Best Gearbox Oil for Clio 197 for Race Use

[treschermotorsport]

What's up Clio Family!

I have a question regarding gearbox oil for my Clio 197.

I'm using my Clio 197 only for race use (hillclimb & slaloms), it is not road approved anymore, so i'm only use it for competition use and looking for the best gearbox oil for the TL4 gearbox for these conditions. I've used Motul Gear Competition 75W-140 in the past and changed then to a normal 75W-80 gearbox oil as i've thought it's too much for the standard TL4 box.

My specs:

F4R 830 with Schrick Sport Cat Cams and ECU Master Black (207 PS) will likely increase this winter due motor upgrades
Light Flywheel
Sintered Clutch
Quaife Diferential, 5.0 Final Drive & CAE Shifter
Carbon Airbox
Race Manifold & Exhaust

What can you recommend? I've read in the forum that either Castrol, Redline or Elf is good for the TL4. Which would be best? I've had gear issues with the CAE shifter, where the gears are not going in nicely and a louder sound coming from the gearbox. The gearbox is revised.

Thanks!

 

[RSRowe]

The problem with asking what oil is 'best' is you'll just end up with a list of people recommending the oil they use with no basis for their statement or way to quantify it's performance. That being said, I've ran this for years, across many miles of track use: https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-981-fu...w-80-synthetic-manual-transmission-fluid.aspx

I went to their Sintopoid 75w90 when I switched over to the Gripper LSD and started to get synchro issues, so went back to the Sintofluid I ran previously.

If you're struggling with engagement already, then the damage may already be done and it might be time for another refresh of parts.

 

[treschermotorsport]

@RSRowe thanks alot for your input. Indeed, in the end I will have to test it on my own car. Definitely looking for people who been using the 197 on track so I can see if another oil will help. So thanks for the recommendation, i've seen this Sintopoid also a few times and might be worth a try! Engangement works fine, when i'm on high rpm the gearbox makes louder noises when changing gears. The gearbox was looking good after opening it, no damage on the synchros etc. Maybe it's just too much rpm for the TL4 with the CAE. I defintely had less issues when had the original shifter.

Hope some others can give me some opinions with other oils.

Greetings from Switzerland!

 

[DS197]

I would not use redline personally for track use. Used it on my old car and it was much better for road use, especially during winter, than the Elf oil.

But during spirited fast road driving, in the summer at least, the oil was worse than the Elf stuff.

 

[RSRowe]

Maybe it's just too much rpm for the TL4 with the CAE. I defintely had less issues when had the original shifter.

Yep, certainly seems to be a bit of an issue in the Megane scene too.

The Renault boxes just don't enjoy being shifted so quickly with such force. But again, there will be people out there who have had no problems whatsoever with their aftermarket shifters.

 

[Onrus]

I use elf nfp. I have no issues and car is tracked 5 times a year and driven 5 days a week.

 

[Onrus]

What’s the 5.0 final drive like? What’s your top speed in 6th gear

 

[Abdulla Ali Al Ali]

I'm using AMS 75W90

 

[treschermotorsport]

@Onrus The 5.0 final drive is amazing. Exspecially for my purposes at hillclimbs and slaloms, never have to go into 1st gear. 1st gear is really short but otherwise you're quickly in 5th gear. I actually can't tell you because i wasn't on a normal track to check my top speed. At hillclimbs i'm only in 5th gear for a short time with approx. 170 km/h

So i've did some proper digging in the forum and it seems that it's really between Elf NFP 75w80 and Fuchs TITAN SINTOFLUID SAE 75W-80. Guess i just have to test both

 

[Onrus]

@treschermotorsport what improvement have you felt from the schricks cams?

 

[pepinosport]

From what I read I would use genuine Elf stuff 75w80 or 75w, API GL4. If using other brands just make sure it isn't GL5, as they usually have additives that don't go well with copper or bronze and you might suffer from premature wear or hard shifting.
Genuine Elf stuff is used in competition in cars like the Twingo R2. The thick stuff you were using is more for sequential gearboxes than for a stock TL4.