hockeylvr93 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 So what do ya'll think about changing over to synthetic oil now that I have 65K on my Legacy??? I get an oil change about once a month and if I had synthetic I wouldn't have to do it as often... If ya think yes...is any brand ok? Thanks again guys you are the bestest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strakes Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55506 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I get an oil change about once a month and if I had synthetic I wouldn't have to do it as often... The most ridiculuos thing I ever heard about frequent oil change. Do you drive 7500 miles per month? Quality regular oil is good for 5000 miles (city or mixed) or 7500 miles (hwy only) or 6 months whatever comes first. Good quality (heavy duty) synthetic is good for up to 15000 miles or 12 months. Not every oil marketed in US, including pseudosynthetic ones, is quality heavy duty oil. The above link covers it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeylvr93 Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 Thanks for the link...it was like a foreign language reading it though. I drive about 2K per month sometimes more. I usually go to 3500-4k miles before my oil change, but I really wanna maintain my engine for a long long life and really hate getting oil changes so frequently. Suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 No such thing as too many oil changes. With dino change when you feel comfortable, but with synthetic i would go about 7500. Also the other purpose of an oil change is (or was before jiffy lubes) was to give a quick inspection to the underside of the car. One should peek under teh car at least once between oil changes (with longer intervals) and make sure everything is how and where it should be. (damn thats an evil grin) nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney7286 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 i switched my Outback to synthetic at 72K, all the fluids, engine,transmission(ATF) and gear lube. i picked up a little over 2 mpg. i'll change it at about 7500 the first time just to get the engine cleaned out...then after that i'll change the filter and top off at 7500 then change oil at 15000. i could go 25000 with the Amsoil but 15000 works out to about a year for me. Amsoil is great stuff, they have a full line of lubricants, i've been using it in everything since 1977 with amazing results. and if i can find some place to mount it i'll add a bypass filter kit, more capacity and much better filtering, synthetic doesn't go bad, it gets dirty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 another way to judge if you are changing your oil often enough is "how black is it? how much did you drain?" if it's black as night then i'd do it sooner, if you only get out 2.5 qts plus the filter i'd check it more often. one of the smartest things i've read here is "if you want to clean your engine, change the oil every 500 or 1k miles, let the detergent do the work!!!" most of us put off the job until we feel guilty or forced to do it. maybe not the money but the pain of going to the shop. i'm with nipper, more is better!! No such thing as too many oil changes. With dino change when you feel comfortable, but with synthetic i would go about 7500. Also the other purpose of an oil change is (or was before jiffy lubes) was to give a quick inspection to the underside of the car. One should peek under teh car at least once between oil changes (with longer intervals) and make sure everything is how and where it should be. (damn thats an evil grin) nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 The most ridiculuos thing I ever heard about frequent oil change. Do you drive 7500 miles per month? Quality regular oil is good for 5000 miles (city or mixed) or 7500 miles (hwy only) or 6 months whatever comes first. Good quality (heavy duty) synthetic is good for up to 15000 miles or 12 months. Not every oil marketed in US, including pseudosynthetic ones, is quality heavy duty oil. The above link covers it well. I just changed the oil in our SVX racer with about 35 miles on it, definately not as clean as it once was and was causing quite a racket. So what when you have 200k on your subie are you just gonna listen to the racket the valves are making for 5k? Sythetic at any point is fine, it might just leak for a while until the seals adjust (up to about a year). Remember though, it isn't as good of a lubricate for normal driving but is better for those doing a lot of stop and go driving. From my understanding for normal driving a sythetic blend is the way to go and is cheaper than sythetic anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeylvr93 Posted April 10, 2006 Author Share Posted April 10, 2006 You guys are the best! I drive almost ALL highway so that's where the majority of my miles come from! If I go to a regular shop, will they have a decent synthetic or should I bring my own? So I change it over, then wait 7500 and then change it again and go to 15K is that what everyone is saying? I wasn't aware of changing the other fluids to synthetic, should I do that too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 "should" is relative. since most people never change their trans or diff oils, now is probably a good time to change yours if it's never been done. if you got the car used i'd assume it's never been changed as most people don't. so now would be a good time to change and no reason not to use synthetics in your diff or trans. i always use synthetic trans/diff oils. i'd keep an eye on the oil color/clarity after switching over. if it gets discolored you would want to change it sooner than planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 You guys are the best! I drive almost ALL highway so that's where the majority of my miles come from! If I go to a regular shop, will they have a decent synthetic or should I bring my own? So I change it over, then wait 7500 and then change it again and go to 15K is that what everyone is saying? I wasn't aware of changing the other fluids to synthetic, should I do that too? Then from my understanding you wouldn't want to use the inferior lubrication of sythetic over a blend or conventional oil at speeds. Something about the molecules being exactly the same size vs varying sizes makes sythetic worse as a lub for sustained driving but is also the thing that makes it better for cold starts. Gary? You change that tranny and dif fluid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyKeith Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Interstingly enough, I just decided to switch my 95 over to the Castrol Sythentic Blend 5W-30. My engine has 191,000 miles on it, and at about 4000 miles from the last oil chage it was a very dark brown, but I got at least 3.5 quarts out of the pan and filter. It doesn't seem to leak at all, and doesn't seem to burn anything. I've decided I want a little extra start-up protection with that many miles on it. I do a mix of driving that leans towards highway typical driving, but I'm never on a highway. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Some of the best UOA's on BITOG are invariably semi-synthetics (Motorcraft, Syntec-blend, etc.) ...better than full synths. I'm not capable of explaining why that is tho. **** ******! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Some of the best UOA's on BITOG are invariably semi-synthetics (Motorcraft, Syntec-blend, etc.) ...better than full synths. I'm not capable of explaining why that is tho. **** ******! Its simple: synthetic base doesn't mean less wear under normal conditions. Wear depends mainly on engine design, materials, temperature (more wear in cold) and antiwear additives in oil. Regular oil with robust antiwear additives (ie heavy duty oil) will give you less wear than light duty synthetic oil (lets say most mobil1 or syntec oils). Except, under very low or very high temps where synthetics or even semi-synthetics (group 3) shine. Edit: in the typical driving conditions in US, it really doesn't metter much as drivers rarely tap more than 50% of the engine potential, even with Hwy driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney7286 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Its simple: synthetic base doesn't mean less wear under normal conditions. Wear depends mainly on engine design, materials, temperature (more wear in cold) and antiwear additives in oil. the best petroleum oil has a film strength of less than 1000psi, an engine can develope pressures greater than that...so you squeeze out the oil, metal on metal = wear Amsoil synthetic has a film strength of 3250psi also...petroleum oil can react with water (that whitish funky stuff) that creates acids that can attack bearings, Synthetic oil doesn't do that... i saw a classic example in an engine running on propane, it runs really cool and couldn't burn off the water, the engine was loaded with that white funky sludge and the bearing surfaces had acid pits deeper then the wear surface... switching to synthetic totally removed the problem...and it never reoccured Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeylvr93 Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 Thanks guys, but I'm still lost. I need to know in VERY lay mans terms...what oil (syn) to use. My car was bought new and I have changed my dif and trans fluid 2x now. I want to get all the fluids switched at the same time, so I can make just 1 trip to the service center. Can you really dumb it down for me? Please...thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 you can use whatever oil you want. that's the point. there's no miracle oil or oil that will completely destroy your motor. if you ask what kind of oil to use it's a very subjective and vague question that doesn't really demand an exact answer. get Mobil 1 10-30. why...because it's oil. there are plenty of other options out there as well. you should feel confident with many different oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 the best petroleum oil has a film strength of less than 1000psi, an engine can develope pressures greater than that...so you squeeze out the oil, metal on metal = wear Amsoil synthetic has a film strength of 3250psi Amsoil is a very good product, but the type of marketing they use, like you just mentioned above or hyping 4 ball scar values (that applies to ball bearings wear but not combustion engine) amounts to brain washing of gullible customers. For that reason alone I stay away from Amsoil products. Like it was said above, ANY modern oil, 10W30 API: SL or SM, including $0.59 special, will give you more than adequate protection for at least 5000 miles or 6 months. It you drive in arctics, tow, drive 120+ mph in hot climate, or want to change oil only once a year, look for better oils. Caveat: not every oil marketed in US as "synthetic" is realy good. "ACEA:A3" or "API:SL/CI-4+" certification is the guarantee that you are getting the best possible oil to protect the engine under heavy service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeylvr93 Posted April 14, 2006 Author Share Posted April 14, 2006 Thanks a bunch! IT's much clearer now, will take care of it this weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FindingForester Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Then from my understanding you wouldn't want to use the inferior lubrication of sythetic over a blend or conventional oil at speeds. Something about the molecules being exactly the same size vs varying sizes makes sythetic worse as a lub for sustained driving but is also the thing that makes it better for cold starts. Synthetic, inferior? Are you sure about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosDiosDeVerde86 Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 The most ridiculuos thing I ever heard about frequent oil change. Do you drive 7500 miles per month? Quality regular oil is good for 5000 miles (city or mixed) or 7500 miles (hwy only) or 6 months whatever comes first. Good quality (heavy duty) synthetic is good for up to 15000 miles or 12 months. Not every oil marketed in US, including pseudosynthetic ones, is quality heavy duty oil. The above link covers it well. yes, but a lot of things that people don't take into account with that is how much oil an engine burns (1qt every 3k is NOT abnormal) and the filter may not last 15000 miles. every now and again "they" say that oil changes should be farther and farther apart. most all techs and garages will say 3k miles between oil changes for optimum engine life. my car burns (or leaks) about 1.5 - 2 qts per 3000 miles. an older car goes through more oil than a new car. use your best judgement based on the oil color and fluid depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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