Red Line oil and BITOG?

[Big O Dave]

Originally Posted By: TallPaul
But if it comes down to a case of beer and Pennzoil or no beer and Redline, I guess I can see where some would sway to the cheaper oil.

 

[glennc]

Originally Posted By: cosynthetics
For seal compatibility issues you can visit some BMW or M5 forums. It was tried in some trannies and caused them to leak.


For what it's worth the BMWCCA tech guy, Mike Miller, highly recommends Red Line lubricants in gearboxes and differentials. He has stated many times that he never would have believed an oil could "fix" aging synchros until he tried Red Line and has been a big believer since. If there are a few BMWs in which Red Line lubes have coincided with seals going bad, there are probably tens of thousands that are running Red Line lubes with no problems, including mine for well over 100k miles.

I've been using Red Line gear oils and MTL in cars and motorcycles for over fifteen years now and have only avoided using the motor oils due to cost, though I'm sort of revisiting my cost/benefit assumptions on that right now.

 

[kd5byb]

I've seen FAR more trashing of Mobil1 here than RedLine.

I've used RedLine's 75W-90 gear oil in multiple rear ends and D4 ATF in my Mustang's junky Borg Warner T45 transmission. No problems with either.

Lately I've been using Amsoil becuase with the PC discount it's cheaper and most importantly, a lot easier for me to buy.

I beleive in UOA's - but keep in mind it's hard to draw any conclusive statistical conclusions based on the limited sample sizes we see on BITOG. We may be seeing UOA's on RedLine that tend to fall below average. We may be seeing UOA's on other oils that are far above average. If we've seen 100 crummy RedLine UOA's, we might be able to conclude it's awful. By the time we get enough UOA's on any oil here, the manufacturer is likely to have changed the formula!

What's important is that you get good UOA's on YOUR vehicle with YOUR driving style with YOUR choice of oil. If you get good results with RedLine, stay with it. If you don't, try something else. Same can be said for Amsoil, Mobil1, GC, Penzoil Platinum, whatever...

later,
b

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Redline is awesome, unique, but has it's place.

Not surprised when I was told RealTime Racing used Redline SAE 40 in their race TSX. Saw the jugs myself, oneis visible in red on the right of this pic. Great choice in a ballsy oil.

That's an Integra/RSX, not a TSX. Sweet car!

 

[TallPaul]

I've been running RL D4 ATF in the '92 Aerostar tranny for a couple years now and no seal issues--yet.

 

[simple_gifts]

The number of people on this site who can evaluate whether an oil is performing, why it is or isn't performing and what to do is very low.

 

[Yuk]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Redline is awesome, unique, but has it's place.

Not surprised when I was told RealTime Racing used Redline SAE 40 in their race TSX. Saw the jugs myself, oneis visible in red on the right of this pic. Great choice in a ballsy oil.

I have scoured this image looking for the “Redline SAE 40... One is visible in red on the right of this pic.” and I do not see it. I see a red Coke can behind the driver’s side A-pillar, and a red generator (possibly Honda) on the cart to the right of the driver’s side mirror, but I don’t see any Redline jugs.

 

[mkIIIman089]

They are sponsored by Red Line (obviously), so you really have no idea what could be in those jugs.

 

[MGregoir]

I'd be more inclined to believe if the car were sponsored by Texaco that the jugs would actually be full of Mobil 1, but I would figure a car sponsored by Red Line would use Red Line.

 

[bigjeffie]

well here- here.
now we are laying down some gospel.
we all struggle to fathom the complexity...
woe to the wannabee that (gasp!) changes an SM oil & filter every 5k and lives happily ever after.

And yes, it is fair to say RP is the best purple oil on the market, hands down

 

[Yuk]

Originally Posted By: MGregoir
I'd be more inclined to believe if the car were sponsored by Texaco that the jugs would actually be full of Mobil 1, but I would figure a car sponsored by Red Line would use Red Line.



I agree... I just can't see the jugs... The Red Line jugs, that is.

 

[BarkerMan]

We have run Red Line in custom racing engines, do UOA's and teardowns and all that stuff. Their oil is a good product at a fair price based on our experience. I know there are other good oils out there. I have no idea what "best oil" means. The UOA's produced on this site are usually snap shots, that is an oil analysis is posted and usually it is following something other oil or is only the second or third or forth shot with no good definition of the circumstances behind the vehicle condition and use and driver habits along with weather and other factors. A UOA is only one part in the analysis of a lubricant. I have also seen Red Line in daily drivers with good result or lots of miles. Most comments, pro or con are usually without much support. The RealTime folks mentioned above runs their engines really hard and they use Red Line right out of the bottle, no custom blend. Some of the hardest competition RealTime as is between their own drivers. It's not proof that Red Line is good but it's an example of a practical application of the racing version of the product.

 

[hooligan24]

I know the World Challenge Vipers of Team Lux Performance/Naykid Racing use RedLine 30wt, MTL, and also ShockProof gear oils. I am using the MTL right now with no complaints. I also have used the 10w40 on the roadcourse with great results and low oil temps. from what I hear, the HT/HS is the thing that has people wanting to use redline oils. I will continue to use redline for road course use. I dont understand why cost is such a problem to most people. At 10k-15k miles a year, it cost me $50ish to change the oil once a year if I wanted to stretch it out. I usually dont go that long, but I like to change my oil and dont mind spending the high premiums of oils.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Originally Posted By: Yuk
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Redline is awesome, unique, but has it's place.

Not surprised when I was told RealTime Racing used Redline SAE 40 in their race TSX. Saw the jugs myself, oneis visible in red on the right of this pic. Great choice in a ballsy oil.


I have scoured this image looking for the “Redline SAE 40... One is visible in red on the right of this pic.” and I do not see it. I see a red Coke can behind the driver’s side A-pillar, and a red generator (possibly Honda) on the cart to the right of the driver’s side mirror, but I don’t see any Redline jugs.


Yes, saw this coming. I tried to edit right ater posting from a thumbnail, but guess what, Forum locked-up on me. I mistook the red thing for the Redline jug, as they looked the same. I don't know if it's in this pic or the TSX pic, but their jug was in the same position, I think it got cropped out. You'll have to take my word, rather than me look through orginal pics for it. Trust a Junkie.

 

[cosynthetics]

Originally Posted By: glennc
Originally Posted By: cosynthetics
For seal compatibility issues you can visit some BMW or M5 forums. It was tried in some trannies and caused them to leak.


For what it's worth the BMWCCA tech guy, Mike Miller, highly recommends Red Line lubricants in gearboxes and differentials. He has stated many times that he never would have believed an oil could "fix" aging synchros until he tried Red Line and has been a big believer since. If there are a few BMWs in which Red Line lubes have coincided with seals going bad, there are probably tens of thousands that are running Red Line lubes with no problems, including mine for well over 100k miles.

I've been using Red Line gear oils and MTL in cars and motorcycles for over fifteen years now and have only avoided using the motor oils due to cost, though I'm sort of revisiting my cost/benefit assumptions on that right now.


You should read what most say about Mike Miller on the forums : ) They take what he says with a grain of salt. I don't know him so I can't say but he used to think anything newer than an E30 was trash.

I'm just quoting what I've read. There aren't many running it on bimmerforums and m5board, that I know. Royal Purple is a favorite.

Everything around is just anecdotal. I'm sure there are thousands who have used it without problems just as there are thousands who have used every other name brand known to man.

 

[cosynthetics]

Originally Posted By: kd5byb

What's important is that you get good UOA's on YOUR vehicle with YOUR driving style with YOUR choice of oil. If you get good results with RedLine, stay with it. If you don't, try something else. Same can be said for Amsoil, Mobil1, GC, Penzoil Platinum, whatever...


+ 1

 

[jpr]

FWIW - if I had to generalize BITOG criticism of Redline, I'd actually want to make a couple of distinctions:

(1) I believe there is more criticism of unthinking boosterism of Redline than of the oil itself. But I believe this is the case for any oil discussed on BITOG, Redline has not been singled out. There is generally little patience here for claims that cannot be substantiated regardless of manufacturer.

(2) The second area of criticism is more about Redline's exaggerated and often misleading marketing claims, which can sometimes be reminscent of snake oil sales pitches. But again, I believe this sort of criticism occurs on BITOG for all oils from all manufacturers. It's that the bigger the claim and the less the data to back it up, the more pointed the criticism will be.

If you look past those two areas of criticism, I think you'll find the consensus opinion of Redline to be similar to that of most other synthetics - generally a good oil, better for some applications than others.

 

[ewetho]

After reading NUMEROUS reports on Redline to go with my previous use of their products. I have found the boards consensus is it is a Fantastic Oil for High stress applications and while the UOA seem to settle out after a couple of fills to awesome levels it just does not have the legs of other oils in its price range for OCI.

For gearboxes and what not I would say GO FOR IT!!! Engine oil on the other hand is a little more specialized. Got Turbo and Drive hard? Fantastic. Want a Really LONG OCI, not your oil. Got a SCCA type race car?? Awesome.

OH and Redline SI-1 is AWESOME!!!

 

[Audi Junkie]

Look at it this way: Choices of (supposed) race oils that are widely distributed... Redline vs Royal Purple. That pretty much is like night and day.

 

[BuickGN]

Originally Posted By: ewetho
After reading NUMEROUS reports on Redline to go with my previous use of their products. I have found the boards consensus is it is a Fantastic Oil for High stress applications and while the UOA seem to settle out after a couple of fills to awesome levels it just does not have the legs of other oils in its price range for OCI.

For gearboxes and what not I would say GO FOR IT!!! Engine oil on the other hand is a little more specialized. Got Turbo and Drive hard? Fantastic. Want a Really LONG OCI, not your oil. Got a SCCA type race car?? Awesome.

OH and Redline SI-1 is AWESOME!!!


This is pretty much why I'm going to use it. My OCIs are less than 1,000 miles so this oil may be perfect for me.