Penzoil Synchromesh vs. Royal Purple: NV 5600

[fkovalski]

OK... I know this is a "Ford vs. Chevy" type of question... and I tried a search (what's with the search feature anyway!?!?!? I have NEVER had any luck with it 'cause "Royal Purple" turns up absolutely NO returns?!?!?)



Anyway... 48K on the odo... did the first full fluid change at 25K and am looking to do the second. The local parts store has the RP in stock, but the Penzoil would have to be ordered. I used the Synchormesh on the first change but have heard a lot about the RP... but at over twice the price is it worth it?



The NV5600 has some of the "notchiness" that is always discussed and wonder if trying a different "premium" brand may help. The counter sales dude also mentioned a brand (BG or BD... can't remember exactly... ) that was even more $$ over the Penzoil.



Ideas/ opinions?



Thanks,

-frank







.

 

[JHansen]

Can't tell you about RP-but I used the Redline MTL off and on in my NV5600 in my '01. Never noticed any huge differences in shift quality between it and the Mopar stuff. The '02 transmission I have in there now has Pennzoil in it because it was easiest to get (I convinced the local NAPA to order a case and start telling people that they had it in stock).



HTH

Jason

 

[jbucha4]

i bought all of the penzoil in stock at autozone the other day 5 quarts. thats the only one they had

 

[Wiredawg]

I have 111,000 miles on my 02. replaced factory fill at 30K miles w/ RP w/ no improvement. Replaced it a 60K w/ Quaker State (same as Penzoil). and again at 90K. Seems there are a lot of differences in the way the 5600 performs. Mine does excellent on Penzoil/Quaker State, but has to be changed at 30K miles. Shifting quality starts getting stiffer at that time.



Good luck w/ your 5600s... hope mine is 1M miler.



Wiredawg

 

[amsoilman]

Been useing the Amsoil MTF in my 03' since it came out with excellent results. Hardly any differences between summer and winter use. smoooooth and quiet.

 

[NevadaBackroader]

My truck has 160k miles. I added RP for the first time at 155k. I had replaced the original gear oil twice before with the mopar stuff. The RP has improved the shifting. It is not "notchy" anymore. I'm the original owner and have never abused the transmission. I did overfill it by a quart added through the ****er tower.

 

[steved]

Each NV5600 is different... each oil will have different characteristics in each trans... my experience:



RP Synchromax was the absolute worse performer by itself... and fairly decent with 25% 85w140 MaxGear blended with it. Alone, the SynchroMax lost its shifting performance within 700 miles.



Amsoil MTF didn't fair well either... it went in nice, but lost its smooth feeling in under 10k miles IIRC... its been almost two years since I ran it... this was my first run with almost 7 quarts of fluid in the trans (FastCoolers added).



Redline MTL performs the best in my trans... in the summer, a blend of 75% MTL and 25% ot the thicker MT-90 works really well.



If you look at the viscosities of these three, RP is the thinnest and MTL is the thickest of the "synchromesh" fluids... and as you can see by the blends, my trans seems to like a thicker fluid.



In short, you will not know how any particular fluid will fair in your trans until YOU try it. A lot of owners have good luck with fluids that fair poorly in my trans... basically you got to try them and find one that works.



For the price now, PZ locally is within $0. 50 of RL MTL from Summit Racing, so that's what I'm using...