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Old 12-01-2012, 12:03 PM   #1
EM101
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Default Oil question in 2012-2013 Impreza

Having read through the thousands of post regarding oil consumption in the FB engine, I have seen several posts regarding Mobil 1 and also one particular person that recommends against using Mobil 1.

Who has used Mobil 1 in their 2012-2013 FB engine and what was your impression of it? Noisy? Anything different than the stock oil? Increase/decrease fuel economy? Oil consumption changed at all?

I have two of the 2013 Imprezas and will be changing the oil in both at the 3000 mile mark. I am not interested in increasing the OCI at this time since I am still under warranty but I am not afraid to pay more for good stuff either.

Mobil 1 just happens to be the easiest to get oil on a local basis without going to Amsoil.
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Old 12-01-2012, 12:44 PM   #2
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There isn't much difference between the 0W-20 oils on the market. Some are thinner at operating temperature and start up. I have used Havoline Synthetic 0W-20 and Eneos 0W-20 in my 2012 already. Seeing that you live pretty close to me. You can pick them up locally. Two good oils that are getting good results on Bitog are Toyota 0W-20 and the new Idemitsu made Mazda 0W-20 with Moly. It's a better and thinner oil at start up then the Idemitsu made Subaru 0W-20.
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Old 12-01-2012, 01:03 PM   #3
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my red impreza has the m1 in it, personally it feels a little weird to me this is completely a personal thing and 100% not scientific. I therefore switched to kendall 0w 20 also was able to get it cheaper than m1 so call me cheap.
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Old 12-01-2012, 01:35 PM   #4
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I have M1 in my 2013. It's fine. No difference vs the factory oil.

M1 is not the cause of others oil consumption issues.

You will not be able to tell a difference between any 0W20s on the market.

I've had 13 vehicles, driven well over a million miles between them, always used the cheapest recommended oil grade, paid no attention to the brand, and I've never had an oil related issue, nor been able to tell a difference between brands. I also worked at Jiffy Lube in high school and college and have changed oil on thousands of vehicles.

If you can hear a difference, there is something seriously wrong with the oil and the engine won't last long with it in it.
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Old 12-01-2012, 03:49 PM   #5
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Good post^
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Old 12-01-2012, 09:56 PM   #6
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Amsoil and M1 are Group IV oils, fully synthetic. Group III are allowed to be called "synthetic" but are not as good as Group IV. There is a lot of info on the internet, bobistheoilguy.com is a good source.

I have been using Amsoil in my vehicles for years, and will start doing so in my Impreza when I feel the break-in is optimal - probably 10 to 20,000 miles. I've been using it my Corolla for over 150,000 miles, changing it every 20 to 25,000 miles, and still get well over the EPA mpg estimates - in fact it's rated at 36 mpg highway and I get that at over 75 mph. It does use a quart of oil every 15,000 miles though, which works out okay since I change the filter about then anyway. I've done oil analyses a couple of times at 25,000 miles and it was still good.

I even put M1 in my 1978 Landcruiser and it ran noticeably smoother...
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Old 12-02-2012, 07:29 AM   #7
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Most of Mobil 1 oils are mixed group III/IV these days. Even Amsoil's OE and XL lines are group III.
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Old 12-02-2012, 10:28 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by finklejag View Post
Most of Mobil 1 oils are mixed group III/IV these days. Even Amsoil's OE and XL lines are group III.
Hmmm. News to me about Amsoil. The "Signature" line is the 25,000 mile interval Group IV oil though - the one they advertise as full synthetic:

http://www.amsoil.com/catalog.aspx?code=ASMQT-EA
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Old 12-02-2012, 10:55 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by finklejag View Post
Most of Mobil 1 oils are mixed group III/IV these days. Even Amsoil's OE and XL lines are group III.
I'm confident that the Amsoil OE I'm using, on a 5k mile OCI, will serve my car well for its lifetime. But when I do my next oil change in 4k miles (with the odometer at approximately 12k miles), I plan to send a sample into Blackstone for an analysis, just to make sure.
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Old 12-02-2012, 11:24 AM   #10
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Amsoil's OE is the old XL oil. The new XL has a better add pack then the older one. Both are very good oils, and have no problems with the 7,500 mile oil changes Subaru calls for.
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Old 12-02-2012, 12:19 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by finklejag View Post
Amsoil's OE is the old XL oil. The new XL has a better add pack then the older one. Both are very good oils, and have no problems with the 7,500 mile oil changes Subaru calls for.
Right. So with a 5k OCI, I have no worries, regardless of whether the OE is a Group III or Group IV oil.
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Old 12-03-2012, 02:49 AM   #12
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I've been doing my oil changes at a 4k OCI. Would that be too short of an OCI and just excessive?
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Old 12-03-2012, 07:27 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pkL View Post
I've been doing my oil changes at a 4k OCI. Would that be too short of an OCI and just excessive?
It is excessive. The manufacturer interval of 7,500 is fine unless you are driving in severe conditions. Otherwise you are just wasting your money changing the oil so often.

I am going with a longer interval, but plan on doing a used oil analysis to see how the Signature series performs over 9,000 miles or so that I drive annually.

This is compounded by the fact that 90% of people who do the short oil change intervals trade the car in after 4 years. Overkill, extra expense, and even if there were some marginal reduction in internal engine wear, you won't benefit at all from it.

There is one exception (IMHO) if you plan on keeping the car a long time, do one early oil change after 1,000 miles. Then jump on the manufacturer interval.
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Old 12-03-2012, 09:18 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeeper View Post
There is one exception (IMHO) if you plan on keeping the car a long time, do one early oil change after 1,000 miles. Then jump on the manufacturer interval.
Ding ding! That's what I've done and had good luck with before and what I will be doing this time as well.
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Old 12-03-2012, 03:48 PM   #15
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Thanks for the replies.

I am thinking that a change now at 1500 miles on the odometer to Mobil 1 0W-20 will be fine. I will be having the dealer service the car partly to ensure that warranty is covered and partly for the "free tires for life if we do all the service". Having priced even the OEM tires, it seems like a pretty reasonable deal to have them do the regular service.

While I appreciate the efforts of many to increase their OCI, I am not convinced that is the best route for me. Other than a savings in purchasing the oil, what benefit is there to having a long OCI especially since oil is supposedly recycled (at least the recycle people take it).
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Old 12-03-2012, 04:58 PM   #16
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OCI is strictly a personal choice, we all differ as to intervals and what are acceptable levels of care and what are waste of money. I generally base decisions after I have a good agregate amount of data, this final number or analysis is infused with my individual experience, knowledge, and a few other secret ingredients. It works for me but could work to the detriment of others. Do whatever oci you believe fits your needs after all its your money, your time, and unless you are gonna be donating some of it for my usage the buck stops with you.
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Old 12-03-2012, 06:04 PM   #17
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I use the Idemitsu Subaru 0w20 and am going to change to the Mazda with moly in it when I hit around 10k as well. I work for Idemitsu and both oils are very good oils. I don't think one is better than the other except that the moly is a bit better for things like the cams and followers. It's also nice that I get free oil as well. I usually like to change the oil every 3k miles since we don't drive very much. I have about 3700 miles on it now. We bought it in May of this year.

Paul

Last edited by gt601; 12-03-2012 at 06:14 PM.
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Old 12-03-2012, 06:38 PM   #18
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The Subaru 0W-20 has a way lower viscosity Index then the Mazda oil.

221 vs 169

That means the Mazda oil is lighter on start up and operating temps. When the Idemitsu oil went from GF-4 SM to the new GF-5 SN rated. It went from having a VI of 197 to 169. It also had over 600 ppm of Moly in it. It's pretty much doesn't have any Moly now. Both will serve the purpose of the 7,500 miles oil change interval. They are both priced the same. I will buy the Mazda oil for better start up wear and maybe better MPG, seeing it is lighter at normal engine temps.
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Old 12-03-2012, 10:08 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeeper View Post
It is excessive. The manufacturer interval of 7,500 is fine unless you are driving in severe conditions. Otherwise you are just wasting your money changing the oil so often.

I am going with a longer interval, but plan on doing a used oil analysis to see how the Signature series performs over 9,000 miles or so that I drive annually.

This is compounded by the fact that 90% of people who do the short oil change intervals trade the car in after 4 years. Overkill, extra expense, and even if there were some marginal reduction in internal engine wear, you won't benefit at all from it.

There is one exception (IMHO) if you plan on keeping the car a long time, do one early oil change after 1,000 miles. Then jump on the manufacturer interval.
I plan on keeping my car a long time, at least that's my intention. I did my first oil change at around 4000 miles and my second just recently with the same 4000 mile OCI (car has close to 8000 miles). The oil looked really dark and dirty when I changed it out. I guess I will space out my OCI more now; since, it's a bit excessive, thanks.
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:08 AM   #20
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I noticed the same dark and dirty look when i changed my oil at 10k (after the initial 3750 done by dealership). I assume this is not unusual but the new oil is a bright yellow and old oil is dark reddish brown? Is this a synthetic thing? Considering this si the first car i do my own oil changes Im not sure.

Also Im probably going to change the oil every 10k miles from now on because i drive it really easy and ill prob still be changing it a couple times a year with that interval.

I used penzoil the first change and bought mobile 1 (advanced fuel economy or something) for the next oil change in about 2k miles.
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:35 AM   #21
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I think the dirty appearance is normal for synthetic oils, which are designed to keep contaminants in suspension. At least that is true for the Castrol synthetic oil that VW diesel engines require. A TDI's oil looks dirty before you get home from the dealership after an oil change.

But maybe that's not an apples-to-apples comparison.
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:38 AM   #22
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just curious - what does it cost you guys at the dealership to get an oil change?

the DIY route I'm looking at probably around $25 for oil, $7 for oil filter and then some small amount for a crush washer. So lets say $32-33.
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:50 AM   #23
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another note: I probably don't drive more than 4000-5000 miles a year. should I just do an annual oil change?
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Old 12-04-2012, 09:54 AM   #24
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I think its about $60 for dealership to do it. I forgot about the washer, I used the same one last oil change because dealership wanted to charge me like $5 for one. Any place i can buy these cheap?
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Old 12-04-2012, 10:04 AM   #25
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Quote:
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I think its about $60 for dealership to do it. I forgot about the washer, I used the same one last oil change because dealership wanted to charge me like $5 for one. Any place i can buy these cheap?
wait - the dealership is charging $5 for a crush washer???

I need to check out e-bay...
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