Oil for 2 Subaru's

[lumpy_grits]

HI everone, New guy here with a couple of ?'s.
I live in the western Mojave Desert and I'm looking for the best weight oil in Castrol dino for my 2 Subaru's. One is an 03' Forester w/84,000mi(no turbo)the other is an 07' Outback(no turbo)w/12,000mi.
The temps. here will run in the teens(above 0)during winter and will hit 110 in the summer. looking for a "year round" oil. Subaru sez 5W-30(GTX is what I have been using)Have used Castrol all my life(57 y.o. now)What would be good in a syn. oil(again, Castrol)? FWIW: I use Wix filters for everything.
Thank you for your time on this.
Respectfully,
LG

 

[ZZman]

What are your requirements?

1. Price?
2. Extended Oil change length?
3. Protection?

The top 3 here would be Amsoil, Mobil 1 and Pennzoil Platinum.

 

[Johnny]

to BITOG.

Well, since Castrol is the only oil that you are interested in, and you asked about synthetics, your choice would be Castrol Syntec. With the temps you mention, I would stay with the 5W-30.

How often do you change your oil? What type of driving do you do? Mostly highway, or a lot of short trips.

 

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted By: lumpy_grits
Subaru sez 5W-30

I'm going to take a wild guess that the viscosities listed in your manual is similar to mine, since Subaru hasn't changed the recommendations in 10+ years regardless of the vehicle (turbo, no turbo, 137 hp, 300 hp.)

5W30 is preferred for fuel economy and thicker viscosities are required in high temps. to properly lubricate the engine. The oil chart shows 10W30 and 10W40 and I believe the manual states desert driving falls under "severe" and SAE 30, SAE 40 and 20W50 is allowed.

This is from memory, so am I close?

For synthetic, I would use Syntec 0W30 at a minimum. Check the Euro oil forum for the "GC" FAQ if you're not familiar with it. OTOH, the n/a Subaru's are the easy on oil. I would probably use the GTX 10W30 or 10W40 in a dino.

Stick around here and you will probably try 3-4 different brands and viscosities over the next couple of years.

-Dennis

 

[lumpy_grits]

Hi all, let's see if I can answer some of the ?s. Both cars "live" outside. Mine(03')will see dirt roads,f/way, short trips(under 10 mi.) and some long trips(100+ mi.), it can sit for a week or two at a time. The 07" is driven daily by my wife to her work, about 22-23 miles round trip, long trips, little to no dirt roads and some shorter trips. My OCI for both cars are every 3-4 months or 3k miles(w/filter)I almost never hit the mile limit. I do all the work on both of these.
Respectfully,
LG

 

[Johnny]

Subaru's are easy on oil and you could probably change oil every 6-months or 6K.

 

[Bill in Utah]

I've got a 07 Outback and ran PP in it for 4.4k miles over 8-9 months and the UOA came back not so good. My previous UOA was with Halvoline was much better (car had 5k on it but more highway driving.)

With it my wife drives super short trips (most less than 3 miles with 1-2hours wait between returning) and with that use, my MAX OCI with ANY oil will be no more than 3-4 months.

I'll have a UOA with it around 18k miles which will incl 1700 miles of hwy use (I'm in Montana right now) so I can see how PP does here.

Once I have to pay normal prices for oil, I'll be using Pennzoil 5w-30 conventional or Halvoline DS 5w-30.

Welcome to BITOG!

Bill

 

[lumpy_grits]

Hi Johnny, I have been thinking about doing just that. And "thinking" about a 0W-30 syn. oil like GC and a once a year change. Or would it be best to stick with the 5W-30 GTX for my use and change it at 6 mos? Both are really great cars.
Respectfully,
LG

 

[Johnny]

Under your conditions I don't think I would do one year oil changes. The 0W-30 like GC is an excellent product if you want the added insurance. Although after re-thinking this, I might have to agree with Bill concerning the 03 that you drive. Might suggest you just continue what you are doing with that one.

 

[lumpy_grits]

Hi Johnny, you may very well be correct about my 03'. I only saw Bill's post(thank you Bill!) AFTER the post I made.Think I will stay with 6 mos. max time with both cars.Just not sure if GC 0W-30 is "over kill" or not and I would be better off staying with GTX in 5W-30
FWIW: Subaru USA "experts" are of no help and just quote from "the book". Ditto for the dealship...........
Respectfully,
LG

 

[uazj1]

I run Redline 10w-40 in my wife's 2002 WRX wagon with very good UOA. We drive it mostly stop and go, short trip city driving. Here is a link to the post:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...414#Post1134414

That's what I would use.

 

[SubLGT]

Originally Posted By: lumpy_grits
.............The temps. here will run in the teens(above 0)during winter and will hit 110 in the summer. looking for a "year round" oil. Subaru sez 5W-30(GTX is what I have been using)............


Subaru sez 5W30 is recommended for temps below 100F. For temps above 100F they recommend 10W30 and 10W40. So, for your climate, why not use 5W30 in the winter and 10W40 in the summer.

 

[Eddie]

I used a 5w30 full Synthetic (Mobil 1) in my Forester together with OEM, WIX and PureOne oil filters. OCI here in Hot Southern Florida was 6,000 miles with mostly all Suburban use. A Blackstone UOA analysis was excellent and a recommendation to try 7500 mile OCI. I sold the vehicle running like new at 127,000 miles and my neighbor has put an additional 33,000 miles on the car without any issues. I think Syntex 5w30 & WIX filter is good for 7,500+ miles and GTX & WIX good for 4,500 miles. I am probably too conservative so do a UOA and adjust OCI based on lab results.

 

[lumpy_grits]

Thanks to all for the input.
Think for now I will stay with GTX 5W-30 and 3-4 month and 3K-3.5K mi.(I'll "time out" first) OCI. Just can't see using a syn. at this time.
Respectfully,
LG

 

[Johnny]

Good luck to you sir.