Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

SDSeville

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Does anyone use Royal Purple Max ATF in their tow vehicle? I am just wondering if it is worth the extra money -- about double the others.

My tow vehicle is a 2001 GMC Sierra 1500 with 103,000 miles on the 4.8. My boat weighs about 3,000 pounds.
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Highly marketed Snake oil. They just dye their oils purple.. For all that I'm not an Amsoil advocate, there transmission and differential fluids are superior to most others.
 

BobGinCO

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Mine uses none of that. It was hard finding an F-250 with a manual transmission, but it was worth it!
 

SDSeville

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

How about AMSOIL ATF?
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Same here, I go as far as buying Shell Rotella T5 10W30 diesel oil for my truck's engine because of the ZDDP content , but the transmission just got Penzoil syncromesh transmission fluid ( NV 3500 5spd ) when I changed it.. I came very close to getting a 2002 F-250 with a manual trans but it was a 2wd and had to talk myself out of it
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

How about AMSOIL ATF?

AMSOil ATF is a Group IV oil IIRC, most other high dollar oils are group III as RP is, but when it comes down to it, just use a quality over the counter oil and make sure it's changed at the recomended intervals.
 

SDSeville

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

AMSOil ATF is a Group IV oil IIRC, most other high dollar oils are group III as RP is, but when it comes down to it, just use a quality over the counter oil and make sure it's changed at the recomended intervals.

So, the lower the group # the better?
 

MH Hawker

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Same thing here I change the fluids at the hafe recommended miles just because, but its standard stuff. And have put 300k plus on any thing I drive. Fresh oils simply work better than dirty oils.
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Higher the group number.. Amsoil is a better oil than the rest, but it's not needed. If you were going to run your truck on the sand dunes in 110*+ weather or some other extreme, I might agree it could be a good idea, but not if all your doing is pulling a 3k lbs boat
 

SDSeville

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Higher the group number.. Amsoil is a better oil than the rest, but it's not needed. If you were going to run your truck on the sand dunes in 110*+ weather or some other extreme, I might agree it could be a good idea, but not if all your doing is pulling a 3k lbs boat

Thanks matt167. I do tow through 120*+ weather in Arizona to and from Lake Mohave, but no sand dunes. I was just thinking of using it (leaning more towards AMSOIL now) because it is only a few dollars a qt. more than the regular stuff. I only put 10k miles on my truck a year, so the difference is negligible over the years.
 

agallant80

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

I think royal purple did a thing a few years back where they changed all of the fluids in a car put it on a dyno and got better numbers but it was not much. For that matter I wonder if you changed all of the fluids on a used car/truck if you would see better numbers. Its marketing any ways. If the data supports our claim than it will go out to the public, if it does not we will finde some reason to say the data set is skewed and discard it. I did this stuff for years at a few software companies I worked for.....
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

It was Muscle Car TV or Horsepower TV, whichever one was/is on the "powerblock" that did that test. They claimed 30hp on the dyno by using all RP fluids, but they did not test it with fresh non RP fluids first, just whatever was in it when they got it so the results were skewed
 

H20Rat

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

It was Muscle Car TV or Horsepower TV, whichever one was/is on the "powerblock" that did that test. They claimed 30hp on the dyno by using all RP fluids, but they did not test it with fresh non RP fluids first, just whatever was in it when they got it so the results were skewed

The ONLY way an oil can affect horsepower is by its viscosity. (and unless you are comparing 0w-20 to 75w-90, you aren't going to lose 30 hp) Simply put, the thinner the oil, the easier it is to pump and the less drag it causes. Of course, thinner oil also MAY offer less protection in your engine.

This is also the main reason you see many manufacturers recommending 5w-20 now. It has nothing to do with engine design, and all about fuel efficiency standards.
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

I know, but it was a TV show that might as well be an infomercial on the stuff. If you watch the credits on any of those shows you see the credits saying the hosts are paid spokesperson's for the product.. Several new vehicles are spec'ing 0W20 now, and it is almost the consistancy of water. You can't get a good accurate reading on the dipstick if it's even just warm... I actually run thicker oil than my truck calls for ( 1995 K1500 5.0L ) but I know the 305 can take 10W30 as 15W40 is a common viscosity used in SBC's. It's spec'd for 5W30, but the Rotella T5 is only available in 10W30, every other viscosity is 40w blends
 

SilverSS07

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

I would save the $ on the expensive trans fluid and just change it a little more frequently. I've never had an auto trans fail (knock on wood!) and had a few with over 250,000 miles. I always add a large aftermarket trans cooler on every auto vehicle. My Dodge truck with the trans that everybody hates (46re) is at 170,000 and is going like a champ. I would spend the extra $ on getting a bigger trans cooler- even if it has a factory one.
 

SilverSS07

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Same here, I go as far as buying Shell Rotella T5 10W30 diesel oil for my truck's engine because of the ZDDP content , but the transmission just got Penzoil syncromesh transmission fluid ( NV 3500 5spd ) when I changed it.. I came very close to getting a 2002 F-250 with a manual trans but it was a 2wd and had to talk myself out of it

Just curious why you use Rotella. I have read they don't have the same amount of zddp they used to- just like most of the regular oil. Your 95 305 should be a roller cam. I always thought the only engines that needed higher levels of zddp were ones with flat tappet cams. 305's are great engines- not exactly a powerhouse but extremely reliable. I pulled mine @ 287,000 to put in a big block and it still ran great.
 

matt167

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

'95 was still flat tappet in the trucks unless I'm mistaken. I know the bosses are there for the roller cam but I think it is a hydraulic flat tappet. I think the F body cars got roller cams and the blocks are the same so that may be why... The oil is also $12/gal, regular Valvoline is up to like $15/gal. They did reduce the amount of ZDDP in the diesel oils but it is still higher ppm than current gasoline oils. My truck did not leak or burn a drop of oil in 3k miles up until I had a shop do the clutch cause I didn't have the time, and they tore up the rear main so it leaks about 1/2 quart in 3k miles now. I change oil at 3k religiously.
 

SDSeville

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

Went with Amsoil ATF. It was only $1 per quart more than Mobile 1.
 

stylesabu

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Re: Royal Purple Transmission Fluid in Tow Vehicle

a trans cooler is much more important.so oils are better than others. clean average oil is better than dirty expensive oil. trans fluids are getting a little complicated, everybody seems to use there own . my truck has a trans temp gauge, smartest thing Ive seen in years. ask any trans builder heat kills
 
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