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I've always been a change it ever 3000 miles with a quality oil and filter and check ever gas fill up - $20 or so.

 

How many are running Amsoil is $8 - $12 a quart and the filter is $16.  So say $66 for an oil change.  Are you running it to 100k for the next oil change? 

 

What's your experience?

 

Better half now has a 2006 Forester.  

 

Thanks,

Larry

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Amsoil has several different grades of synthetic. I've run all of them at some point or another.

I run signature series 0-20 in my sisters 2012 Hyundai at a one year interval. She tends to run 15-20k miles in a year. Even with shipping it works out to around $65 or so vs $30 per change every 5k with cheapo synthetic or conventional. Best price I can get on Mobil 1 is around $50 with filter. I've run Mobil in enough other vehicles to know it shouldn't be run more than about 10k.

 

In many other vehicles I run their XL and OE series oils, generally with a Wix filter. The OE series is great for a 3-5k mile change interval and if you get a preferred customer account it's only about $65 a case (12qts). With a wix filter its around $35 per oil change for the average Subaru.

I generally run these in newer engines (50k or less) that demand clean oil to keep variable valve train parts clean and functioning properly.

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06 Forester has very thin oil control rings. Quality full synthetic is an absolute must in my opinion it you want to make more than 200k on it. Carbon build up will claim it.

 

We see this every day. You would not consider running non-synthetic or synthetic blend if you saw what we see on a daily basis. I won't even run non synthetic in my power equipment. I have a Subaru engine powered pressure washer and the bottle of "oil" that came with it went right in the trash.

 

Synthetic oils are so far ahead in terms of oil technology that running any kind of non synthetic in ANY vehicle of ANY vintage that doesn't consume massive amounts of oil is absolutely foolish if you have any intention of trying to keep it long term reliable.

 

GD

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We run 6k intervals with WIX filters, 10k-15K with Amsoil filters. Customer preference on that. Most people go with 6k because economically it puts the synthetic ahead in terms of operational cost. Its about $85 to $105 for an oil change but if you consider it lasting twice as long the cost will be half that compared to non synthetic and if you consider your time investment it's considerably cheaper and more convenient to run synthetic.

 

My shop is VERY busy so the fewer oil changes I need to do for my customers, the better.

 

It's a complete win for everyone involved including the car. Like I said anyone running non synthetic is being extremely foolish as there are zero benefits at this time. The only possible exception is an engine that leaks or burns such large quantities that you get a net savings due to buying quarts of oil for top off. But that's really a seperate problem entirely.

 

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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According to Amsoil, if you are using their Signature Series synthetic oil and their EaO filter, the drain interval is 25,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first (normal service), or 15,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first (severe service). They have a pdf file on their website that defines normal and severe service. https://www.amsoil.com/lit/g1490.pdf

If using any oil filter other than the Amsoil EaO, the recommendation is to use the OEM oil change interval recommended by Subaru.

 

Paying $10. for a trial 6 month membership as a preferred customer knocks the price of the Signature Series oil down from $12.05 to $8.55/qt, and the filter drops from $16.65 to $12.35, so about $55 for an oil change once a year (5 quarts and a filter purchased). Annually the preferred membership is $25, so if you have more than 1 vehicle, or other power equipment you probably come out ahead going the preferred customer route.

I'm not a distributor or connected with Amsoil other than being a customer. I'm just passing along info.

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The only way that I believe that you can figure out just how long the oil in the engine will last is to do a oil analysis on it. 

 

Find out what is going on with it and how quick it is breaking down. 

 

Going by charts and graphs along with oil companies and stories on the internet really don't tell you anything about how the oil in your engine is doing.  All the oil companies are doing is telling you what they have found to be a average mileage.  Not the low or even the high side of the mileage factor.  Your engine might need to have the best oil out there changed sooner than the averages are telling them, but then again it might be able to run a few thousand more miles.

 

You just need to get a analysis done to tell you

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One reason I started using Amsoil is that a friend who uses it went way beyond the recommended change interval and sent a sample of the oil for analysis. It showed the oil had held up very well except one category out of spec, elevated silica content. Yes, that was the result unique to his vehicle, and shouldn't be extrapolated as a generality.

I agree oil analysis is a very useful tool.

JP, do you have a recommendation for a good independent used oil test lab? The only one I recall hearing about is Blackstone Labs, and that was years ago. I'll have to ask my friend which lab he used.

I don't want to diverge from the OP's questions and hijack this thread, but I think the oil analysis option enhances the discussion and puts science ahead of hearsay. Maybe if there's enough interest, there could be a thread dedicated to oil test results.

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Amsoil sells pre-paid analysis kits. As well as the pump to suck oil from the dipstick tube, etc. We have done a fair number over the years - enough to know what the results will be. I can tell you everything about a Subaru engine by listeniing to it, feeling it, and cutting open the oil filter for a visual.

 

GD

Edited by GeneralDisorder
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Just a note: In checking prices for Amsoil, I logged into my account, and couldn't find any record of my purchases. As a new customer this was a concern, so I called them. In a few minutes the problem was solved. I was speaking to someone who I believe was actually at the company headquarters in Superior, Wisconsin, not an overseas call center. That's refreshing these days.

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