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MX | Off-Road Gear Info & Reviews
Tranny Oils? What to Use?
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[QUOTE="old#48, post: 369753, member: 32272"] For what its worth, I have been doing some checking on these 100% synthetic cycle-specific oils. I am not, and never will be any kind of an oil expert, but from what I can tell, it appears that Maxima, Motul, and Redline all make certain oils that are formulated from "polyolester or POE" basestocks while most of the other good synthetics are formulated from PAO (polyalphaolephin) base stocks. From what I've read, the POE based oils offer the best lubrication qualities, while the PAO based oils, while still extremely good, are not as good as the POE oils. Esters (POE's) have more thermal and oxidative stability and reduced friction. They also have polar ends which chemically adhere to metal surfaces for additional film strength and load carrying capability. Their drawback is higher cost. From what I've read, the Mobil1 products are PAO based. This does not in any way make them any less than excellent products, plus I think they are lower cost (depending on the product) and somewhat easier to find. I use the 20w50 cycle-specific Mobil1 V-Twin 4-stroke oil in my (2-stroke 2000 KTM 250EXC) clutch/transmission, although I have now noticed that the Mobil1 cycle-specific 4-stroke oils are about the same (high) price as the ester (POE) based cycle-specific 4-stroke oils so I may switch to one of those or, more likely, go with a lower priced, non-synthetic clutch/trans specific oil since I've learned it's wise to change the clutch/trans oil very frequently due to the clutch wear particles which tend to act something like sandpaper on the rest of the trans components. The 4-stroke guys have an oil filter workin for 'em, but, as you know, the 2-stroker's clutch/trans doesn't have an oil filter. I have also seen a few on the boards mention using the Mobil1 15w50 red cap car oil in their 2-stroke's clutch/trans. From what I've read, (remember, I am not an oil expert) this oil is OK to use with a wet clutch as long as the oil is not marked "Energy Conserving". I believe the 5w30 and 10w30 oils are marked "Energy Conserving", while the 0w40 and 15w50 oils are not marked this way. The "Energy Conserving" oils reportedly have some sort of additional friction modifiers in them which makes them not too great to use with a wet clutch and may cause it to slip. I have also read that the cycle-specific oils have additive packages specifically designed for wet clutches and have higher levels of zinc and phosphorous in them than the car oils - zinc and phosporous are good anti-wear/extreme pressure additives helpful in preventing metal-to-metal contact and therefore wear. The car oils have lower levels of zinc and phosphorous because they must be compatible with catalytic converters. My non-expert opinion is that the car oils are not as good as using a cycle-specific oil but they are lower cost. Heck, I always used to run plain old Castrol 20w50 GTX in all my old bikes' clutch/trans and my Kawasaki SR650 street bike and never had a transmission problem or clutch slippage in any of 'em. I guess one viewpoint is: "if your clutch slips, it may be time to try another oil, but if it don't, probably not worth worrying about". The other viewpoint (which I would guess a lot of us fall into) is : "This bike is my baby, so I'm going to put the best of everything in it." Most of us, due to budget, need to find a common sense compromise between the two extremes. [/QUOTE]
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MX | Off-Road Gear Info & Reviews
Tranny Oils? What to Use?
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