I've been reading BITOG for a while now, but honestly there is such a wealth of information here, that everything seems to contradict each other. I am trying to decide on a motor oil that better suits my driving style in consideration to engine longevity.
First things first; my first and only car is a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX, 2.0L of course. Manufactured in May of 2003, bought in about April of 04'. The car currently has 82k miles of hard driving. Maintained regularly, oil changed at 3000mi intervals unless sometimes short on cash, and stretched until ~4000mi. Mildly modded, engine mods include a catless uppipe, catless downpipe, and modified stock catback. (drilled a huge hole in the baffle(s)to help flow) A Cobb Stage 2 map is currently flashed to the ECU.
My driving style may be considered aggressive, or having a lead foot. Technically speaking, here in Hawaii, it's hard to please everyone. If you drive to slow, you get major road rage. If you drive too fast, there's always someone who wants to go faster. You'll have to find a happy medium. Here in Hawaii (Oahu), it's a congested place as far as morning and afternoon traffic, so I would place my car in a severe service interval. My normal commute is probably close to 25-30 miles a day; usually major city driving and little highway driving.
I am a conscientious person; I worry about EVERYTHING.. sometimes too much. No oil analysis has been done yet but I am finally looking forward to getting one done to keep an eye out for wear issues. Every day, I usually redline or WOT the car numerous times on my way to work, (I guess it's a combination of the thought of reducing carbon buildup and being late for school) and usually after work i'm pretty grumpy and I tend to do a little "touge" run in the backroads to beat traffic. (by "touge" I am referring to an all-out WOT run through the twisties including crazy rev-match downshifts, lol.) So, I guess I can consider myself a lead foot. Just for reference I still tend to get a little more than 300miles to a tank with a 16.5gal tank. I used to ALWAYS warm up my car for like 10 minutes before I realized that too much idling (just like too much of anything) is bad in terms of fuel dilution, carbon buildup, etc.. also doing nothing for bearing wear. Lately i've been a little lazy and warming up less. I can't afford an oil temp gauge right now, but sometimes I go WOT before the oil is up to operation temp. (I hear it can take quite a bit of time after your coolant is up to temperature.)
My concern is that the 5-quart jug of 5W-30 Mobil 1 Full Synthetic that I have been religiously from Walmart for $26 may not have enough oil viscosity for the type of driving that I do in the climate that I live in. Temperatures are very stable here, with the Lowest at ~69F during winter and usually ~88F during the summer. I've been telling myself that maybe I shouldn't use the 5W-30 to save gas and start using something thicker to save my engine more than anything. And it's not like my climate sees any ice- heck, if there were to be snow here, I think earth's polar ice caps would have melted and climate changes around the world would be crazy. My plans are to keep the car for as long as I can afford to fix it, and i'm not lying. Hehe. I am searching for some possible recommendations of a thicker oil, but am leaning towards a proven synthetic because I am concerned about the higher operating temperatures of a turbocharged car.
I am considering a 15W-40 or something for a moderate change but I am completely unsure of how a thicker oil would benefit my type of driving without causing side effects in other areas. For instance; are there any different characteristics of thicker oil versus an Eco-friendly oil during warm-up, cool down, etc? Should I be more careful during warm-up because thicker oils tend to take longer to reach operating temperature? Would a thicker oil increase immediate engine startup wear in exchange for less wear during hard driving? Is it ok to use thicker oil for stop-and-go driving?
Those are things that come to mind from an over-conscientious person. haha. A lot of people say I worry too much. But then again I like to learn too. If there is something that I left out that is essential to choosing an oil weight to use, please feel free to let me know.. There are many things floating around my head but I can never remember them all.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
Dan.
First things first; my first and only car is a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX, 2.0L of course. Manufactured in May of 2003, bought in about April of 04'. The car currently has 82k miles of hard driving. Maintained regularly, oil changed at 3000mi intervals unless sometimes short on cash, and stretched until ~4000mi. Mildly modded, engine mods include a catless uppipe, catless downpipe, and modified stock catback. (drilled a huge hole in the baffle(s)to help flow) A Cobb Stage 2 map is currently flashed to the ECU.
My driving style may be considered aggressive, or having a lead foot. Technically speaking, here in Hawaii, it's hard to please everyone. If you drive to slow, you get major road rage. If you drive too fast, there's always someone who wants to go faster. You'll have to find a happy medium. Here in Hawaii (Oahu), it's a congested place as far as morning and afternoon traffic, so I would place my car in a severe service interval. My normal commute is probably close to 25-30 miles a day; usually major city driving and little highway driving.
I am a conscientious person; I worry about EVERYTHING.. sometimes too much. No oil analysis has been done yet but I am finally looking forward to getting one done to keep an eye out for wear issues. Every day, I usually redline or WOT the car numerous times on my way to work, (I guess it's a combination of the thought of reducing carbon buildup and being late for school) and usually after work i'm pretty grumpy and I tend to do a little "touge" run in the backroads to beat traffic. (by "touge" I am referring to an all-out WOT run through the twisties including crazy rev-match downshifts, lol.) So, I guess I can consider myself a lead foot. Just for reference I still tend to get a little more than 300miles to a tank with a 16.5gal tank. I used to ALWAYS warm up my car for like 10 minutes before I realized that too much idling (just like too much of anything) is bad in terms of fuel dilution, carbon buildup, etc.. also doing nothing for bearing wear. Lately i've been a little lazy and warming up less. I can't afford an oil temp gauge right now, but sometimes I go WOT before the oil is up to operation temp. (I hear it can take quite a bit of time after your coolant is up to temperature.)
My concern is that the 5-quart jug of 5W-30 Mobil 1 Full Synthetic that I have been religiously from Walmart for $26 may not have enough oil viscosity for the type of driving that I do in the climate that I live in. Temperatures are very stable here, with the Lowest at ~69F during winter and usually ~88F during the summer. I've been telling myself that maybe I shouldn't use the 5W-30 to save gas and start using something thicker to save my engine more than anything. And it's not like my climate sees any ice- heck, if there were to be snow here, I think earth's polar ice caps would have melted and climate changes around the world would be crazy. My plans are to keep the car for as long as I can afford to fix it, and i'm not lying. Hehe. I am searching for some possible recommendations of a thicker oil, but am leaning towards a proven synthetic because I am concerned about the higher operating temperatures of a turbocharged car.
I am considering a 15W-40 or something for a moderate change but I am completely unsure of how a thicker oil would benefit my type of driving without causing side effects in other areas. For instance; are there any different characteristics of thicker oil versus an Eco-friendly oil during warm-up, cool down, etc? Should I be more careful during warm-up because thicker oils tend to take longer to reach operating temperature? Would a thicker oil increase immediate engine startup wear in exchange for less wear during hard driving? Is it ok to use thicker oil for stop-and-go driving?
Those are things that come to mind from an over-conscientious person. haha. A lot of people say I worry too much. But then again I like to learn too. If there is something that I left out that is essential to choosing an oil weight to use, please feel free to let me know.. There are many things floating around my head but I can never remember them all.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.
Dan.
