Mike J

When I bought my turbo, it had no records of any transmission oil changes - at the time it had 48,000 miles.

Shifting (cold included) was good, smooth, with a tiny bit of bulkiness into first when really cold, but not really significant or worrying.

Shortly after getting the car, I dumped the oil and put in Delvac SHC. I had an oil analysis done on the original transmission oil, it has some traces of Silicon which Blackstone indicated can indicate the original manufacturing sealer. The metal levels in the oil were a bit high indicated a long change interval, but it was still ok.

With the Delvac, I noticed that the transmission became much more balky when cold. No crunches, but gating into first gear with a cold transmission often required some rowing through 2nd and 3rd which opened up the 1st gear gate. The change was immediate after the oil change, and since no other conditions changed (including temp) I attributed it to the Delvac.

Ok, so I used the Delvac for a year and 5000 miles. The shifting got much better when the weather/oil was warmer, almost as smooth as before I did the initial change, but a cold transmission continued to be a bit balky. I continue not to be real happy about it.

Last week I decided I had enough and decided to try other oils, so I ordered 5 liters from Sunset Porsche supplied fluid (999-917-546-00 - Shell sourced). Quite expensive, but I thought it would be worth a try.

So I dumped the Delvac and put in the Porsche oil - > and the transmission immediately went back to the same feel as when I purchased the car. No balkiness on cold 1st gears so far (its Feb so its a bit cold out, similar to when I did the Delvac change), and a better smoothness between gears. I could definitely feel the difference, and like before, the only thing that changed between test drives was the oil. I ordered an analysis of the oil I dumped and am waiting for the results.

So, this is one data sample, but I am much happier with what I have, and it's not worth me continuing to search of other oils, the car is shifting great.

This has been discussed before on the list about this oil and LSD's, although it seems that it's ok for street use, and the concern was with the motorsport and other 'stronger' LSD's. On driving my car in the dry and wet, I have not noticed a difference or problems, but then again I have not really pushed it either. There was also talk you can get the same impact by adding Redline or Amsoil LSD additive to the Delvac, but I did not want to take the time to experiment that way.

The most interesting thread is this one (to me at least):

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...il-change.html

Anyways, as usual, your mileage will vary, and this is just my observation ... I am sure I am going to hear some comments....

Cheers,

Mike

osugasman

Mike,

As usual, thanks for posting!!!!!

--Brian

Mike J

A few pictures as well. the Porsche product I now just switched to -> just posting for reference, similar pictures have been posted before:



Cheers

Mike

Bill Verburg

Delvac is more of a superduty oil that retains is goodness under high heat and pressure, it is not designed for little ole ladies or Drs. Dentists or Indian Chiefs that want smooth as butter shifts hot or cold above all else, it is designed for and appropriate to race track use use and is factory fill on race all Porsche race cars.

I'm sure that there are myriad products for street use that work fine for that purpose.

Mike J

Ouch.

Mr. "Indian Chief".

Bill Verburg

I meant no offense it's just that Delvac is not intended to meet the needs of most Porsche owners, because most Porsches will never see a track but for those that do use their cars hard it is a great choice perhaps the best one. For everyone else the factory certainly spends enough on R&D to know what works there too.

Mike J

Ok, I am not racing my car, I use it for street use, touring and the occasional DE. I would like to have smoother shifting and not fight to get into first gear when its cold. One could argue that I should not have to do that with any oil, but my last oild change has solved this issue.

On this forum, Delvac has been pushed as THE correct oil, which runs contrary to what Bill is saying, given the majority of the people on the list do not race, and most will not driver their cars really really hard. So all I was reporting is my meagre finding (a data sample of 1) that this oil made a difference and definitely restored the shifting, and that I liked it better than the Delvac.

So should we really have at least two recommended oils then depending on use? For those of us who street our cars, drive them hard once in a while (hopefully without losing our licences), and enjoy an occasional track event but are looking for smooth shifting, one brand. For those of us who are regularly tracking their cars, drive their cars hard, but are not worried about cold shifting, another type.

It seems that 999-917-546-00 falls in the street use camp, and Delvac falls in the track use camp.

I wonder where the others, like Redline, Motul, etc fall?

(boy, cannot wait for comments on this statement... )

Cheers,

Mike

e9stibi

Good to understand the options. My DE car is and will stay on Delvac but I might consider another fill for the Cabrio the next time that is more a "cruiser".

Thanks for the effort to share your observations.

Stealth 993

I really like the Motul oils, smooth as butter when cold, and sifts just as nice when hot. It's $28 a liter, not sure where that falls with the Porsche stuff.

AOW162435

Mike,
Nice write-up. As a data point, I change my transmission fluid yearly and have used Delvac each time for the last 7 or so years. The transmission shifts perfectly - in all conditions, so I've never felt the need to deviate from my routine.

My method is a bit pricey, but I like rowing around in the dumped oil, looking for gear teeth, synchro shavings, and the like.


Andreas

P-daddy

Thanks for posting Mike. I've used Swepco in the past, and had the exact cold symptoms you just described. Now onto my recent purchase C4S. It was filled 2k miles ago with Redline NS, and has no cold symptoms at all. From a cold start, it shifts just as nicely as after a 30 min drive. Just sharing my experience.
Mike- can you PM me what Sunset charges for a quart?

Quadcammer

no need for a PM, it will be about $28 a liter.

Basal Skull

I've mentioned it before but it is difficult in my opinion to make much conclusions from one change. When testing motor oils (in a prior life...), the additives etc from the prior fill are still on metal surfaces and affect how the current oil performs. You literally have to wash all components in solvent prior to testing the second oil (or change the oil 3 to 4 times using the same oil). Shiftings also pretty subjective. I think oil level has more effect on feel than the oil.

Ed Hughes

I just put Delvac in a couple of weeks ago, and I too noticed a bit of resistance going into first when cold.

ToSi

LOL, can't be... folks who know better have declared it to be *the* supreme choice. Clearly, you're using your race car improperly to even suggest such madness.