GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

6MT Fluid Recommendation

Mk7Matt

Drag Racing Champion
Location
KC Metro
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
I'm going to be changing my manual transmission fluid and was wondering what fluid you used when you did your service. What has your experience been like with your non-oe fluid? I like to drive spiritly on occasion and will find a stretch of road to log periodically, otherwise I don't push the car hard daily. I'm pushing 440whp/400ft-lb and was wondering if the OE fluid is good enough or if I would benefit from a more performance oriented fluid.

Looks like some of you have run Motul Gear 300 and others have use the Fuchs Titan Sintofluid. Has anybody run both and can provide a comparison between the 2? I've heard that Motul Gear 300 can be a little notchy when cold, but experiences have varied. Is the Fuchs the same way? I live in the midwest and it does get cold here. Car is parked in the garage overnight but sits outside while at work. Are either of these fluids more performance oriented than the OE fluid? Should I consider any other brands of fluid (Pennzoil Synchomesh or MTL)?

And fyi I'm running an HS Tuning RSR Hybrid clutch with OE DMF and dieselgeek sigma 6 shifter. Curious if anyone noticed any change in shift effort after changing the fluid.

Thanks for your help!
 

Mk7Matt

Drag Racing Champion
Location
KC Metro
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
Fuchs and Motul are the two most often mentioned non-OE brands, though I believe Fuchs makes OE? Anyhow I think you want a straight 75w or 75w-80 whichever you choose.
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/manual-trans-fluid.347815/
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/transmission-fluid-for-6mt.346670/
Thanks for the reply and the links. I swear I searched before I made this post and neither of these came up. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, seems like shifting with Motul is notchy when cold. I have a 12 mile commute to/from work and sounds like I'd have to deal with notchy shifts the whole way during winter months.

Seem like the fluid is cheap enough and changing fluid doesn't appear to be difficult. I guess if I don't like how the shifts feel I can always try something else.
 

StorableComa

Autocross Champion
Location
SoCal, USA
Car(s)
17 GSW S FWD
Short commutes from what i've read you're better off doing OEM as Jay said. Anything else is going to need time to warm up - again, just based off what i've read.
 

gbar

Ready to race!
Location
Minneapolis, MN
I use Motul 300 in Minnesota winters and I don't mind it. Yes, it gives a bit more resistance on freezing cold starts, but it warms up quickly enough to not be bothersome. The improvement in shifting feel during warmer months is worth it IMO
 

Mk7Matt

Drag Racing Champion
Location
KC Metro
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
I may give the Motul a shot given the improvement in shifting when warm.

I'm at 85k miles and haven't changed the transmission or VAQ fluid; so I'm sure whatever I end up going with will be better than what's in the car now.
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
RSR is good enough for 440/400? They always said it was good to 400 but I thought lots of people had issues on even stage 2 IS20 tunes?
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
Ran Motul 300 in my old car. Switched over around 130k miles after replacing the clutch and ran it to 175k when I sold the car. It was great once it warmed up, real smooth shifting and got rid of some of the noise and grinding I heard and felt in my shifter.

When cold it required some patience. I was never one to wait for my car to warm up. 15 seconds and I'm off, even in winter. With that in mind, I learned that double clutching the 1-2 shift the first few times did the trick. The rest of the gear shifts were fine even when cold.

I plan to switch to it in the GTI when the time comes.
 

jay745

What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Location
Slightly Outside Chicago
Car(s)
Mk6 racecar, Tacoma
RSR is good enough for 440/400? They always said it was good to 400 but I thought lots of people had issues on even stage 2 IS20 tunes?
I would think so. I have it on my mk6 with a larger than stock turbo and about 50 track days. Been fine so far, I know plenty of people over 400 and it's been fine. Granted any clutch will have problems if the driver roasts it.
 

Mk7Matt

Drag Racing Champion
Location
KC Metro
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
RSR is good enough for 440/400? They always said it was good to 400 but I thought lots of people had issues on even stage 2 IS20 tunes?
I've got the hybrid version. Had it for 40k miles (stage 2 e60 for 21k miles and hybrid turbo for the last 19k miles) with no issues. To be fair, I don't launch my car so that might have a lot to do with it...
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
Ah so “hybrid” is upgraded. Sounds good, HS Tuning had great reviews on GolfMK6 back when I had a 6er. Now that I’m back to a lower-output car (Alltrack) I think RSR is a possibility once my stock clutch dies
 

El_bigote_AJ

Autocross Champion
Location
Las Vegas
Car(s)
2019 GTI bunny
I've been using the motul now for the last week and while yeah the new clutch is also breaking in... so far I'm not a fan of how the motul feels until I've been driving a while and shifted quite a few times its deff tricky getting into 1st and 2nd... and its not like Im in cold weather in Vegas at all. as mentioned above double clutching does fix it though. also from a stand still going into first sucks a lot too till is get warm and the trick i found that slides it right in was putting the car in 2nd gear positing first and then it goes right into 1st with ease.
 

JerseyDrew77

Autocross Champion
Location
Virginia & NC
Car(s)
2016 TR GTI S 6MT
I've been using the motul now for the last week and while yeah the new clutch is also breaking in... so far I'm not a fan of how the motul feels until I've been driving a while and shifted quite a few times its deff tricky getting into 1st and 2nd... and its not like Im in cold weather in Vegas at all. as mentioned above double clutching does fix it though. also from a stand still going into first sucks a lot too till is get warm and the trick i found that slides it right in was putting the car in 2nd gear positing first and then it goes right into 1st with ease.

Have you checked you shifter linkage? It might need to be re-calibrated.
 

El_bigote_AJ

Autocross Champion
Location
Las Vegas
Car(s)
2019 GTI bunny
Have you checked you shifter linkage? It might need to be re-calibrated.
Yeah I did it 2 times, and the mechanic tried it 2-3 times the next day also, each time I would test run and it’s felt the same. Even removed the spulen short shifter And put stock back on to test both. it’s better with stock one but oddly still requires and quick throttle blip If I want it to go into 1st from a stop with ease.

To be noted I’m at 275 miles with the new clutch and fluid now and it is getting better. (Or I’m just getting used to it) lol

I do have a diesel geek shifter coming in today so I’ll be adjusting it again tonight when I install that 😂. So we will see how that goes, I will have the proper alignment Pin this time as all other times we used the 3/16 bit and it does have some play in it.
 
Top