Quote:
Originally Posted by Camarotobeornottobe
Noise.
To explain, I'm actually thinking along the same fashion. My theory is that the ATF is "required" AS A GENERAL RULE because of cold shifting characteristics. However, the tranny might be in a less than ideal state when really hot.
Frankly, the tranny really shifts the same for me, cold or hot, whether with OEM or D4. I noticed a marginal noise reduction with D4 over the OEM, and the tranny continues to quiet as I break it in. I have about 800 miles on the car now.
One thing is clear to me though -- the tranny is louder when the fluid gets hot. Camaro owners might have to put all the windows up and turn the radio down to hear it, but I'm confident they all do it in varying degrees whether you consider it "normal" or not. As stated in another thread, part of me thinks it sounds cool. Camaro Dude, you described it as a chain rolling over sprockets when at low RPMs.
But, I'm confident the reason for increased noise is because the fluid thins out so much. Tremec is okay with it because some "normal" drivetrain noise is better than hard shifts while cold and the ATF does fine for keeping the tranny alive past warranty mileage/dates. You could also argue that they installed a fluid pump that can only handle the ATF and nothing substantially thicker.
A long winded way of beating this to death and again saying I think a mix of MTL, whether 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2, might be the ticket. Could it smooth out when hot while keeping the cold shift problems away if only mixed?
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I'm right with you on your hypotheses, and the only way forward to a conclusion here, is for some one to go first, and report back observations.
I already did this back in the day, when I lived on the bleeding edge, and tackled the (now infamous) BMW Getrag rattle on the 260 units, head on. I ditched the OEM stuff, even the O.E equivalent, Redline MTL, and I used the thicker MT-90.
BINGO we had a winner
No more rattle like marbles sound.
Soooooo, coming now to the present, and the Let's Mix a lil MTL, Into The D4, Experiment, who will go first?
NOTE* I think this is an important point to make. In both cases above, it should be noted that I NEVER drove the cars in the winter, meaning pretty much anything below freezing points. Having said that, I would not recommend the above oil types if the car is to be driven daily in the colder climates, where temps could drop to double negative figures.