poll: What oil are you using and what change interval?

[05LGTLtd]

There was a guy who complied abunch of data on Subaru uoa's with 4k+ oci's. As far as wear metals go, he felt that there was a slight break at 5500 miles if I remember. So if your oil can stay in grade, and T6 has the goods in that department, then going up to 5000-5500 should be doable. At that point your probably leaving some life in the TBN. UOA's can answer that for you.

 

 

4500 is 50% longer than your current oci, if you can bring yourself to stretch to that interval, you will save quite a bit on time and cash. I run quality synthetic 4-4.5k and know that my oil is well within service limits. I'd run T6 for 5k in my LGT and not feel like I was pushing anything. Right now I have time and access to a lift so if I have a free few hours and am near 4k I change my oil. If life got in the way, going to 5k wouldn't bother me either. I'm sure you can find 6k+ uoa's on T6 that look good in FI subies..

[jbangoy]

I think I will change this time at around 4000, the first 2000 was with banjo filter still in place, and it came out clean. Next time I will try 4500 and see if there is any burning off every fill up at the pump. If that feels safe I will send a uoa to blackstone or look into the napa test. Overall I feel much safer knowing the banjo is out and that huge filter is there and flowing freely for sure... (we loosened the fitting post filter with the engine running and oil started gushing out)

If I can get 3 months between oil changes safely I would feel much better about it. Although last time T6 was only $23 for a gallon.

 

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[05LGTLtd]

If it times out right you might want to run something slightly thinner in the winter change. If you want to stay 40wt, then M1 0w-40 is a thin 40, and is 22.xx for 5qts at most walmarts. Castrol 0w-40 is comparable to the M1, and when advance runs a bogo it's in the same ballpark. Either of those you could run year round if you wanted.

 

I've run T6 in the Boxster, but not the LGT yet. Running castrol 0w-40 made in Belgium right now. Have one more change to go with that, will change today. After that I'll go back to PennzUltra 10w-30 or try M1 0w-40. PennzUltra 5w30 gets good uoa results from what I've seen, that could be a winter choice too. If you want to play the rebate game it can be great deal.

[bluesubie]

PennzUltra 5w30 gets good uoa results from what I've seen, that could be a winter choice too. If you want to play the rebate game it can be great deal.

Keep in mind that most of the PU 5W-30 trend data is on a stock WRX that sees mainly highway miles. Most modded Subaru's will be dumping additional fuel into the oil unless they have a very good protune.

 

You and jbangoy are in the Mid-Atlantic, not Saskatoon, so there's not need to go thinner than a light 40 grade for winter IMO.

 

-Dennis

[Max Capacity]

Agree, I run Amsoil 5w-40 year round. Both cars go north to VT on winter weekends. Both have seen -20F cold cranking. The 5w works well. The 40 is nice for the drive home on the highway.

 

Remember its a 5w when cold, 40w when hot. Not the otherway around.

[05LGTLtd]

Ultra 5w-30 can do 4000 miles in a stage 2 LGT and will give easy cold starts. I have run 10w-30 PU down in the teens without a problem. My main point was that Rotella T6 is heavier than the other choices I listed. T6 is a very good oil but having the thinnest oil that gives you shear stability and low wear while going the distance is ideal. If you can do so for less money, all the better. M1 0w-40 will do that. Depending on your setup/tune and how you buy your oil, Castrol 0w-40 and PU may very well too. I like having options!

 

If your tune is causing fuel dilution, that's an issue that should addressed. I like the low volatility, add pack and base stocks in PU. It's a shame it's not as easy to find for everyone as it was a few months ago...

[05LGTLtd]

http://www.widman.biz/English/Calculators/Graph.html

 

This is a handy tool to compare oils based on viscosity index, 40* cSt and 100* cSt. I'm not sure how pinpoint accurate it is but a guide. Oil companies label oil ans it usually gives you a some idea comparing oils. There are thick 30's and thin 40's and vice versa. If you just go by the big numbers on the bottle you may not be getting the whole picture. Also the "5w", "0w", or "10w" is not the same in a multigrade 30 vs a multigrade 40. For instance a 0w-40 might have the same CC rating as a 5w-30, where as a 5w-40 might be 1200 cSt thicker at -20*C. Since it's flash the only way I could figure to show the graph was to screenshot it:

 

 

 

 

The 40* and 100* cSt numbers were pulled from Shell, Pennzoil and Mobil data sheets.

[05LGTLtd]

I usually run the graph to -20*C but I'll most likely only see ~-10*C as an extreme cold morning here..

[Tooslick]

The temperature-viscosity behavior of multi grade oils is highly nonlinear. You're not going to get good accuracy trying to plot a polynomial function using only two points, ie the 40C and 100C viscosities. So the Widman tool is of limited value....

 

(If you compare the CCS viscosities of the same SAE grade you can get a better idea of cold pumping behavior.)

 

TS

[05LGTLtd]

" I'm not sure how pinpoint accurate it is but a guide"

 

Fortunately for me I never see -30 or -35* ! But yes looking at CCS, advertised Grade, Pour point, and Viscosity Index are all guides for reading the tea leaves. My main point was don't assume a 5w-40 is as thin as a 5w-30 under cold start conditions just because they are both "5w" rated.

[bluesubie]

My main point was don't assume a 5w-40 is as thin as a 5w-30 under cold start conditions just because they are both "5w" rated.

^ This!

 

Many people assume that a 0W-30 is thinner than a 5W-30 when in "cold" temps, or that a 0W-40 is thinner than a 5W-30 in the "cold", or that a 0W-40 and 0W-30 are the same thickness in the "cold".

 

The fact is the first number on the bottle represents the apparent viscosity in the Cold Cranking Simulator test measured at -25C (10W), -30C (5W), and -35C (0W). http://www.pqiamerica.com/coldcrank.htm

Above those temps, the widman graph does at least give you an idea of actual viscosites, even if it isn't 100% accurate IMO.

 

According to widman the graph is supposedly more accurate at 0C and above. As Tooslick mentioned you can sometimes find the CCS data on a data sheet, but those numbers aren't as useful if you want to know the actual thickness at 0C/32F.

 

-Dennis

[05LGTLtd]

Another problem is that some companies publish CCS and some MRV or maybe Pour Point. So unless the oils/companies you are comparing have data for the same tests, then making a direct comparison is not likely.

[Tooslick]

A 5w-30 is going to be thinner than a 5w-40 at moderately cold temps, due to the shape/slope of the viscosity- temp curve. The same is true of a 0w-30 vs a 0w-40, or a 10w-30 vs a 10w-40. In each case, one is thinning out to a 30wt as you heat it, rather than a 40wt. So it simply thins out quicker. A basic concept, but difficult to understand without plotting the data.

 

TS

[Thors Twins]

Since I've owned it at 97k miles, now at 111,825, have used conventional wally world Supertech 5w30. A month ago, used "Mobilgard 409" (marine, locomotive, industrial) 40w conventional 2-stroke diesel engine oil. Now with 2k miles on that oil & no issues. Will go back to 30w for the upcoming winter.

 

Prior to me, the PO serviced the car at Suby dealer from new, so whatever they used for oil.

 

I am an unbeliever when it comes to high $$ synthetics, high-mileage formulas, Mobil1 bla bla bla. I simply use conventional oil at whatever weight the manuals call for.

[chisav]

I was previously using German Castrol and doing 3,500 changes but that was getting too expensive. Recently switched to T6 and 4,000 changes.

[Max Capacity]

Since I've owned it at 97k miles, now at 111,825, have used conventional wally world Supertech 5w30. A month ago, used "Mobilgard 409" (marine, locomotive, industrial) 40w conventional 2-stroke diesel engine oil. Now with 2k miles on that oil & no issues. Will go back to 30w for the upcoming winter.

 

Prior to me, the PO serviced the car at Suby dealer from new, so whatever they used for oil.

 

I am an unbeliever when it comes to high $$ synthetics, high-mileage formulas, Mobil1 bla bla bla. I simply use conventional oil at whatever weight the manuals call for.

 

Like you my wagon spent the first 154,000 miles on what ever 5w-30 was on sale at Walmart with fram filters, 4000-5000+ oil change intervals most time Mobil 5000 was the oil I used. In the summer time I would use Rotella 15w-40. The car had no bearing noise.

 

I'm now on Amsoil European 5w-40 with a 7000+ mile OCI. Blackstone keeps saying to go to 9000 miles and send them another sample at that time.

[bluesubie]

I was previously using German Castrol and doing 3,500 changes but that was getting too expensive. Recently switched to T6 and 4,000 changes.

Why not extend your interval if the oil is getting to expensive? GC can easily go 6k+ miles in most turbo applications and possibly longer with a used oil analysis. And I've seen uoa's on RT6 from a Stage IV STI doing 8k mile intervals.

 

I do find it funny when people complain about the cost of an oil change though when it can cost $50 or more for a fill up. Good thing you're not in Australia where you would pay AUD 95 for a 5 quart jug of Mobil1 0W-40.

 

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Mobil-1-Engine-Oil-0W-40-5-Litre.aspx?pid=134253#Cross

 

-Dennis

[Corr Performance]

we run and sell amsoil for all of our cars and customer's cars. for our race cars we use torcco.

[flipxstar23]

Is Mobil 1 5W-30 Synthetic Oil bad for High Mileage car like having 188k+ miles on it? That's what I have now and I always burn oil for almost 1k or less miles on it and i knew it's not normal, so far total miles on the oil was 2.5k+ miles on it and had to refill oil twice already.

[Captain Ned]

M1 5W-30 is a bit thin out of the bottle and shears down to a 20-weight fairly quickly. M1 0W-40 or Rotella T6 would probably help with oil consumption, though that many miles on the motor means it's going to use more oil, period.

[flipxstar23]

M1 5W-30 is a bit thin out of the bottle and shears down to a 20-weight fairly quickly. M1 0W-40 or Rotella T6 would probably help with oil consumption, though that many miles on the motor means it's going to use more oil, period.

 

Will it be better if I get a higher weight like a Mobil 1 5W-40 Synthetic? or should I go for a different brand of oil and go for the usual 5W-30? or buy those Mobil 1 High Mileage 5W-30?

[Captain Ned]

Look for oils that carry the ACEA A3/B3 certification. It'll be on the back of the bottle. Oils that have this are much more shear-stable and won't thin out as much over time as other oils.

[flipxstar23]

Look for oils that carry the ACEA A3/B3 certification. It'll be on the back of the bottle. Oils that have this are much more shear-stable and won't thin out as much over time as other oils.

 

The one I ended up getting with Mobil 1 5W-30 was a ACEA A1/B1, A5/B5 on the back of the bottle, I'll try to look for the A3/B3 version though. You think the PCV Valve is also the suspect of high oil consumption?

[Captain Ned]

At 188K miles just about anything is a suspect. First steps would be a compression test followed by a cylinder leak-down test. Don't know if you have the service records from the prior owner, but I'd be changing plugs out of caution and that's the perfect time to do both of those tests.

 

In M1, to get ACEA A3/B3 you need the 0W-40 Euro, 15W-50, or the 10W-30/10W-40 High Mileage oils.

[flipxstar23]

At 188K miles just about anything is a suspect. First steps would be a compression test followed by a cylinder leak-down test. Don't know if you have the service records from the prior owner, but I'd be changing plugs out of caution and that's the perfect time to do both of those tests.

 

In M1, to get ACEA A3/B3 you need the 0W-40 Euro, 15W-50, or the 10W-30/10W-40 High Mileage oils.

 

Brought the car to the dealer service. Everything is good, just a worn out engine, pretty much a worn out piston ring and/or worn out cylinder wall and they recommended me a new short block or rebuilt engine. For now, I'm debating whether I should stick with Synthetic oil (different brand) thicker grade or go conventional oil.