Synthetic Oil ?

Sup everyone. I have a question regarding synthetic oil. On my previous car I drove, owned by my father, I used Mobil 1 synthetic and changed the oil every 6K miles. Is this practice safe with my Legacy? Thanks in advance, Brandon.

 

2002 Legacy GTLmt, 35k miles

 

PS now that im thinking about it, what are your prefs on air filters for your older legacys? thanks again.

The practice is safe on your 2002 legacy. There may be better oils out there for you, but only oil analysis will show for sure. I would recommend pennzoil platinum 5w30....5 quarts for $20 at wal-mart.

 

As for air filters, I think just about anything except Fram

 

Joe

sweet, thanks for the reply. Ill hold off on the oil change then...ill give pennzoil a try also. Brandon.

Isn't 6k miles a lot, even if it's synth in an NA motor..?

One guy I know that does oil analysis for a living does changes every 10k with synthetic. Not saying that's the way to go, but synthetics tend not to really break down.

Just out of curiosity...what would be some signs its time to change the oil? Burning smell? Would the car act any different? I guess color also?

color, quantity of oil, foam, depends on how bad the oil is...

Color has little to do with the condition of the oil. Foam in the oil is not good (means oxygen is getting into the oil, which tends to break it down much faster).

 

Basically, you need to look at your application. What type of engine is it? What condition is the engine in? What are your environmental factors (temperatures, dirt-in-air-,etc.)

 

I'm running synthetic oil in my naturally aspirated 06 Honda Civic SI for 15k miles. My last run was ~10k miles and an oil analysis showed it to be in fantastic shape. This is a pretty clean running engine in good order, but I also have great environmental factors (I drive in a clean atmosphere (non-city) and I drive alot).

 

6k is a piece of cake for almost all normal applications, for a synthetic.

 

Joe

Just out of curiosity...what would be some signs its time to change the oil? Burning smell? Would the car act any different? I guess color also?

The ONLY way to know is with a used oil analysis. Costs about $25 from Blackstone and others. 6K miles on Mobil1 should not be a problem. I'm sure if you get a UOA they will tell you to go longer. Almost any quality dino can go 5k miles or more, especially in our boxers which are very easy on oil. I am going with 5k miles or 6 month UOAs on my N/A because I don't drive my car that much, this is with synthetic but only because I got it for less than dino, otherwise I would just go 5k on dino.

Just to qualify this discussion a little more, you almost never want to get to a point where you NEED to change the oil. You want to leave some comfort room.

 

All engines and driving conditions are different....feel free to post yours and I'll make a suggestion, but just based upon my own thoughts

Just to qualify this discussion a little more, you almost never want to get to a point where you NEED to change the oil. You want to leave some comfort room.

 

All engines and driving conditions are different....feel free to post yours and I'll make a suggestion, but just based upon my own thoughts

 

 

Ok here's mine. Olllllld legacy, up to 180,000 right now. long drives to home / school on occasion, random auto x, driving around town for food and such, and then commuting to work. I run 5W-30 Castrol GTX high milage, and change every 5,000. Sound good?

Yep. You should include how many miles your commute to work is and how much is highway vs. traffic.

 

I'd say sounds good and continue to use what's working for you at that mileage...sometimes switching is worse than sticking with it

 

If everything is running great, I'd say stay with it. If you wanted to change, I'd say go with Rotella 5w40 synthetic...but at your car's age, I'd still stick with 5,000-6,000 mile oil changes just to be safe. Maybe 7,500

Joe

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the insight. :-)

40miles to school n back, about 20 to and from work...about 80% highway miles

Weather conditions: South East US, NC- 4 seasons, mild spring/fall, humid summers, chilly winters

35k miles on the old 2002

 

Just to qualify this discussion a little more, you almost never want to get to a point where you NEED to change the oil. You want to leave some comfort room.

I also agree w/ this, I was just curious...especially since this is the first car I've paid (well paying) for myself. I def wanna keep it in top shape as well learn more about my car and cars in general. Thanks again for all the replys.

I use MOTUL 5w30..makes a world of difference...

I use MOTUL 5w30..makes a world of difference...

How's that? People...it's just oil, I seriously doubt you would notice any difference from one brand to the other.

I've definitely noticed a difference in multiple cars and multiple brands of oil. This is, of course, my opinion, but it wasn't "slight".

 

Joe

So what exactly do you notice that can't be attributed to something else?

I only notice a difference if I change grades like from a 5w30 to a 10w40 or something.

 

So far all the 5W30's I have tried on my car have felt the same.

 

I can however tell the difference between a synthetic and conventional oil when they have been nearly 4k miles in the engine

I can tell a difference immediately following an oil change. I've been using dino oil up to this point, but may switch to synthetic due to the amount of driving I do.

Shriner -

 

I'll speak for two cars and not the LGT.

 

In my 06 Civic SI, I've run about 6 different types of synthetic 5w30s or 0w30s. AMSOIL, Royal Purple, Mobil One, Supertech, Pennzoil Platinum...

 

Each one had different characteristics as far as the engine feel, sound, and revving. These characteristics were especially noticeable at 7000-8000 rpms, but even in around town driving and when cold (though that could be attributed to a 0w30 vs. 5w30).

 

To give an example, Royal Purple had my engine feeling not good at 6000-8000 rpms. It made a sound I would associate with negativity....as in, this engine does not want to rev this high. Didn't feel as smooth.

 

Same thing with Mobil One, though less.

 

Engine liked Supertech, liked Pennzoil Platinum alot, and loves AMSOIL 0w30. Seems to just want to rev forever, sounds and feels smooth.

 

In my wife's 03 Saturn Ion 2.2 liter 5-speed (one of the roughest engines known to man), it dramatically quieted down and became smoother driving when I ran Rotella T 5w40 synthetic in it vs. a 5w30.

 

The Legacy GT didn't really seem to exhibit any different driving characteristics when I switched from the OEM fill to Pennzoil Platinum 5w30. I'm hoping it'll smooth up a bit and feel better with Rotella T 5w40 synthetic.

 

Joe

How's that? People...it's just oil, I seriously doubt you would notice any difference from one brand to the other.

 

i've used really cheap generic oil when I was in college making near minimum wage, my car's oil pressure light would go off with it (fresh oil change).

 

switched to something slightly less cheap (standard castrol dino) and its fine, ymmv

New to the Subaru life, I have yet to complete my first oil change.

 

I purchased the car with 28K km's and my first oil change was scheduled for 33K km. In my previous experiences I have always been told to change turbo engines oil every 5000KM or 3106 miles.

 

1) Is that being a little too cautious?

2) I have no idea what type of oil is currently in the vehicle but as I am looking to take care and make this car last I have been looking at going to Synthetic. Any pros/cons about changing to the more expensive oil?

-->Where I live we see some cold winter months and pretty mild summers. I am also a relatively spirited driver. Around town, its slow crawling, but open up on the highway.<--

 

Any input is welcome.

 

Karl

I just swapped in some Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 into my car. So far it feels really solid - I just figured it would be a good idea for $20 to run something a little safer. I'm pretty sure the last owner was just running dino.

New to the Subaru life, I have yet to complete my first oil change.

 

I purchased the car with 28K km's and my first oil change was scheduled for 33K km. In my previous experiences I have always been told to change turbo engines oil every 5000KM or 3106 miles.

 

1) Is that being a little too cautious?

2) I have no idea what type of oil is currently in the vehicle but as I am looking to take care and make this car last I have been looking at going to Synthetic. Any pros/cons about changing to the more expensive oil?

-->Where I live we see some cold winter months and pretty mild summers. I am also a relatively spirited driver. Around town, its slow crawling, but open up on the highway.<--

 

Any input is welcome.

 

Karl

 

 

 

Karl,

I tend to change my oil every 3000miles as i do everything to keep my car running top notch and want it to last. I have been using Motul 5w30 Synthetic since my car hit 15 or 20k miles...Runs great and haven't had any problems with it in that area, nor any other for that matter. Hope this helps!