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Old 07-13-2018, 12:47 AM   #1
fleezy
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Default Actually though... High Mileage Oil

I've tried sifting through the noise but i can't get a definitive answer.

~250k km.
Changes every 5k
Been using redline 5w30
Have a little ticktick
Have a little consumption (quart every 1500ish)

should i start using 5w40? should i buy specifically high mileage oil?
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Old 07-13-2018, 01:18 AM   #2
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Many here use 5w40, Rotella is well liked and available at Walmart. I tend to go for Castrol 5w40 nowadays but have also used Rotella for many years.
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Old 07-13-2018, 01:46 AM   #3
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didnt they change rotella and now it's garbage?
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Old 07-13-2018, 02:32 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fleezy View Post
didnt they change rotella and now it's garbage?
Yes they did. Many now use motul 8100. If you're still getting an actual ticking from the valves at that many miles, you should look at getting the valves adjusted since you are getting consumption as well.
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Old 07-13-2018, 07:46 AM   #5
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Default Actually though... High Mileage Oil

Quote:
Originally Posted by fleezy View Post
didnt they change rotella and now it's garbage?


Rotella was changed but there is very little difference in the add pack. Just a lot of fear mongering from people who haven’t actually compared the old and new oils.

For a High Mileage oil, you’d have to go with a 5W30, 10W30, or 10W40. No 5W30 HM has an HTHS of 3.5 or higher that I can recall and you should stick with a HTHS 3.5> oil IMO. M1 10W30 HM does and any 10W40 will. I’m running a blend of Castrol Edge HM 10W40/10W30 at the moment to try to help with my consumption.

You could also try Red Line 0W40 or 5W40. When it comes to oil, there’s no such thing as a definitive answer.

Last edited by bluesubie; 07-13-2018 at 07:59 AM.
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Old 07-13-2018, 10:39 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesubie View Post
Rotella was changed but there is very little difference in the add pack. Just a lot of fear mongering from people who haven’t actually compared the old and new oils.

For a High Mileage oil, you’d have to go with a 5W30, 10W30, or 10W40. No 5W30 HM has an HTHS of 3.5 or higher that I can recall and you should stick with a HTHS 3.5> oil IMO. M1 10W30 HM does and any 10W40 will. I’m running a blend of Castrol Edge HM 10W40/10W30 at the moment to try to help with my consumption.

You could also try Red Line 0W40 or 5W40. When it comes to oil, there’s no such thing as a definitive answer.
I have recent UOA's of the garbage rotella that show it works just fine and was told to try higher than 5,000 mile intervals if wanted. I'm not gonna do that but I'm happy with how it works. I have an 02 wrx with almost 160,000 miles.
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Old 07-14-2018, 12:03 PM   #7
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i've been using redline 5W30. should i just stick with that?
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Old 07-14-2018, 12:14 PM   #8
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I would never run 5w30 in a Subaru personally but then again if I was using a quart of oil every 1,500 kilometers I would be worried about a lot more than what weight of the oil I should use!
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Old 07-14-2018, 01:23 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crispy 1 View Post
I would never run 5w30 in a Subaru personally but then again if I was using a quart of oil every 1,500 kilometers I would be worried about a lot more than what weight of the oil I should use!
i agree with this and i also would never run a diesel oil in a gas engine.
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Old 07-14-2018, 03:07 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crispy 1 View Post
I would never run 5w30 in a Subaru personally but then again if I was using a quart of oil every 1,500 kilometers I would be worried about a lot more than what weight of the oil I should use!
lmao i'm just trying to keep it going AS LONG AS I CAN before i dive into a build. this is my DD as well as my project. I need another DD before i can just have this as a project.

What would you run, Crispy? Rotella?
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Old 07-14-2018, 03:58 PM   #11
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I use Rotella 5w40 because it's cheap and like I said I have UOA's proving it's good.

With that being said I think any high quality oil like Motul, Amsoil, and Redline are great oils and maybe better than Rotella, but not for the price!

Use whatever brand you like and can afford but, like has been said already you should be using a thicker weight HD oil in any EJ Subaru and in my opinion even if it was brand new.
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Old 07-14-2018, 04:07 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subaru_gc8 View Post
i agree with this and i also would never run a diesel oil in a gas engine.
I would never run diesel in a gas engine but I have a feeling the oil does the same thing in either one .

You probably wouldn't run a manual boost controller either.

I probably would.....but I probably wouldn't tell everyone I blew my motor because of it either.

PS I do, and I haven't....yet but, if I do you will never know
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Old 07-15-2018, 12:08 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crispy 1 View Post
I would never run diesel in a gas engine but I have a feeling the oil does the same thing in either one .

You probably wouldn't run a manual boost controller either.

I probably would.....but I probably wouldn't tell everyone I blew my motor because of it either.

PS I do, and I haven't....yet but, if I do you will never know
well as far as lubrication you would be right, but the problem is diesel aren't made to run like a gas engine and they don't put out the heat like a gas engine. the other issue is the amount of detergents that are in a diesel oil is alot more than gas engines and that is what also causes sluge build up so yeah.. its your choice, but why not just spend more on an oil instead of cheesing out and just use a better oil
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Old 07-16-2018, 08:20 AM   #14
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Default Actually though... High Mileage Oil

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Old 07-16-2018, 08:21 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crispy 1 View Post
I use Rotella 5w40 because it's cheap and like I said I have UOA's proving it's good.

With that being said I think any high quality oil like Motul, Amsoil, and Redline are great oils and maybe better than Rotella, but not for the price!

Use whatever brand you like and can afford but, like has been said already you should be using a thicker weight HD oil in any EJ Subaru and in my opinion even if it was brand new.

Red Line 5W30 has a High Temp High Shear similar to some 40 grades. Don’t focus only on the numbers on the bottle.
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Old 07-16-2018, 08:13 PM   #16
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Ran Rotella 5w40 for like 50k. Just switched to motul 8100 for the last 10k and car feels smoother but that could be a butt dyno thing. I think both are great. I had a great UOA at 100k using rotella.
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Old 07-19-2018, 04:10 AM   #17
Crispy 1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by subaru_gc8 View Post
well as far as lubrication you would be right, but the problem is diesel aren't made to run like a gas engine and they don't put out the heat like a gas engine. the other issue is the amount of detergents that are in a diesel oil is alot more than gas engines and that is what also causes sluge build up so yeah.. its your choice, but why not just spend more on an oil instead of cheesing out and just use a better oil


Well as far as I know your correct that diesels aren't made to run like gas engines, they're made to stay running! I'm sure that's not hard on the shear strength of the oil !

I don't think it's cheesing out because it's cheaper than Motul or whatever you use. It works for for me, I have UOA's to prove it, and it absolutely does not cause sludge buildup more than any other oil that's changed every 3-5,000 miles!

Last edited by Crispy 1; 07-19-2018 at 04:22 AM.
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Old 07-19-2018, 04:21 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by Ernest View Post
Ran Rotella 5w40 for like 50k. Just switched to motul 8100 for the last 10k and car feels smoother but that could be a butt dyno thing. I think both are great. I had a great UOA at 100k using rotella.
Not to say it's not better and/or smoother but many, many years ago when I had my first bugeye in 03' I changed from the Subaru factory oil to Mobil 1 (I believe 0w20) and my motor ran so much smoother I bragged about it to everybody and swore I would never use another oil. The change was very drastic!

Was it for a good reason? Who knows!
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Old 07-19-2018, 07:42 PM   #19
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i got some rotella only because i couldnt find any motul 8100 xcess without having to ship it
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Old 07-19-2018, 08:15 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crispy 1 View Post
Not to say it's not better and/or smoother but many, many years ago when I had my first bugeye in 03' I changed from the Subaru factory oil to Mobil 1 (I believe 0w20) and my motor ran so much smoother I bragged about it to everybody and swore I would never use another oil. The change was very drastic!

Was it for a good reason? Who knows!
No, it was definitely not for good reason. I don't think many would recommend running 0-20 on an EJ20. Anyone reading this should not be confused into thinking it's a good idea.

Smoother doesn't mean better. The feeling you're describing is the internal engine parts moving with less resistance, which actually means they are less protected. They weren't designed for such a thin oil. I would bet your valves were noisier with this oil too. I can't imagine what it was like at startup with such a light weight.

You know what has the least resistance? Air. Drain your oil completely and I bet it will feel really smooth for a few seconds. Not very safe though right?

You probably even see higher mpg's in doing this, but you would be gambling with your engine.

Notice Subaru only recommends their 0-20 for non turbo vehicles.

It says what oil to use right in your user manual and on your oil cap. Using something so drastically different is asking for trouble. You wouldn't put 87 octane in your gas tank when it says 91 on the cap right?
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Old 07-19-2018, 08:19 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fleezy View Post
I've tried sifting through the noise but i can't get a definitive answer.

~250k km.
Changes every 5k
Been using redline 5w30
Have a little ticktick
Have a little consumption (quart every 1500ish)

should i start using 5w40? should i buy specifically high mileage oil?
To answer the OP's question, you may notice a little less valve ticking and consumption by switching to a 5-40 oil. Castrol and Rotella are good options that have been well vetted over the years.

It wouldn't hurt to try. You may also see a slight drop in mpg.
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Old 07-19-2018, 10:24 PM   #22
Crispy 1
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Originally Posted by Alfred_Buchi View Post
No, it was definitely not for good reason. I don't think many would recommend running 0-20 on an EJ20. Anyone reading this should not be confused into thinking it's a good idea.

Smoother doesn't mean better. The feeling you're describing is the internal engine parts moving with less resistance, which actually means they are less protected. They weren't designed for such a thin oil. I would bet your valves were noisier with this oil too. I can't imagine what it was like at startup with such a light weight.

You know what has the least resistance? Air. Drain your oil completely and I bet it will feel really smooth for a few seconds. Not very safe though right?

You probably even see higher mpg's in doing this, but you would be gambling with your engine.

Notice Subaru only recommends their 0-20 for non turbo vehicles.

It says what oil to use right in your user manual and on your oil cap. Using something so drastically different is asking for trouble. You wouldn't put 87 octane in your gas tank when it says 91 on the cap right?
Ok I'm sorry I wasn't more clear!

I meant I changed it to a thin M1 when I was young and dumb, it felt smoother, it wasn't better!
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Old 07-20-2018, 01:21 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Crispy 1 View Post
Ok I'm sorry I wasn't more clear!

I meant I changed it to a thin M1 when I was young and dumb, it felt smoother, it wasn't better!
Fair enough, cheers man.
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Old 07-27-2018, 01:15 PM   #24
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I recently switched to Rotella, having great results so far. Was a little worried at first and the dude at Advance Auto was trying to convince me that you can't use it in non-diesel cars, but people (including me) like it a lot.
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Old 07-27-2018, 01:24 PM   #25
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Default mobil 1

I have always used mobil 1 highmlage full synthetic. the car seems to love it
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