My first experience with the magic of this fluid was in my 1991 Miata 5MT. The car was super low miles when I bought it in 2012 (36K miles) and all the major mechanical parts were as good as new. Initially, I opted for redline MTL in the transmission and got a noticeable improvement in shifting when hot, but cold shifting into 1st and 2nd was still overly notchy and inconsistent. If you're really ripping it and doing rev match downshifting at high rpm, it would occasionally grind into 2nd.
After getting fed up with it, I did further research and found tons of folks singing the praises of this fluid. It's relatively pricey, but most Mazda manual transmissions rarely take more than two quarts so it's about 50-$60 upgrade, which is cheap in the car world. After buying some and changing out my redline fluid with 10K miles on it, the difference was IMMEDIATE!
Shifting into 1st and 2nd cold was absolutely buttery smooth. Rev-match downshifting at high-rpm is perfect with no grinding or excessive resistance. I eventually put 35K miles on this Ford fluid and it was good the whole way through. I changed it again in 2018 and I can say that shifting has always been a joy in that car.
In 2020, I purchased my sensible daily driver, a 2017 Mazda 3 2.0L with the 6 speed manual. Right off the hop, the car's cable shifter is very easy to shift into almost every gear at nearly every temperature. However, sometimes it would refuse to go into 1st unless I did some modulation of the clutch. The car only had 30K miles and is mechanically perfect. So I had a brainwave and checked to see if any Mazda 3 owners tried this fluid in their cars. Sure enough, they had, and with great results!
I ordered some (again only 2QTs needed) and wasted no time changing out the really clean OEM fluid with the secret sauce. Right away, the already smooth and easy shifting got smoother and easier. I'd say about 10% less effort on average to shift up and down to any gear. Best of all, my difficulty shifting back into 1st completely vanished. It's just like going into any other gear now and I couldn't be happier. MPG is still fantastic, with about 42MPG on the highway and 35MPG in the city unless I'm really ripping it. I don't know what special blend of 11 herbs and spices this fluid contains, but Mazda manual gearboxes seem to love it.
SUMMARY:
So it's settled then. If you have a Mazda made within the last 30 years and it's got a stick shift, it'll likely see a massive improvement in shift quality and consistency from factory fluid or even better stuff like redline. That said, you should still do your own research as some cars do call for specific fluids for a good reason. Competent forum posters will be your best friends. I hope this fluid stays in production for a while, because I have no intention of ever switching to something else in the future.
| Manufacturer | Ford |
|---|---|
| Brand | Ford |
| Model | XT-M5-QS |
| Item Weight | 1.85 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 10.5 x 4.6 x 2.4 inches |
| Item model number | XT-M5-QS |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | XT-M5-QS |
| OEM Part Number | XT*M5*QS |
