Suitable Oils

[Guest]

 clintondane said:

Ok, that was far too detailed for my brain. Doing oil change this weekend on our \'01 Blitzen, 190ks, what oil to use? Not really wanting to spend cash on fully synthetic right now, will once I start receiving pay again in a couple weeks but til then don\'t mind running semi synthetic. Nulon 5-30 semi syn should be ok right?

sorry i tried to find nulon 5w30 semi syn specs but could only find the full syn 5W30 specs which is more than sufficient. i would say the 5W30 semi syn is fine so long as it meets any standards specified by subaru, what ever they may be such as API SJ/SL/SM etc etc etc

If your engine is quite worn you might be able to use 0W or 5W 40

[Guest]

 B-MAGIC']

[quote name='B4 I was 250T said:

Just done my oil change using magnatec...bitch starting smoking like nobodies business, even under light throttle Went down to workshop and they said it was probably way too thin! Guy chucked some oil in and smoking stopped. Very confused but was told I should be using Penrite 20-60.

/quote]

Thats way too thick especially if it\'s a semi syn or mineral. just for anyone that doesn\'t know a 0W60 is far thicker on start up than it is at running temp of 100dgC most cars are designed to run with an oil temp of 100dgC which means that even a 0W oil is too thick on start up for just about any modern car. A 20W60 is very thick on start up and even more so on cold mornings (to the point it will not flow around the engine and lubricate bearings and components) to keep it as simple as possible it is better to temporarily use an oil that has too low of a viscosity rating than one that is too high......if your car is smoking that much on start up due worn rings/piston/cylinders and you want to reduce the smoke level by using a thicker oil, start with an API SL/SM synthetic 0W40 or 5W40 during winter and use a 10W40 or 15w40 during summer if you have too to stop smoking or at the most i would say a 0W/5W/10W or 15W50 but to be honest if your needing to use a 50 or 60 viscosity oil to prevent engine smoke i\'s say your car is either in need of a bit of rebuild in the piston department or the valve stem seals are leaking oil via the intake port which then goes into the combustion chamber turning to smoke or exhaust ports which also burns via exhaust gases which are oxygen deficient-resulting in lots of smoke again (which is likely if your car is only blowing smoke on start up or after you\'ve been sitting at the lights then take off) or your air filter is horridly in need of replacement or perhaps if your car is turbo charged oil may be entering via the intake tract.

are you a mechanic? sound like one.

No i just take an interest in the technical/logical aspect of automotive applications. that being said don\'t take my word as gospel. if you want to know more about try visiting bobistheoilguy.com there\'s a good write up oil and it\'s functions and what all the terminology means and best of all it\'s put in simple terms so it\'s easier than usual to understand.

[scoobygt]

 clintondane said:

Ok, that was far too detailed for my brain. Doing oil change this weekend on our \'01 Blitzen, 190ks, what oil to use? Not really wanting to spend cash on fully synthetic right now, will once I start receiving pay again in a couple weeks but til then don\'t mind running semi synthetic. Nulon 5-30 semi syn should be ok right?

5w30 is waaaaay to thin for a turbo subie with 190 odd thousand, don\'t run any thing below 10w40 man! I put Penrite fully synthetic 15w60 in my twin turbo it loves it, 5w30 is fine in newer cars but not something older and higher Kmh\'s

[clintondane]

See 10-40 is what I was leaning towards. Thanks.

[Guest]

 scoobygt']

[quote name='clintondane said:

Ok, that was far too detailed for my brain. Doing oil change this weekend on our \'01 Blitzen, 190ks, what oil to use? Not really wanting to spend cash on fully synthetic right now, will once I start receiving pay again in a couple weeks but til then don\'t mind running semi synthetic. Nulon 5-30 semi syn should be ok right?

/quote]

5w30 is waaaaay to thin for a turbo subie with 190 odd thousand, don\'t run any thing below 10w40 man! I put Penrite fully synthetic 15w60 in my twin turbo it loves it, 5w30 is fine in newer cars but not something older and higher Kmh\'s

Just out of curiosity, how do you know your car loves it when you use 15W60 in it for a lubricant? or are you just saying it does because you haven\'t had any issues arise from it\'s use............thus far.

And do you have any solid reasoning when you say 5W30 is waaaaay to thin for a turbo suby with 190k on the clock? or is it how you feel about the subject because that\'s what other people seem to think in general too? Don\'t get me wrong i\'m not having a go at you i just think those comments fly in the face of logic to me.

i wouldn\'t use more than a syn 10W40 in a standard turbo sub unless i was truly racing-rally/track day/time attack etc.

[Guest]

 clintondane said:

See 10-40 is what I was leaning towards. Thanks.

10W40 could be ok, if the temp gets below 5dg where you live or drive use 5W40 during winter and full synthetic is most definitely always best for turbo cars and people that are inclined to have a heavy foot now at times.

[clintondane]

Moving to Methven in a few days and it definitely gets well below 5degrees, lol. I see Valvoline SynPower 5-40 is on sale at Repco. Might go with that.

[scoobygt]

5w 30 is hardly even lubricating let alone protecting it from wear and run bearings, it is fine for newer cars that still have tight clearances and tolerances but with a twin turbo that has 190 odd it\'s too thin as the clearances have got bigger over time it would probably burn it aswell. as for me saying my car loves it I speak the truth here\'s a few key points, doesn\'t burn it, motor is very quiet, still gets to the turbos fine even tho it\'s 15w 60, just genreally is a good oil for a car with 214,000 ks

[funkytown]

 scoobygt said:

5w 30 is hardly even lubricating let alone protecting it from wear and run bearings, it is fine for newer cars that still have tight clearances and tolerances but with a twin turbo that has 190 odd it\'s too thin as the clearances have got bigger over time it would probably burn it aswell. as for me saying my car loves it I speak the truth here\'s a few key points, doesn\'t burn it, motor is very quiet, still gets to the turbos fine even tho it\'s 15w 60, just genreally is a good oil for a car with 214,000 ks

word. 5/30 is stictly to thin for a high km subie as mentioned above. 10/40 or above would go alot nicer.

[paulngui]

 funkytown']

[quote name='scoobygt said:

5w 30 is hardly even lubricating let alone protecting it from wear and run bearings, it is fine for newer cars that still have tight clearances and tolerances but with a twin turbo that has 190 odd it\'s too thin as the clearances have got bigger over time it would probably burn it aswell. as for me saying my car loves it I speak the truth here\'s a few key points, doesn\'t burn it, motor is very quiet, still gets to the turbos fine even tho it\'s 15w 60, just genreally is a good oil for a car with 214,000 ks

/quote]

word. 5/30 is stictly to thin for a high km subie as mentioned above. 10/40 or above would go alot nicer.

At what point would it be recommended to start putting in 10w40? Mine\'s at 118k and I\'m still putting in 5w30.

[Guest]

 scoobygt said:

5w 30 is hardly even lubricating let alone protecting it from wear and run bearings, it is fine for newer cars that still have tight clearances and tolerances but with a twin turbo that has 190 odd it\'s too thin as the clearances have got bigger over time it would probably burn it aswell. as for me saying my car loves it I speak the truth here\'s a few key points, doesn\'t burn it, motor is very quiet, still gets to the turbos fine even tho it\'s 15w 60, just genreally is a good oil for a car with 214,000 ks

fair point on k\'s issue but do the clearances really change that much that 50/60 is good to run (i suppose if your motor is burning oil due to valve stem seal wear or ring/piston wear etc then you can run 50/60 to stop it but i would have thought that it may not be the best at the same time for bearings due to a reduction in oil flow because it\'s lots thicker than a 40. As for 30 not lubricating i would have thought that 30 would lubricate better (clearance and mileage dependent) as more oil would flow through bearings and moving parts at standard operating temp and (particularly while the motor oil is warming up) granted if you thrash your pre yr 2000, 100,000k plus car often on the open road a 40 or higher visc might handle the engine temp increase better and shear less during heavy footed driving but when your driving normally it wouldn\'t flow as well and heat removal would be reduced due to the oil becoming thicker at normal driving temp.

to sum it all up i\'m trying to say anyone should run as low a viscosity grade oil as possible without causing abnormal engine wear or a reduction oil pressure as result.

[loner]

My advice to anyone who wants to be really confused... is to read every post in this thread.

First bit of really important information learned here: Oil gets thicker as it heats up. It\'s very important to absorb this bit of information,

before attempting to learn more complex facts about oil.

Good luck.

[Guest]

 loner said:

My advice to anyone who wants to be really confused... is to read every post in this thread.

First bit of really important information learned here: Oil gets thicker as it heats up. It\'s very important to absorb this bit of information,

before attempting to learn more complex facts about oil.

Good luck.

No it does not........it gets thinner.

[Guest]

 paulngui']

[quote name='scoobygt said:

5w 30 is hardly even lubricating let alone protecting it from wear and run bearings, it is fine for newer cars that still have tight clearances and tolerances but with a twin turbo that has 190 odd it\'s too thin as the clearances have got bigger over time it would probably burn it aswell. as for me saying my car loves it I speak the truth here\'s a few key points, doesn\'t burn it, motor is very quiet, still gets to the turbos fine even tho it\'s 15w 60, just genreally is a good oil for a car with 214,000 ks

/quote]

word. 5/30 is stictly to thin for a high km subie as mentioned above. 10/40 or above would go alot nicer.

At what point would it be recommended to start putting in 10w40? Mine\'s at 118k and I\'m still putting in 5w30.

you should confirm this to be absolutely sure but i think the only way you can tell for certain is to is to run an oil pressure and oil temp gauge. put new 5W30 in your car and run your car till the oil temp is 100dgC your oil pressure should be approx 14 psi at 600 rpm at 100dgC and i think you should get a pressure increase of 14psi per 1000rpm to a max of 85psi at 6000rpm (pressure at rpm could depend on the model and year of your car so check about all this with a subaru mechanic or someone who knows subarus first) the theory behind it is that as your engine wears the clearances between bearings increase which will result in more oil flowing through them and corresponding drop in oil pressure. So if your cars oil pressure is lower than what it should be you would go up to a 5W/10W40 which would increase oil pressure throughout the rev range. Note that the test would only be accurate if your oil pump is functioning as it should and there is no abnormal damage or wear in pressurized bearings of the motor which might also result in a drop in oil pressure.

you can just run what ever sub specialist recommends (it\'s up to you)

[funkytown]

the subaru (very knowlegable and trusted) mechanic i use says at minimum 10psi per 1000rpm. 7000rpm should give you 70psi+

^^ above your WAY overcomplicating the issue. for almost ALL road going subbies a good 10w/40 and keeping it serviced every 5000kms and you would NEVER know it wasnt more or less healthy inside.

[newsuba]

Where\'s the punctuation nazis ???

paulngui\'s post may have some useful info but my eyes got tired trying to decypher it.

:

Agree with funky - keep it simple !

A good 10w40 and regular servicing.

[twinturboboy]

10W40? - I was told from an experienced mechanic from Crowes Motorsport in CHCH that turbo GTs should run on 5W30???

[paulngui]

 newsuba said:

Where\'s the punctuation nazis ???

paulngui\'s post may have some useful info but my eyes got tired trying to decypher it.

:

Agree with funky - keep it simple !

A good 10w40 and regular servicing.

You mean the reply to my post, yes? I think my post has punctuation just fine

[clintondane]

Every service I\'ve had done they\'ve always used 5w-30 full synthetic and the car runs fine. I check oil level regularly and it\'s always fine. Car blows no smoke and runs smooth as, all in all I am more confused than I was when I asked my original question, lol.

[newsuba]

 paulngui said:

You mean the reply to my post, yes? I think my post has punctuation just fine

Yes, SORRY !

Matsumoto\'s reply.

;D

[Guest]

 funkytown said:

the subaru (very knowlegable and trusted) mechanic i use says at minimum 10psi per 1000rpm. 7000rpm should give you 70psi+

^^ above your WAY overcomplicating the issue. for almost ALL road going subbies a good 10w/40 and keeping it serviced every 5000kms and you would NEVER know it wasnt more or less healthy inside.

weird i wonder why my subaru workshop manual says itl be 85psi at 6000 then.i\'d heard that 10psi per thousand was a suitable pressure rise.5k oil changes aren\'t necessary-money down the drain.

[funkytown]

sorry but each post you make further ruins what little cred you still have.

its a well recognised window to service a turbo cars oil every 5k kms.

[Guest]

 funkytown said:

sorry but each post you make further ruins what little cred you still have.

its a well recognised window to service a turbo cars oil every 5k kms.

whatever.

[Johnnynz]

New 10W-40 and Genuine filter Every 5 Thou here also.

3 Subarus and no issues arising from oil as yet. Engines ranged from 200,000+ N/A 160,000+ EJ20T and a fresh rebuilt and forged EJ20T now at about 65,000.

[titian]

Have to climb in here!...Yes every 5000K for longevity with a filter of course! 8)

Have an old GT with rocker heads that are known to tap...Yet has never even tapped the valves once, Oil changed at 5000K intervals and has now done 500,000km. :)

10/40 or 15 /40 oil is ok for your average/standard bearing fitted turbo motor.

Most important factor? lubricity...As in the "S" code SG is low, SM is high...the further down the alphabet the second letter the better the lube factor.

Another point to consider is the detergent factor "C" code.

I use CG which is actually reccomended for diesels...But is ok in high tolerance turbo motors so long as it is changed at regular :|"short" intervals.

I have posted in this post how to test your oil to see when to change. Testing is the only way to know when to change your oil.