Erik S Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 In the next few days my first privat Subaru will be delivered. It`s a RHD 2000 JDM Legacy GTB station wagon Twin Turbo Because it`s my first, i`m curious on which oil you all are using. As far i could find a good brand 5w30 is OK/advised. But all the "online experts" tell someting different... - some say never to use a 5W... oil to prevent 'tickerthetick' - some say never use a 'too havy' oil. So, don`t go above ..W50 - etc... I did my very best on searching the forum, but wasn`t able to find a good thread. And this is thread #1000+ about oil. But i still hope i get some answers to keep my Sub in good shape. Kind regards, Erik The Netherlands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Hi, Erik, you didn't say what mileage the car has on it now. Generally, there are many good brands of oil out there and you don't have to worry over much about it. Just use a leading brand with the weight and specifications the manufacturer recommends for your climate. Most important for turbo Subarus is to use a good grade of synthetic oil, change the oil regularly and use the correct oil filter. In the owner's manual you will find a maintenance schedule for "severe service". Follow that schedule which calls for more frequent oil changes than "normal service". For high mileage cars, there are special oil formulations available that are designed to keep the seals working longer and keep things inside the engine clean. When the car gets to 125 000 km or so you can think about using one of those. When you see 5W30, the effective weight of the oil is 30. The 5W spec is only how the oil behaves when it is cold. Sometimes, people might advocate a heavier oil such as 5W40 because they have sent their oil in to a lab for analysis and have found it better overall. But, there is little reason to run a heavier oil than you actually need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 Hi, Erik, you didn't say what mileage the car has on it now. Generally, there are many good brands of oil out there and you don't have to worry over much about it. Just use a leading brand with the weight and specifications the manufacturer recommends for your climate. Most important for turbo Subarus is to use a good grade of synthetic oil, change the oil regularly and use the correct oil filter. In the owner's manual you will find a maintenance schedule for "severe service". Follow that schedule which calls for more frequent oil changes than "normal service". For high mileage cars, there are special oil formulations available that are designed to keep the seals working longer and keep things inside the engine clean. When the car gets to 125 000 km or so you can think about using one of those. When you see 5W30, the effective weight of the oil is 30. The 5W spec is only how the oil behaves when it is cold. Sometimes, people might advocate a heavier oil such as 5W40 because they have sent their oil in to a lab for analysis and have found it better overall. But, there is little reason to run a heavier oil than you actually need. Thnx for your quick, nice and good reaction. My Legacy GTB has 75.000 km on it. Extra info: when it`s here it`s going to be "ECU-tuned" to run without knoking etc on EU petrol RON98 (93 in USA?) In Japan the ignition is set "agressivly" because they use RON102 petrol... Because of this tune it`ll get here in the Netherlands, the max horsepower and torque will also ingrease about 15-20%. I will drive just normal city traffic for most of the time, but about 10-15% highway (130-140 km/h). And sometimes i bit faster.... I`m rather into cars and oil , but have never owned a Subaru (twin) turbo. Always (older) Audi`s before. Because i read a lot of different things i had this question. So instead of the recommended 5w30 by Subaru maybe it`s better to use a 5w40 or maybe a 5w50 because of better viscosity at higher temperatures..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 So instead of the recommended 5w30 by Subaru maybe it`s better to use a 5w40 or maybe a 5w50 because of better viscosity at higher temperatures..? Are you driving in Saudi Arabia? Some oils will lose viscosity with use due to shear down and dilution. 5W40 might end up effectively as 5W30 towards the end of the oil change interval for this reason. However, this is more of an issue if the oil change interval is very long, as for instance BMW is doing nowadays. The Subaru turbo motors do not do well with long oil change intervals, so I would keep them short as in the "severe service" maintenance schedule especially if you do lots of city driving. If you run a thicker oil than necessary, it will hurt your fuel economy (already poor with Subaru), plus make the car harder to start in cold weather. Not sure what oils are sold in your location, here we can get the so-called "European Formulation" which is often a 5W40 oil. That might be OK, but any heavier isn't needed, IMHO. If you want to be certain, you can have your used oil analyzed in a lab. That will tell you a lot about the health of the engine and if the oil you are using is working well or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 Are you driving in Saudi Arabia? Some oils will lose viscosity with use due to shear down and dilution. 5W40 might end up effectively as 5W30 towards the end of the oil change interval for this reason. However, this is more of an issue if the oil change interval is very long, as for instance BMW is doing nowadays. The Subaru turbo motors do not do well with long oil change intervals, so I would keep them short as in the "severe service" maintenance schedule especially if you do lots of city driving. If you run a thicker oil than necessary, it will hurt your fuel economy (already poor with Subaru), plus make the car harder to start in cold weather. Not sure what oils are sold in your location, here we can get the so-called "European Formulation" which is often a 5W40 oil. That might be OK, but any heavier isn't needed, IMHO. If you want to be certain, you can have your used oil analyzed in a lab. That will tell you a lot about the health of the engine and if the oil you are using is working well or not. Haha, no 'head-towls' over here! Outside temperatures are from a minimum of -10 degrees C in winter to maximum of +30 degrees C in summer (mostly within -5 till +25 C) I meant higher oil temperatures due to fast highway driving (@200 km/h my 5-cyl Audi Quattro does around 110-120 degrees C oiltemp with a good Castrol 10w40 semi-synthetic and aftermarket fm oilcooler) No worries on fuel economy...i drove a 1988 Audi 200 turbo quattro and in citytraffic it did about 1 liter per 5 km....and average about 1 liter per 9 km. Just need the best oil to keep the engine right. I change the oil on every car i own every year. And i will drive the Subaru approx. 4.000-5.000 km. So no issue there i think. Every (brand) oil i want can be bought, so 0w20, 0w30, 5w30, 5w40, 5w50, 10w30, 10w40, 10w50, 10w60, 15w50, 20w50 etc I think i know what to do. I don`t do trackdays or things like that, just occasionally fast driving/high speed. So i think a (of course fully synthetic) 5W40 is best for me. I read a lot of Subaru fans like Motul by far? And for rather normal driving the 8100 Excess, and fast driving/trackdays the 300V? #cantwaituntilitshere . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesA Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Castrol is good, you can use it if you like. Motul is very good, too, if you don't mind the expense. Oil should be changed more often than once per year. For my later model Subaru, the schedule is every 3750 miles (6000 km) or 4 months. I would suggest changing the oil at least every 6 months even if you don't drive a lot of km. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 Castrol is good, you can use it if you like. Motul is very good, too, if you don't mind the expense. Oil should be changed more often than once per year. For my later model Subaru, the schedule is every 3750 miles (6000 km) or 4 months. I would suggest changing the oil at least every 6 months even if you don't drive a lot of km. Check! I have good experience with Castrol (10W40 Magnetec and 10W60 Edge). But since i have learnt that even though Castrol puts "Fully synthetic" on their cans, it isn`t fully synthetic in the Netherlands. I don`t think i`ll use it for my Sub (something with different laws in the Netherlands vs for example Germany etc). The Dutch Castrol is only synthetic based, so a hydrocrack oil. Long story... I don`t mind the (extra) expense. So Motul it is! I saw i can buy the Motul 8100 Excess 5W40 (5 liter can) online for € 33,75 + € 6,50 shipping (about $ 38,50 + $ 7,50). So not that all expensive i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGheyitsMe Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 I have owned a EJ206 Legacy for over 3 years and generally cruise at 160 to 180 kph and constantly hit redline. Would not recommend above a 5W ever, used 10w-40 once car sounded like shit on overcast days. I personally use 5w-40, would never go to a 50 myself unless I lived in place like australia. Sent from my Robin using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik S Posted August 10, 2017 Author Share Posted August 10, 2017 I bought and put in Motul 8100 Excess 5w40 (+ new filter). Runs very fine. Based on more recomendations maybe i`ll buy Motul 300V 5w40 the next time. I`m told by a specialist and Subaru tuner that the 8100 Excess can handle a max of 110 degrees Celsius. The 300V can handle a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 2nd on the motul or castrol. Use OEM filters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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