with most ATF's. I may try this fluid again, before my next track event and see how it does when it heats up.
Problem is I really need to do 2 or 3 changes to get most of the oil fluid out as there's a pump, lines & cooler that hold around a quart of oil.
MolaKule
Staff member
Well of course, the GM synchromesh IS thicker, about 2.4 cSt thicker than the Pentosin ATF.
But the GM synchromesh does appear to have a better AW/EP additive package.
But the GM synchromesh does appear to have a better AW/EP additive package.
Right, and that extra thickness is part of what scared me away from running it long term, especially when the car was new and everything was tight. Also Tremec was telling me it had to have fairly thin fluid.
However, now that things are broken in, it might offer just the extra bit of viscosity needed to help at the track when things get hot & the ATF's don't do so well. Especially with the better AW/EP pkg. I'll just need to be more cautious when doing cold shifts for a few blocks, but that's not much different than it was with the stock crude ATF. I'm going to give it another try & will post the results after a few weeks of running in.
However, now that things are broken in, it might offer just the extra bit of viscosity needed to help at the track when things get hot & the ATF's don't do so well. Especially with the better AW/EP pkg. I'll just need to be more cautious when doing cold shifts for a few blocks, but that's not much different than it was with the stock crude ATF. I'm going to give it another try & will post the results after a few weeks of running in.
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
The Pentosin stuff looks like and has a viscosity and additive package of a DexronIII/Mercon ATF.
I'm curious, What's the difference in shift feel of these two.
After doing 2 oil changes to get most of the old fluid out of the cooler, pump & lines, I ran the Synchromesh fluid for about 1200 miles and 2 track days. Overall it does NOT seem to work as well as the thinner ATF fluids in the Tremec TR-6060, but did have a couple positive qualities.
BAD: Long warm up required and overall it's harder to shift and takes longer to engage the next gear.
GOOD: Once real warm to hot, it worked pretty well & gave positive shifts (except for a slight notch into 3rd, which may just be my trans as other fluids have done this too). Also it never tried to grind when going into any gear, which some ATF's have done.
Guess it's back to the drawing board to see if I can find a better fluid for my Z06... so far, Redline D4 seemed to work well, but had a short life & didn't shift great when hot. Overall, I think the factory Texaco/Havoline/Chevron Dexron-3 ATF felt just as good as anything else, which might mean this trans just sucks for shift speed & feel.
The Pentosin stuff looks like and has a viscosity and additive package of a DexronIII/Mercon ATF.
I'm curious, What's the difference in shift feel of these two.
After doing 2 oil changes to get most of the old fluid out of the cooler, pump & lines, I ran the Synchromesh fluid for about 1200 miles and 2 track days. Overall it does NOT seem to work as well as the thinner ATF fluids in the Tremec TR-6060, but did have a couple positive qualities.
BAD: Long warm up required and overall it's harder to shift and takes longer to engage the next gear.
GOOD: Once real warm to hot, it worked pretty well & gave positive shifts (except for a slight notch into 3rd, which may just be my trans as other fluids have done this too). Also it never tried to grind when going into any gear, which some ATF's have done.
Guess it's back to the drawing board to see if I can find a better fluid for my Z06... so far, Redline D4 seemed to work well, but had a short life & didn't shift great when hot. Overall, I think the factory Texaco/Havoline/Chevron Dexron-3 ATF felt just as good as anything else, which might mean this trans just sucks for shift speed & feel.
Sorry I broke the link to the original images... here's they are again:
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