Amsoil Synthetic V-Twin Transmission Fluid

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I ran across an ad for Amsoil's new synthetic transmission fluid for V-Twins. If anyone is using this I would be interested to know if it's viscosity is similar to standard red ATF. A number of automotive manual transmissions are spec'd to use ATF and I've been curious why it wouldn't work in a motorcycle trans. My Borg Warner T5 in my Jeep CJ7 uses ATF as well as one of my first cars, a Pontiac Phoenix that had a manual transmission used Dexron II ATF.
 
Reasonable to assume it will be oil, certainly not transmission fluid (as we know it) // no vtwin uses automatic transmission fluid, only oil.
AS far as viscosity, good question but have a feeling maybe they are looking to grab some business from Redline, if so, think we can expect it to be more heavy.
 
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Yep If marketed for v-twin transmissions it's a pretty safe bet it's much more akin to gear lube than ATF. I've never heard of someone running anything with a cST at 100C of 7-ish in a Harley transmission. In the primary, sure.
 
Thank you all for the timely answers!

It would be interesting to find out the engineering and science of how normal ATF does work in manual transmissions in cars. Is it the gear loading, gear teeth profile, metallurgy, rotation speed, engagement shock etc.
 
Amsoil used to say to used their 20/50 wt v-Twin motor oil in your motor , primary and transmission of your Harley. They said it met the Gl-1 gear oil rating. Harley said to do the same with their oil, but never claimed it met any API standard, and no symbol was on the bottle of either. That didn't stop them for asking top dollar for the oil tho.I have tried Harleys 20/50 wt oil in the trans of my bikes and found the shifting to be stiff and loud. There was a definite difference in shift quality when I changed to regular auto parts store 70/90 wt gear oil. I'll never use motor oil in my transmissions again. And I'm sure the cost of their new and improved "V-Twin trans oil" will leave most purchasers underwhelmed.,,
 
Originally Posted By: Bellavita
I ran across an ad for Amsoil's new synthetic transmission fluid for V-Twins. If anyone is using this I would be interested to know if it's viscosity is similar to standard red ATF. A number of automotive manual transmissions are spec'd to use ATF and I've been curious why it wouldn't work in a motorcycle trans. My Borg Warner T5 in my Jeep CJ7 uses ATF as well as one of my first cars, a Pontiac Phoenix that had a manual transmission used Dexron II ATF.


It's a gear oil in the SAE 90/110 viscosity range (20cSt), it's not ATF thin (6-7 cSt) and it's not motor oil. Amsoil decided a dedicated transmission fluid is better than a universal/motor oil type.

Amsoil MVT
 
amsoil USED to be PAO + Ester aka real synthetic, these days they say little + charge a lot IMO. most of Amsoils lubricants are likely good group III base oils, severely hydrocracked CRUDE oil with just enough group IV + or V to meet a spec, in other words good but not a lot better than other cheaper fake synthetics IMO
 
Right you are benjy. Brand name synthetics have gotten better and better
and Amsoil has been stretching its product more and more.
They offered a 'blend' of their best stuff mixed with group III.
Followed by more and more overpriced mixtures in between their best and
their cheapest-IF you could use the term 'cheapest' in the same sentence with the
word Amsoil.
$12 a quart still lures some in though.

My 2¢
 
Originally Posted By: benjy
amsoil USED to be PAO + Ester aka real synthetic, these days they say little + charge a lot IMO. most of Amsoils lubricants are likely good group III base oils, severely hydrocracked CRUDE oil with just enough group IV + or V to meet a spec, in other words good but not a lot better than other cheaper fake synthetics IMO


No. Your opinion. You offer no proof.

Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Right you are benjy. Brand name synthetics have gotten better and better
and Amsoil has been stretching its product more and more.
They offered a 'blend' of their best stuff mixed with group III.
Followed by more and more overpriced mixtures in between their best and
their cheapest-IF you could use the term 'cheapest' in the same sentence with the
word Amsoil.
$12 a quart still lures some in though.

My 2¢


Do you actually know this for a fact? Can we have some evidence?
 
Well what's the answer then?

Do the Amsoil products in question contain group III or do they use purely group IV and V base oils?

I would guess they are group IV and V based on SDS info I've seen, but I'd rather hear a direct answer rather than assume.
 
Quote:
Do you actually know this for a fact? Can we have some evidence?


Well Pablo, I do realize that you make money selling
Amsoil products and are a sponsor here.

But I do recall some years ago, when Amsoil came out with a
less expensive product (XL100?) line that was a blend of their
synthetic formula and regular Group III oil. Still expensive,
but less so than the top of the line.
I don't pay much attention to boutique oils, but with brand name
main line synthetics now getting better and better, Amsoil tells the
consumer little of nothing about their formula and blends, I'm very
skeptical of the marketing hype.
$12 a quart is way to high for those of use on a tight budget or
trying to save a little where we can.

My 2¢
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Harley Formula +

For 9 bucks a quart I just use the Harley stuff in the tranny and it shifts ok w/o any worries.


Yup me too, so far anyway, just because it was designed with Formula+ to begin with so why bother. Even if a massive profit for HD, so what, all the others are too.
I do at times, for fun think about putting the Mystik engine oil I use in, just because I have so darn much of it and may go to waste if it gets to old, curious to see if there is any difference. Heck, I could always try it out, if I dont like it, put the Formula+ back in.

Thought about it many times but was just recently brought up by another poster in here who likes it and has me thinking again.
Then again, like you say, its only $9 and why second guess anything including my warranty that doesnt run out for over 3 more years. Sometimes I THINK there is a little too much silver in my transmission oil, not that means anything but in my mind I wonder if I may need to use that warranty, doesnt obther me if I do use it, will feel like I got my money back, bike has been rock solid and needed no warranty work, now at almost 3.5 years old that I remember anyway.
 
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I would try Mystic oil if it was sold within 500 miles of me. Even tho I live less then 20 miles from New York, it can be impossible to find some oil products that seem to be available everywhere else.,,
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Quote:
Do you actually know this for a fact? Can we have some evidence?


Well Pablo, I do realize that you make money selling
Amsoil products and are a sponsor here.

But I do recall some years ago, when Amsoil came out with a
less expensive product (XL100?) line that was a blend of their
synthetic formula and regular Group III oil. Still expensive,
but less so than the top of the line.
I don't pay much attention to boutique oils, but with brand name
main line synthetics now getting better and better, Amsoil tells the
consumer little of nothing about their formula and blends, I'm very
skeptical of the marketing hype.
$12 a quart is way to high for those of use on a tight budget or
trying to save a little where we can.

My 2¢


Amsoil has an OE line and an XL line of motor oils that contain Group III. That's a far cry from what you actually wrote. You are free to write what you want, but you should make it clear that you are making it up and not really speaking from a position of knowledge. Agreeing with another person who just spouts things off repeatedly isn't doing you or your reputation much favors.

Originally Posted By: MotoTribologist
Well what's the answer then?

Do the Amsoil products in question contain group III or do they use purely group IV and V base oils?

I would guess they are group IV and V based on SDS info I've seen, but I'd rather hear a direct answer rather than assume.


Yes Group IV and V.
 
the main goal of Amsoil is to maintain profits.
It the top of the line products are Group IV and V,
what's in the 'lesser' lines?
ALL additives are part Group II oil(carrier oil).
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
the main goal of Amsoil is to maintain profits.
It the top of the line products are Group IV and V,
what's in the 'lesser' lines?
ALL additives are part Group II oil(carrier oil).


1) Well sure any company that wants to stay in business must be profitable. How is this different than any other oil company in business?
2) As I stated the XL and OE products are Group III. I see what you are attempting to imply.
3) Not necessarily true, not all additives need a carrier oil.
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
the main goal of Amsoil is to maintain profits.
It the top of the line products are Group IV and V,
what's in the 'lesser' lines?
ALL additives are part Group II oil(carrier oil).



Agreed, not ALL additives need carrier oils. A large number of them do, but its not a guarantee. Some additives need no carrier oil. Some additives use group I, or group V carriers. It all depends on the additive. I don't think any use PAO for obvious reasons.

Regardless, you are talking about an inconsequential amount of petroleum oil in products that are otherwise PAO, ester, and polymer based; around 5-10% for engine oils and in a gear oil, even less.
 
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