Cheap(er) ATF alternative
#1
Cheap(er) ATF alternative
Humble WalMart sells their store brand “Super Tech” DEXRON-VI/MERCON LV fluid for $6 per quart. According to the small print on the back it meets the specs for Audi/VW G-052-162-A1/A2. At $20+ per liter for Pentosin, might want to give it a try.
Z
1998 Audi A8Q 140k
Z
1998 Audi A8Q 140k
#2
AudiWorld Member
I am supposed to see Gabor next week so will see what he says (unless he pops in on this thread). I believe he found a pretty affordable synthetic alternative so I will see what he recommends. I learned my (painful, expensive) lesson on the Audi fluids with the power steering disaster, so I'd want to be 100% it worked before leaving Pentosin cold turkey.
#3
I've got a lot of miles on Valvoline MaxLife ATF. Supertech oils look pretty good these days and I think the cheapest synthetic is probably worlds better than the semi-synth OEM fluid from 1994. That said it'd have to be really cheap to get my attention away from what has worked for me and is also pretty reasonably priced.
#4
Super Tech is likely Mobil or Shell or Pennzoil.
Supertech oils look pretty good these days and I think the cheapest synthetic is probably worlds better than the semi-synth OEM fluid from 1994. That said it'd have to be really cheap to get my attention away from what has worked for me and is also pretty reasonably priced.
On the price issue, $6 seems pretty good to me. But the bigger driver is that none of the local shops carry anything that claims to meet that specification under any brand name. Except $26.99 Pentosin. I checked the auto stores first, and would gladly have paid 6 or 8 or even 10 for something branded that works. "Super Tech" was literally the only other game in my town.
I'm thinking that with the rise of sealed transmissions without dipsticks, the retail sale of transmission fluid has gone way, way down. So the stocking of same has done so also. This is made worse by the fact that there are now a bewildering variety of different fluids (I'm old enough to recall pre-Dexron pre-Mercon days, when it was "ATF" and "Ford ATF"). Most retailers are going to concentrate on what sells and slight what does not.
Zumkopf
1998 Audi A8Q (D2) 143k
#5
AudiWorld Junior Member
My local Walmart offers gallon jugs of Valvoline Maxlife ATF for $18 ($4.50 per quart). That made it an easy choice to use on my rebuild, as others here seem to have good luck with it.
Last edited by Samilcar; 10-12-2018 at 07:38 AM.
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