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Why 300 miles?

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Old Apr 17, 2006 | 08:16 PM
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St. Jude Donor '06-'07
Default Why 300 miles?

Can anyone make sense of the shop manual. I just changed my diif to royal purple and did the 8 - 10 slow figures 8's as indicted (makes sense to work the fluid into the clutch packs) But it also says to "not to drive the car at wide open throttle for at least 300 miles" after a drain and refill or "scoring of the ring and pinion gears may result" This makes no sense, I could see if you rebuilt or changed the gears but on a drain and refill Any clue?

Also the manual shows a diff cooler? What cars came with that?

Last edited by Pipedreams; Apr 17, 2006 at 08:24 PM.
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Old Apr 17, 2006 | 10:28 PM
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Default Diff oil change

Pipedreams,
Could you notice any difference in the feel of the car after you changed the fluid? Is this stuff suppose to provide more protection than the stock fluid? What weight did you use? BTW, I wish I could answer your question, but I have no idea why you would have to do that. I wonder if this is to allow for some soak and saturate time.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by 30YR W8T
Pipedreams,
Could you notice any difference in the feel of the car after you changed the fluid? Is this stuff suppose to provide more protection than the stock fluid? What weight did you use? BTW, I wish I could answer your question, but I have no idea why you would have to do that. I wonder if this is to allow for some soak and saturate time.
I just changed it last night so not sure. I changed it because of the problem many reported that the posi clutch chaters in the cold on sharp turns. I used the 75-90 max gear.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 01:08 PM
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I don't remember who posted it, but he said it had to do with getting some heat into the oil for the first time, which allowed it to reach it's full protection potential. I'm not an expert, but that was the only logical explaination I've seen, and it came from someone who is always a good source of info.

And I wondered about the diff cooler too.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 02:18 PM
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The C5 Shop Manual has the same warning, we kicked that around for a long time and never came up with a positive answer. But I still follow the 300 mile rule if i change diff fluid.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by 30YR W8T
Pipedreams,
Could you notice any difference in the feel of the car after you changed the fluid? Is this stuff suppose to provide more protection than the stock fluid? What weight did you use? BTW, I wish I could answer your question, but I have no idea why you would have to do that. I wonder if this is to allow for some soak and saturate time.
I've had Royal Purple 75W-90 in about five different cars now, sometimes for years, including the C6, and there's no difference whatsoever. I also use Redline 75W-90 if I happen to find it, but Royal Purple is doing a better marketing job in Oregon. I don't add friction modifier either.

As for why you've got to wait 300 miles before you use full throttle, that's a mystery to me too.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Pipedreams
Also the manual shows a diff cooler? What cars came with that?
Z51 cars come with a diff cooler, don't they? Mine seems to have fluid lines coming out of it. I couldn't tell you by the manual, because GM still hasn't released the 2006 version!
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 04:41 PM
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The Z06 has a diff cooler. The Z51 (and Z06) have transmission coolers. Despite being bolted together and sometimes called a transaxle, there's really a separate transmission and differential.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 09:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Pipedreams
I just changed it last night so not sure. I changed it because of the problem many reported that the posi clutch chaters in the cold on sharp turns. I used the 75-90 max gear.
Thank you sir, I appreciate the information and will keep this handy. I only have about 7,000 on mine so it will be a little while before I change. I would be really interested to know how this is performing for you down the road a bit and if you see any positive results.
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Old Apr 18, 2006 | 09:20 PM
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From: Bay Shore, NY 11706 MILD2WILD (M2W)
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I called tech support at RP and he laughed at the 300 mile warning
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Old Apr 19, 2006 | 09:07 PM
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Well, it's not his car...
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Old Apr 20, 2006 | 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Gearhead Jim
Well, it's not his car...
Besides, what's 300 miles anyway? I'll cover that this weekend when I go to the SoCal get-together and spend the day in orange county.
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Old Apr 21, 2006 | 10:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Pipedreams
Can anyone make sense of the shop manual. I just changed my diif to royal purple and did the 8 - 10 slow figures 8's as indicted (makes sense to work the fluid into the clutch packs) But it also says to "not to drive the car at wide open throttle for at least 300 miles" after a drain and refill or "scoring of the ring and pinion gears may result" This makes no sense, I could see if you rebuilt or changed the gears but on a drain and refill Any clue?

Also the manual shows a diff cooler? What cars came with that?
Ed, The Z06 has the differential cooler, not the Z51. The service manual is generic.

As for the 300 mile rule, when the differential lub is changed, the service manual recomments the GM 75w-90 synthetic lubricant plus one 4 oz bottle of the GM limited slip conditioner. GM powertrain wants to allow for about 300 miles for the conditioner to completely mix with the synthetic lubricant.
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Old Apr 21, 2006 | 10:20 AM
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From: Bay Shore, NY 11706 MILD2WILD (M2W)
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Originally Posted by calemasters
GM powertrain wants to allow for about 300 miles for the conditioner to completely mix with the synthetic lubricant.
Thanks, you always have the right answer. So if I use Royal Purple that has the conditioner all ready in the mix the 300 is not needed.
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Old Apr 21, 2006 | 12:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Pipedreams
Thanks, you always have the right answer. So if I use Royal Purple that has the conditioner all ready in the mix the 300 is not needed.
I am not sure, maybe. If the RP lubricant is a homogeneous mixture, I think you are OK. However, if the additive seperates out of the lubricant while in the bottle, sitting on the shelf, then you may need to cool it for a few miles.

I know, it is tough having to take it easy for a while. The 500 mile break in period was a killer.

Last edited by calemasters; Apr 21, 2006 at 10:16 PM.
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Old Apr 21, 2006 | 05:42 PM
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I'll say it again, this site is absolutely the best. Great info for future reference.
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Old Apr 21, 2006 | 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by calemasters
Ed, The Z06 has the differential cooler, not the Z51. The service manual is generic.

As for the 300 mile rule, when the differential lub is changed, the service manual recomments the GM 75w-90 synthetic lubricant plus one 4 oz bottle of the GM limited slip conditioner. GM powertrain wants to allow for about 300 miles for the conditioner to completely mix with the synthetic lubricant.
Add the limited slip conditioner. makes a big difference.
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To Why 300 miles?

Old Apr 22, 2006 | 05:00 AM
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Use Redline oils you won't have this problem.
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Old Apr 22, 2006 | 08:13 AM
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Originally Posted by LS WON
Use Redline oils you won't have this problem.
I always see you pushing redline in all the post? The speed shops I all spoke to all disagreed.
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Old Apr 22, 2006 | 08:35 AM
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Default royal...

1)Is there a real difference in mobil and royal rear end gears?
2)does royal(SYNTHETIC OIL) REALLY increase H.P?
THANKS.
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