About Motul
Motul is a French lubricant maker headquartered in Aubervilliers, with roots that go back to 1853, when the Swan & Finch company began producing high-quality lubricants in New York. Swan & Finch started exporting some of its portfolio brands, Motul among them, in the 1920s, and in 1932 Ernst Zaug negotiated French distribution of the Motul brand through his company Supra Penn. The company marked the Swan & Finch centenary in 1953 with the worldwide launch of Motul Century. Today it develops and distributes lubricants for cars, motorcycles, trucks and industry.
Motul's lineup includes the 300V racing oil, the 8100 range of synthetic oils for modern gasoline and diesel engines, and the 7100 ester-based oil for everyday motorcycles. The company publishes technical data sheets for its products. Its gear oils use what Motul calls ESTER Core technology, built on the idea that polar ester molecules cling to metal surfaces to keep a protective film in place under heat and load. On RevRated, two Motul gear oils appear in our manual transmission fluid review: the Gear 300 75W-90, carrying both API GL-4 and GL-5 ratings and backed by 955 Amazon ratings at a 4.9-star average, and the Gear 300 LS 75W-90, built for limited-slip differentials.
Brand website: motul.com
What Motul makes
Motul's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines that earned places in our roundups are marked with a star:
Gear 300 75W-90
ester-core synthetic gear oil for racing and high-performance gearboxes, rated API GL-4 and GL-5 (featured on RevRated)
Gear 300 LS 75W-90
synthetic gear oil with a dedicated friction modifier for limited-slip differentials and manual transmissions (featured on RevRated)
300V Racing Oils
the company's flagship 100% synthetic racing oil line
8100 Engine Oils
100% synthetic oils for modern gasoline and diesel engines
7100 Motorcycle Oils
100% synthetic ester-based engine oil for everyday motorcycles
Cleaning and Lubrication Products
maintenance products, including those supplied to the Team BMC mountain bike program
Why we recognized Motul
The RevRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our category roundups. Motul earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: checked against the specs, fitment data and verified buyer reviews, and judged on merit.
Motul products we rated highly
Motul Gear 300 75W-90 100% Synthetic Gear Oil - 1 Liter
An ester-core synthetic that, in our review, stands out for holding its film and shift feel at both ends of the temperature range, which is why it shows up in BMW, Porsche and Miata track builds where the gearbox sees sustained heat. The dual GL-4 and GL-5 rating lets one bottle serve a synchronized gearbox and a conventional differential, and the listing carries 955 ratings at a 4.9-star average. Owners report quieter gear whine and cleaner rev-matched downshifts after switching from a conventional 75W-90.
Read our Manual Transmission Fluids guide →
Motul Gear 300 LS 75W-90 Limited Slip Differential and Manual Transmission Fluid - 1 Liter
Built for limited-slip units, with a friction-modifier package tuned so the clutch packs engage progressively instead of chattering through a tight turn. It uses the same ester core as the standard Gear 300 and is a common choice in Miata, BRZ and 86 track builds running an aftermarket limited-slip differential. Motul also publishes a full technical data sheet for it, which is more documentation than most fluids in this category provide.
Read our Manual Transmission Fluids guide →What earned Motul the recognition
- Ester-core gear oils that our review found well suited to gearboxes that see sustained heat, such as track-driven cars
- One of our top picks for performance manual gearboxes, with the dual GL-4 and GL-5 Gear 300 serving both a transmission and a differential
- A dedicated limited-slip formulation with its own friction modifier, rather than a single fluid sold for every use
- Published technical data sheets for its gear oils, so buyers can check the specification against their owner manual
- More than a century and a half of lubricant-making heritage, from Swan & Finch in 1853 to a global French lubricant company today