Castrol IMV vs Valvoline Maxlife ATF - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ty**20 · 11-16-2010, 10:53 AM

Thanksgiving break is coming up, no class for an week. YES. Wanna do drain/refill on tranny and diff. and maybe PS. From your experience which of these two fluid will give you the most protection and perform. A lot said the Castrol IMV is synthetic blend, but I looked at the front and back label and can't find that saying. Is it hiding? Other brands are welcome also.

Thanks,

***fenixus*** · 11-16-2010, 12:22 PM

mobil1 atf is fully synthetic and superior to both above (still very good).

ty**20 · 11-16-2010, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixus

mobil1 atf is fully synthetic and superior to both above (still very good).

If the Castrol IMV is really synthetic blend, i would go with that. Fenixus, I see that you always mention Castrol IMV in your past posts for these kind of questions. Are you running them and how do you like them?

***fenixus*** · 11-16-2010, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ty**20

If the Castrol IMV is really synthetic blend, i would go with that. Fenixus, I see that you always mention Castrol IMV in your past posts for these kind of questions. Are you running them and how do you like them?

yup, I run Castrol IMV in both of my cars (tranny, diff and P/s) and it works really well, can't complain. went with this blend because it's significantly cheaper than full synthetic from M1.

ty**20 · 11-16-2010, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixus

yup, I run Castrol IMV in both of my cars (tranny, diff and P/s) and it works really well, can't complain. went with this blend because it's significantly cheaper than full synthetic from M1.

Yeah the price on the mobil1 and royal purple kind of spooked me. I don't run my car hard, so I would be fine with castrol imv or valvoline maxlife.

deadrx7conv · 11-16-2010, 03:27 PM

Maxlife is a great ATF and is synthetic. In analysis's, it has about twice the additive of Castrol IMV.
Definitely use Maxlife over IMV! Maxlife ~$4 a quart at wallyworld.

***fenixus*** · 11-16-2010, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadrx7conv

Maxlife is a great ATF and is synthetic. In analysis's, it has about twice the additive of Castrol IMV.
Definitely use Maxlife over IMV! Maxlife ~$4 a quart at wallyworld.

thanks for info! did't know maxlife is fully synthetic, next time I will get Maxlife since price is pretty much same as Castrol IMV.

ty**20 · 11-16-2010, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadrx7conv

Maxlife is a great ATF and is synthetic. In analysis's, it has about twice the additive of Castrol IMV.
Definitely use Maxlife over IMV! Maxlife ~$4 a quart at wallyworld.

Cool thanks, i'll look into that as well. Didn't know Maxlife was synthetic..will be busy this thanksgiving break..

***JohnGD*** · 11-16-2010, 07:15 PM

Sure Mobil-1 synthetic ATF would be the best IMO. But lower cost alternatives like the Castrol IMV or Maxlife are well received. I wouldn't go lower than Walmart SuperTech Mercon-V (suitable for D-III).

The old ST Mercon-V label used to say it's a syn blend, but now they changed the label to conventional base with synthetic additives or something like that. It's still a cut above dino Dexron-III however and is more shear stable according to BITOG discussions.

The only problem I personally have with Maxlife is that it's very thin, similar to Dexron VI. And GM has advised against using D-VI in older D-III transmissions.

The IMV is 36.6/8.0 (40deg/100deg cSt); Castrol domestic Dex/Merc ATF is 38.1/7.9; the Maxlife is 28.18/6.11. Compare with Valvoline's D-VI 29.5/6.0.

So go with Castrol IMV or SuperTech Mercon-V, if you don't want Mobil-1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ty**20

Thanksgiving break is coming up, no class for an week. YES. Wanna do drain/refill on tranny and diff. and maybe PS. From your experience which of these two fluid will give you the most protection and perform. A lot said the Castrol IMV is synthetic blend, but I looked at the front and back label and can't find that saying. Is it hiding? Other brands are welcome also.

Thanks,

pmesfun · 11-16-2010, 07:22 PM

I used Castrol IMV on my last drain and refill, and used regular Valvoline Dex/Merc today. There was no noticeable difference, besides the fact that Valvoline is cheaper. When I drop the pan and change the filter I'll switch over to Max Life. IMO I would use Max life because it contains additives formulated for use in HM transmissions. Same price is IMV also.

ty**20 · 11-16-2010, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmesfun

I used Castrol IMV on my last drain and refill, and used regular Valvoline Dex/Merc today. There was no noticeable difference, besides the fact that Valvoline is cheaper. When I drop the pan and change the filter I'll switch over to Max Life.

When you had the Castrol IMV, did you feel any performance in shifting?

pmesfun · 11-16-2010, 07:33 PM

Yes, there was a noticeable difference, smoother shifts, not as much jerk from P->R R->D etc. I would also go ahead and drain your differential fluid while your at it.

***JohnGD*** · 11-16-2010, 07:37 PM

The other advantage with synthetic blend or fully synthetic is that they will maintain the high performance longer. However, I still believe in more frequent changes to get rid of wear particles in the fluid.

Maxlife has seal conditioners that I tend to stay away from when not having minor issues.

pmesfun · 11-16-2010, 07:44 PM

So, its better just to stick with Valvoline Dex/Merc?

Yuko · 11-16-2010, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmesfun

So, its better just to stick with Valvoline Dex/Merc?

I used the regular Valvoline Dex/Merc in the transmission and works perfect. I did a pan drop and strainer so it should be nearly 100% Valvoline. Did the cooler line method to get the rest of the old fluid out too. Also dump Maxlife in the diff. The transmission feels the same as before so I guess that's a good thing.