My WRX and oil changes

[zzzzzxx]

Ok I have about 9500 miles on my '04 WRX. My first oil change was done with mobil 1 at about 3000k.

I then hit 6000k and felt lazy so I went to a valvoline instant oil change place and paid for their synthetic oil change service... I walked out very happy with their service (although it was a little pricey).


I am now at 9500k miles and wonder if I should keep driving and not worry about changing it for a while?? How long should I wait?


Is it a big deal switching syn brands if I decide to go back to mobile 1 sometime in the future?

 

[james1]

If you do a search on Valvoline in the used oil analysis board there is one post there I saw on Synpower 10W40 on a 1.8L VW that was pretty good. I wanted to post the link, but what I copied and pasted didn't look like it would work. Anyway check it out!

 

[mikemc]

I would go ahead and run this oil until the next manufacturer recommended service interval. Going back to M1 is not a problem.

 

[williar]

You've 3500 miles on the Valvoline; I'd change it out NOW to M1 as your engine should be well broken in.

 

[edhackett]

The UOAs on the WRX show that 5000 mile changes on any synthetic seem to be OK. The issues seen are fuel dilution and high insoluables. I wouldn't recommend going beyond 5K without doing a UOA. There is no need to change the Valvoline synthetic before 5K, IMHO.


Another issue is that certain engines seem to use certain oils more than others, and it is not uncommon to see usage issues for one or two changes when switching brands. If you keep bouncing around between brands you may not get a handle on what is normal for your engine.

Ed