Changing gear oil on F355? | Page 3 | FerrariChat

Changing gear oil on F355?

Discussion in '348/355' started by Sandy Eggo, Aug 25, 2010.

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  1. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Aug 10, 2002
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    I think people make too much out of this. Ferraris mostly sit and don't race. I bet 95% of Ferrari owners barely get their gearbox oil hot. When we race we just cook parts and blow them up. Then you have to be very choosy on fluids if you have no head room in engineering design.

    For example when racing C5Z06 corvettes our club racing board finally allowed aftermarket brakes because failures got so bad a guy had to be airlifted out at our national championship race when he hit a wall due to brake failure. I went to Stoptech with my story of woe and they designed the SCCA T1 brakekit around my C5Z06 racecar. Stoptech did so well with such headroom in the brake system that this year for example my racecar left california december 2016 and just completed it's last race for 2017 at Indy and I never had to bleed the brakes this entire season and I used cheap $7/qt. O'reilly autoparts sourced valvoline synthetic brake fluid!

    So what M1 do I use? Just the cheapest M1 synthetic gear oil in the right viscosity for whatever car! You get is at all the autoparts stores anywhere in the country. It is on every shelf. I know this because I have bought it everywhere I travel race.
     
  2. Skippr1999

    Skippr1999 F1 Rookie
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    Thanks fat Billy !
     
  3. taz355

    taz355 F1 Veteran
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    I agree with fbb statement but I dont agree with using cheap oil which is not as good at high temps because of mechanical failures resulting in higher temps, or high ambient temps driving up the gear box. This could be coolers not working properly, fan fuses being blow etc etc.
    His facts are true though if everything is working as designed. Myself I like to have a higher margin for safety when the **** hits the fan.
     
  4. m.stojanovic

    m.stojanovic F1 Rookie
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    I agree, I would not compromise with oil in an expensive transmission where even the most expensive oil is cheap. If Ferrari specified oils that have the Flash Point at 188C (348) and 205C (355), I prefer to use oil that has similar or higher temperature rating. The transmission overall temperature is one thing but temperature at the contacts of the gears at heavy loads could be higher.
     
  5. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    So how are things at Swepco these days? Don't use it myself and have no intention to try it, but considering the fact that all eight of your posts on this forum have to do with Swepco it's a safe bet that you work there or have an interest in the company.
     
  6. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    Good catch. I google search of "Carm Goodrich Swepco" will bring up his activity on Rennlist as well...he appears to be a Swepco dealer in ON, Canada
     
  7. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    Nice sleuthing.

    "Carm", if you want to send me four quarts of GL4 I'll try it in my 348 and report my honest findings on these pages. I've been in the car biz for more years than I care to admit and I can't think of a better test than a 348 gearbox. But you better be *very* confident in your product, because if it doesn't improve shifting I'm gonna say so. On the other hand, if it does result in better shifting I'll sing its praises from the rooftops. From the feedback I've received from other folks in the business I'm not holding my breath, but I'd love for a local company to prove me wrong.
     
  8. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    Nov 29, 2001
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    never been a fan of swepco, even in my porsche 911 aircool days.
     
  9. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
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    348s have notoriously balky gearboxes when shifting into 2nd when the trasaxle isn't fully warm. Problem is, the cars cool so quickly you can stop for dinner and have to rewarm the transmission. Not all of them do it, but mine certainly does.

    The PO was a stickler for using factory recommended fluids so I think it had Agip in it when I bought it. Changed to Redline NS because I wanted to at least give Redline's official recommendation a chance, even though it's a GL5. It improved the crunchiness noticeably, but didn't cure it by any means. So now I'm on a quest to try every GL4 oil I available in the States to see what *actually* works best. I just switched over to Amsoil Manual Transmission & Transaxle Gear Lube because that's what was in the best shifting 348 I ever drove. That transaxle had tons of hard track miles on it but it shifted like butter hot or cold, so I have great hopes for the Amsoil. Just gotta finish up some other work on the car so I can test it. Then I'll try whichever oil works best in the Ferrari transaxle in my other cars because I'm thinking there's may be an improvement to be had from the MTL (street cars) or MT90 (track car) I've been using in them.
     
  10. Shurik355

    Shurik355 Formula Junior

    May 19, 2013
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    Alex Velet
    #60 Shurik355, Jun 23, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2019
    Guys so after reading the whole thread here. I didn't come to the conclusion on what kind of transaxle oil is the best for our 355 cars. Almost everyone has their own opinion.

    Basically Redline Lightweight Shockproof should NOT be used, but some here say they recommend it and use it. Then Redline 75w90 failed the tests according to the test chart posted above. And then someone mentioned that NS type passes the tests, but it was not included in the tests above.
    Some run Mobil 1 for years. Some say it doesn't matter what kind of tranny oil to use. lol

    Man! looks like there is no straight answer. This appears to be a controversy topic, and everyone just uses what they think is best. :confused:

    So i guess there is no straight answer? Just use what I think is best?
     
  11. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    Good synopsis.
     
  12. Shurik355

    Shurik355 Formula Junior

    May 19, 2013
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    Alex Velet
    Well after a long research on what is the best tranny oil for 355.
    Looks like Im gonna give Redline 75w90NS a go, since it's the most recommended and most common oil used. Should be a good start point.
     
    drbob101, jjtjr and MAD828 like this.
  13. Skippr1999

    Skippr1999 F1 Rookie
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    Dec 22, 2009
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    That should be fine.
    I’ve used it plenty in the past.
    rifledriver recommended I try Redline MT-90 which is in the car now and seems to be fine too.
     
  14. jjtjr

    jjtjr Formula Junior

    Aug 29, 2016
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    john truskowski
    It was recommended to me to change the trans oil and coolant with each annual due to the heat that this car generates. I changed mine and put the Redline 75W90NS in. Seems to be working well.
     
  15. Ferrari Fanatic

    Ferrari Fanatic Formula 3

    Apr 2, 2003
    1,317
    SoCal
    One of the idiosyncrasies of the 355 gated transaxle is the variance in shifting performance.

    I tried 3 different fluids back to back. OEM Shell: slow, hard shifting, typical hard to shift from 1st to 2nd until warmed up.

    Swepco: saw very small improvement in overall shifting performance, but still no cold 1-2 shift.

    Redline NS: drastic overall shifting improvement. 1-2 cold shifting was no problem.

    MTL ( I know is GL4) was by far the best performing. Shifted light, effortless, and flawlessly. So light and easy that I didn’t even notice the long clunky shift rods or the need to adjust shifter flawlessly.

    So yes, in many cases the gear oil you use in your personal 355 will yield far different results than the next guy.

    It is not the same conversation as “ hey what engine oil do you like / use in your daily driver ? Meaning there is a 100% noticeable difference in the 355 trans versus the old conversation of what someone subjectively prefers.
     
  16. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    Now I am confused. In previous posts I have read of Rifledriver, he recommend Redline 75w-90NS and if shifting did not improve sufficiently then move to Redline MTL. Not MT-90.
     
  17. Ferrari Fanatic

    Ferrari Fanatic Formula 3

    Apr 2, 2003
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    Not 100% positive but I don’t think MT 90 was on the Market when Rifle posted and before he took his sabbatical from FC. Lots of silly drama going on back then.

    Anyhow, my guess was during that era MTL was his top recommendation, since then it switched to MT 90.

    Just my guess
     
    f355spider likes this.
  18. kenneyd

    kenneyd Formula 3
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    I red this thread years ago, similar conclusion.

    Ended up buying Red Line Synthetic Transmission Transaxle Gear Oil GL-5 75W90NS 6 QUARTS 58304
    Works fine, no issues
     
  19. Skippr1999

    Skippr1999 F1 Rookie
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    Dec 22, 2009
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    This came from discussions around the GL-5 and yellow metals (synchros) in the 360.
    He said he was going back to GL-4 in the 360 and that MT-90 has been used for many years trouble free in the 355. This wasn’t a official recommendation since it goes against the factory recommendation.
    He also recommended Redline MTL for the 328.
    It’s all a bit criptic
     
    f355spider likes this.
  20. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    That makes complete sense, thanks
     

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