Hello,

 

It's my first post here, so bear with me.

 

I just bought an '05 Subaru Outback XT with the 2.5L turbo. I do not know what type of oil the previous owner used, so I want to start my own routine. It has 19,000 miles on it. Which type of oil (brand, wieght, synthetic?) should I go with? I know this probably will start of a holy war, but I just wanted to get more opinions.

 

My gut feeling is to run Mobil 1. How often does this need to be changed?

 

Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

--Lone Ranger

My non-turbo 2.5 gets Mobil 1 every 6K.

royale purple or amsoil , running these change every 12,000mi ,change filter every 6,000mi

royale purple or amsoil , running these change every 12,000mi ,change filter every 6,000mi

 

Running any FULL synthetic would be a great idea.

 

While 12k changes may also be a great ideal, stick with the mandated 7,500 mile changes until you are through with your warantee, or you will void the warantee.

 

I go annual (or 20k, whichever comes first) oil and filter changes on Mobil 1, once I am out of warantee and have done this since 1981 with no issues and no oil burners. A turbo is harder on the oil than a naturally aspirated engine, so it's something to think about. My new Volvo is a turbo and I'm not sure what I will do for oil change intervals once the warantee is over, but I have a few years to worry about it, as do you.

 

Jack

Wow, 20k.... How often do you change the filter?

First, I said 20K or annually, whever came first.

 

The first few years, when I was going nearly 20k/yr, I'd change the filters at 6 months. Now we rarely drive more than 12-14k/yr and the filters only get changed when the oil does. For a while I cut the filters open to see what was inside and they were always in good shape; relatively clean with some crud accumulated in the valleys, but virtually all of the filter area clean and open. Now I only open them every few years on the older cars to make sure nothing is going south in a hurry.

 

Remember, lots of highway miles are much easier on the car and oil than short trips and stop and go. We've rarely been in a situation where we short trip our cars.

 

The decision to do this extended change interval was an experiment on my new 1980 Buick Regal and has been proven in five vehicles that have gone around 200k with no issues. The 1988 Saab, that was just totalled in an accident, had over 250k and used essentially no oil until the rear main seal started leaking.

 

jib