Manual Transmission Fluid (Thread 2.1)

[Cronenberged]

Which Manual Transmission Fluid (MTF) Are You Using for Your M3?

Just picked up a new M3 and, like any hyper-maintenance person, I’m going down the rabbit hole of fluids. Transmission oil seems to be one of those heavily debated topics. Here’s what I’ve gathered so far:

- OE BMW 75w80 MTF LT-2 (GL-4)– Still available, but many bottles are over five years old. While trans oil supposedly doesn’t have a strict expiration date like motor oil (2-5 years), storage conditions could impact effectiveness. How many people are actually storing this in a dry, cool place long-term?

- OE BMW 75w90 GL-5 – Now recommended by dealers and listed on supplier sites like FCP & ECS.

Other options floating around:

- Ravenol 75w80 MTF-2 (thickest?)
- Redline D4 ATF (thinnest?)
- Redline MTL
- Redline MT-LV (newest)
- Febi 75w80 GL-5
- Pentosin FFL-4
- Amsoil MTF 75w90 GL-4

Curious to hear from others—what are you running in your M3, and what’s your experience with it? Have you noticed any shift quality differences between these options?

[AWE46M3]

Just added Pentosin FFL-4 to my transmission and the gearbox has never felt better.

FWIW - from FCP Euro for additional validation, Pentosin FFL-4 is the OE equivalent to the BMW MTF LT-2

[BRiley]

I just changed mine out for OEM MTF LT-2. Was pleasantly surprised. After a couple hundred miles, it was back to normal.

I am wondering if most of these "OMG I changed to ____ and it's awesome" stories are b/c the fluid is new.

Considering trying the LiquiMoly 2019 MoS additive to see if that makes things feel better.

[Tbonem3]

Pentosin's replacement for MTF2, FFL4, works great! I've tried it in 3 cars now.

[Tbonem3]

I just changed mine out for OEM MTF LT-2. Was pleasantly surprised. After a couple hundred miles, it was back to normal.

I am wondering if most of these "OMG I changed to ____ and it's awesome" stories are b/c the fluid is new.

Considering trying the LiquiMoly 2019 MoS additive to see if that makes things feel better.

No, don't put GL5 adds in a GL4 spec tranny. Stick with OE MTFlt2, it's the best. There are other ways to make shifting a little better, but it's a getrag at the end of the day.

[stephen]

No, don't put GL5 adds in a GL4 spec tranny. Stick with OE MTFlt2, it's the best. There are other ways to make shifting a little better, but it's a getrag at the end of the day.

Where do you see that it’s a GL5 specific additive? I don’t see any mention of it on the LiquiMoly website.

[dukeofchen]

MTL felt like syrup for me on cold mornings, only have a couple thousand miles on Ravenol but no complaints so far.

AFAIK the Febi 75W-80 is not a pure synthetic

[Tbonem3]

Where do you see that it’s a GL5 specific additive? I don’t see any mention of it on the LiquiMoly website.

Molybdenumdisulfide is an extreme pressure additive that you'll find in gl5 fluids, not gl4.

[Tbonem3]

AFAIK the Febi 75W-80 is not a pure synthetic

That's correct. I mentioned it before because it's on ECS and it's cheap and correct weight of 75w80 which is a little hard to find. But it's not the right type of lube for us.

[chris719]

I just changed mine out for OEM MTF LT-2. Was pleasantly surprised. After a couple hundred miles, it was back to normal.

I am wondering if most of these "OMG I changed to ____ and it's awesome" stories are b/c the fluid is new.

Considering trying the LiquiMoly 2019 MoS additive to see if that makes things feel better.

Do not put MoS2 in a MT. It lowers friction significantly and you need a certain amount for the synchros to work.

[Obioban]

I plan to run OE BMW LT2 until I can't.

[chris719]

Other options floating around:

- Ravenol 75w80 MTF-2 (thickest?)
- Redline D4 ATF (thinnest?)
- Redline MTL
- Redline MT-LV (newest)
- Febi 75w80 GL-5
- Pentosin FFL-4
- Amsoil MTF 75w90 GL-4

Curious to hear from others—what are you running in your M3, and what’s your experience with it? Have you noticed any shift quality differences between these options?
[/QUOTE]

The Ravenol is OE viscosity basically- it’s thin. You can verify the KV100 and KV40 in every datasheet, there is no need to guess or cause confusion.

The Ravenol is an OE MTF-LT-2 substitute but with probably an improved base stock.
The D4 ATF is an ATF and doesn’t have friction modifiers for synchros.
Redline MTL is good but significantly thicker.
MT-LV is a bit thinner than MTF-LT-2
Febi is usually Group III budget fluid
Pentosin FFL-4 is DCT fluid so it has all an MTF needs plus wet clutch additives you don’t need in an MT but are fine. The viscosity is about the same as the Ravenol.
The Amsoil is very thick, thicker than MTL.

[D-O]

Has anyone tried Liqui Moly 22080?

KV100 = 9.5
KV40 = 55.8

[Tbonem3]

Liqui Moly is cheap junk. Go with OE or OEM (pentosin).

[BRiley]

Do not put MoS2 in a MT. It lowers friction significantly and you need a certain amount for the synchros to work.

Thank you. I’ll stay away.