New 08 Spec B:Engine break-in/first oil change question

Hey guys,

 

I pulled the trigger today and picked up an 08 DGM Spec B with 16 miles on the clock. I think the car has sat on the lot for a while, so my question is:

 

Would you guys change the oil now, or change it immediately?

 

I didn't see anything about Subaru using a break-in oil, so my plan is:

 

- Change the oil now, then at

- 250

- 750

- 1500

- 3000

 

Then back to regularly scheduled intervals. I know it's anal and probably overkill, but I'm a nut when it comes to breaking in a new engine.

I know there's always debate over this, but I was explicitly told not to change the oil until 3k when I bought mine. Took it in a bit early to be safe, but still let it go as per what the dealer said.

I know there's always debate over this, but I was explicitly told not to change the oil until 3k when I bought mine. Took it in a bit early to be safe, but still let it go as per what the dealer said.

 

Idiot dealer. Never listen to dealer's service advisor's. 9 of 10 are total ignorants.

 

Change the factory oil with couple of hundred miles or on day #1 if you car sat in the lot for a while. Then you can go immediately go to synthetic (German Castrol 0w30 would be a good choice). Or use good dino (like Shell Rotella) or some semisythetic (Valvoline). If you insist on cheap crappy dino like Mobil Clean or something - use 10w40, as 5w30 becomes 20 weight within 200 hundred miles. Literally. I broke my engine on Mobil dino 5w30, 330 miles later it was way out of viscosity range And it was not fuel diluted.

 

If you want to learn more about oils - http://www.bobistheoilguy.com is the site for you.

I have been changing my oil after the 1st 1000 miles for the past 25 years on all my new cars. I read a book by a Chrysler engineer that recommended this because most of your engine wear and seating of oil rings happens in the 1st 1000 miles and you want to remove those wear bits so you don`t keep circulating around the engine too long. In fact when I bought my 07 Spec. B. my dealer changes the oil free of charge at 1k on all the cars he sells, not just turbos

 

My 90 Legacy wagon went 235K with no engine work and my 89 Taurus SHO had 155K miles on it before I traded it in. The only engine problem was a crankshaft sensor at 140K. I always change my oil every 3K to 4K miles and only used good conventional oils. On my 07 Spec. B. after the inital 1K change I swithed to Mobil 1.

i changed my oil at 800 miles. i will change it again at 2500 miles. after that i will porb go synthetic and change avery 3500 miles.

Thanks for the responses so far guys. I'm going to pick up some Castrol GTX 5W-30 later tonight.

I'm waiting til 3750, only 800 miles togo, I got my car near the end of march with 12miles . Is it really worth going to syn.

Idiot dealer. Never listen to dealer's service advisor's. 9 of 10 are total ignorants.[...]

 

I know it's all a debate and I don't want to start a flame war, but according to cars101.com:

 

New Car Break-in period:

1000 miles: Drive calmly for the first 1,000 miles

Avoid hard starts and stops.

Avoid over-revving the engine, try to keep RPMs under 4000.

Vary your speeds over the full range of city and highway driving

Don't use cruise control much, if at all.

City and freeway driving is fine because that will vary the speeds

1st oil change is due at 3 months or 3,000 miles

 

I also bought my car from Joe Spitz in person, and he's the one who told me that. BTW - I changed it at about ~2k 'cuz what I was told did go against conventional wisdom, but I don't want to disagree with the dealer given that they're doing my warranty work.

That's what the manual says. I think it's even for H6-3.0 only.

 

Joe Spitz runs nice site, but he is not Subaru oil god... Factory fill is some JDM 5w30 dino... nothing special. Dump this junk and put good oil in the car. The engine will thank you.

 

And you can change the oil and not tell the dealer

Just found this over at NASIOC:

 

Does my new Subaru come filled with a special "break in" oil? No. All Subaru engines are factory filled with: Nisseki-Mitsubishi M1K 5w-30 with no special additives. Note: the manufacturer changes from time to time, but they always use 5w-30 mineral based (non synthetic) oil.

 

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=499177

 

 

 

That's what the manual says. I think it's even for H6-3.0 only.

 

Joe Spitz runs nice site, but he is not Subaru oil god... Factory fill is some JDM 5w30 dino... nothing special. Dump this junk and put good oil in the car. The engine will thank you.

 

And you can change the oil and not tell the dealer

I picked mine up with 7 miles.

 

At 200 miles = new oil filter and top off oil

At 1053 miles = ecu reflash for stuttering

At 1726 miles = full oil change

 

I'm at about 3k miles now and plan on getting it changed every 2 going forward.

...they always use 5w-30 mineral based (non synthetic) oil.

 

I'm confused. Isn't this an oxymoron?

 

Non-synthetic oil is the usual, petrochemical product--dinosaur based, right? And synthetic oil is a mineral-based compound. (Both, of course, have "minerals" in them, in the sense of stuff that came out of the ground at one point.)

 

I'm certain that Subarus come with dino in them, in any event. HPH

I've only seen dino oil referred to as mineral:

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4232672.html

 

Either way, I read the NASIOC faq as Suburus come with dino oil from the factory.

 

I'm confused. Isn't this an oxymoron?

 

Non-synthetic oil is the usual, petrochemical product--dinosaur based, right? And synthetic oil is a mineral-based compound. (Both, of course, have "minerals" in them, in the sense of stuff that came out of the ground at one point.)

 

I'm certain that Subarus come with dino in them, in any event. HPH

yeah go ahead and try properly breaking in a new engine on synthetic

yeah go ahead and try properly breaking in a new engine on synthetic

 

You can't go wrong with changing the oil too often - except for the cost of oil that is. And what I would recommend is to get a magnetic oil plug as soon as possible on a new car to catch any small particles and shavings floating around.

 

Whenever using oil, it really doesn't matter if it's synthetic or not, the only important thing is that it does conform to specifications of viscosity and wear protection. Check the API codes for the oil and what the engine requires.

 

And let's say that the engine specs says that a 5W30 oil can be used it doesn't mean that you should use it. You should probably go for a 5W40 instead to be on the safe side.

 

Continue here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1664482#post1664482

On my 08 LGT, break in oilchanges I did:

 

Changed @

500mi

1000mi

1500mi

3000mi.

 

All with dino oil since most sites show that using dino oil on break in is better than syn. After 3k miles, i folloed a 3k mile oil change interval, and when I hit 9k ish I went to full synthetic, and been on that since.

After 3k miles, i folloed a 3k mile oil change interval, and when I hit 9k ish I went to full synthetic, and been on that since.

 

What brand of synthetic are you using and does it burn any oil? My previous Legacy didn't burn a drop on Mobil 1 10W-30 synthetic and I've been debating whether or not I should go synthetic with this one.

Currently Im using Valvoline Synthetic 5W30, and it doesnt burn any oil. My next oil change (sometime this weekend) will be Mobil 1 5W30.

 

I pretty much just buy whatever synthetic oil is on sale, Valvoline was either buy 1 get 1 free or something crazy low price of ~3/qt. Mobil 1 I just got from the store was a 30 dollar combo offer (5qts + Mobil 1 Filter for $30)

change it at whatever interval makes you feel good....you're talking about the difference between the engine lasting 300k and 350k miles here. As long as you stick to 3k per change afterwards, you should be fine.