FA24DIT Oil recommendations

[JJay03]

I was going to piggy back on another thread but it got locked.
I have 2 cars with the FA24DIT engine. 24 Subaru Outback Wilderness and a 24 Subaru WRX. The Outback has 9k miles and the WRX is new with only 300ish. I do not drive a lot of miles in a year and even less now with 2 cars. The WRX will get some spirited drives once its broken in but no plans for track days yet.

Currently running Valvoline Extended Protection 0W20 in the Outback with Purolator Boss filters.

I think I can get Mobil 1 ESP locally as well. Do you think that would be a better oil for both cars? Which grade if so 0w20, 0w30, or 5w30? Was also considering just getting factory Subaru filters. I live in SW Ohio if you are curious what kind of temps I can experience. Maybe -10F at the coldest in the winter and mid 90's in the Summer. I may eventually modify the WRX some with a tune and bolt ons.

Trying to read the old threads but there is a lot of suggestions. I did see a few people recommend the Mobil 1 ESP.

Thanks

 

[JavierH19]

M1 esp 0w-30 would be a great year round oil for it and it's what I'd use if it was mine and saw winter temps like that.

 

[Fa24wrx]

Im a 22 wrx owner. I did 0w20 for the first 20k ish miles.

These do fuel dilute, so I jumped up to 5w30 and the UOA showed very low wear metals even having sheared down to a sae 20 grade, which is great.

If you plan on keeping warranty stuff, I'd stick with API SP but find one with the highest HTHS. VRP has a 3.24 HTHS which is good for an API SP-RC. Euro specs will have HTHS 3.5+. The Valvoline Euro 5w30 Xl III is API SP and HTHS 3.5+

 

[JJay03]

Im a 22 wrx owner. I did 0w20 for the first 20k ish miles.

These do fuel dilute, so I jumped up to 5w30 and the UOA showed very low wear metals even having sheared down to a sae 20 grade, which is great.

If you plan on keeping warranty stuff, I'd stick with API SP but find one with the highest HTHS. VRP has a 3.24 HTHS which is good for an API SP-RC. Euro specs will have HTHS 3.5+. The Valvoline Euro 5w30 Xl III is API SP and HTHS 3.5+

I do a lot of short trips around 5 miles or less to the park or the grocery store so fuel dilution can be an issue.

 

[JJay03]

M1 esp 0w-30 would be a great year round oil for it and it's what I'd use if it was mine and saw winter temps like that.

Ok thanks!

 

[JavierH19]

I do a lot of short trips around 5 miles as well to the park or the grocery store so fuel dilution can be an issue.

I once saw an awful subaru uoa where the 0w-20 was diluted to under 5 cst but everything else looked ok. If you start off with a 12cst euro grade 30 I wouldn't worry too much but I still wouldn't leave it in there for more than 3-4k during the cold season.

 

[dnewton3]

Acknowledging the fact that fuel dilution concerns are going to result in very short OCIs (4k miles or less), then I don't see the logic in buying really high-end brand name lubes. While I don't put much concern in fuel below 5%, I understand others here freak out if they see more than a trace, and so regardless of the logic (or lack thereof), I understand that folks are going to change oil frequently.

Hence, I would recommend one of the house brand syns; maybe ST or similar. Vis of your choice, though erring on the side of a 30 grade (due to dilution) may be a better option.

 

[JJay03]

Acknowledging the fact that fuel dilution concerns are going to result in very short OCIs (4k miles or less), then I don't see the logic in buying really high-end brand name lubes. While I don't put much concern in fuel below 5%, I understand others here freak out if they see more than a trace, and so regardless of the logic (or lack thereof), I understand that folks are going to change oil frequently.

Hence, I would recommend one of the house brand syns; maybe ST or similar. Vis of your choice, though erring on the side of a 30 grade (due to dilution) may be a better option.

Its takes awhile for me to get to 3-4k. I had my Outback since 8/23 and it only has around 9k miles.

 

[Delta]

With fuel dilution issues it might be a consideration changing the oil out every 6 months as opposed to mileage based since you do very few miles. I do this with two of my vehicles.

 

[Al]

M1 esp 0w-30 would be a great year round oil for it and it's what I'd use if it was mine and saw winter temps like that.

I see no reason to use 0W. Back in the day I used to use 10W with no problem.

When the 20 DIT came out 30wt. was recommended. The engine has not been redesigned -(as far as I know) the FA-24 is bored and the rods are different) I use 5W-30 in my FA-24 turbo. When I first got it I used 5W-40. Probably still the best option.

Its an engineering fact that in an IC engine an 11 cSt oil will protect better than an 8 cSt oil.

 

[edyvw]

ESP 0W30 or 5W30.

 

[edyvw]

I see no reason to use 0W. Back in the day I used to use 10W with no problem.

When the 20 DIT came out 30wt. was recommended. The engine has not been redesigned -(as far as I know) the FA-24 is bored and the rods are different) I use 5W-30 in my FA-24 turbo. When I first got it I used 5W-40. Probably still the best option.

Its an engineering fact that in an IC engine an 11 cSt oil will protect better than an 8 cSt oil.

In this case 0W or 5W is irrelevant.
But, ESP 0W30 is an excellent oil for various other reasons.

 

[Glenda W.]

ESP 0w30. Running it in my two Subarus and several more I maintain. $27 at Walmart. Drop the Boss, horrible efficiency.

 

[JJay03]

ESP 0w30. Running it in my two Subarus and several more I maintain. $27 at Walmart. Drop the Boss, horrible efficiency.

Do you use the factory filter?

 

[Glenda W.]

Do you use the factory filter?

I use Premium Guard XL filters or the clones like Carquest Premium/Microgard Select and just recently Mobil 1oil filters. If efficiency is not a concern the factory Tokyo Roki is a nicely built filter.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I was going to piggy back on another thread but it got locked.
I have 2 cars with the FA24DIT engine. 24 Subaru Outback Wilderness and a 24 Subaru WRX. The Outback has 9k miles and the WRX is new with only 300ish. I do not drive a lot of miles in a year and even less now with 2 cars. The WRX will get some spirited drives once its broken in but no plans for track days yet.

Currently running Valvoline Extended Protection 0W20 in the Outback with Purolator Boss filters.

I think I can get Mobil 1 ESP locally as well. Do you think that would be a better oil for both cars? Which grade if so 0w20, 0w30, or 5w30? Was also considering just getting factory Subaru filters. I live in SW Ohio if you are curious what kind of temps I can experience. Maybe -10F at the coldest in the winter and mid 90's in the Summer. I may eventually modify the WRX some with a tune and bolt ons.

Trying to read the old threads but there is a lot of suggestions. I did see a few people recommend the Mobil 1 ESP.

Thanks

ESP is easily the better of those two choices.

I have this engine in my Ascent and moved to HPL No VII Euro 5w30 because of fuel dilution, mainly. Not because it “resists fuel dilution better” or any of that nonsense from those who don’t know, but because I like additional HT/HS in my turbo engines & the Euro’s very robust add pack. It’s still going to dilute, but the No VII will thicken some in use to help offset the viscosity loss.

This will give me 7.5-10k OCIs in my wife’s vehicle without worry (She’s about 4.5k in this OCI so far). While I certainly don’t want it to continue, there was 6% fuel in the previous sample and there were no signs of distress on HPL Premium Plus 0w30, but it did drop into the upper end of 20 grade viscosity.

 

[twX]

When the 20 DIT came out 30wt. was recommended. The engine has not been redesigned -(as far as I know) the FA-24 is bored and the rods are different)

Since the bore is larger and power/torque are unchanged, the pistons should run a bit cooler, and there will be less pressure on the rings. It's also got a larger oil pump that should also help with cooling.

The bottom end is unchanged for the FA24DIT, but it's a lower revving engine, so the bearings should run cooler. With the low revs and the oil cooler, bulk oil temperatures won't get as hot as they do on the naturally aspirated engines. I suspect this engine would be more tolerant of thin grades than any other Subaru engine.

 

[Fa24wrx]

Since the bore is larger and power/torque are unchanged, the pistons should run a bit cooler, and there will be less pressure on the rings. It's also got a larger oil pump that should also help with cooling.

The bottom end is unchanged for the FA24DIT, but it's a lower revving engine, so the bearings should run cooler. With the low revs and the oil cooler, bulk oil temperatures won't get as hot as they do on the naturally aspirated engines. I suspect this engine would be more tolerant of thin grades than any other Subaru engine.

I live in Georgia and see oil temps in the 220s-230f in the summer. That's why I went to 5w30

 

[twX]

PP and PUP are popular for these engines. The 5W-30's have very good low temperature performance for a 5W, and should be about as thin as the ESP 0W-30 at around -10F.

If you stick with Subaru's 6-month oil changes, you could also use 0W-20 for winter and 5W-30 for summer if you wanted. If you drive hard enough to get oil temperatures well above 100C, I'd use something thicker than 0W-20.

Ditch the Purolator BOSS. The 14615 filters are very small, don't have much media, and they have very small inlet holes, which is not what you want on an engine with such high oil flow. The Tokyo Roki filters are much better. Another good option is the Pentius XL 3593A, which has a similar design, and should be more efficient.

 

[Glenda W.]

Even my non DI Subarus seem to drop a grade. My theory is the timing chains are tough on oil.