The MT-90 is of the correct weight at 75W90. (The same as the Ford "Honey.") As an average consumer, I might not dig any deeper than that. I'm not recommending MT-90. I'm just trying to make a point about "spec."

I run 5w-30 in my engine, and will probably never change. Some guys argue that a 0w-30 or 0w-20 would be better--others argue 20w50. Both cite some arcane technical analysis that I can understand but would never be curious enough to do on my own. Both sides make some believable points that contradict each other. I'll be sticking with the design spec, thank you. That's what I mean by "not experimenting."

Now, reading that you might think I'd never stray from the Honey. But, I think I know enough now to realize that this is not rocket science. Well, it shouldn't be, anyway. My engine wants 5w-30. It gets 5w-30. It doesn't matter who makes it. Sure, some oil works better than others, and I run Mobil 1. But technically, I should be able to run any "certified" 5w-30 oil and not worry about it ruining the engine.

The gearbox is slightly more complicated, I realize. I have to worry about GL-3/4 vs GL-5. I have to use something designed for a synchronized transmission. Given complete ignorance of this thread, I should be able to choose any synthetic manual transmission fluid of the correct weight and GL rating and not worry about it. Given that, I'd be deciding between Redline MT-90, RP Synchromax, and the Ford Honey (and maybe some others). If I didn't know Ford had updated the spec, I might have D4 ATF on the list, but that's a moot point, isn't it? And who the hell's idea was it to put FM in there? But we've already covered that.

If I could wait longer, I would, to get more "long term" data on RP. But 75k is enough, and my shifting needs improvement. I'm going to have to trust my gut on this, and rely on RP's confidence. But I don't see it as a big risk.

Function before fashion. '96 Contour SE "Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998