Am going to go with the amsoil synthetic gear lube for my bravo 1 drive,, they have about 5 different ones, including a marine one,,, which one should I go with,, which one did TEAGUE reccomend in his article a few monts back.. ? thanks Chris..

http://www.powerboatmagazine.com/tea...es/2002/07.php

Thanks Hawk..

I've been using the 80w90 marine stuff for the
last 3 seasons.........No malfunctions

jt

I spoke with AMSOIL reps yesterday about their gear lubes. They make 4- gear lubes that can be used in lower drives and one is labeled "Marine Gearlube"

Here are the 4 products all of which you can use depending on application I was told:

1.) Their best 75W formulation is 75W-90 Load rated GL-2 - GL-5, MT-1
Product code: AGR It has the highest heat corrosion and antifoaming additives of the bunch.

2.) 80W-90 GL-2 - GL5, MT1 Their best 80W formulation Amsoil product code AGL.

3.) 80W-90 GL-4 rated, MT1 Amsoil AGT/ALU

4.) Marine 80w-90 GL-4 NOT for GL-5 manufacturers specs. Codes ALU,AGT

Amsoil has a tendency to label similiar products for "Specific Uses" by maybe changing additive packages. It can be challenging to sort through it all.


Now when I called Merc and asked what "HP" is rated at; they did not know for certain; but many non "HP" formulations are rated only GL-4 and HP is a better formulation as it has antimony (a metal powder additive) to cushion gears. To be safe use a GL-5 product to replace "HP" is what a mechanic told me was the only way to go. That would be AMSOIL "AGL"

You can go with either 75W-90 or 80W-90 according to my mechanic as well.

Redline 75W-90 "SuperLight Shockproof" Gearlube is rated at GL-6 it is made for the heaviest loads and is the best product out there. It does cost 2x ( About $12.00/qt but you don't need all that much.) This is what I am going to switch to as it can handle heat, stress and load better than anyother product other than Mobil-1 which is a close second as it exceeds GL-5 but not quite a GL-6.

Royal Purple's best is MAX Gear and is a GL-5

Mobil-1 Gearlube exceeds GL-5 and is a bargain for it's price!

So Redline and Mobil offer the highest rated synthetic gearlubes.

After a month of research I am finally where I was hoping to be with oil,gearlube and oil fliters..

1.) Mobil-1 20W-50 V-Twin Synthetic is the best rated of the bunch and almost tied with Redline. Amsoil Series 2000 Severe Service is a close #3.

2.) Redline Gearlube has a slight advantage to Mobil-1 but they are both significantly ahead of the pack in load ratings.

3.) Baldwin, (Amsoil which is a Baldwin) and Mobil-1 make the best trapping and flowing oil fliters. An A/C filter is very good for a budget oil fliter.

Hydro, do you DRINK this stuff too? I've never met anyone with the knowledge of oils and lubes that you've gathered up.

Just awesome.

Brian

P.S. How's the buzz?

Thanks for the info, went with Amsoil agl,,,, you would think that the MARINE lube would be higher rated than just a GL-4 ??

I didn't leave a "stone unturned" in doing this research over the last month. If you don't know the bottom line you may use a product based on some form of advertising or tests that don't mean anything like the 4-ball scar tests. Meaningless is what a government report said in applying the data to engine wear.


Good info is what we have now for practical considerations of what product(s) to use, using at least a GL-5 or better in a Bravo is the way to go.

One would think that would be the case in that Amsoil Marine would be GL-5 rated to replace HP or be rated higher than Merc HP. It's just that HP is a semi-synthetic product and a very good product. So you need a heavy duty synthetic to equal or match it. If you go with a GL-5 synthetic you probably will get similar performance to Merc's HP. Going to Redline Gearlube rated at GL-6 is a different story. That's the way I look at it anyways. Of course a GL-5 synthetic can take more heat than a GL-5 conventional. So there is an advantage of going GL-5 synthetic. Amsoil just says not to use their Marine lube if you need a GL-5 rating and HP is close to if not GL-5.

Next time you might want to go with Amsoil's Gl-5 if you want to stick with Amsoil. I went Mobil because it exceeds GL-5 is cheaper and easier to get with no shipping costs. At the time I didn't know Redling was at GL-6 because a GL-4 vs a GL-6 means the GL-6 has 34% more load bearing capability and gear protection. A GL-6 vs a GL-5 shows the GL-6 has a 20% advantage and that's still a lot! Drives repairs are expensive and this GL-6 lube will cut repair bills!

The entire line of Redline oil and Gearlubes is superior to most. Mobil-1 and Amsoil are more similiar than different if you review the data. Royal Purple makes a GL-5 gearlube but their oils have much lower VI's meaning they don't hold viscosity under heat as well. They are similiar to synblends.