Who here runs heavier motor oil?

[Dickensheets]

I run 10w-30 Mobil 1. Considering heavier weight for piston slap. Any reccomendations. I live in Texas, not too cold.

 

Ryan 97 obw

[forester2002s]

I use 10W30 (dino) in summer;

and 5W30 (dino) in winter.

 

To be honest, I cannot tell the difference in the way the motor runs.

The 10W30 is slightly cheaper, but I use the 5W30 in winter so that starting is a bit easier on the engine in colder temperatures.

[zyewdall]

Alot of people use 20W40 or 20W50 in the older 80's subaru's in the summer, to keep the leaks and burning oil down. You shouldn't have that problem in a car that new though. I usually run the synthetic stuff, especially in the winter to start easier when below zero -- not an issue for you in Texas I bet.

[Strakes]

Mobil-1 15W50 in both cars, however, I did use Mobil-1 5W40 last winter as an experiment.

[Subie Gal]

castrol RS 10w/60 in my WRX

 

but it's abused.... heavily.

 

5w/30 syntec blend in my 2.5 RS and no need for anything else.

it just isnt run that hard.

 

 

jamie

[cookie]

not much difference here in CA. It does cut piston slap unless the car is started cold on a cooler day. Did not seem to affect my fuel mileage much if at all. The biggest difference is when I start the car the second time of the day I can't hear any piston slap.

[86subaru]

amsoil or royale purple

[n16ht5]

i use chevron 5w-30 in my sooby and 10w-40 in my broncoII, since its driven hard and likes to leak

[soobmater]

i use 10/40 or 15/40 in the summer

 

and like 10/30 in the winter.

[blitz]

Try a 15W-40 HDEO Fleet oil like Delvac 1300.

 

Some folks refer to it (erroneously) as DEEZUL AHWL. :-\

[subeman90]

when I had my 2.5's I always ran 15w40 yearround but in the winter I would replace one qt.. with 10w30 to lighten it up a little.

 

Guys at a jiffy lube in las vegas almost had a heart attack when I told them to put 15w40 in a then new 2002 OB wagon. It ended up comming down to...do it or I'm leaving.

 

back in the old ea-82 days I liked 15w40 b/c it made my motor really quiet and the oil pres. was really good too!

[n16ht5]

did your gas mileage go down with that heavy of oil?? it seems wierd to me to run 5w-30 when i always run 10-30 in the least... i can hear my pistons slapping or something.. hmmm

[blitz]

when I had my 2.5's I always ran 15w40 yearround but in the winter I would replace one qt.. with 10w30 to lighten it up a little.

 

Guys at a jiffy lube in las vegas almost had a heart attack when I told them to put 15w40 in a then new 2002 OB wagon. It ended up comming down to...do it or I'm leaving.

 

back in the old ea-82 days I liked 15w40 b/c it made my motor really quiet and the oil pres. was really good too!

Something about the Sube motor just seems to make for a good match with the 15W-40 ...for warm climate anyway. It doesn't cost a whole bunch, keeps the inside of the motor clean. The stuff with moly helps quiet piston slap. I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it below 40*F.

 

n16ht5, try it if you get a chance, I doubt you'd notice any significant change in fuel mileage. I had it in a 2.2 this past summer and hadn't noticed any loss in fuel economy.

[subeman90]

no loss in economy here either.

 

 

I don't like 5w30 only b/c back in the olden days....90 legacy 2.2 if you read the manual it told you not to run it unless it was really cold. It is not intended for "high speed driving" as they say someting like that.

 

My impreza 1.8 as we speak has 15w40 (3.5 qt)and 1 qt of 10w30 in it. Its happy

[gbrand]

I run 20W-50 in summer and 10W-40 in winter in my 91 Leg. (Texas) 253+ K miles and still going....does not use oil yet.

[Bmm001]

We run 15W40 in all of our Subes all year, to no ill effects, and they all have over 100,000 miles on them with no major problems. Sure, my car is a little tougher to turn over in the winter than my parents' since theirs are in the garage, but unless it is REALLY cold, I don't think it matters that much for me in central PA. I know a lot of people use 5w30, but my '95 owner's manual also does not recommend 5w30 for "sustained high speed driving," which I do a lot of.

 

From what I understand, the diesel oil keeps the engine MUCH cleaner inside and protects it a lot better. The boxer design seems to like the heavier oil. It's what my independent Subaru garage puts in, and I trust them. They know what they are talking about since they've been in business working on Subes for 20+ years. Our cars probably have the least amount of miles of any cars that they work on, so if it works for all the others, it works for me.

 

Brian

[Ranger83]

One of our Subarus was extremely loud at start and had piston slap.

 

Castrol High Mileage oil made an amazing difference. Give it a try!

[subeman90]

Brian (BMM001): who is your local independant subaru garage you go to? Just wondering....

[subie94]

I run 20W-50 in summer and 10W-40 in winter in my 91 Leg. (Texas) 253+ K miles and still going....does not use oil yet.

 

that's what i do with my 94 legacy.my mech recommended it.

[Tiny Clark]

What, no BobIsTheOilGuy advertissments?

 

The first number in multi-visc oil is the viscosity when cold, the second, when hot.

 

Does it slap more when cold? The go with a 15W-40 and check the results.

[Bmm001]

Brian (BMM001): who is your local independant subaru garage you go to? Just wondering....

 

Orbach's in Denver. PM me for more info, unless you already go there heh.

 

Brian

[tunered]

just my opinion,5-30 makes sense in cold climates,oil flows easier less engine damage at start-up.but hot weather oil--bullcrap--your engine runs the same temperature[or should] whether its 100 degrees outside or 30 degrees outside,so if anybody can explain why the same motor at the same temp needs heavier oil please explain.i understand "loose" engines can benefit from a thicker cushion of oil. but heavy oil will decrease milage whether you know it or not. ed

[subeman90]

I like it heavier b/c I feel it lubicates better. I also consider most of my driving as "severe duty" so 5w30 doesn't cut it in my book.

 

I know what you are saying about a constant temp. but I feel your motor is going to work a little harder when you are in southern Utah and the outside temp gauge says 117* going 80 mph as opposed to 65 on a PA freeway in 40* temps.....but that is just my opinion....

 

Brian: yeah I go to him...was just there today at 2:30

[blitz]

just my opinion,5-30 makes sense in cold climates,oil flows easier less engine damage at start-up.but hot weather oil--bullcrap--your engine runs the same temperature[or should] whether its 100 degrees outside or 30 degrees outside,so if anybody can explain why the same motor at the same temp needs heavier oil please explain

Some folks prefer light oil, others prefer heavier oil. It's just a preference ...use what you feel comfortable with.

 

At steady highway cruise in really cold winter air can result in as much as 30*F lower sump temp than the same steady cruise in a high summer temp situation. That's equivalent to jump in one SAE grade.

[oregonloyale]

PO of my once owned ISuzu Amigo w/210k 2.6l had used Dello 400 15w40 since it had 38k miles on the odom.

 

From what I understand there is a high zinc or is it copper , level in those types of oil and it helps to really maintain the crank bearings.

 

Ran like a champ , but the rig was to small for my family of 3 so I sold it.

 

Im about to drop some Conoco 10w30 semi syn in my newly acquired 90 legacy 2.2l that has 250k on the odom.

Doesnt have any piston slap and it isnt noisy so I figured I just go standard.

Not to mention the stuff is relatively inexpensive so if it starts to get noisy I can just drain and try something else.