Alternatives to Swepco 201?

[Hugh R]

Yes I did a search, most everyone seems to love Swepco 201, any alternatives that others recommend for a slightly knotchy into 2nd 915 trannie.

[Oh Haha]

I switched to Swepco a couple of years ago but didn't see that much of a difference. this time, I am using plain old 80/90 gear lube with Lucas stabilizer added. I have had great results in the engine with this and am curious as to the benefits to the 915.

EDIT: AS my car is apart until spring I won't know until I get a few miles on it.

[304065]

Hugh, there really is nothing better. Fun fact: The engineers at SouthWesternPetroleumCOmpany developed 201 with input from Porsche after the latter had too many transaxle failures.

True story: The prior owner of my '66 complained of a failing second gear synchro. He was using Valvoline something-or-other. I switched to SWEPCO 201 and the synchro mysteriously repaired itself, got a job and ran for mayor.

[Hugh R]

Thanks John, good to know! I'd rather not pay $50/gallon, but from what I'm reading, it sounds like the way to go.

[Jim727]

I use Red Line synthetic. Great stuff.

[Bearded Viking]

Swepco made big difference for me too. The G50 was not shifting too well and some fresh Swepo in the gearbox was a noticeable improvement.

[gduke]

I use both Royal Purple gear oil and motor oil. It's the best

[Dantilla]

Fifty bucks is a pretty cheap tranny repair bill.

Both my 911 and 944 have Swepco. The Miata may be next.

[the]

I don't notice much of a difference in shifting with SWEPCO as opposed to other oils. Maybe a bit. SWEPCO certainly doesn't shift worse than the others.

But what got me was an article that I read by Bruce Anderson, about his experience when he was on the crew (crew chief?) for one of the big Porsche teams, racing 911s.

Something to the effect that they got many times more races out of their transaxles when they switched to SWEPCO. Based on his first hand experience, with the race team and later with shops, he highly recommended it.

That made it worth the $45 to me.

[Jeff Alton]

Originally posted by Bearded Viking
Swepco made big difference for me too. The G50 was not shifting too well and some fresh Swepo in the gearbox was a noticeable improvement.

I would use a good synthetic and not SWEPCO in a G50. I have had good results with Motul. For a 915 SWEPCO is what I use, but I have never seen the big changes some have.

Cheers

[Hugh R]

Don't get me wrong, I definitely don't mind paying the $50/gallon! I was just wondering if a number of people (not one) said "you know, I use xyz, and it works as well at half the cost. One post I read from someone in the oil industry, was that they spend a lot on hype and marketing.

[SCWDP911]

Well, it is a lovely shade of blue... (LOL)

[Early_S_Man]

SWEPCO doesn't have to spend any money advertising in the Porsche community! The experiences of Bruce Anderson and the Garretson Enterprises' 935s using SWEPCO ... extending the lifetime of a ring & pinion set from one race to an entire racing season was good enough to 'sell' a lot of Garretson customers like me in the early '80s on the value of the gear oil from Fort Worth.

Valvoline or Castrol gear oil works well to flush out a 915 transaxle for anything from 200 miles to 1000 miles ... then you can put SWEPCO in!

[dentist90]

I had trouble with shifting into 2nd, and I found that a fresh fill of Quaker State 75w90 Synthetic, a 1st and 2nd synchro rebuild and all new shift bushings really did make a difference! Crazy!! (true story)

[randywebb]

I think Paul uses Torco - and I think he must get it from Steve W./Gamrothians -- if so, that is a good recommendation.

Also, somebody (Sherwood) pointed out that changing to new 'non-Swepco' frequently might be just as good.

I use Swepco tho - except for one shot to flush out a used tranny I bought. $35 is cheap insurance.

[HarryD]

Randy,

I also remember Paul (PWD72S) liking Torco but I am not sure where he gets it. I fill my SWEPCO jug from the barrel at gamRoths(port).

[hbkramer]

Red Line Synthetics is used by the air cooled BMW bike guys in their gertag built tractor like gearboxes ,and it keeps em clicking along. It is just as $$$ as Swepco.

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally posted by randywebb
I think Paul uses Torco - and I think he must get it from Steve W./Gamrothians -- if so, that is a good recommendation.

Also, somebody (Sherwood) pointed out that changing to new 'non-Swepco' frequently might be just as good.

I use Swepco tho - except for one shot to flush out a used tranny I bought. $35 is cheap insurance.

Randy:

FWIW,...We use Swepco (in drums) for all 901-915-930 gearboxes and several types of synthetics for the G-50's.

No Torco gear oil, but we do use their engine assembly lube,..

[randywebb]

Thx, Steve - I wonder where Paul is getting his Torco fix from...

[CMDR Perry]

Hugh, I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic gear lube with great results last spring. I think it cost about $10.00 / quart locally.