What are people using for oil?

[jdmitr]

You all do realize that using thicker oils like 5w30 and 15w40 in this stock engine is a bad idea!?! Right?! You all realize that the engineers that designed the tolerances in the engine designed it for 0w20. The thicker oil you run in it will cause drag on the engine which will cause a loss of power....more heat and less mpg. Not only that but the thicker you go past recommendations the more chance you have of starving the engine of proper lubrication to bearings, cams and cylinders. This is even more crucial on boxer engines since the cylinders are horizontal. Oil is the "cushion" between these parts and it is harder to "push" thicker weight oil into small orifaces and in between moving parts which causes more wear and tear and premature failure.

If the engine has been rebuilt to a more loose tolerance for racing then it will require a thicker weight oil. Take for instance Cosworth subaru engines. They don't recommend 5w30 but 15w50/20w50 because they are designed to not just because it is the "thing" to do. Just try running 0w20 in an engine that is designed for 10w40 and run the piss out of it. Guaranteed it will make some not so sweet noises. It works the other way around...except you wont hear the noises so much until something wears out and you have catastrophic failure. Just be careful what you put in your engine.

[Entropy]

Originally Posted by jdmitr

You all do realize that using thicker oils like 5w30 and 15w40 in this stock engine is a bad idea!?! Right?! You all realize that the engineers that designed the tolerances in the engine designed it for 0w20. The thicker oil you run in it will cause drag on the engine which will cause a loss of power....more heat and less mpg. Not only that but the thicker you go past recommendations the more chance you have of starving the engine of proper lubrication to bearings, cams and cylinders. This is even more crucial on boxer engines since the cylinders are horizontal. Oil is the "cushion" between these parts and it is harder to "push" thicker weight oil into small orifaces and in between moving parts which causes more wear and tear and premature failure.

If the engine has been rebuilt to a more loose tolerance for racing then it will require a thicker weight oil. Take for instance Cosworth subaru engines. They don't recommend 5w30 but 15w50/20w50 because they are designed to not just because it is the "thing" to do. Just try running 0w20 in an engine that is designed for 10w40 and run the piss out of it. Guaranteed it will make some not so sweet noises. It works the other way around...except you wont hear the noises so much until something wears out and you have catastrophic failure. Just be careful what you put in your engine.

I gotta call BS on this post. Sure putting 20W-50 in an engine designed for lighter weight oil is probably not the best, but using 5W-30 is not going to hurt a thing. At the temps that these engines run at, 5W-30 is so thin, you're not going to "starve the parts of oil," that is just ridiculous.

Regardless of how advanced an oil is, 0W-20 does NOT provide the same protection that a slightly thicker oil does, especially in more extreme conditions (which is why the manual recommends thicker oil for us folk that like to go fast).

Ya in colder weather you might lose a HP or two with 5W-30, but I'll take the added protection that it provides when I mash the right pedal for extended periods of time. OEM recommends 0W-20, not because it protects the engine better (it doesn't), but because it helps them achieve their MPG goals... and those set forth by regulations.

Thanks, try again.

[coyote]

There's a lot more to oil than "thicker is better".

Even within the same rated viscosity there are variables such as shear strength and often times there's not actually much difference between a 0W20 and 5W30 at 150C. So, it's just as important to choose your oil by tech specs and not just what's written on the bottle. Of course engine cooling is another important function of oil that is often overlooked. If the oil moves too quickly or too slowly through the engine, it may actually increase temps, let alone what it does to pressure. Then take into account how different oils maintain their characteristics as they age and your 5W30 may actually be thinner when you drain it than a long life 0W20!

Having said all that, I have no issue if someone in a hot climate wants to use a 0W30, just don't automatically think it's better than a 0W20 ... because there's more involved in it than that.

[Entropy]

Originally Posted by coyote

There's a lot more to oil than "thicker is better".

Even within the same rated viscosity there are variables such as shear strength and often times there's not actually much difference between a 0W20 and 5W30 at 150C. So, it's just as important to choose your oil by tech specs and not just what's written on the bottle. Of course engine cooling is another important function of oil that is often overlooked. If the oil moves too quickly or too slowly through the engine, it may actually increase temps, let alone what it does to pressure. Then take into account how different oils maintain their characteristics as they age and your 5W30 may actually be thinner when you drain it than a long life 0W20!

Having said all that, I have no issue if someone in a hot climate wants to use a 0W30, just don't automatically think it's better than a 0W20 ... because there's more involved in it than that.

Completely agree. And thanks for pointing that out. I should have addressed that in my post. I should have said a 0W-20 and a 5W-30 of the same brand and type, say Amsoil SS, the 5W-30 would offer more protection in more extreme environments.

[coyote]

Originally Posted by Entropy

I should have said a 0W-20 and a 5W-30 of the same brand and type, say Amsoil SS, the 5W-30 would offer more protection in more extreme environments.

Or, potentially better protection when operating under extreme temps and load, but inferior startup protection.

Of course, I do believe the SS comes as a 0W30. ;-)

Disclaimer: I use 5W30 HDDEO in my daily driven Subaru.

[jdmitr]

Originally Posted by coyote

There's a lot more to oil than "thicker is better".

Even within the same rated viscosity there are variables such as shear strength and often times there's not actually much difference between a 0W20 and 5W30 at 150C. So, it's just as important to choose your oil by tech specs and not just what's written on the bottle. Of course engine cooling is another important function of oil that is often overlooked. If the oil moves too quickly or too slowly through the engine, it may actually increase temps, let alone what it does to pressure. Then take into account how different oils maintain their characteristics as they age and your 5W30 may actually be thinner when you drain it than a long life 0W20!

Having said all that, I have no issue if someone in a hot climate wants to use a 0W30, just don't automatically think it's better than a 0W20 ... because there's more involved in it than that.

Thank you....this goes along with what I was saying. I generalized for the average person that doesnt REALLY understand oil differences. I am no "oil pro" but i am more versed then most...and my thirst for knowledge over shadows my ego. There is always a ton of differences in every circumstance ....startup temp, average oil temp to extreme temp like when racing. When I stated thicker oil such as 5w30 was not a good idea in our cars this is mostly based off of startup temps and daily driving with average temps of 200°f or so. At 75°f 5w30 is considerably "thicker" then 0w20 (and increases the colder it is...syn not as much as mineral oil). The majority of wear on an engine is at startup.

This is a very long read but it is very good at covering everything from dd to racing and the differences in oils and how they affect engines. If you read it (entropy) you can understand how my previous post was cliff notes of cliff notes... http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

My purpose in posting what I did was to hopefully help the less informed owner not make a mistake in choosing a wrong oil for their situation based on what they "read and see others doing on the forums". The engineers of our engines understand all of these principals and they understand that the majority of the owners will have the same needs in oil and that is why they recommend the best for all purpose which can include stop and go traffic...cooler startups...bouts of "spirited" driving and daily commute. Of course there will always be those people who are outside those "average" situations and those people will either have oil related issues/failure because they use the recommended oil under less desirable conditions or they will understand that their conditions warrant a special oil better suited for their use.

[Skye]

Can I use GL 5 oil in the transmission without hazarding the warranty?

[Jeffboyarrdee]

All, I've had my Subaru wrb limited brz for about a month and am at the 1000 mile marker. I am wanting to change my oil and got an OEM filter from the dealership but I purchased 5W 20 castrol non synthetic. Any thoughts on this?

I was intending to purchase 0W 20 but could not find any local non synthetic oil, was going to switch to synthetic oil after a couple more oil changes.

[Jeffboyarrdee]

Dumb of me sorry, 0w 20 is synthetic only. So I put in 5w 20 and the car seems to be running smoother, but that's probably noticable especially in the beginning. The original oil from the factory was dark black and came out like water, it's that 0w 20 alright.

Do you think that this oil is ok, I wanted something similar to 0w 20 non synthetic then changing to synthetic after a couple more changes. I may be missing something but everyone else has been mentioning 0w 30, 5w 30, etc, but not 5w 20.

[FRS-PR]

Guys I live in Puerto Rico where the temperature is usually hot all year round , the coolest temp might be 65 degrees or so in the winter, should I stick with the 0w20 or use 0w30 instead? would it be any difference??

[chulooz]

Originally Posted by jdmitr

You all do realize that using thicker oils like 5w30 and 15w40 in this stock engine is a bad idea!?! Right?! [Wrong] You all realize that the engineers that designed the tolerances in the engine designed it for 0w20. The thicker oil you run in it will cause drag on the engine which will cause a loss of power....more heat and less mpg. Not only that but the thicker you go past recommendations the more chance you have of starving the engine of proper lubrication to bearings, cams and cylinders. This is even more crucial on boxer engines since the cylinders are horizontal. Oil is the "cushion" between these parts and it is harder to "push" thicker weight oil into small orifaces and in between moving parts which causes more wear and tear and premature failure.

If the engine has been rebuilt to a more loose tolerance for racing then it will require a thicker weight oil. Take for instance Cosworth subaru engines. They don't recommend 5w30 but 15w50/20w50 because they are designed to not just because it is the "thing" to do. Just try running 0w20 in an engine that is designed for 10w40 and run the piss out of it. Guaranteed it will make some not so sweet noises. It works the other way around...except you wont hear the noises so much until something wears out and you have catastrophic failure. Just be careful what you put in your engine.

Misinformation and poor example with the Cossie.

[Draco-REX]

Switched from Pennzoil to Amsoil for this fill to give it a try.

[empower-auto]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

Switched from Pennzoil to Amsoil for this fill to give it a try.

Why? Not enough difference to really warrant it.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

Switched from Pennzoil to Amsoil for this fill to give it a try.

I ordered a case of Amsoil SS 0W20 today myself.