Oils (duh) for my new '04 WRX.

[Asinine]

Hi, long time reader, first time poster here!

I'm an automotive noob, but I'm a pretty handy guy, and I want to personally care for my new baby: a 2004 WRX. So I want some lube advice if you guys would be so kind!

Engine: I plan on going to Mobile 1 5w-30 within a couple hundred miles. It's got 1100 miles and factory oil in there currently. I plan to do so without a flush. Sound reasonable?

Manual Tranny: I want a smoother shift, and I've read that Mobile Synthetic is a good choice for this... I live where it snows, FYI. Specific recommendations. I believe the tranny shares with the front diff.

Rear Diff: Not going to mess with for now... unless having different oils in the tranny and rear will cause problems. Thoughts?

 

[JohnBrowning]

The engine is not that picky so long as you are not tracking the car or raceing it. M1 5W40 SUV oil would be a better choice for this then M1 5W30. I would stay far away from M1 5W30 in this car. The turbo charger will do the 5W30 in early! M1 10W30 and 15W50 are also great oils.

I would not even consider M1 Gear Lube!!! If you are going to put synthetic in check out 50/50 blend of Redline MTL and MT90 for the gear box. The diffs would like Redlines gear axle lubes as well.

You do not need to flush the car before switching to synthetics especialy with the low miles you have on it!

Tyrolkid has a lot of experince with this car and it's lube needs. I would send him a PM!

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
The engine is not that picky so long as you are not tracking the car or raceing it. M1 5W40 SUV oil would be a better choice for this then M1 5W30. I would stay far away from M1 5W30 in this car. The turbo charger will do the 5W30 in early! M1 10W30 and 15W50 are also great oils.

I would not even consider M1 Gear Lube!!! If you are going to put synthetic in check out 50/50 blend of Redline MTL and MT90 for the gear box. The diffs would like Redlines gear axle lubes as well.

You do not need to flush the car before switching to synthetics especialy with the low miles you have on it!

Tyrolkid has a lot of experince with this car and it's lube needs. I would send him a PM!

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What he said.

I'd go with the 5W-40 Delvac 1, or the 10W-30 M1. Are you south of the Mason Dixon line?? If so I would mix some 15W-50 with the Mobil 1 10W-30. If you are north of Harrisburg, Pa then maybe the 10W-30 would be good.

 

[Santo Fontana]

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
I would not even consider M1 Gear Lube!!! If you are going to put synthetic in check out 50/50 blend of Redline MTL and MT90 for the gear box. The diffs would like Redlines gear axle lubes as well.

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Yup and RP Max Gear works well, and so does regular old dino.

 

[Drew99GT]

Look at your manual closely with regard to transaxle lubricant specs. Redline MTL and MT90 are GL-4. Your manual may call for GL-5 in the transaxle (if it shares fluid with the front diff), if the front diff needs GL-5, in which case MT-90 and MTL would not be suitible.

 

[Asinine]

Funny you should say that, because I'm actually IN Harrisburg, PA... at least for the next two weeks until I move to D.C.

Ok, so Mobile 1 in the engine, but NOT in the gear box... fair enough. But my manual specifically says 5W-30. I understand that turbos put more "sheering force" on oil, and that a "heavier" oil stands up to heat better... but can someone explain exactly what makes 10W-30 "better" than "5W-30" in this case?

I checked out Redline and Neo products online, but can't find any local distributers. Any suggestions?

Fianlly, I'm pretty sure they call for GL-5... not that I know what that means!

Any suggestions for that?

One final note, I haven't done anything more complicated than replacing headlights so far... anything I should look out for when doing all of this?

THANKS GUYS!

 

[glxpassat]

I have to vote for the German Castrol syntec 0w-30. I thought I was going to get better gas mileage with it over using a 0w-40, but now I just want to rev it all the time! Higher rpm's are much smoother and the throttle respose is better. My motor just feels 'slicker'.

 

[JohnBrowning]

The 5W40 Delvac and rebadged 5W40 SUV oil from mobile was origanaly designed to stand up to diesels runing 45psi of boost and puting loads on the engine your little boxer can only dream of! If you want to get the cold flow of 5W30 but want good protection for the duration of the drain look at your synthetic 5W40's especialy Redline and Delvac-1(5W40 SUV is rebadged Delvac-1). While that engine is relatively gentel on oil 5W30 cafe oil has no place in this engine!

 

[nicrfe1370]

Welcome, um, Asinine. It's your name, so I guess it's ok if I call you that!

As a former WRX owner and a compiler of mucho data on Subaru used oil analysis reports, let me just say that you will have outstanding service from virtually any oil you put in your car. The WRX is engineered so intelligently, that it's very easy on it's oil.
For most of the year, and for normal day to day service, 5W-30 is probably your best bet. Mobil 1 is highly regarded, as are Redline and Amsoil in this weight. The famous German Castrol, or GC, might also be a good alternative, but personally, I'd like to see more results of it's use in Subarus.
For the hottest months, and for racing, upping the ante to a xW-40 is a good idea. Mobil 1 5W-40 is new but is thought to be Mobil Delvac 1, so it should be a **** good oil. Redline's 5W-40 I know little about, but seems to be a good oil also. I used Amsoil 10W-40 for some racing with decent results. I also tried Amsoil Series 2000 20W-50 for some racing, but I personally had very bad results using it. It might just be too thick for a low mileage WRX. So I would recommend against a xW-50 oil.
For the absolute best service, to an absurd level of perfection, I would recommend drain intervals no longer than 5000 miles, even with the best synthetic. That being said, 6000 mile drains are also quite reasonable for good service.
For the gearbox, I always wanted to try some of Redline's manual gearbox stuff, either MTL or MT-90. My experience in all the Subarus I have owned is that the synchros in the 'box really don't like being ultra slippery. The only experimenting I did was with mega heavy oil, I tried Amsoil Series 2000 75W-140, with good results.
I would recommend changing the rear diff oil. If you put in a high quality synthetic now, you can virtually forget about it. Surprisingly, upon touching my rear diff once, I found it was hot, so it is important to take care of. Again, all I know for the diff is Amsoil, I am interested in Redline but it might not be suitable for typical long drains that diffs see.

[ February 24, 2004, 01:53 AM: Message edited by: nicrfe1370 ]

 

[edhackett]

I'll add my $0.02 to what has already been said. First, I wouldn't be so quick to go to a synthetic. Based on what I observed in my WRX, the first 5000 miles are pretty hard on the oil due to extra blow-by before the engine gets broken in. My oil consumption has dropped to undetectable levels now that the car has 20K+ miles on it. I changed my oil with 10W-30 GTX at 900 miles, 2100, miles and switched to a synthetic at 5000 miles, with a planned OCI of 5K miles. The transmission and rear differential were changed to synthetic at the 2100 mile interval. At a minimum I would change the engine oil now with a quality dino oil, run that to 3000 miles, then switch to a synthetic.
I'm a firm believer in frequent oil changes during break-in, and there is no need to waste a synthetic for these short changes.

If you won't see temperatures below 0F, stay with a 10W-30 oil. They are more shear stable. A 5W-30 is OK if you step up to one of the better quality ones such as Redline, Amsoil (especially the 5W-30 HDD) or Royal Purple. What you are looking for is an oil that is a mix of PAO and ester base stocks formulated with no viscosity index improvers. Personally I think premium 5W-30 or 10W-30 synthetic is the best choice if you don't plan on racing at temperatures over 100F.

I use the Royal Purple Max Gear 75W-90 mentioned above also. It is both GL4 and GL5 rated, and seems to get along well with the syncros in this transmission. You won't see much difference in shift feel over the factory oil, but it will shift much easier in the cold. The transmission will loosen up a bit as you get some miles on it. They are a bit stiff when new.

Do change the rear diff oil. I changed mine at the 2100 mile interval and it was full of wear metals. Get it out of there between 2000 and 5000 miles. Don't be surprised at the gray goo that drains out. It's normal. That's why you change the oil.

Ed

 

[Asinine]

Thanks guys!

I'm going to have to find a way to get some Amsoil or Redline products it looks like!

I appreciate the help.

 

[buster]

Mobil 1 R or Redline would be my choices. I'm not concerned about M1R's low HT/HS. I think like the 0w-20, it's the chemistry used that is more important. RL has everything you could want in an oil. Avlube.com has M1R for $6.86qt.

 

[harrydog]

quote:

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Originally posted by Patman:
Finding a source for Redline is as simple as looking below my post and slightly to the left!

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I've found this to be the best source for Redline. The prices are about as good as you'll find anywhere.
I have a WRX and use Redline 10w30 in the colder months and 10w40 in the summer. I had better UOA results with the 10w40 but I'll need to do a couple more UOA's to confirm it.
I'd stay away from Mobil 5w30 in that engine. Especially during the DC summers.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
I have a MY02 Subaru Outback 2.5 AWD

I use Delvac 1 5w-40 now after firstly M1 10-30 ( it was very noisy on this )and then M1 0w-40 ( good )
You should wait until after 5k before using a synthetic in the engine. Typically low wear rates suggest a longer break-in than most engines

Subaru in Australia believe that some 10w-30 oils contribute to turbo-lag and endorse a good quality robust synthetic like Del 1

I use Castrol's synthetics in the driveline
Chose carefully as Subaru may have changed their spec.but I use Syntrax 75w-90 throughout

I have now covered 64k without a hitch - much of that at a high speed - the synthetic gearbox oil transformed the gearbox's feel and it is still just like new. The Castrol gear oils are amongst the very best available and you can read more here, see my tread under Heavy Industrial etc.....

Regards

 

[Patman]

Finding a source for Redline is as simple as looking below my post and slightly to the left!

 

[Flimflam]

quote:

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Originally posted by Doug Hillary:



.......I use Castrol's synthetics in the driveline
Chose carefully as Subaru may have changed their spec.but I use Syntrax 75w-90 throughout

I have now covered 64k without a hitch - much of that at a high speed - the synthetic gearbox oil transformed the gearbox's feel and it is still just like new. The Castrol gear oils are amongst the very best available and you can read more here, see my tread under Heavy Industrial etc.....

Regards

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Doug, I am very interested to know about the existence of special Castrol synthetic gear oils. I have only seen 2 types of Castrol Gear Oil: the white bottle Hypoy "C" and the black bottle Syntec. Both are rated GL-5, and both are around weight 80w-90.

I used to use Castrol gear oil back in 1990, but I have moved on since then. For my differentials(need a GL-5), I now use Schaeffer Synthetic Blend #267. For my gearbox(needs a GL-4), I use Redline MT-90 with a good shot of Schaeffer Moly E.P. additve. This set-up made my 5 year-old gearbox shift better than the day I drove it out of the Dealer's.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Flimflam - I'm sorry for the slow response

Castrol in Australia market their gear oils under the same names as used in Europe

I use Syntrax 75w-90 a GL5 oil and Syntrans 75w-85 a GL4 oil in various applications
I also use Castrol's Transmax Z which is an excellent synthetic ATF in some manual and auto transmissions

I use Syntrax 75w-90 in my Outback, it is a "lifetime fill" for me

The NA Castrol Customer support centre would be able to steer you in the right direction as to availability and selling name in NA.
Unfortunately BP have decimated Castrol's personnel here so many of their top people have departed, otherwise I would check it out for you from here

Redline & Schaeffer products are not readily available here and whilst they both have an extremely good reputation availability is very important too

Regards

 

[sprintman]

I currently have Castrol Syntrans 75W85 in 626 turbo trans but now very notchy 2nd and 3rd. RL MT90 will be going in shortly. Doug RL is readily avaiable all over Qld.

 

[Flimflam]

quote:

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Originally posted by Doug Hillary:
Flimflam - I'm sorry for the slow response

Castrol in Australia market their gear oils under the same names as used in Europe

I use Syntrax 75w-90 a GL5 oil and Syntrans 75w-85 a GL4 oil in various applications
I also use Castrol's Transmax Z which is an excellent synthetic ATF in some manual and auto transmissions

I use Syntrax 75w-90 in my Outback, it is a "lifetime fill" for me

The NA Castrol Customer support centre would be able to steer you in the right direction as to availability and selling name in NA.
Unfortunately BP have decimated Castrol's personnel here so many of their top people have departed, otherwise I would check it out for you from here

Redline & Schaeffer products are not readily available here and whilst they both have an extremely good reputation availability is very important too

Regards

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Doug: re: "slow response...." no apologies needed, I am no Speedy Gonzales myself when it comes to response time.

The range and variety of Castrol gear lube that you have in the Oz amazes me. Castrol USA's approach to gear oils is "one size its all," and "if we don't push it, you don't need it." Castrol USA marketing dept. is very active in motor oils, but not so in gear oils.

Castrol is great stuff, don't get me wrong. But auto lubricants is a competitive market, and Castrol is not the only great stuff out there.

I used to use Castrol and only Castrol, but now I am moving on to Chevron and Schaeffer for motor oil, and Redline and Schaeffer for transmission and differential oils.

Schaeffer is a big pain in the butt to find and buy. I've been wanting to try Schaeffer since 1990, but could only get my hands on it in 7/2003.

 

[Flimflam]

quote:

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Originally posted by sprintman:
I currently have Castrol Syntrans 75W85 in 626 turbo trans but now very notchy 2nd and 3rd. RL MT90 will be going in shortly. Doug RL is readily avaiable all over Qld.

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sprint, did I hear the word 'notchy?' Do I have the cure for you, buddy. Schaeffer Moly E.P. oil treatment #132. Just pump in 3 ounces of the stuff before you load in your Redline MT-90. You will experience 'notchy' no more.