Oil for new Subaru WRX

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: bluesubie
Really? I would call 1,000 ppm's of zinc and ~1,000 ppm's of moly special.

I always wonder in these cases how much of the moly comes from the assembly lube and how much comes from the oil.

 

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: bluesubie
Really? I would call 1,000 ppm's of zinc and ~1,000 ppm's of moly special.

I always wonder in these cases how much of the moly comes from the assembly lube and how much comes from the oil.

Yes, that's the question! Some of us here have received emails from ILAC hinting at additional levels of moly to help with fuel economy, and a generally a more robust factory add pack formulation.

From ILAC:
Quote:
OEMs specify Moly in their factory fill formulations to increase fuel economy during the initial period. In general a factory fill formula will be more robust in the additive treatments etc. This is done for a variety of reasons which I will not go into here.


Is the additional ZDDP to help with break-in?
FF UOA:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2686475

Make this stuff a 30 grade (if it isn't), sell it at dealerships and Subaru would have a hot seller. Yes, I realize we should look beyond metallic additves when choosing an oil, but it's still fun to see a $30 uoa add pack.

-Dennis

 

[SilverGGA]

Even if it comes from the assembly line, it is the manufacturer's plan to want the moly to remain in the oil in the final delivered product.

You see, if it is harmful, they could have added a step to do an oil flush to drain out the moly. Cost them labor and oil maybe $3-5 per car. Yes, multiplied by X cars it would cost more yada yada...

But, at the very least, it is not harmful and probably beneficial.

Have you ever thought of the case, say the manufacturer wants moly in the oil for break-in, but they use moly in the assembly lube and they know a lot of moly will remain within the engine surface. So they order the break-in oil without the moly, knowing when the car is delivered, the oil will have plenty of moly in it?

Another angle is, if it is so random, the ppm of moly in break-in oil will be all over the map, from 500ppm to 3000ppm, right? I don't think it's the case, even though there aren't many break-in oil VOA or UOA.

 

[soloz]

Certainly lots to think about here. I printed off specs for Pennzoil Ultra and Amsoil OE as well as Amsoil XL. They all look similar, but there are differences. Unfortunately I'm not really all that knowledgeable at knowing what to look for.

I was planning on changing my oil at 500 miles, but can go to 1000 if the factory fill has extra zinc and molly?

 

[Alex38]

I'd strongly consider Castrol Syntec 0w-30, aka German Castrol aka Belgian Castrol aka European Formula. If it were my car, that's where I'd start.

 

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted By: soloz
Certainly lots to think about here. I printed off specs for Pennzoil Ultra and Amsoil OE as well as Amsoil XL. They all look similar, but there are differences. Unfortunately I'm not really all that knowledgeable at knowing what to look for.

I was planning on changing my oil at 500 miles, but can go to 1000 if the factory fill has extra zinc and molly?

You're completely fine running the factory fill to 3,750 miles and beyond based on WRX's uoa's that I''ve seen at 5-6k (and the what's listed in the owner's manual).

Personally, I'm not much of a fan of "Lite" oils in Subaru turbos (unless you drive very easy and have mostly highway miles) and would probably add PU 5W-40 to PU 5W-30 since 5W-40 is allowed for replenishment. Otherwise, the most important spec for a Subaru turbo, IMO, is HTHS and both Amsoil's are pretty good at 3.3. High HTHS is why many enthusiasts recommend HDEO's like RT6, or Euro oils like GC/BC or xW-40's.

If you add any mods, then definitely run one of the more robust oils. On this forum, you usually get recommendations to run any SN/GF5 5W-30 mainly from people that have actually never owned a Subaru turbo or from people that drive like grannies.

-Dennis

 

[soloz]

Well, I was going to go with some PU expecting it to be readily available locally, but after stopping at 2 different Wallmarts and an Autozone with no sign of it I think I'll look at local optoins for Amsoil.

 

[soloz]

Just an update. I'm planning on ordering a case of Amsoil XL, but in the meantime I picked up a jug of Pennzoil Platinum for the first change. I plan to change before 1k then again by 3750 then every 3750 miles.

 

[buster]

In this car I would leave the FF in for 3-5k miles, then consider using Amsoil 5w30 HD, PU 5w30 or maybe M1 EP. One of those.

Does the manual say you can use other viscosity grades?

I think the Noack/PU thing is ridiculous personally. It's still excellent.

 

[thunderfog]

Originally Posted By: soloz
Just an update. I'm planning on ordering a case of Amsoil XL, but in the meantime I picked up a jug of Pennzoil Platinum for the first change. I plan to change before 1k then again by 3750 then every 3750 miles.


Again, read what bluesubie said about the factory fill and the high moly before you drain at 1000mi...

 

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted By: buster

Does the manual say you can use other viscosity grades?

Subaru dropped the other grades beginning around model year 2011. All models now allow other grades for replenishment only.

-Dennis

 

[buster]

I would love to ask one of the engineers involved in engine testing what viscosity grade they would use in their car, assuming warranty isn't a factor.

Thanks Dennis.