Hi Dave, We're all "behind" you! (I recently bought another case of Toyota ATF WS, 8 quarts remain in the box after changing the transaxle fluid in my 2004 a couple of months ago.)
Good post. Redline D6 has slightly higher visc then WS (WS being very low visc) and I did take a slight mileage hit but I reasoned it with the car being subjected to very high ambient temps daily so I wanted a better GL-4 lubricant in there. Last summer here in Florida was brutal.
After I changed to D6, I got the best single tank MPG I've ever had, over 62mpg. Since then, mileage is as good or better (as with the WS), don't notice any real difference in performance. I'm going to keep it in for 40k, the Oem fluid was definitely done after 31k. I'm shocked at the notion that WS is anything special, hell, its not even synthetic.
I was trying to be forthright but not sure if I was approaching winter or the visc but went from 47.5 to 46.5 there for a while. Thought it was a tradeoff for the visc increase but lately I'm back to 47 so who knows. I do know the car runs perfect and I have a superior GL-4 lubricant in there.
It's now been 9 years since this post regarding using standard high-quality Synthetic ATF, so long I believe the new standard is GL-5. Any updates EDthefox5 or Magruder on the 'experiment'? How many miles do you have on those transaxles using a high-quality synthetic ATF? I use synthetic fluids is all of my cars/trucks and Yamaha 200hp 4 stroke boat motor and would like to use synthetic ATF in my 2007 182K Pruis. Thank You!
So, a scam where they caution against using alternate fluids, and say the factory fluid will be good for the life of the car? I don't see them getting rich with that. And up here at least, I can buy Toyota ATF WS, for $9.14 (CDN) per liter. Ah but it's an inferior product, always a catch.
Maybe some alternate fluids are ok. Maybe they all are. Who knows. Still, I don't see any upside to gambling on this.
well all I can say is when you go against what chemist or engineers say/reccomend...you are decreasing your "factor of safety" like mentioned higher temps lower life expectancy we all can wag our fingers but at the end of the day you'll do w/e you want
Wow. I'm amazed there are still paranoid posts about transmission fluid that specs compatibility with Toyota WS and has excellent wear analysis posted online and good testimonials from those that use it. Mr "Engineer" Where is your data?
No experiment. Aftermarket high performance oil and fluids are a huge business and have been for decades
Thank you for the update. I have a 2000 Toyota Avalon since the warranty expired I've been using aftermarket Castro Synthetic fluids engine, trans, etc .. and the car has 289,000 miles and running as smooth as it was 19 years ago. Zero issues, just regular maintenance. Data via "Bob the Oil Guy" says Synthetic is a much better fluid in almost all aspects.
Yes! its a thing. viciousty, bulk modlous, working fluid, heat are a thing! But if the fluids are within the same class or spec, there's not a whole lot to worry about. unless you really want me to dig into SAE journals? ( I dont want to flip this back on you, i tried to reword this) If I do offer a link or two... will you even put the time to read it?
Not necessary we have Bitog for that and btw they are all about aftermarket fluids they love the Lubeguard over there. Many people run that in the G2 there.