Powersports Gear Oils

The transmission system of your powersports vehicle is a complex arrangement of gears, shafts and other moving parts. All these components experience a lot of stress, transferring power from the engine to the drive wheels, so they need to be properly lubricated to do their job as intended. For this reason, your transmission system is filled with gear oil that prevents its moving parts from premature failure and ensures smooth operation. Gear oil is a lubricant that contains various additives that work together to keep your vehicle running as long as possible.

When shopping for gear oil for your powersports vehicle, it is extremely important to choose the type of oil recommended by the manufacturer of your ATV, UTV or snowmobile. Such recommendations can be found in your vehicle owner’s manual. It can be mineral or synthetic oil, or a mixture of both. Each of them has its pros and cons and is used depending on the vehicle type, the conditions it operates in, its horsepower, etc. Plus, gear oils often come with different additives to maximize their lubricating abilities and performance properties.

The battle between mineral and synthetic gear oils has lasted for years. Whereas mineral oils have been used for decades, their synthetic counterparts have recently become popular. More and more automakers give preference to synthetic gear oils since they provide better performance, have a longer service life and a wide range of operating temperatures. Synthetic oils are made through chemical reactions to get specific properties and meet the application. They also have a lower traction coefficient, which means less power is lost to overcome friction forces between parts, and therefore, more power is used to spin the wheels.