POLL: Redline or Neo?!?!?

[Guest bastaad525]

Okay guys... getting ready to change up to 'the good stuff' in my transmission. Now... I have heard many great things about Redline Shockproof Gear Oil here on these forums, quite a few cases of trannies that were balky, stiff, or were grinding, then this stuff added made the tranny feel like new again. Or trannies putting up with a lot more abuse than one would think possible, but the Redline keeps them in great condition.

 

Well... the local performance place here (Upgrade Motoring, I know a few of you guys know Glen there) only carries Neo sythetics. Now, Glen has nothing but high praise to give for the Neo products, and says he feels Neo is better than Redline. Apparently a lot of tuner shops in Japan swear by Neo (including favorite Nissan tuner Jun).

 

So... before I go spend $40-50 or whatever on some gear oil, I wanted to ask around on here and see what you guys think, and, though I've already heard of Redline experiences as mentioned above, I haven't really heard from anyone who's used Neo, so if you've used Neo please chime in with details about how it performed for you...

 

My tranny IS starting to get a little hard to shift into third... I think the 300ft lbs of torque and my crappy shifting might be starting to take it's toll, so I'm HOPING that the stories about 'the good stuff' smoothing trannies out and helping them to last much longer under abusive driving.

[Tony D]

B,

Your poll doesnt have enough options!

 

First Shockproof is NOT for transmissions. Usually the MTL is what people use.

I have it in one car.

I have Neo in another.

Royal Purple in another.

I have AMSOIL in a fourth!

 

What I have found is that for my VW and Corvair, (which have had AMSOIL in them for going on 25 years now!!!) it works fine. I took the Amsoil out of the VW Bus because I convinced myself that since it wasn't 45 below zero anymore, I would not need synthetics to even get it into gear and moving in the morning. But after three hours of 75mph+ driving and the reduction gear boxes started making noises like they were locking up due to the 140Wt Dino oil breaking down.... Back in went the Amsoil.

Same for the Corvair. It shifts easily without the clutch using Amsoil, and it was recommended by the Corvair crowd during the 70's, so that is the way I went.

 

For the Z, it's been an amalgam of what I can find universally. I drive them cross country, and regional availability for a refill is not great with AMSOIL unless you can get the local dealer on the phone. I have to say, I have had great luck with that, and in some cases they have DELIVERED TO AN INTERSTATE REST AREA... But since I feel kinda guilty waking a guy up at 7am on a Sunday morning because my car took a dump on the road in BFE, I now use other synthetics.

 

The Royal Purple was put in the dify of a car while I was in Michigan, and it was the only FULL synthetic they stocked ANYWHERE....

 

The Redline is in my all the trannies.

 

The Neo is in two trannies, and when I go racing at Bonneville their water-like 0-140 is what is in the diffy.

 

What I have found is that FULL synthetics are what makes a difference. BLENDS are a waste of money. I would NOT recommend Valvoline "Synthetic Blend" specifically because of problems I had in a STOCK car during enduro events. I switched to a Castrol Synthetic (oh shite! Put THAT ONE ON THE LIST TOO!) in Mobile Alabama and all the problems went away, and has been running in that car ever since (Diffy Temps got to over 350 degrees! Melted the plastic plug off the top of the diffy!)

 

Whatever you get, make sure it's for the specific APPLICATION you are intending (I don't think Shockproof is intended for Transmission Service, only differentials), and make sure it's a TRUE full synthetic---the ones you mention in your survey are all full synthetics, but there are posuers out there and you really have to be careful!

[Synlubes]

Amsoil 75w-90 gear lube.

 

Here`s a link

[Guest bastaad525]

sorry Tony you're right the MTL is the stuff I'd need.

 

And you hit the nail on the head with the cold weather thing... since I work at night, driving late at night and then home early in the morning, it's VERY cold out sometimes (well as cold as it gets in SoCal, 40-50* F sometimes) and at those times it's really hard to shift the tranny until it warms up. This is one of the main reasons I want to go synthetic, actually, as this morning was a really chilly one and the tranny was stiffer than usual... no california-rolling thru stop signs for me since once in neutral I couldn't get it back into first w/o coming to complete stop... well or double clutching but then it made a loud CLANK when it went in.

 

 

I know a lot of guys here do recommend Amsoil, but again you hit the nail on the head with one of the main reasons I haven't really looked at Amsoil and that is that I really tend to avoid products, ANY products, that I can't just walk into a store and buy. I'm also really bad about ever wanting to order ANYTHING that needs to be shipped (though I know there are probably some Amsoil dealers near me who I could pick up from or that would deliver, so that example is not really aimed at the amsoil). I've always been like that.

 

Then again, honestly until now I'd never heard any of the 'miracle' stories about amsoil like I had heard about the redline, so that's another reason I hadn't even considered it.

 

But from what you're saying, I could expect a difference with ANY fully synthetic gear lube then? Will they really help especially with this problem the trans has when cold? Or am I aiming a little too high with my expectations in general?

[Synlubes]

I know a lot of guys here do recommend Amsoil' date=' but again you hit the nail on the head with one of the main reasons I haven't really looked at Amsoil and that is that I really tend to avoid products, ANY products, that I can't just walk into a store and buy. I'm also really bad about ever wanting to order ANYTHING that needs to be shipped (though I know there are probably some Amsoil dealers near me who I could pick up from or that would deliver, so that example is not really aimed at the amsoil). I've always been like that.

 

Then again, honestly until now I'd never heard any of the 'miracle' stories about amsoil like I had heard about the redline, so that's another reason I hadn't even considered it.[/quote']

 

You could easily solve one of these issues (availability) by becoming a dealer yourself for free (though the month of April)(see my website for details). Then you could always have what you need and not worry about trying to find it!

Unfortunately, there are no Amsoil distribution centers in California.

Las Vegas or Portland, Oregon would be your options.

 

If you would check your local yellow pages or business listings, I’m sure there is a local retail outlet close to you.

 

If you have any questions let me know.

[Guest bastaad525]

huh... I didn't even know you could get Amsoil at any retail place.

 

I'll give you amsoil guys one thing... you guys are almost religious about the stuff and 'spreading the word'. It either must be THAT good or there is some serious profit sharing going on!

[Tony D]

sorry Tony you're right the MTL is the stuff I'd need.

 

And you hit the nail on the head with the cold weather thing... since I work at night' date=' driving late at night and then home early in the morning, it's VERY cold out sometimes (well as cold as it gets in SoCal, 40-50* F sometimes) and at those times it's really hard to shift the tranny until it warms up. [/quote']

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! You DO realize that in Michigan I am talking about temperatures almost ONE HUNDRED DEGREES COLDER than you are having shifting problems at?

 

You can't begin to fathoom what even 85W gear lube feels like at those temperatures. There is so much glop in the gearbox that with the clutch engaged and even in "N" the starter will draw so much current you can burn it out trying to turn the engine over! I used to have to hold the gearshift lever against the synchro block in first and second while at high idle for almost five minutes to force enough heat into the tranny to be able to shift from first to second.

I would have to start the engine in reverse, back out, kill the engine, put it in first, restart it, then hope it went into second when I shifted!

 

Then would drive along a city street in second gear for quite a while before trying to get on the main road to work and try shifting into third!

 

With synthetics it was get in and go!

 

The odd thing was I had a gas heater in the thing, and I could drive to work and do all this work in a T-Shirt. I always laughed at everyone who used to say "VW's Have no heat" while they drove to work wearing downfilled parkas and drinking steaming coffee with a touque on their head and mittens, and I was in the "sub-zero on it's side" driving to work with my parka on the SEAT, drinking a Mountian Dew with ICE in it, and laughing...

 

Ahhhh, my blood was thicker then...

 

Anyway, there ARE some Amsoil dealers in LA, but I really haven't contacted any of them. Most people who use it end up becoming dealers---semi MLM.

 

But usually you use it, and are sold on it.

[Synlubes]

huh... I didn't even know you could get Amsoil at any retail place.

 

I'll give you amsoil guys one thing... you guys are almost religious about the stuff and 'spreading the word'. It either must be THAT good or there is some serious profit sharing going on!

 

You won’t find Amsoil in the "big retail outlets", but places like repair/speed shops, smaller auto parts outlets, etc as well as local dealers.

Amsoil Inc. relies on the 100`s of 1000`s of dealers to get the products out there.

It is "That Good" and yes you can make some honest money.

I have used Amsoil since 1980 and became a dealer in 1986.

Amsoil Inc. pioneered the synthetics industry back in 1972, all the others followed the leader.

[Tony D]

I have to agree with Synlubes. I work in an industry where my opportunity to sell this to customers would be a conflict of interest, so I have stayed out of it.

 

But I have used it about as long, and had I not gone overseas from 84 to 89, I most likely would have become a dealer back in Michigan.

 

Now that I'm here, servicing my fleet keeps me busy, and I may still do that.

 

When I started, Amsoil was THE synthetic. And they didn't cut corners. They are not a 'Big' player in bulk lubricants per-se. But in the Niche they pioneered, they have a sterling reputation.

 

This stuff came straight out of the Military Aircraft Industry work in the 60's.

[Guest bastaad525]

Tony - yeah I figured you were talking about *real* cold weather... compared to 90% of the rest of the country CA never gets cold at all. Which is why it baffles me that my trans reacts so badly in what is really only mild weather (50* + or - )... it really is a pain to shift when it's cold, the synchros feel like they're just out on break. I really hope that synthetic will help this problem.

 

 

About Amsoil, well I have heard so many positive stories (and yeah a few negative ones) about Amsoil that I do believe it must be a good product. Were there a place I could just walk in and buy it I probably would give a shot, though how I would quantify just how good it is I don't know. What I'm skeptical of (and really, skeptical is even too harsh of a word here) is just... how it compares to other more common and more touted brands. Not saying I expect it to be any worse, but more that, I just wonder if it's really so much better, to go thru any extra trouble to get my hands on some. I expect that Mobil 1, Redline and Neo are probably all comparable products. And at least two of those (I still haven't figured out where to get Redline!) are readily available to me.

 

 

I'm gonna be changing out the tranny oil tommorow, will probably go with the Neo since a guy up the street is selling it and the price is very good. Or if I can find a place selling Redline easily enough... then I'll go with that for now. What viscosity should I get for just a stock Nissan 5 speed? 75w-90 okay?

 

At some point I probably will try Amsoil for myself... especially if the Neo or Redline helps at all.... I'd like to try other synthetics when I do my regular changes and see if any produce any better 'feel'.

[Guest bastaad525]

Threw some Redline 75w-90 MTL in there two days ago... so far so good. Well... sorta... I'm still getting some notchiness when I try to downshift into 3rd gear rapidly, even though I always revmatch when I do... sometimes get a little clunk or have to push a bit harder to get it in.

 

 

The upside, overall the tranny does feel markedly better, smoother, easier to put into 1st, MUCH easier to shift or put into nuetral w/o using the clutch. And best of all, it was MUCH better yesterday morning when it was cold. It was pretty chilly out (talking CA chilly again), but right from the get go the tranny was shifting like it was already fully warmed up, no more clunkiness, no more having to force it into 1st gear. So, worth the money to me, and anyways it was way cheaper than I thought... total for 3 qrts of the MTL and the labor to put it in was $45... less than I used to pay Jiffy Lube to change the trans oil and put in whatever low-dollar lube they use back when I didn't know any better.....

[RB26powered74zcar]

I've used Redline in my trans, and in my diff. You can get it thru Summit or Jegs, delivered to your door.

 

I would love to try the Amsoil, but its the locating it that has kept me from it...

[Guest bastaad525]

Just walked into the local PAW here they had it in stock... I KNEW some shop had to have it, finally got smart and checked Redlines website and they listed what all shops carry it.

[Synlubes]

I've used Redline in my trans' date=' and in my diff. You can get it thru Summit or Jegs, delivered to your door.

 

I would love to try the Amsoil, but its the locating it that has kept me from it...[/quote']

 

I hear this lot, the fact that you can’t walk into your local store and buy Amsoil products.

That sounds like a big time opportunity to me! You can change that!

If you want it and can’t find it locally, think about the others with the same issue.

Over 20 years ago I had these same issues, where to find Amsoil Products?

I became a dealer and solved my problem!

Thank about it, you order other products and have them shipped because you can’t get them locally. So what’s the difference?

If you want Amsoil products, I’ll ship product right to your door.

But I will tell you that you can save money by signing up. You can save your signup costs on your first order.

 

I simply have a couple of Amsoil stickers on my vehicles and have people flag me down or be waiting at my vehicle at a shopping center to ask me, how can I get some Amsoil. It sells itself!

As a dealer, I have setup local shops that carry Amsoil so people can easily get products.

I have towing companies saving money using Amsoil in their trucks.

Someone asks them about their experience with Amsoil products and I end up getting another customer.

The Products sells itself! And I make honest money on the products these people buy.

 

Amsoil Inc. has a 33 year history of leading the synthetics industry and everything they do is designed to give me a better business opportunity.

The “synthetics revolution†is just now coming to light thanks to Amsoils continued efforts to make a better product, making all others follow.

 

You won’t find Amsoil products in your local WalMart!

 

Contact me and I will help you solve your problem!

 

More info can be found here!

[savageskaterkid]

AMSOIL is a great product, i haven't got a chance to use it in the Z(yet), but my best frends dad is a dealer. When we put the Amsoil 10W-30 Turbo oil in the supra(mk3) u could feel the power, and it revved alot smoother and idled better, too. At times, he'd miss shifts, after the Amsoil Tranny Fluid, u never miss a shift anymore, and again, u feel the power. Next on the list in the differential fluid. Im gonna start running amsoil in the ZX in a few weeks, its great stuff. AMSOIL all the way, forget the redline.