Oil opinions for TWO cars! (Subaru STi, Mazda 3)

[evilspoons]

Alright, so I have a new Subaru STi on order and my coworker has recently purchased a Mazda 3 2.5L and I was hoping for oil recommendations on both.

My only experience with oil changes is that I put German Castrol in my 2005 Volvo S60R and used the OEM (Mahle) filters. Worked great - too bad my car was written off by a deer.

We both live in Edmonton and our drive to work is a short trip, but my car at least will hopefully be seeing lots of nice road trips too. I certainly have no plans on changing the oil seasonally, just based on distance travelled following the manufacturer's oil change interval, so whatever goes in has got to work well in -30 C and +30 C.

First up: the STi. It's a 2012 Impreza WRX STi (a Sport-Tech hatchback in World Rally Blue, for what it's worth). It's either in port right now or on a train heading towards Edmonton. The motor is a 2.5L flat four, turbocharged for 305 HP. The car is obviously brand new and I have no intention of stepping outside the bounds of the warranty.

The manual recommends 5W30 and requires synthetic. It also says "API SM or SN", and "ILSAC GF-4 or GF-5". Are there any solid recommendations for these specifications? (They are meaningless to me, except for the 5W30 part). Typically I buy OEM filters as well, is there anything bad about the Subaru ones or any clearly superior product available?

Second: the Mazda. It's a 2010 Mazda 3 with the 2.5L motor (the 3 is annoyingly hard to search for on forums!!). It has about 48,000 km on it, my coworker just picked this thing up used yesterday. I'm recommending he do an oil change right away since he can't be sure what the previous owner was up to (their records aren't comprehensive). The manual recommends the same 5W20 dino oil as the 2.0L motor. Again, any recommendations/advice on oil and filter? I imagine he's willing to spring for synthetic since he was running synthetic in his old Dodge Neon, what should he look for? Is synthetic even worth the cost?

 

[CATERHAM]

Hi evilspoons and welcome to BITOG.


The Subie 5W-30 is made by Idemitsu in the States but Subaru Canada charges a lot for it. I actually prefer the Idemitsu made Acura 5W-30 as they are still being supplied with the preferred SM version of this oil and it's cheaper.
In an aftermarket oil, my first choice would be Pennzoil Platnium 5W-30.

For the Mazda I would definitely go with a 0W-20 for your climate.
The best 0W-20 on the market is the Mobil made Toyota 0W-20, it's also a great deal at $5.75/L.
My second choice would be the Honda/Acura 0W-20 made by Idemitsu.

 

[dailydriver]

^^^ At a/that given price point, but you keep forgetting about the Sustina 0W-20, which might be the BEST 0W-20 for ANY price.

 

[CATERHAM]

dailydriver, you're right but Sustina is something like $15/qt in Canada if you can find it. Is it 3 times better than Toyota's offering? I'd like to see at least one VOA/UOA before answering that question.

 

[boosted]

I have some good oil fs but see you live in canada so nvm.

 

[bluesubie]

See my recommendations for the STI in this thread.

If Subaru Canada has stuck with 3,750 mile intervals (I believe they have), I may be a little more comfortable running a GF5 oil with those short intervals. That's with no mods, and no strip, or auto-x either.

Stick with the Canadian made OEM Honeywell filter or the new Wix 57712. I've been running the Honeywells since they came out on three Subaru's without any issues. The Honeywells and the Wix have the proper bypass spec.

-Dennis

 

[Mazda3LA]

I recommend using Kendall oil for the Mazda. That's what has worked best for me on my 2007 Mazda. A lot of Mazda owners also use PP with great success on the mazda 3 forum.

 

[mshu7]

As a previous Mazda3 owner, I can say that those engines are very easy on oil. I used to run Pennzoil Platinum in my 2.3L for 7500 mile OCI's. Engine never burned a drop and it was clean as a whistle inside. The one UOA I did after a 7500 mile run showed it could have easily run longer, probably 10k with that engine.

Congrats on the STI. Those are sweet little cars.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
dailydriver, you're right but Sustina is something like $15/qt in Canada if you can find it. Is it 3 times better than Toyota's offering? I'd like to see at least one VOA/UOA before answering that question.


Of course you are correct on the price issue (why I stated "at a/that given price point").

But in that post you stated "best" outright 0W-20 oil, PERIOD! (With the Canuck price just being 'icing', but YES, I will admit, at that price they are practically 'giving it away'!!.)

The specs we actually do have on it alone show it to be superior to the Toy sauce, even in the absense of posted VOAs/UOAs.

 

[JustinC25]

Sti: Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 while in warranty.
After warranty expires Shell Rotella T 5w40.
Turbo Subie's seem to like 40 weights, perticularly this oil is very popular among turbo subie owner's.
The standard Subaru OEM filter is nothing special here in the states.
It's made by Honeywell (Fram), and I believe you will be much better suited with a Wix, or a Purolator (more well made filters for less money).

Mazda 3: PYB 5w20 if he wants to go dino, otherwise
PP or QSUD 0w20 or 5w20.
Not sure who makes the oem filter for Mazda, but I use a Wix in a friend's Mazda 6 with the 2.3

 

[CATERHAM]

After warranty expires Shell Rotella T 5w40.
Turbo Subie's seem to like 40 weights, perticularly this oil is very popular among turbo subie owner's.

Mazda 3: PYB 5w20 if he wants to go dino, otherwise
PP or QSUD 0w20 or 5w20.
/quote]
These are both poor choices for Canada.
The Subie will be under warranty for a long time but when he is out of warranty the T6 5W-40 would be way too heavy for the climate and the way the car will be driven.
Stick with the recommended 5W-30 grade.

PYB and PP 0W-20 are over priced in Canada.
PP 5W-20 is an option for the Mazda if the owner has a psychological problem using the superior 0W-20 grade. As mentioned the best 0W-20 value here is the Toyota 0W-20.

 

[Tones]

If it's still available for a reasonable price, I would go with XD-3 0W-30 for the 30 weight year round. I always thought this was a great deal. For the 20 weight, I'm not sure what your options are, but would go for a 0W-20 or 5W-20 synthetic year round.