Engine oil - what should we (Aussie) use?
 

hi all,

I'm new to boxer/Subaru engine and what sort of oil should we use?

the US guys use 0w20. is this Subaru specific and we should use something similar?

coming from my previous cars, the oil viscosity of 0w20 seems a bit low?

thanks

I bought 0w20 from the Subaru service department. I thought about 5-30 but thought it safer to stick with the manufacturers recommendation. Was $101 for 5l.

I have read the oil is like that so emissions are lower. The engine is designed with the right clearances to suit that oil.
The 15000 between services concerns me. I feel it is a marketing thing for when they are selling the car. I have not seen an engine worn out from too many oil changes. The manual states that one litre per 1000 km is acceptable. I guess that means 15 litres of top up over 15000 km means you have pretty clean oil.

You can use this (see below). It's in stock and costs $55inc for 4L which is great value for money. This is only for a street car as anything track needs more like 10w45 or 10w35 as a minimum.
Cheers
HKS Australia

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/a...-088_093-1.jpg

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/a...-AK001_2-1.jpg

This is one of those topics where there is no one correct answer. Answers include "It depends" and "Everything's a compromise". Where do you live? What sort of driving do you do? i have read many times that the greatest rate of wear occurs on start up ( this makes sense) so if you are doing lots of short trips lower viscosity is better. Mainly tracking the car? Higher is better.
Because I don't use my car much and when I do it tends to be longer trips plus motokhanas and occasional track day I use Mobil 1 5w-50. But as I say, it depends.

Fuel for thought.

so running 5w30 etc won't harm the engine?

what do other performance Subaru use?

i do a lot of short trips and occasional track days.

also how much oil do we need for an oil change?

i seems to recall a little over 5L??

thanks

Can you tell me who manufactures HKS oil?
(Stupid translation: an oil that is not suitable for track work,ie street only, is called "Super Racing".

Oil doesn't harm engines; oil protects. Different oils/viscosities have different optimum operating parameters. I am guessing after a few hundred thousand kilometers one might be able to detect the difference in engine wear to using different oils.


5.5 litres with oil filter replacement , 5.2 without.

It is not that it cant be used it is just recommended that a different oil viscosity should be used for prolonged track use.

cheers dave

I will be using this and doing oil analysis to see how it is performing (rather than guessing).

http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/images/asm_300.jpg

I will use that until I find something with better specs or UOA shows performs better ... or I go forced induction.

Note, that is NOT what I use in my current 400hp Subaru, as they are completely different engines.

The 5w30 will be fine. HKS sell a specific oil for normal EJ20 Turbo's 7.5w42 but forced induction cars see more heat.
Cheers
HKS Australia

Don't know sorry and can't imagine HKS disclosing that information. As for the name - if you ever looked at HKS products in general they make lot's of parts called "Super Racing". It's just the series in which the oil is packaged. I only advised not to use the 0w25 for track use as light oil for a track car is asking for trouble. As you can see below after only 5 mins on a track the oil temp rose beyond what a 25 weight oil is capable of maintaining. Maybe you should look at the heavier weight Super Racing Oil for track use.
Cheers
HKS Australia

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/a...5004-AT008.jpg

Will you be using this oil for track as well, or street only?

Both ... as the HTHS viscosity is similar to most 30 weights.

Again, I will test it after each decent flogging. I test like crazy with a new car, then go back to once or twice a year when I have data to support (or reject) my choice.


Sent from my SGS2 using Tapa-fkn-talk

I've previously googled a bunch of UOA service providers. Any recommendations based on ease of taking sample / quality of analysis / ease of report understanding?

Simple answer is "I don't know".

Long answer is that obtaining the sample should be the same for all (but I'm guessing because I've only used 2), I don't have any info on the labs (but assume they are all pretty similar) and all the reports I've seen have been pretty straightforward.

Things I would look for:

• The ability to show trends over time and that's much easier if a couple of years worth of results are in a single table.
• TBN (Total Base Number) testing. That's really important for knowing if your used oil has much life left in it.
• All of them should do particle tests, wear metal tests, viscosity test, water/fuel dilution tests. Fuel dilution is really important if you are using E85.

I'm sure some are better than others, but ANY oil analysis is better than none. Of course if we want to co-ordinate things, we can all use the same and compare results between oils.

Sweet, testing oil is something i have been interested in doing, but never actually have done. Sounds like a plan.

I will be staying with Royal Purple for my 86 Race application.. they have a great selection of oils. I swear by it as it saved an engine when I lost oil pressure for 1000 meters of track.. no damage.

Royal Purple's relentless pursuit of excellence within the lubricant industry consistently produces a reputation associated with quality and superior performance in both automotive and industrial markets.
Racing Oil Products:


XPR 0W10 (Formerly Racing 9) is an ultra-light viscosity motor oil formulated for gasoline engines used in drag racing, motorcycle sprint racing, etc. Viscosity typical of a 0W10 oil.

XPR 5W20 (Formerly Racing 11) is a light viscosity motor oil formulated to withstand exotic fuels such as alcohol, methanol and nitrous oxide (NO2). Excellent for drag racing. Viscosity typical of a 5W20 oil.

Racing 11 Lite is an ultra-light viscosity motor oil formulated for use in high RPM and / or solid lift engines. Racing 11 Lite combats emulsification and separates from exotic fuels such as alcohol, methanol, etc. Racing 11 Lite is recommended for use in Pro Stock, Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Jr. Dragster (methanol) and Karts (methanol). Viscosity typical of a 0W10 oil.

XPR 5W30 (Formerly Racing 21) works well in a variety of applications from oval track late models to bracket racing. It is extremely versatile and produces excellent horsepower while preventing wear. Viscosity typical of a 5W30 oil.

XPR 10W40 (Formerly Racing 41) is designed for marine, oval track and endurance car racing. Capable of withstanding long intervals of extreme heat, it works especially well with alcohol and methanol. It is extremely popular in sprint cars, late models and World of Outlaws racing. Viscosity typical of a 10W40 oil.

XPR 20W50 (Formerly Racing 51) is formulated for running extended periods under extreme pressure and heat. It is used in oval track, marine and drag racing and is very popular in sprint cars, late models, truck pullers and bracket racing. Viscosity typical of a 20W50 oil.
XPR 3.1 0W5 is our lowest viscosity engine oil designed for the most competitive classes such as Pro Stock, Pro Stock Bike, Comp Eliminator and NASCAR Cup (qualifying). The ultra low viscosity provides the most horsepower possible by keeping parasitic losses to an absolute minimum while providing unparalleled protection.

You can buy it at Autobarn.. not the cheapest oil but it is cheap engine insurance.

Eian Jones runs the Australian operation .. for more info on their stuff

http://www.royalpurple.com.au

It's not an add but it's good stuff and there is a lot of information on the site..

I was going to say that ill be using Royal Purple also.
at the moment i use Castrol Edge in my hilux.

One rally guy I know swears by Motul for his Subi's

would doing your own oil change without using the factory recommended oil void your warranty? or even doing your own maintenance? i don't know why you'd want to take the risk.

Its more that you can supply oil to the dealer to use in your car, as they often use cheap stuff

I know that the Toyota Australia dealers are getting the OW-20 oil shipped direct from Japan especially for the 86... what are they using? I heard it could be Caltex??

Uh oh pedant mode coming up :/
How do you know it was that particular oil that saved your engine? Is it possible that your engine might have survived with a different premium oil?

[/pedant]

Having just done a bit of googling about car engine oils I have come to the following conclusions:
Finding objective information is nigh on impossible. It is either forum threads ("yeah, i use extra virgin olive oil and it rulz") or it is an infomercial by an oil manufacturer ("tests have shown that using our oil will get you laid").
It has been suggest that it is more important is to change the oil regularly than the brand of oil.

I guess I don't care if you don't use it.. just my opinion. We just pulled it down for a rebuild and just needed to do the heads.. bores are fine along with bearings.. Once it was back together we went from 351rwhp to 394.. just my opinion but I am staying with the Royal purple.. there are comparitive dyno tests between different oils and it comes out very well on HP. Wear is something you would have to judge, personally I change oil regularly.. it's cheap insurance as I say.

The New 86 Race car will run on it.. Cage completed and seat mounts and under jacking points in progress :)

Google BITOG

Sure sure sure. I am not saying RP is not a good oil. As for it increasing power that is not unreasonable either. I was just questioning your statement that RP saved your engine.
Sorry,I am pedantic and my friends get amused and annoyed with me in equal measure.

Real questions seems to be - whats the best fuel for the 86?

^
Fuel? I thought we discussing engine oil.

Yep, but apparently using wrong kind of fuel on this car causes pinging.

Use 98 & you shouldn't have a problem. (although after reading this post maybe not http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13827 )

Back on topic, I'd stick with 0w-20 or 5w-30 to avoid any warranty issues. If you want extra protection use Amsoil, Redline or Motul. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...213#post392213

Ive used the HKS 0-25w oil and my car likes it, I have seen very little in the way of Oil usage and im upto 8000km already 2nd oil change just finished and used about 0.25 litre in that time

warmed to 90C , OW20 shows only 0,9-1,0 bar pressure idling

kinda scares me, I 've never used such waterish oils

but still, if it's prescribed in the service manual, should be fine

Oil with a low viscosity reduces frictional losses. However, oil is also responsible to seal the combustion chamber properly:
The oil film between the piston ring and the cylinder wall can tear off if the oil film has a low viscosity. This reduces the combustion pressure and with it power.
Racing engines usually run thus on an oil with a high viscosity. http://pitstopusa.com/i-8583247-motu...ase-of-12.html

In short: Using an engine oil with a low viscosity may actually result in less power despite the fact that the frictional losses are reduced.

We are going to run the Royal Purple XPR 5w 30 at Bathurst (Easter). We have the HKS oil cooler... Once we are done we will have the oil tested..
Practice, Qualifying, 2 x 30 minute sprints and a 1 hour enduro... it will be interesting to see the change in pressures and temps from the genuine oil it has at present.. still only have 530k's on the clock.

We will take some heavier weight in case the conditions get very warm.. I suspect not though given the weather in NSW lately.

Have you thought about using Motul 300V 5w30? It doesn't get much better than that off the self. Be worth while getting a UOA done on the RP to see how its holding up


rx3 put some 20w60 in your BRZ & let us know how you get on :thumbsup:
Your whole statement is incorrect. Most race engines will run a thinner oil in qualifying to gain more HP. Do some reading on HT/HS. BITOG is a great place to learn from http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/