or Liberals are trolls

So, after having read the thread (well, all the posts up front that are the reason this is a sticky thread), and the most recent 3-4 pages, I'm still not sure what to do with regards to oil after the Factory Fillup.

I'm right now, driving about 1000 miles/week (yes that's a lot, and I have to do it for work reasons. Home in NEPA, work up near Buffalo, drive home on weekends, with 20 miles from where I'm renting in Buffalo to work so 40mi round trip which is something I am used to and consider normal), and it's cold here. In the past, I was living in the southwest and factory oils were all fine and dandy for the mild to bloody hot conditions in Phoenix and Socal.

But here, I'm not sure. I want that engine protected while the oil is getting up to operating temps (I'm careful about driving below 3k and staying out of boost till oil temp reads at least 160. It takes about 5 minutes after I get rolling, and stratified start is complete by the time I get defrosters set, and Waze is up and running, and I have my belt on), and staying protected once warmed up. I'm not as concerned with reduced OCI (as long as it lasts 3k miles at least), or slightly increased oil temps, or slightly reduced gas efficiency (though one would think better engine efficiency due to oil would reduce gas consumption, so RC may be a good thing to engine component longevity).

So, a 0w40 or HD 5w30 seems to be what I want. My problem is the dilemma of riches. So much to choose from. I'm basically split between Motul x-clean EFE, Penzoil Premium, and Penzoil Ultra.

At this point, while I get the gist of the acronymns and such about the oils, I don't get the major differences between these oils. B/c of the cold conditions, I'm planning OCIs for a first change at 3k (like factory manual says for cars driven in "extreme" conditions), and additional ones between 3k and 4k miles. Maybe once spring hits and I've gone through a few OCIs, I'll send in a UOA.

I'm hoping this job lasts at max 1 year, and I can find a contract or permanent position at Lockmart nearer to where we live, but till then I want to mitigate against the rapid miles accumulation on this car. We can't afford to get rid of this car after only 5 years right now, so I don't want to wear out the engine. So engine protection is the absolute top priority for me in oil selection.

For an API SN HD 5W30, the new Rotella T6 5W30 Multi Vehicle is similar to ACEA C3 oils like Motul X-clean and Mobil 1 5W-30 ESP. Low ZDDP but a high HTHS and thicker viscosity. RT6 MV can be purchased from O’Reilly’s or NAPA.

For a 0W40, Wally World or Amazon will be your best bet. Mobil 1 and Pennzoil meet similar specs (VW, MB, and Porsche) with Castrol also meeting the BMW Long Life spec.

I wouldn’t run the Mobil 1 in a DIT since it has high calcium levels which has been shown to contribute to LSPI. Pennzoil’s Ca levels are only slightly lower last I checked. RT6 MV or a C3 oil will have the lowest levels.

I'll be doing the oil change this saturday (odo just clicked over 3k), so going to be hitting up NAPA or Advanced Auto this week.

Avoiding any LSPI is a big one on my list of desires. So I'll basically be good with T6 MV or X-Clean EFE then? Will stick with 5W-30 b/c the only mod this engine has is a Stage 1 93 OTS tune from Cobb.

Has anyone used the Amsoil signature series SAE 0w40?

Hey guys, Fellow Subie owner and Youtuber here, I make videos on all kinds of things about my 2006 Subaru WRX. Just posting this here to help out the community. Check out my Youtube page, https://www.youtube.com/user/VinnieT8

And For an Oil Change Guide (for most subaru's) Check out this video,
Hope this helps!

Learned so much thanks for the post.

Has anyone seen anything on Castrol Edge 5w30 A3/B4? How would this compare to Mobil 1 ESP 5w30 or other HD 30s?

Its Mobil not Mobile and Mobil 1 0w40 FS is the best of the Mobil oils which happens to be also readily available.

corrected... however for the 5w30 on warranty. Yes the choice would be M1 0w40 if one didn't care over both of those for an EJ.

Why is 0w40 better than 5w30?

It talks about why in the first few posts of this thread. I'm looking for the best HD 30 wt... I'll probably try Motul X-clean 5w30, M1 ESP 5w30, or maybe the Castrol edge 5w30 A3 spec.

That or maybe I'll get Pennzoil ultra 5w30 and mix a qt of Pennzoil 0w40, or the same with the Castrol edge... whatever is cheaper.

Is Redline 5w30 still not API certified? If not, could someone explain the API SN/SM/SL/CF print on this product sheet?

Edit: can't get the link going, but there appear to be API service class ratings.

If you’re taking about the new Professional line in the black bottle they are API certified so they’re probably not much different from any other API/ILSAC oil.

https://www.redlineoil.com/professio...5w30-motor-oil

If you’re taking about the old red/blue bottle they’re still not API certified. Too much ZDDP and the HTHS is too high.

https://www.redlineoil.com/professio...5w30-motor-oil

Note “Recommended for” as opposed to having the actual API donut and Starburst. This data sheet also says Recommended for:

https://www.redlineoil.com/Content/f..._PROD_INFO.pdf

It's the red bottle, and I didn't know there was such a problem of too high HTHS.


Good grief.

The local dealership has Motul 8100 X-Clean+ 5w-30 as its premium fill offering. My car is a bone stock 19 STI that gets driven like a baby. I'm just going with the Motul.

Sorry, total newb here. IIRC, X Clean+ 5W-30 doesn't follow Subaru's guidelines in the manual with the Donut and Starburst, and "Resource Conserving", but if we pay for it through them, it's okay??

I don't know. At this point, it seems like finding the right oil to run in an EJ25 is like finding a unicorn. My patience and time spent trying to find the perfect oil has reached peaked frustration and has come to an end. The dealership (Mastro) wouldn't peddle a product which would 1) knowingly cause problems and 2) lead to a warranty denial as a result.

Plus, I guess, X Clean+ 5W-30 is on post #12 noted as ""API SM, ACEA C3
A Low-SAPS oil designed for use in European passenger car diesel engines with particulate filters, but also for use in gasoline engines. One of very few HD 30 grade oils which claim any conformance to API SN or SM standards. An excellent choice for owners of newer turbo Subarus who want to use an API SM or SN 5w30 for warranty reasons, but want the extra bearing protection afforded by a Heavy Duty oil. Builder specifications and ACEA C3 ensure good shear stability. 8100 X-Clean is not suitable for long drain intervals due to it's Low-SAPS, low TBN nature. Some Subaru dealers offer X-Clean as their premium fill."

If a rod went through the oil pan, and all of the oil leaked out...would Subaru analyze the oil somehow to certify the oil was API/ILSAC/ACEA 30 weight rated oil was being used to approve a warranty claim? Maybe they would, I dunno. Seems pretty extreme though.

Don’t start trying to over analyze the owner’s manual recommendations. It actually says the Donut with Resource Conserving OR the Starburst. All Resource Conserving oils WILL have the Starburst. It also says that “5W-40 conventional” can be used for replenishment even though no such oil exists.

I’ve never heard of anyone having a warranty problem running an API oil that wasn’t GF-5 rated. X-clean is an API SN/ACEA C3 oil with an HTHS of at least 3.5 and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. I’ve also never heard of a dealer doing a uoa for warranty to prove viscosity. If they do a uoa on a GF5 5W-30 the viscosity will probably be a 20 grade. Would they not honor your warranty because they think you’re using a 5W-20?

Shoot this post it's awesome. Going to share to the Jeep freinds too so they know why rotella t6 is recommended for the older xjs

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...Number=3144955

Holy crap that was alot of reading. I have 2016 FA-20 WRX. I live in the Northeast. Temps get in the single digits very rarely. I went stage 2 at 10k and have used Shell T6 Rotella 5w-40. Seems it has been good to me and oil temp stays around 223. Is there any reason I should drop down to 5w-30 or just stay at 5w-40

With DI, there is more of a chance of carbon build up with higher ZDDP oils so you might want to use an oil with less ZDDP. Castrol Edge 0W-40 has about the lowest among the common xW-40’s (Mobil 1, Pennzoil, etc). The new Rotella T6 5W-30 Multi Vehicle has less and is showing very good uoa’s.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...es#Post5156430

Thank you for the info. Next oil change I will give the Rotella 5w-30 a shot. I do have the EGR and TGV deletes which seems to help. Is the Subaru carbon clean conditioner helpful at all?

Yes, EGR/TGV deletes should help mitigate deposits. The Subaru carbon cleaner may help some (nothing works as well as walnut shell blasting) but you probably shouldn’t need it.

Interesting, on my service manual it says to use:

API SN RC

OR

ILSAC GF5

OR

ACEA A3 or A5

Technically i can get away with using an A3 oil i guess? which i would be happy to do so, except everyone is advising against high saps oils.

fist post yeboi