fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
It seems you got that a bit out of sequence Dan!Thank you for the kind words and your invitation to offer my thoughts before the illustrious firing squad gathered here.
Let me emphasize - I am not an expert on these matters. I am by nature inquisitive and want to know the scientific inner working of everything that crosses my path. I can and do read technical stuff for both fun and profit - much of which is over my pay grade - with the goal of coming away with a working understanding of the basics. Professionally and personally I consider myself a jack of many trades and master of none. So here goes.
Short answer is - in the areas documented by Kubota SUDT2 outperforms almost every UTTO on the market There are only a couple other OEM formulations with the same characteristics and they are no less expensive. If you want the BEST performance you can get you want one of those formulations.
Now putting on my professional hat as a standards and conformance testing guy that does not mean all of the other formulations are unsuitable for use. Kubota was quite clear about the specific improvements to UDT they obtained with the new and improved SUDT formulation
I will close with the boiler plate transmission oil reccomendation Kubota puts in all of the new owners manuals:
- First and foremost is its viscosity. It's a slightly lighter oil with a very high viscosity index and it pumps easier and faster at cold/ambient temperatures. This means it gets to moving parts faster and the ASSUMPTION implicit in that is that reduces wear. That is a reasonable assumption but Kubota offers no actual comparative wear test numbers and makes no comparitive claims beyond the typical marketing hype. Its very much like the debate over 5W40 versus 15W40 engine oil, There are lots of people here that insist 15W40 conventional oil is fine becuse they live in warm climates/ use block heaters/garage the machine/etc and they change their oil on a regular basis so they don't need the improved ambient viscosity and extended service life of a synthetic. There is another camp (that includes me) that believes a 5W40 synthetic is worth the added cost because it works better in all conditions and will extend engine life even if just marginally in all conditions.
- Secondly the SUDT formulation can absorb (is that the correct term Andy?) and hold 1% water making it less likely to corrode parts and form sludge and emulsions that could clog filters and degrade the operation or even damage the hydraulic mechanisms. This could also be viewed as a service life issue that can be addressed with regualar oil condition monitoring and if needed a reduced OCI.
- Lastly the formulation has an improved (and undoubtedly more expensive) friction modifier additive package. They document the improved brake/clutch performance in the presence of water and the service life improvement it demonstrates over conventional UDT and ONE anonymous competetiors party oil. The perfomance improvements UDT vs SUDT are real - the competitive advantages over competitors oils is pretty nebulous. Bottom line is its main advantage is an extended service live.
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If you want an "enhanced ownership experience" use SUDT2 rather than a standard UTTO. Thats cool, It does not say you CANNOT use a standard UTTO just that you won't get that enhaced ownership experience. And because the know thay can't justify it they do not say using a standard hydrauilc/transmssion oil will harm your machine or void your warranty.. It goes on to say using UDT is "permitted". UDT is nothing more than a standard UTTO - get my drift?
Personally I use SUDT2 and Rotella 5W40 synthetic diesel oil because I want the best oil I can put in my new 25K machine and I have seen and read enough to know that both are unquestionably better than even the top end conventional formulations. If I could not get them I would have no concerns about using UDT or any top end equivalents in the new machine. I would not be using the Travellers Premium UTTO and Valvoline conventional 10W30 I feed to the old B7200DT.
Thats all I have to share and I am now prepared to face my fate - ready, aim, fire....
Dan
It is usually : ....READY, FIRE, AIM !!
