I'm borrowing heavily the format of my thread from another 2010 WRX thread, but I didn't want to highjack it because there are some facets of our driving that are different.
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2010 Subaru WRX (stock engine and plan to keep it that way). This is a turboed engine.
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
From the other thread I was referring to, I don't have a reason to suspect that the OP's comments about the owner's manual suggestions are off (I don't have mine right in front of me at the moment, but the text seems familiar).
Quote:
Recommended oil grade:
ILSAC GF-4, which can be identified with the ILSAC Certification Mark (Starburst Mark) or API classification SM with the words “ENERGY CONSERVING.”
Recommended grade and viscosity under severe driving conditions:
If the vehicle is used in desert areas, in areas with very high temperatures, or is used for heavy-duty applications, use of oil with the following grade and viscosities is recommended: API classification SM (or SL): SAE viscosity No.: 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50
3. Where you live
At the moment, in the Greater Detroit Area, but I'm in a rotational program that could take be to Illinois, South Carolina, Florida, California, or Pennsylvania. For now, let's say the upper Midwest.
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
I tend to drive pretty lazily, but I will push it sometimes. I haven't redlined yet (unintentionally or intentionally), but I may get the engine going up to 5000 RPM once in a while (briefly, just for fun -- not for track days). In the near future, I see no track days or drag strips.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
Right now (again, subject to change), I live three miles away from work. There are three traffic lights from my place to work, but most of the time, I only get hit by two of them. The speed limit is 45 nearly the entire way, and with the exception of traffic in the evening, I don't tend to get stuck in bumper-to-bumper at all. The complex I live in isn't very large -- it takes less than a minute to drive from my parking spot to the main road. Clearly, at 6 miles a day and 20 (ish) working days a month, we're talking less than 2000 miles of city driving...
This being said, with extra trips (to practice stick
, for groceries, errands, etc), I've put on roughly 1,000 miles in one month, and that's probably accurate (but will vary slightly from month to month). Of these first 1,000 miles, probably 300 have been city and the remainder, highway. In the interim, I'd expect this to stay the same.
6. Whether your car has any known problems
None foreseeable. I've had the car for 1,000 miles and just had the dealer replace the oil with stock [dino] 5W-30. (I couldn't tell if the motor was burning oil in this time -- I don't think it did.) I think they said they run Valvoline, but the poor girl at the other end also recommended using "premium" oil, so I didn't really place too much weight on what she said about the dealer's stock oils. Either way, I plan to change again in 2,000 miles. I
Comments
I ran Mobil 1 0W-20 in my old Camry without any issues, but I'm leery of using M1 5W-30 because of some of the spun bearings reports. I intend to stick to Subaru's 3,750 OCI during warranty, so I while I don't think it'll be an issue, there's nothing too wrong with going with the M1 0W-40. I've also heard great things about Rotella T6 5W-40, but my concern is that MI winters can get chilly. Given that my typical commute is so short, does it make sense to put a thicker 5 weight oil (T6) rather than a thinner M1 5W-30? Would one of the two heavy-duty versions of M1 be better or worth it? For price and availability, I'd like to stay away from Royal Purple, Redline, and Amsoil (for now), but Pennzoil Platinum or Ultra are in the running.
Thanks for your time!
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2010 Subaru WRX (stock engine and plan to keep it that way). This is a turboed engine.
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
From the other thread I was referring to, I don't have a reason to suspect that the OP's comments about the owner's manual suggestions are off (I don't have mine right in front of me at the moment, but the text seems familiar).
Quote:
Recommended oil grade:
ILSAC GF-4, which can be identified with the ILSAC Certification Mark (Starburst Mark) or API classification SM with the words “ENERGY CONSERVING.”
Recommended grade and viscosity under severe driving conditions:
If the vehicle is used in desert areas, in areas with very high temperatures, or is used for heavy-duty applications, use of oil with the following grade and viscosities is recommended: API classification SM (or SL): SAE viscosity No.: 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50
3. Where you live
At the moment, in the Greater Detroit Area, but I'm in a rotational program that could take be to Illinois, South Carolina, Florida, California, or Pennsylvania. For now, let's say the upper Midwest.
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
I tend to drive pretty lazily, but I will push it sometimes. I haven't redlined yet (unintentionally or intentionally), but I may get the engine going up to 5000 RPM once in a while (briefly, just for fun -- not for track days). In the near future, I see no track days or drag strips.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
Right now (again, subject to change), I live three miles away from work. There are three traffic lights from my place to work, but most of the time, I only get hit by two of them. The speed limit is 45 nearly the entire way, and with the exception of traffic in the evening, I don't tend to get stuck in bumper-to-bumper at all. The complex I live in isn't very large -- it takes less than a minute to drive from my parking spot to the main road. Clearly, at 6 miles a day and 20 (ish) working days a month, we're talking less than 2000 miles of city driving...
This being said, with extra trips (to practice stick
, for groceries, errands, etc), I've put on roughly 1,000 miles in one month, and that's probably accurate (but will vary slightly from month to month). Of these first 1,000 miles, probably 300 have been city and the remainder, highway. In the interim, I'd expect this to stay the same.6. Whether your car has any known problems
None foreseeable. I've had the car for 1,000 miles and just had the dealer replace the oil with stock [dino] 5W-30. (I couldn't tell if the motor was burning oil in this time -- I don't think it did.) I think they said they run Valvoline, but the poor girl at the other end also recommended using "premium" oil, so I didn't really place too much weight on what she said about the dealer's stock oils. Either way, I plan to change again in 2,000 miles. I
Comments
I ran Mobil 1 0W-20 in my old Camry without any issues, but I'm leery of using M1 5W-30 because of some of the spun bearings reports. I intend to stick to Subaru's 3,750 OCI during warranty, so I while I don't think it'll be an issue, there's nothing too wrong with going with the M1 0W-40. I've also heard great things about Rotella T6 5W-40, but my concern is that MI winters can get chilly. Given that my typical commute is so short, does it make sense to put a thicker 5 weight oil (T6) rather than a thinner M1 5W-30? Would one of the two heavy-duty versions of M1 be better or worth it? For price and availability, I'd like to stay away from Royal Purple, Redline, and Amsoil (for now), but Pennzoil Platinum or Ultra are in the running.
Thanks for your time!
