Quote:
Originally Posted by Casca
Good choice. I am not so concerned about a slightly better shift as I am with being certain the fluid provides the...lubricity...needed to properly protect the transmission. I have read about certain aftermarket fluids destroying transmissions before....although they did make the transmission feel like it shifts better. Why would a different fluid feel like it shifts "smoother"? Maybe because it is thinner than OEM? Is it better that the fluid is so different than OEM that it changes how it feels to you? Maybe BMW went what they went with because it provides better protection. I really don't know, but I think I'd rather trust the engineering and design choices of the people at BMW than the ones at Red Line, Lucas Oil or Royal Purple that are making one fluid for all sorts of application. BMW wants to use LT-2 for this year to this year E90, but only LT-3 for another block of year and in your case LT-5. Red Line says, use ATFD4 or D6 for all BMW's...depending on your climate.
On your transmission, there should be a tag that states what fluid to use. This is not for you as it is for someone else that might be wondering what to use. Mine takes MTF-LT-3 and that is what I went with. Seems the safest thing to do is use what BMW approves and tested for the transmission they designed. Maybe I do too many arm curls, but it seems to shift easily for me with the OEM fluids and I'd just be splitting hairs to notice if it shifts better with something else. My car is not a race car and I have no wish to increase my chances of a transmission change in order to have better shifts.
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Thanks. Just to note, my transmission did not have any stickers telling me what to use. I think they stopped putting those on at some point.
As an engineer I agree with what you say. The transmission was designed by ZF and a considerable amount of research and development went in to the selection of a fluid for the unit. The exact specifications of the fluid were used to analyze the performance of the transmission. That is why I wanted to use the exact fluid that was to be in it.
