Recommendation for 2010 wrx (stage 2)?

[bluewrx]

Hello,

I have been searching around for awhile trying to decide what oil I should put into my car. Right now I have conventional oil in there, but now I am looking for a synthetic oil to use. I have narrowed it down to german castrol, amsoil and mobil 1.

1. What kind of vehicle you have
My car is a 2010 wrx with 9,000 miles. It is stage 2 (3 in. turbo back exhaust) and I have a protuned map on it. It is a turbocharged vehicle.

2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
The service manual says to use 4.5L of 5w30 and API.

3. Where you live
I live in Central Jersey. Highs are usually 80-90 maybe 100 in summer. In the winter time it can get down to 20 sometimes teens.

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
I commute everyday about 40 miles. So on the highway I try to conserve fuel. When I am driving around town I like to beat on it once awhile. I am not always on it, but when I am I go all out.

5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
Commute to class is 40 miles back and forth. Besides going to class my trips are usually short and spirited.

6. Whether your car has any known problems
No.

In conclusion I am looking for a synthetic oil that is very good. I am leaning towards german castrol or amsoil. What are your experiences with the two and is it true that they are both elite in their class. And I do rip my car once in awhile so I would like an oil designed for that. Also is the pure one puralator a nice filter. Or is it worth it to get something a little more pricey like the mobil 1 or k&n?

Thanks for your time.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Out of your choices,Amsoil. And avoid the K&N. Go with oem.

 

[BeanCounter]

I've been very happy with my Amsoil SSO experience on my turbo application to this point. Different engines, so I can't say 100%, but I'd give that a try before GC if you put a solid amount of miles per year on that vehicle.

 

[gathermewool]

I've been running Shell Rotella T6 for the past few intervals in my '08 Stage 1 STI at around 7kmi OCI. I'll be running Amsoil SSO 0w30 for the next to intervals, and will be able to compare after I send out some samples. That won't be fore a while, though. I tend to stick with the OEM filter, since the bypass PSID seems to be higher than most aftermarket filters, Purolator Pure 1 being the closest, IIRC. I'd stay away from regular Mobil 1, though the high mileage and EP flavors seem to be very good, and an excellent deal during Advance Auto or Autozone oil change deals.

If you're protuned, I'd assume your OL AFR's are a little leaner than my pig-rich stage 1 Cobb OTS tune, so fuel dilution MAY not be as much of an issue as it is with me. The biggest factor will be blowby.

How much oil are you burning?

How often are you planning to change the oil?

Would you be willing to stick with an oil and base your OCI on UOA results? This way is really the only sure-fire way to determine an appropriate OCI, IMO.

 

[Hollow]

If you're planning on sticking to the 3750 interval from Subaru, or somewhere close to it, I'd suggest Rotella T6 5w40 and a PureOne oil filter. Both are easy to find and it would make for a less than $30 oil change.

Don't think I would stretch the OCI past 5k without a few UOA's to see if the oil can take it (I expect T6 could) but oil-cooled turbo's like our Subaru's have tend to beat up oil.

 

[bluesubie]

What? Nobody said

!

Like Matt said, if you decide on Mobil1 (or any brand), use one that is not Energy Conserving. M1 High Mileage xW-30, 0W-40, or TDT 5W-40. If trying to conserve fuel is a priority, I would probably go with a robust 30 grade like M1 HM (even though you only have 9k miles) or GC.

For 3,750 mile intervals, I don't know if I would even go full synthetic. Ed Hackett here runs Rotella 10w30 in a Legacy GT with good results. I would also stick with the OEM oil filters. Amsoil hasn't updated their product application guide lately and still doesn't recommend going past 3,750 miles in any Subaru turbo.

Make sure your oil (and not just your coolant) is up to operating temp before getting on it too hard on those short trips. Good move on the protune! Who tuned it? Precision?

-Dennis

 

[bluewrx]

Thanks for the replies guys. If anything you complicated my situation lol. But seriously I guess I will try em out and see which ones suit me the best. Every where I look I see something different so I will just test em out myself. Plus I will be changing the oil every 3k miles so I don't know if it is necessary to buy amsoil. I guess I will try gcastrol first and see how that works out.

Btw if anyone likes to buy their oil filters in bulk advance auto parts has a deal where you spend $100 and get $40 back and if over $75 it is free shipping. I will most likely be placing an order for 20 purolator pure one filters

. 10 for my subie and 10 for my pickup. It comes out to about $3.20 or so a filter and free shipping. The promo is "big40".



http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home___

And to answer a few questions, I got it tuned at precision and my car has not eaten any oil the last 2 oil changes.

 

[Pablo]

If you decide to go with Amsoil, please purchase from a forum sponsor - and please ask about the preferred customer (PC) deal.

Thanks and WELCOME

 

[oggb]

Rotella T6 5w-40 will do you just fine.

 

[oggb]

Originally Posted By: HollowEyes
If you're planning on sticking to the 3750 interval from Subaru, or somewhere close to it, I'd suggest Rotella T6 5w40 and a PureOne oil filter. Both are easy to find and it would make for a less than $30 oil change.

Don't think I would stretch the OCI past 5k without a few UOA's to see if the oil can take it (I expect T6 could) but oil-cooled turbo's like our Subaru's have tend to beat up oil.


All WRX/STIs sold in the US come from the factory with water-cooled turbos.

 

[gathermewool]

Live a little - extend that interval out another 1000 miles. GC, T6 and pretty much any other Group III + oil can handle it, even in a Stage 2 STI

Don't believe me? Send out a sample.

 

[Bigsyke]

Rotella T6 and the PureOne get my vote here.

 

[Ed_T]

Mobil-1 10w30 synthetic