Best oil for the 86

[radroach]

@Clipdat I would love to try those (Eneos and Amsoil), but the cost would be probably twice as much per oil change as Castrol. It's probably better to have short OCI's with the cheaper oil than to have longer ones with more shear-stable oil, my strategy at least.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by NRXRaptor

Well then I'll just keep following the maintenance schedule. I'll invest in a catch pan and a torque wrench so I can do my own oil changes and tire rotations. I recently put new headlights on so I think I can do these things too. I'll probably get a craftsman wrench to take advantage of that lifetime warranty instead of something cheaper

Good plan!

I suggest you NOT overthink this whole oil change thing. For average driving, just follow the maintenance guide.

When changing the oil, as mentioned, use a new crush washer each time. Just tighten the drain plug till the crush washer crushes ..... then go a little bit more ..... like "drain plug tight" ...... you will get a feel for it.

For the lug nuts, you may wish to use a torque wrench till you get a feel for "lug nut tight" ...... with a cross lug nut wrench, with dry lug nuts, that's "two squeaks and a grunt".

If you have locking lugs, always take them off first and they should be the last to be tightened down.

Always cross tighten lug nuts ..... a little at a time till they are all tight.

Go get em ......


humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

Dude. New to cars huh?

You don't really have to change your oil at any set marker. Those are just guidelines. It's up to you to determine if it's time to change your oil or not.

Since your afraid to drive a that much I would recommend two things.
Wait till you reach that magical 6000 miles or 5000 which ever dork you prefer to listen too.

Second sell car by a civic.

DANG, Mr.ac , that came across as a bit harsh (to me at least).

Weren't you new to cars at one time ..... ?? Or did you use a 9/16" wrench as a teething ring ??......




humfrz

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by JSube

"Severe driving" has it's own maintenance schedule in manuals, but a lot of people don't know what that is. If you're a low miles per year, short trip driver, you're probably in the severe category. From our owner's manual-

My car sees a ~5 mile commute twice a day (10-20 minutes depending on conditions) and at least one autox per month with half a dozen hard launches, it's seen 5x track days (one of which had double drivers) and the UOA all comes back clean at 7.5k intervals. I just did the 60k service and it's running like a champ, burns maybe 0.5L over 5-6k miles at most.

@NRXRaptor The 6k/6 mo interval exists ONLY because Subaru of America wanted a consistent maintenance schedule across their entire lineup, the 86 to this day still holds the 7.5k/7.5 mo interval.

imo people have a stick up their ass about oil changes on this car, it's not as fragile as it sounds and synthetic oil only breaks down if it's allowed to sit with fuel in the oil.

[Ernest72]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

My car sees a ~5 mile commute twice a day (10-20 minutes depending on conditions) and at least one autox per month with half a dozen hard launches, it's seen 5x track days (one of which had double drivers) and the UOA all comes back clean at 7.5k intervals. I just did the 60k service and it's running like a champ, burns maybe 0.5L over 5-6k miles at most.

@NRXRaptor The 6k/6 mo interval exists ONLY because Subaru of America wanted a consistent maintenance schedule across their entire lineup, the 86 to this day still holds the 7.5k/7.5 mo interval.

imo people have a stick up their ass about oil changes on this car, it's not as fragile as it sounds and synthetic oil only breaks down if it's allowed to sit with fuel in the oil.

While I agree with your plan because you are using UOA to determine your OCIs, 6 months/6K is really fine for these cars and many others. I mean two oil changes a year is nothing. Extending it longer will not make you rich.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Ernest72

I mean two oil changes a year is nothing. Extending it longer will not make you rich.

I spend about $50-$60 on an oil change for this car, I see no value to throwing out good oil every 6 months. Yeah $50 is chump change to most around here (who could afford a >$15k car on top of other modern amenities), I won't begrudge anyone for doing what they think is best, but all logic and evidence points to it being a wasteful endeavor.

All this holier than thou 3k mile intervals and 'I don't want no dirty looking oil in my car' is backwards thinking in this day and age.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching a 10k+ mile indefinite time period oil change interval, but the stock suggestion is fine and synthetic oils don't degrade over time like the old stuff used to.

[Helios]

Whatever synthetic oil is on sale (within reason) is the best. Haha! I've used all brands of oil. I prefer Mobil 1 and Castrol Syntec as my secondary choice. However, if engine oil is on sale I've used Valvoline, Royal Purple, Pennzoil, and I'm about to use STP for the first time. I've never had a bad experience with any of the major oil brands.

[Shady195]

Don't let the oil debate drive you crazy. You can seriously geek out and find yourself obsessing over oils. Don't man, its not worth it lol

Any well known synthetic oil will be fine.

Yes, some oils perform better than others in various applications but I've yet to see any UOA's that points to one being better than everything else in every other way.

In other words, your motor is no more likely to blow with one good oil or another as long as you maintain your car properly.

I have a boosted FR-S making ~400whp, I run e85 and I beat the piss out of it drifting

I run Mobil 1 0w40, I'll change my oil every 3-4 events or every ~5kms or so

[JMon85]

[Ernest72]

Originally Posted by JMon85

Works for me!!! But mine is DD only.

[8RZ]

Mobil1 seems to work fine, based on my last UOA.

[JMon85]

Good to know!! I'm currently running Mobil 1 0W/20 as well, no issues. But this time around I'm going to switch to the Subaru oil because ...

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by JMon85

Good to know!! I'm currently running Mobil 1 0W/20 as well, no issues. But this time around I'm going to switch to the Subaru oil because ...

Some say that it's the same stuff .........


humfrz

[JMon85]

Maybe so~~