2022 Subaru WRX HPL PCMO 5w-30 5000 miles

[K20SiGUY]

Hello,

Attached is a UOA from Oil Analyzers for my 2022 WRX. I dropped the factory fill right at 1000 miles around May of 2023 and ran HPL PCMO as per recommendation from HPL themselves. It rolled over 5000 miles just before Thanksgiving and right around when I usually start driving my ridgeline more due to winter weather, skiing, wood hauling, ect. A little background, the car has been tuned using a Cobb Accessport since about 1500 miles, first it was an OTS tune, or a general tune for a car with no aftermarket parts, I believe this tune for 93 octane yields about 300-310 hp and 320-330 tq. I then made it a cobb stage 2 and bought their intake, which is just a higher flow air filter and new piping post MAF, larger intercooler, aluminum charge pipe, and Cobb exhaust. I had it Etuned from one of the biggest, most reputable Subaru tuners in the nation. The Wrx now makes around 330-340 HP and 350-360 tq.

I drive my car daily until there was threat of snow (will drive it in the winter once I get the front end PPF'ed) trip is about 18-20 mins mostly rural two lanes and a 5 minute highway run at 60mph. Oil temps as per the cars own readout are usually around 198-201 on a normal day once I reach the office. I normally don't drive too aggressively at least until oil temps reach 180f or so.

I'm not sure what to do about the high fuel in the oil, this is my first DI and Turbo car, so some learning curve involved. I'm not worried about the silicone in the sample as it has been shown that Subaru used way too much sealer when constructing the car. I don't drive on dusty roads which would lead me to believe the air filter cobb sold me was too high flow and not enough material to filter smaller particles. I think if the SI doesn't trend down in the next two samples or so I may think about switching back to the stock air filter and contacting Cobb regarding my findings.

I did refill the car with the same HPL PCMO 5W-30 but will not be driving the car again until April or so, so another sample will probably happen later summer or so.

 

[dkryan]

Maybe begin with removing your personal information (address and phone number, at minimum) from your attachment, then re-attach?

 

[bluesubie]

I haven't been following tunes on the FA24DIT (since Cobb is still working on Outback support), but your fuel is fairly typical for a stock FA24DIT. Anywhere from 2-5% is what I normally see in any Subaru DI.

I know with the EJ's, tuners would typically keep it a little rich for safety. I do not know if a different or dyno tune would have an impact on your fuel since it's pretty average IMO. Who is your tuner? JR? In the early days of the FA20DIT some of those e-tunes were hit or miss but JR is on another level.

Different engine, but after some experimenting with a K&N panel filter in my FXT early on I ended up switching back to stock due to elevated silicon. Always in the double digits with the K&N and dropped to the single digits with the stock filter. But I wouldn't expect your silicon to level off until you get around 18,000 or more miles on it so two more oil changes may not be enough. Yours is completely normal for a new Subaru.

FWIW, the stock JDM WRX allows up to Euro 0W-30 (high HTHS) so that may be the best way to deal with your fuel. Especially at ~60 hp/~100 lb ft tq over stock.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Engine is still wearing in, hope to see fuel dilution decrease in next report - though cyl and ring wear-in should be complete.

Man I would not have modded that engine until it had 7K miles on it.
And DIT is a whole new animal, can't imagine anyone is up top speed on that tech - even many OEM apparently aren't! A 10.6:1 comp ratio on a turbo needs exceptional care and feeding.

Why do you need the massive torque? are you racing it?
People drive so slow around me I rarely get the chance to dip in to my Ford's modest 166 HP, lol

Enjoy, Ken

 

[twX]

Silicon is usually really high on Subarus engines when they are new. It's from engine sealant and is nothing to worry about. It will take several more OCIs to go down to normal levels. If you had 100+ ppm of silicon dirt in your engine, your wear metals would be much higher than they are. On some of these engines, excess sealant can break off and end up in the sump and clog the oil pickup screen, so checking the pickup screen with a boroscope at your next oil change might be a good idea, especially since you're not guaranteed to get warranty coverage with your mods.

Fuel dilution normally ranges from 2-4% on these engines, so you're at the upper end of what's normal for a stock engine. The HPL PCMO 5W-30 has a fairly high HTHS of 3.26 cP. As long as your oil temperatures aren't getting really high, I wouldn't worry about it being too thin even with the fuel dilution.

Aftermarket tunes will flow more air, and hence inject more fuel, and they run a bit richer than stock as well. A small amount of increased fuel flow at high load and rpm can cause a large increase in dilution. Any additional fuel is injected while the piston is low in the cylinder, and the fuel sprays onto the lower cylinder wall, which is relatively cold and allows fuel to condense more easily. The COBB OTS tunes advance the fuel injector timing at high load/rpm, which at least partially compensates for this, and your tune is probably similar, but you'll probably still have more dilution with the tune if you drive hard regularly.

I'd love to see some WOT logs of your tune if you have any you can share.

 

[bluesubie]

Engine is still wearing in, hope to see fuel dilution decrease in next report - though cyl and ring wear-in should be complete.

Man I would not have modded that engine until it had 7K miles on it.
And DIT is a whole new animal, can't imagine anyone is up top speed on that tech - even many OEM apparently aren't! A 10.6:1 comp ratio on a turbo needs exceptional care and feeding.

Why do you need the massive torque? are you racing it?
People drive so slow around me I rarely get the chance to dip in to my Ford's modest 166 HP, lol

Enjoy, Ken

DIT WRX's have been around for about 9 years so not exactly new. And the 2.4 is beefier than the 2.0 was.

I need high hp for the NJ Turnpike.

 

[K20SiGUY]

Maybe begin with removing your personal information (address and phone number, at minimum) from your attachment, then re-attach?

Thanks! I did edit it once but I must not have clicked save

 

[K20SiGUY]

I haven't been following tunes on the FA24DIT (since Cobb is still working on Outback support), but your fuel is fairly typical for a stock FA24DIT. Anywhere from 2-5% is what I normally see in any Subaru DI.

I know with the EJ's, tuners would typically keep it a little rich for safety. I do not know if a different or dyno tune would have an impact on your fuel since it's pretty average IMO. Who is your tuner? JR? In the early days of the FA20DIT some of those e-tunes were hit or miss but JR is on another level.

Different engine, but after some experimenting with a K&N panel filter in my FXT early on I ended up switching back to stock due to elevated silicon. Always in the double digits with the K&N and dropped to the single digits with the stock filter. But I wouldn't expect your silicon to level off until you get around 18,000 or more miles on it so two more oil changes may not be enough. Yours is completely normal for a new Subaru.

FWIW, the stock JDM WRX allows up to Euro 0W-30 (high HTHS) so that may be the best way to deal with your fuel. Especially at ~60 hp/~100 lb ft tq over stock.

Thanks,

My tuner was Dmann Tuning, AKA Drunkmann Tuning out of Florida. Went with him through Felix performance out of MD, between Dmann and Clark Tuning those are the two most noted on any of the 22+ Wrx forums. I did purchase the HPL Euro 5w-30 during their xmas sale to use after the PCMO 5w-30 that is in there now.

 

[K20SiGUY]

Silicon is usually really high on Subarus engines when they are new. It's from engine sealant and is nothing to worry about. It will take several more OCIs to go down to normal levels. If you had 100+ ppm of silicon dirt in your engine, your wear metals would be much higher than they are. On some of these engines, excess sealant can break off and end up in the sump and clog the oil pickup screen, so checking the pickup screen with a boroscope at your next oil change might be a good idea, especially since you're not guaranteed to get warranty coverage with your mods.

Fuel dilution normally ranges from 2-4% on these engines, so you're at the upper end of what's normal for a stock engine. The HPL PCMO 5W-30 has a fairly high HTHS of 3.26 cP. As long as your oil temperatures aren't getting really high, I wouldn't worry about it being too thin even with the fuel dilution.

Aftermarket tunes will flow more air, and hence inject more fuel, and they run a bit richer than stock as well. A small amount of increased fuel flow at high load and rpm can cause a large increase in dilution. Any additional fuel is injected while the piston is low in the cylinder, and the fuel sprays onto the lower cylinder wall, which is relatively cold and allows fuel to condense more easily. The COBB OTS tunes advance the fuel injector timing at high load/rpm, which at least partially compensates for this, and your tune is probably similar, but you'll probably still have more dilution with the tune if you drive hard regularly.

I'd love to see some WOT logs of your tune if you have any you can share.

I have them saved on my laptop at home, I should have a final run WOT saved from my e-tuning. If I can find one I will send it over.

 

[racer12306]

Engine is still wearing in, hope to see fuel dilution decrease in next report - though cyl and ring wear-in should be complete.

Man I would not have modded that engine until it had 7K miles on it.
And DIT is a whole new animal, can't imagine anyone is up top speed on that tech - even many OEM apparently aren't! A 10.6:1 comp ratio on a turbo needs exceptional care and feeding.

Why do you need the massive torque? are you racing it?
People drive so slow around me I rarely get the chance to dip in to my Ford's modest 166 HP, lol

Enjoy, Ken

That is definitely a high c/r for a street turbo application, could that be why dilution is so high? They're running it pig rich to protect it?

 

[fantastic]

With aftermarket tuning I'm not going to talk about the fuel. This is a newer engine so metals & debris are elevated right now. Thanks

 

[chris719]

Copper seems high, even for a new engine, no?

 

[bluesubie]

Copper seems high, even for a new engine, no?

Not really. Just went to the Outback forum and I saw one from an Outback XT at 135 on a 5k run of the factory fill. Could be from the oil cooler.

 

[TiGeo]

I doubt the Si is from the air filter here...likely initial sealer levels but for sure check the intake to ensure no leaks. HPL has elevated Si but isn't causing this (like 10ppm virgin). Fuel is high but you can get that on tuned turbos. Really need multiple UOAs to understand what's normal for your engine. 5K is fine for now.

 

[TiGeo]

I've had some UOAs with large spikes in Si vs. baseline/normal from sealers used for repairs but never this much. W8 showed 44 ppm after a repair and Sportwagen had 20 ppm after a repair. Both running K&N filters. Do you have any other data showing that Subarus have huge Si numbers when new from sealers?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

That is definitely a high c/r for a street turbo application, could that be why dilution is so high? They're running it pig rich to protect it?

With Di you can run a stratified charge and pulse the injectors again with the piston near TDC before spark to create a rich pocket in the piston cup to get a good flame front. Advanced timed "Pig rich" will wash the cyl and eventually kill the rings and cyl walls.

You can also pulse them on overrrun to make fun noises.
Still can't believe they do this on factory emission controlled R and N spec engines.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

What @twX said above:

"On some of these engines, excess sealant can break off and end up in the sump and clog the oil pickup screen, so checking the pickup screen with a boroscope at your next oil change might be a good idea, especially since you're not guaranteed to get warranty coverage with your mods"

Example pan drop from a hurt very low mileage 2022 NA motor

 

[twX]

Do you have any other data showing that Subarus have huge Si numbers when new from sealers?

More often than not they have >200 ppm Si on the factory fill. It usually takes at least a couple of oil changes for silicon to get well below 100 ppm. High levels of copper from the oil cooler are also typical.

 

[TiGeo]

More often than not they have >200 ppm Si on the factory fill. It usually takes at least a couple of oil changes for silicon to get well below 100 ppm. High levels of copper from the oil cooler are also typical.

View attachment 196450

Ah ok then, there it is. Thank you!

 

[K20SiGUY]

With Di you can run a stratified charge and pulse the injectors again with the piston near TDC before spark to create a rich pocket in the piston cup to get a good flame front. Advanced timed "Pig rich" will wash the cyl and eventually kill the rings and cyl walls.

You can also pulse them on overrrun to make fun noises.
Still can't believe they do this on factory emission controlled R and N spec engines.

Would any pulsing on the overrun to create a "burble" lead to drastically higher fuel dilution? I know I have two sets of final run files that my tuner provided me with, one burble tune and one normal. I believe I have the burble tune loaded now. FYI it is not as aggressive as say a stock Elentra N is but it will pop some on redline shifts and some cold downshifts.