5w40 blue-bottle synthetic is what I'm running this winter, and I know many others have too. the 5w is referring to the cold viscocity - meaning this is the same "thickness" as a 5w30 when its cold.
im running full synthetic rotella 5w-40 seems to work really well and dosent break down as much as the m1 did
Just filled up with Valvoline Durablend 5w-30 tonight and an OEM filter. Signed up for the engine guarantee through Valvoline. Hype/marketing/BS whatever, the stuff was $1.79 at o'Reillys a few weeks ago so I bought up 20 quarts. I also sent in an Oil Analysis sample to Blackstone Labs since this is the first change since I have owned the car. I think the dealer used Mobil 1 Conventional in the last change when I purchased the car. I'll post up results as soon as I have them!
I ran M1 15w50 in my motor back then. All 5qts in, and usually 3-3.5qts back out. After 10k miles of hard driving on new engine bearings, the rod bearing let loose. Oil change was 5days before with new filter. I was testing revs so engine revs was 6000-7500rpms for like 1 minute loading and unloading the engine with WOT pulls. The bearing SPUN, not worn in one spot, but SPUN. upon taking the engine apart, I find that I put two rod caps backwards. The one that spun was one of them; cylinder #3. The oil is not at fault. I can say that hard driving for the 10k miles added to it, as well as holding revs on an EJ22T motor. I am not sure how much oil pressure I was holding on the stock EJ22T pump, but it doesn't have 2 shims like the WRX oil pump. Another fault is that the cam cap was on incorrectly. This is the cause of a spun bearing. The tab is suppose to keep the bearing from spinning around in the journal. I changed my oil about every 5weeks when my motor was running. I run it hard so I changed it that many times. I will be running Shell Rotella reg oil. But I will be changing it quite a bit as well.
In response to the post made in the other closed thread about checking it often and using Mobil 1. The thing is, I don't want to have to worry about my oil so much. Yeah, I check the dipstick, and I've gotten used to checking it at around 2000 miles after an oil change. I've also gotten used to seeing that it is still just as full as it was when I changed it. With Mobil1 I had to check it more often because when I would check at 2000 miles it would have consumed enough to drop me below halfway on the dipstick, if not close to the low mark. You can preach till you are blue in the face about how Mobil 1 is fine, and you should be more diligent about checking oil, but having to check your oil every gas fill and top it off between changes is absurd. I can put in 5qts of Rotella-T 5w40 and at 2000 miles when I check it and it will still be just as full as when I put it in. And at 3000 too when I go to change it. Consuming oil isn't a good thing, nor should it be something you just 'get used to.' Yes, you should check your oil regularly, but if you don't check it, you shouldn't have to live in fear of it being low because it magicly disappears. Burning off a quart of oil at 2000 miles to me isn't something I want in my car. And I'm not a Mobil 1 "hater," You can use whatever oil you are comfortable with, it's your car. But for me, I like the peace of mind of not having to worry about losing a quart of oil between changes, and I like having my lubrication feel consistant through all 3000 (or more) miles between changes. That was the one thing I miss the least about running Mobil 1, having to hear my valvetrain click nice and loud because the oil was piss thin. And I didn't like that when I gave it a fresh oil change, the car would feel noticably different. Mushashi can chime in on that one, I know that was one of his big things when I recommended he switch. He noticed it the first change, that the engine didn't feel any different between the last change and the current one. If checking your oil constantly for low conditions and consumption, and inconsistent engine performance throughout the lifetime of your oil change is what you want in an oil, then by all means, keep using Mobil 1. As long as you religiously check your oil and change it at exactly 3000 miles, your engine should be fine. If you want your oil performance to remain consistant throughout, from change to change, and you don't want to have to worry about oil consumption as much, then I would give another brand a try. I use Rotella T 5w40, I know a few guys use the Amsoil stuff and like it. Find what you are comfortably using, and use it.
im gonna be doing a oil change coming up and have used kendal fully synthetic in the past...from the looks of this tread as long as you stay with a name brand you should be good?...Mobile 1, rotella, amsoil. any other suggestions, i drive a 05 wrx with about 65k on it...im leaning towards rotella, im reading good things.
yeah i read all that...aslo i was thinking with just going with the oem subaru filter from the dealership...any thoughts on that?
yeah im going to try 5w40 rotella FS and see how i like it, and probably go with a oem filter or a wix
So... for those using Amsoil; which 5w-30 are you using? SAE 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/asl.aspx or SAE 5W-30 XL Synthetic Motor Oil http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/xlf.aspx Thanks in advance!
Does this mean that Rotella stands the hard driving? because as stated by Fuji in the quote he says the spun bearing wasn't due to Mobil 1...
"Shell Rotella T should only be used as a break-in oil for new motors. Do not use it as a daily driver motor oil. Those guys that are using every day do not realize the long term consequences of that type of oil." - Anonymous Member just thought i'd throw this into the mix here. I PM'd a guy on here about what fluids to use and this is what he said about the Oil. I don't know why he told me this, and i didn't ask.
When I used Amsoil, I used the XL line of Amsoil... I think WRX1 is a dealer on here so he might be able to hook you up on pricing.
Tell "anonymous member" that when he can backup his comments with analysis, I will consider them. And telling people to break in a motor with a synthetic oil goes against EVERYTHING i've ever read on the subject.
The ONLY problem with using shell in an every day driver is if you dont change your oil, as it has much less detergents than regular oil, BUT if you change it as often as you should it can only help, Ive been using it in my domestic cars for quite some time now without any ill effects. The amount of zinc in it is great for my flat tappet camshafts.
Rotella T is available in synthetic, its the blue bottle, not the white. Which is what readymixx is talking about. edit: NVM, you knew that, and analmost is not correct.
im doing a oil change sometime this week, and from reading this thread looks like im going with rotella 5w40, sounds like a good bet. and thoughts on the oem oil filters? thats what i will be using
I really like the Purolator Pure 1 Oil Filters http://www.pureoil.com/ Advanced Auto Parts sells them.
I've been using just OEM filters, and they work fine. With our discount, they aren't a bad price either.
I second this. OEM filters have been great. I even had a UOA done on with it and they commented that it filtered very well.
As long as you're following recommended change intervals and changing your filter each time, I wouldn't worry too much about it. That said I stocked up on the black Tokyo Roki oem filters as soon as they switched over to the blue made in Canada oem filter BS.
I too bought a bunch of black filters. Everyone on LegacyGT.com was all bent out of shape because the blue ones are made by Honeywell...and Honeywell is the parent company of Fram.
I have only used the OEM Blue filters. I am also not concerned about the differences between the Black and Blue oil filters. Even if the black ones are better, you can't get them anymore. I would be more concerned about using an OEM filter vs. aftermarket one... Subaru filters have a fairly high Filter Bypass Pressure, ~24psi, and no other filter has a pressure setting this high that I know of. Reason being the high volume oil pump on our cars causes high oil pressures. A filter with a low pressure setting might cause the oil bypass to kick in sooner and more often, thus causing less filtration and more engine wear.
after my first oil change with M1 about 2500 miles in my oil light came on, checked my dip stick and i was pretty low. i check my oil every time i fill up gas, so in my case it looks to be true that it does dissapear, i cant find and obvious leaks. im wondering now whether i should stick with mobile one because some people say its only the first time you use it it can dissapear like that, or do i switch over do a different oil? any thoughts? however i dont want to constantly be switching oil brands...
I had the same issues you're describing with Amsoil and Royal Purple. I asked a couple people this same question and many recommend Rotella T6. Switched to that and haven't looked back since.
