Engine Oil

[JMW803]

I have a quick question? I am debating what type of oil i should change to Motul or Royal Purple, or does someone else have another oil in mind that is better. I want an oil that is good for a stock engine and is also good for a race engine i am honestly looking for the best that money could buy. thanks for the input in advanced

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[kabob.master]

How often will you be changing it? I'll regurgitate some NASIOC info I've learned and it's that there is no "best" oil. If you change every 3,000 mi then you can skip the expensive stuff. I personally will be changing every 4,000 mi with Shell Rotella full synth.

But more specific to your post, I think Royal Purp is the best you can buy....


EDIT: As others have stated below, Royal Purple is NOT the best you can buy for Subaru because apparently it burns quickly.

[happs subi]

You should seriously consider unabomber's offer

[JMW803]

Yea Ive pm'ed him. I am just trying to kind do a poll for myself and see kinda get feedback from what other guys like when it comes to an oil type but thanks again.

[Crev]

i've had 3 wrx's & all burned oil. most guys on here swear by rotella t 5w40 or german castrol 0w30. I use castrol syntec 5w30 which seems to burn the least in my opinion.
i found royal purple to be horrible as far as amount burned.

[happs subi]

Originally Posted by JMW803

Yea Ive pm'ed him. I am just trying to kind do a poll for myself and see kinda get feedback from what other guys like when it comes to an oil type but thanks again.

The people I know with built motors and from what I hear from people who build motors is to use non-synthetic diesel motor oil like rotella and Mobil delvac

[Rexxyou]

if those are your two choices they are not even comparable motul is the clear winner

[JMW803]

really i always thought to use synthetic. so if the car is running synthetic and i were to change to non-synthetic should i worry about anything? Because i had a friend that had a Honda which i know is bad enough but he was running synthetic than changed the oil to non-synthetic and than changed back to synthetic and in two weeks the engine developed a really bad knock. Thanks for your input.

[the suicidal eggroll]

Originally Posted by kabob.master

But more specific to your post, I think Royal Purp is the best you can buy....

Royal purple is one of the worse oils you can run in these cars...right up there with Mobil 1 5W30. They turn to water VERY quickly, not sure why, maybe it's the heat/shear from the turbo, but after less than 1k miles they're basically useless.

[Giza]

AMSOIL! i run amsoil and we use it in all our 10k+ rpm racecars. im tempted to try the rotella and castrol syntec on my next change. castrol syntec is more widely available but i think Amsoil is def the best that money can buy.

[casper1jr]

This thread could go on forever!


Motul FTW

[STirocket]

When I bought my car in 2005 the word from the dealership tech schools was not to put full synthetic in it. That was for STis only, so this may not apply to you, not knowing what you drive. They recommended Castrol Syntec Blend 5W-30 and I've changed it every 5K miles with that since new. I track the car occasionally and have done about a dozen autoX races. I've got about 60K miles on it now, and this was my oil sample from 45K miles...



I'm going to do another oil sample next change.

[prometheum]

shell rotella t; 6500 miles between oil changes. or german castrol...whichever i find at the parts store

[Big-E]

2011 and newer models require an API "SN" rated oil.

2010 and older models require an API "SM" rated oil, but can always use the next higher rating, which would be SN.

Yes you can use a 'synthetic' oil in your car.

5w-30 oils will shear down to a 20-weight oil if driven hard and/or with a turbo. 5w-40 oils tend to hold up much better and will shear down to a 30-weight.

Motul oils are really good and really expensive. A more reasonably priced and very good oil is Shell Rotella T-6 5w-40 synthetic oil.

Another very good oil, but that may be more difficult to source, is Schaeffer 9000 synthetic 5w-40 oil.

Amsoil is another favorite and very good oil. They have their "European Car Formula" 5w-40 synthetic oil.

There was also "German Castrol" that everyone seemed to like.

An oil that I used that I liked was the CarQuest branded 5w-30 synthetic oil. It is made by Valvoline for CarQuest and so it does not cost as much as Valvoline.

I also used Castrol Syntec 5w-40 and it seemed to fine as well.

As long as you change your oil and filter over regular intervals, you should be fine.

You don't have to buy synthetic oils however and can always stick to regular oil.

FWIW, the 'regular' OCI is 7,500 miles or 7.5 months, whichever comes first. But, there is also a 'severe use' standard OCI of 3,750 miles or 3.75 months, whichever comes first. Look at your Owner's Manual for this. The turbo models are generally classed under the severe use OCI.

There's just too much out there on which oil is the "best". Buy something you like and see how well it holds up. What do I mean? See if your car's engine is consuming (burning or blow-by) it and have an oil analysis performed.

Again, as long as you change your oil and filter over regular intervals, you should be fine.

[JMW803]

Thanks for the run down Big-E.

[griff9502]

In my 06 WRX I run Castrol Syntec 5W-30, like I have for my previous three cars, and I change every 4000 miles. Over the entire course of time between my last oil change I only burned approximately 1/4 of a quart. When drained my oil was dark but nowhere near the limit of its use if you ask me. My driving habits are normal with a slight tendency to "enjoy" my car, if you will.

[zozza8]

I recently switched from Valvoline to the Royal Purple and its been amazing..

[ERL2011wrx]

Originally Posted by Big-E

2011 and newer models require an API "SN" rated oil.

2010 and older models require an API "SM" rated oil, but can always use the next higher rating, which would be SN.

So, would using an API SL rated oil like German Castrol actually void the warranty of a 2011 wrx?

After a bunch of reading I have decided on German Castrol but the SL rating concerns me. I read about the difference between SL, SM, etc.. so I'm not asking what the difference is just if it will actually cause a problem with the warranty if a problem did occur.

[WR_BLUE_05_X]

I run Redline 5w-30 synthetic oil. It is hard to find a place that acutally stocks the stuff. Lucky for me CDOC racing warehouse is in the same County I live in. You can order it offline. Motul is also great oil. It is what Subaru WRC used in their cars.

[McKenzie83]

I've always rocked Mobil 1 5w-30 synthetic, never burned more than half a quart and that was going upwards of 4000miles between changes. In a built motor it is best to break it in with dino for the first thousand miles on a "break in" tune and make sure to check/get analysis to ensure healthy motor.

[Jessekrs123]

Originally Posted by McKenzie83

I've always rocked Mobil 1 5w-30 synthetic, never burned more than half a quart and that was going upwards of 4000miles between changes. In a built motor it is best to break it in with dino for the first thousand miles on a "break in" tune and make sure to check/get analysis to ensure healthy motor.

Really? I have heard so many horror stories about Mobil 1 5w30. I heard it loses it's viscosity so quickly it will make your head spin... along with your bearings.

[the suicidal eggroll]

Originally Posted by Jessekrs123

Really? I have heard so many horror stories about Mobil 1 5w30. I heard it loses it's viscosity so quickly it will make your head spin... along with your bearings.

It does. Sheared to a 20w in about 1k miles on my stage 2 STi, poured out like water when I would go to change it. It was downright scary...

[usfsfire42]

For my last oil change I used Rotella 5w-40. I used to use mobil 1 5w-30. I have noticed more oil burning off with the Rotella. From all the things I have heard about Mobil 1, I think I will still stick with Rotella. I am not burning off more than a quart in between 3500k oil changes

[Homerisking]

Originally Posted by zozza8

I recently switched from Valvoline to the Royal Purple and its been amazing..

keep a close eye on your dipstick


seriously

[the suicidal eggroll]

Originally Posted by usfsfire42

For my last oil change I used Rotella 5w-40. I used to use mobil 1 5w-30. I have noticed more oil burning off with the Rotella.

FYI (and for anybody else out there) - oil burning off does not mean the oil is good or bad. The point of the oil isn't to not burn off in the cylinders (that's the piston ring's job), the point of the oil is to protect the bearings, among other things. An oil can burn off in the cylinders extensively and also do a fantastic job protecting the bearings, or on the other hand an oil can not burn a drop but do a horrible job protecting the bearings. Whether you're burning oil or not doesn't give any indication of whether or not that oil is doing a good job protecting your bearings.

Mobil 1 5W30 does not do a good job at protecting the bearings in our cars, something about our engines destroys that oil. Some engines will also burn it off in the cylinders, some engines won't, but that's a separate issue.