ClioSport.net

Register a free account today to become a member!
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

Cold weather gear changes



Hi all,

Around this time of year we get quite a few questions about experiencing difficult gearshifts in cold weather, so we thought you might find this useful.
Using the incorrect viscosity gear oil in your car can make gear changes very difficult when the gearbox, and oil are cold. This is why we often don't recommend using thicker gear oils than the manufacturer specifies. It is easy to think that increasing the viscosity from a 75w-80 to 75w-90 or 75w-90 to 75w-140 isn't going to affect the cold properties of the oil, but it does.
Below are some figures showing the viscosity of a selection of oils at 40C measured in mm²/s ( 1 millimeter²/second = 1 centistoke, A centistoke is a decimal fraction of the CGS unit of kinematic viscosity stokes, which is equal to centimeter per second (cm²/s). 1 stokes is a kinematic viscosity of a fluid with a density of 1 g/cm³ and a dynamic viscosity of 1 poise… In short the thickness of oil!). 40degc may not seem cold but this is the temperature at which the viscosity is measured and is the information you will find on the oil technical data sheets.
I have listed specific brands and products to make it easier to see the differences in viscosity.
Fuchs Sintofluid FE 75w = 40.8 @ 40°c
Fuchs Sintofluid 75w-80 = 49.8 @ 40°c
Fuchs Sintopoid 75w-90 = 90.5 @ 40°c
Fuchs Sintopoid LS 75w140 = 170 @ 40°c

As you can see from that, they are all 75w oils, but there is a large difference in the viscosity at lower temps; the Sintopoid 75w-90 is over twice as thick as the Sintofluid FE 75w when cold and the 75w-140 is almost twice as thick as the 75w-90.

So, if you've got a car that needs one grade of oil as standard, but you've modified it and decide to try a thicker oil, or someone puts the wrong oil in, it might really affect the cold gear shifts. Usually, increasing the quality is a better option than increasing the viscosity when thinking about upgrading from standard fluid.

Also, viscosity ratings are not exact points, but are a band that the viscosity should fall in. The Motul Gear 300 75w-90 has a viscosity of 76.2mm²/s at 40°c and the Castrol Universal 75w-90 is 84.8mm²/s, so you can see there is some variation in oils that appear to be the same viscosity.

A lot of gearboxes specify an 80w-90 rather than a 75w-90, but I would always tend to go for a 75w-90 instead as there can be a large difference is the viscosity when cold. The Motul Gearbox 80w-90 is 164mm²/s, so over twice as thick as their Gear 300 when cold. If you're using an 80w-90 and are having stiff cold gear changes, changing to a 75w-90 is likely to improve things.

If you have any questions or need further advice please post here or email us at sales@opieoils.co.uk

Cheers
Tim.
 

Austin-182

ClioSport Club Member
  182
Another piece of really useful info from you guys. Funny as i was just thinking this morning that when its cold i find putting it in 1st doesn't feel smooth and go in easily.

Can you tell me what box oil should be used in a clio 182, and can you recommend the best oil to use?

I always use Fuchs pro s from you for my engine oil which i believe is one of the best engine oils to go for so what about box oil?
 
Mines a bit stiff going into 1st in the morning using 75w90.

Fairly sure it was like that when using the standard stuff though too.
 


Top