oilman

iTrader: (9)

When I went on the Castrol site, it recommended Syntrax but with a big note by it:

"CONTACT TECHNICAL" I couldn't get through to them having held for half an hour!

That's what the data sheet says unlike Silkolene SYN 5 which is suitable for road and competition LSD's.

Blurb here:

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/TechSpecs/...04%20Wheel.pdf

Cheers
Simon

Razor2001

Just been to the auto shop and they have Castrol "Syntec" gear oil (not syntax) ? The back of it says it is good for regualr and LSD.

Is Syntax just the UK name and Syntec the USA name ?

Oh, forgot to add that the Syntec also said fully synthetic ?

Thanks,
Ray

big mike

Whilst I can imagine you all holding your breath waiting for my update I should fill you in.
Engine oil (Silkolene Pro S 5W-40) Seems to have quietened the engine down (don't know if it's a placebo effect after having shelled out for such an expensive feckin oil but Oilman reckons it's good for 10K miles! So maybe not so expensive? )
Silkolene SYN 5 for gearbox and diff first thought was made no difference (please remember I now know I need a new clutch, anybody know someone reliable in devon?) BUT on drive home it felt a lot easier to change gear, subjective I know.

Anyhow it certainly was no worse.

Regards,

Mike

Bob Rawle

Simon how many miles have YOU covered in an Impreza using the oil YOU recommend, well I have in excess of 150,000 of those miles and virtually ALL are at significantly uprated power levels, I will state again that you don't seem to have any practical experience whatsoever, techno speak is all good stuff when you want to blind the uninitiated BUT you have on this board people who have tried and tested a variety of products and ONLY recommend or suggest based on PRACTICAL experience and knowledge, as to "there are always one or two" .... I personally only ever speak from my own practical experience NOT from the recommendation of anyone else wether it be a technical companies rep or a private individual.

Which is why I decide to try Redline for myself before saying anything about it, I have also tried the oils you mention, with the results stated.

You put a very misleading slant on your posts, I see you are advocating 10k oil changes on the engine now, suggest you back that up for the modified brigade who need to change every 3500 (GC8) or 5000 (GDB) miles whichever, ie at twice the recommended intervals.

Bob

oilman

iTrader: (9)

Ok, I get it I don't know what I'm talking about? A little harsh and impolite I feel.

All my recommendations are qualified and backed up by major oil companies. Are you saying that they are wrong? Why would they be? Their data is not just made up, it's provided in spec form by OEM's to them and they match oils that meet the required critera.

No ones reputation is at stake here and I for one really don't mind what oils people use at the end of the day, it's their car and they need to make their own judgements based on the information presented here.

I respect your opinion but do not agree that the oils I have recommended are unsuitable.

Cheers
Simon

Razor2001

Hi Bob,

Can you see my post regarding the Syntec / Syntax issue ?

Thanks,
Ray

big mike

Another update, I was impressed with the new gearbox oil on the way in today. Although it is still not "easy" to change gear there is NO crunching.
So Bob in my experience (all two runs ) The shiny new oil is better than the stock stuff in a 106K mile gearbox.

Regards,

Mike

oilman

iTrader: (9)

The product is listed here on the Castrol Website

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/secti...tentId=6009166

Simon

AvalancheS8

Seriously though, if you ask Motul which oil to use in the gearbox of an Impreza they aren't going to recommend a Castrol oil are they ? Certainly the the Motul and Silkolene oils may meet the specs issued by the manufacturer and are no doubt also very good quality oils - I use and am very happy with Motul for my engine oil - but the Castrol also meets the specs and the gearbox needs to chnge smoothly and have quick acting syncros. So if the slightly higher friction of the Castrol oil makes the syncros work better whilst also meeting the manufacturers specs then it is a better oil to use in this instance. It doesn't matter which one is "better" in terms of comparing oil spec sheets, the one that gives the best gear changing performance is the most suitable choice, and without trying them in the application you can't say which one that will be.

ZIPPY

Oilman, dont you know its not polite to upset the Bob Rawles of this board,tut tut. They are classed as demi gods by most on here and in no way are you allowed to put up another opinion AGAINST their preachings.

Remember Bob will always be right, i'm suprised a Moderator hasnt removed your posts for putting your opinions across.

Remember you only sell the stuff and have NO experiance what so ever as he has done 150,000 miles in Subaru's so 'HE MUST BE RIGHT'

My god man, get down on your knees and pray to the alter of Rawle.

Well done Oilman and remember 'never' apologize for your views.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Lets face it

Subaru reccommend 75/90 to GL4 or 5 or whatever.

Then Motul or Silkolene or Castrol see which of their gearbox oils meet that spec and reccommend that particular one.

I very much doubt they do extensive testing on every gearbox from every manufacturer in production over the past 15 years or so. I think they leave that to the manufacturer, then suggest an oil in their range that meets the manufacturers requirements.

I'd go with experience on this one

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

[QUOTE=ZIPPY]Oilman, dont you know its not polite to upset the Bob Rawles of this board,tut tut. They are classed as demi gods by most on here and in no way are you allowed to put up another opinion AGAINST their preachings.

Remember Bob will always be right, i'm suprised a Moderator hasnt removed your posts for putting your opinions across.

Remember you only sell the stuff and have NO experiance what so ever as he has done 150,000 miles in Subaru's so 'HE MUST BE RIGHT'

My god man, get down on your knees and pray to the alter of Rawle.

Well done Oilman and remember 'never' apologize for your views.[/QUOT

Sorry mate but the above is crap!
Bob has a wealth of experience in just about all things Subaru and has a good reputation for what he does. If he has a problem then it's that he doesn't suffer fools gladly! His comments on the various oils is based on real world experience, just like mine and many, many people on here. I have found, just like Bob did with Redline, that Silkolene Syn-5 was bad news in my 99my box and that Castrol Syntrax cured the problem. These were my findings and if anyone wants to take notice they can, conversly they can do the other thing!
Oilman is drumming up a lot of business here by keeping various oil threads going - I certainly don't mind - I love technical threads, but remember, he is a salesman and pushes Silkolene and Motul like there is no tomorrow!
Of the two protagonists, I know who's advice I would take!
JohnD

Razor2001

Syntec or Syntrax.....diff ?

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

The Subaru uses a sealed viscous LSD so Syntrax should be fine
JohnD

Bob Rawle

Zippy ... out of order, and no email addy either, sarcasm is the lowest form and all that. If my opinion is worth something then I'm glad its so, its not the only view though and healthy debate at any level is just that, in this case I believe that the majority COULD end up with problems if they follow Simons track, I'm very fortunate in that I have been involved with in excess of 1000 of these cars to date, that allows experience to be gained in short order.

Simon, yes it may seem harsh.

Thanks John appreciate those comments.

bob

97 rExy

after trying a number of oils I end up with Redline shockproof lightweight(box & diff) like most Subis here in OZ.
its my98 with 360hp at the fly
done 130K ks with lots of dragstrip activity without a single issue.
ps.all with LC and 1.7-1.90 60'

ZIPPY

But my point Bob was that you always automatically jump onto any other opinions that differ from yours and then people who have used you or think you are to believed at all times all jump to your defense (JohnD) my point in case.

Everybody has their opinion' Harsh but true ' and i posted mine and Simon his, as for the e-mail addy there is always pm messaging.

Zippy

T-uk

do you actually blame the red line for failure , or was the expensive mistake just paying the extra for the redline?

I think the six speed synchros feel weak both on john banks box , even when new and my own used sti7 box. it does not take much for either to complain when pushed. as stated jb runs redline while I run syntrax. the main thing I have found is that the redline lasts longer. for this reason I was going to go redline next time.

still synchros are cheaper than stripped gears.

big mike

Well i've been driving around with the silkolene syntran for a few days now and NO crunching of gears. Thanks for the "magic" gear oil, oilman!

Whilst I still know the clutch needs doing at least I won't destroy the gearbox before hand.

Bob Rawle

T-Uk nothing failed, what made you think it had, the redline oil is the expensive mistake. Gold plated and not worth nickel.

Zippy thats crap. everyone is entitled to their opinion and everyone is entitled to disagree and everyone is entitled to say they do, or have I got that wrong ?

I speak as I find and about what I have found out, my "deepest" apologies if that conflicts with your view on how things should be.

There have been many people who have contributed to this board in order to help those with lesser experience then them, its comments like yours that have inevitably persuaded them to go elsewhere.

You've been on here long enough to know that.

However I have no intention of ending up like that just because someone disagrees with something I have said, good debate feeds ideas and generates innovation, thats how we all progress (or should)

said my bit and made my point, better things to do right now.

cheers

bob

Bob Rawle

Oh re the PM system, don't use it, pita as far as I'm concerned and still anonymous.

bob

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Bob,
A little OT but could you add some input to this?

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=400793

Ta

Tony

oilman

iTrader: (9)

We're all entitled to our opinions, the fact that we don't agree just makes the debate more interesting. I'm always up for an oil debate (as you know too well) and the fact that you come from a different professional background from me merely serves to illustrate the different conclusions that we come to. It doesn't actually mean that either of us is wrong in the advice that we give.

At the end of the day I will always argue the case based on the professional advice that I am given and my own experiences (allbeit different ones from yours) and will allow people the make their own decisions.

Let's hope these debates continue as they are good for Scoobynet

Cheers
Simon

T-uk

sorry bob, must have picked up the above comment wrongly.

john banks

Thanks for clarifying Bob, I too wasn't sure whether the box had been damaged or just oil wasted, when it was said to be expensive I feared the worst. Since my synchros behave satisfactorily for me I think I'll keep the Redline for now as I'm happy with it, but as I said I do have some 75W90-NS Redline in there as well.

johnfelstead

For once i am going to disagree with Bob on something. and as usual i am going to disagree with oilman.

Redline heavy shockproof is worth more than nickel, it works extremely well in aplications where you are generating heat in the gearbox. Using conventional oils on track will generate a lot of heat in the gearbox and will cause the gearchanges to start to tighten up after 5 minutes. The redline HSP oil keeps temperatures down significantly and removes any sign of the shift quality deteriorating under continuous hard use.

Like everything on these cars, you have to use components that suit your aplication, so if you dont generate much heat in the transmition system you are going to see less benefit from using an oil designed to combat that.

I had no problems running redline HSP in my STi5 RA, you may find on a cold day when first driving the car the gear shift needs to be a little slower whilst the oil warms up, (you do to a certain extent with any oil) but that need has gone by the time you have your engine oil up to a safe temperature to start to use the car fully anyway.

To correct what JohnD said, not all subaru LSD's are sealed. You need to use an LSD specific oil in the rear diff and gearbox on the STi's with DCCD transmition systems because the rear and centre diff's are plated assemblies, not sealed VC assemblies. You also need to change the gearbox and rear diff oil every 12,500 miles on these DCCD equiped cars, using Redline HSP allows you to run the oil for longer, conventional LSD oils deteriorate quickly, this in the long run breaks even on costs with this transmition.

The oil change recomendation on the 6 speed DCCD-A equipped cars has changed, they no longer recomend regular changes, just inspections, this is something i would ignore and would continue to change regularly if using the car hard.

stockcar

have to say that i don't understand the "too slippy" argumant myself..................to be fair we normally do track/competition cars, but even on the road car services we do i always use a fully synthetic oil (Millers CRX/Motul 300gear or Redline HSP dependant on application).....................
having said that stopped using the silkolene stuff because of certain issues which haven't recurred with other oils spec!!

never had any issues on any car, or complaints from customers just feedback to say how improved the shift quality is....................
and i personally run 2x road going Subaru turbo's and also race/rally a third!!

alyn

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

I stand corrected there - apologies for the mistaken information.
JohnD

ZIPPY

I too agree that an open debate is the best way of discussing things but my point to Bob is '' Its not necessarily what you say but how you say it ''

Points can be made and put across without sounding condescending which on points and opinions you dont agree on you tend to do.

Now back on topic, what is the best oil for a Subaru gearbox ?

johnfelstead

Not a problem John, most Subaru's are VC equipped, but its important that the ones that arn't are using the correct oils, something you wont find in the spec sheets of EU spec cars as suplied by oilman.

Have you not understood what has been said Zippy? The oil required will change depending on aplication, there is no "best" oil for a subaru gearbox. Regurgitating a spec sheet based on manufacturer preference doesnt help in the real world, especially where modified specs and harsh environments are concerned.

I find you first sentance amusing after the way you said it, regarding Bob's input back in post #40.

I would be interested in more specifics as to why Bob didnt get on with the redline HSP, such as which box that was in and what specifically he didnt like about the oil and gearbox charicteristics, as its not really been expanded on enough for me to understand the issues.