Synthetic Or Syn Blend Oils In Subaru

In message - snipped-for-privacy@cs.comstopspam (Jkpoulos7) writes: :>

:> I just bought an '04 OBW (love it BTW) to replace a 94 Isuzu Trooper that :>was totalled. I had always used Syn blend oil in the Trooper and it had 148000 :>miles and was still going strong. Does anyone know of any problems using syn :>blend or synthetic oil in their Subarus? I always change my own oil except for :>the free 1000 mile change my dealer offers. I will ask them but I know they'll :>say " Bring it in for service" . So if there are any potential drawbacks to :>using this oil please LMK. Thanks

Hi

I used regular oil in my new '94 Legacy (back in '94) for the first year, then switched to synthetic. I currently have about 170,000km (100,000 miles) on the engine and it still goes like a "bat out of hell". It gets close to redline at least once a day - helps flush out any carbon buildup ;)

Rob

Another good thing about synthetic is that it lets you know right away when that front crankshaft oil seal fails :)

I have used Mobil1 from 1000 miles to > :>was totalled. I had always used Syn blend oil in the Trooper and it had 148000

In the UK Subaru recommend Shell Helix 10W30 semi-synthetic.

The only drawback I can see is the price. My Subarus go 300-400 thousand with regular oil. If they lasted any longer how would I ever get a new car. Your Trouper would have diopne just as well on regular oil as well...most vehicles today will last hundreds of thousands of miles before any OIL RELATED problems would arise. TG

I hope to get that with mine. I feel better using the syn blend. Maybe it doesnt matter - maybe it does. To me the small price difference is worth it. I appreciate all the input.

Been using AMSOIL Series 2000 in my 2003 WRX since about 4500 miles. Had an oil analysis done at about 21000 - Nothing abnormal - could have kept the oil in longer if I wanted. Changed oil and filter, as recommended by Amsoil and Subaru.

I got no complaints about Amsoil quality or value. Check it out, see for yourself.

BUT wouldn't you have gotten the same results with the cheapest oil you could find...$.69-.$99 instead of the $8-$10 per quart for the Amsoil? TG

"TG" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

He definately would have. Where syn's could have an advantage in is longevity, the twilight years of your engine. Otherwise, if today's engines were having such trouble using non-syn's at 21,000 miles they would stop selling them, which obviously isn't the case.

I've found that the majority of people who promote Amsoil and Redline either sell it, or just perceive them to be advantageous. What percentage of people keep their cars past 100,000 miles these days as it is? Most are traded in, and resold, especially people with too much of a disposable income and buy cars every 2-3 years.

Its the same insecurities that are behind the SUV surge. People want to feel safe, secure, confident so they waste their money on these behemoths ignorant to such concepts as physics. In the oil arena, people think they need to spend the most on the perceived best oil when the generic brands will suit their usage needs just fine.

there are objective and certain advantages to using synthetic.

i've got a wrx, which i've modded, and i drive it hard... on a daily basis, at _least_ 5 blasts up to redline under WOT.

the additional film strength, cold start performance, resistance to coking, etc, are very important to me to spend a little bit extra dosh three times a year, especially in an engine that gets >130bhp per liter.

as to whether or not the high end syns have an advantage, to that i cannot comment, since i have no first hand experience. i suspect the same may be true for many other posters in this thread.

ken

using mobil 1 100% synthetic 5-30 on my 2000 OBS - have since the second oil change (i think there is a break in period). i'm hoping that it will keep my car in tip top shape (so far so good), add to the resale value and allow me to change my oil less frequently (6K). with the amount i drive, i'd be in changing my oil monthly, and that bites! (don't have a garage, or driveway to do it myself).

Been using Mobile One in my 00 OB and not a problem in 60K Miles. The reason I use it in this car is that this Subie gets started and run about 3 miles at a time and it's mostly side street, hill driving. I'm trying to reduce that initial startup wear and get more miles out of the engine. If this car were driven much on the freeway, I probably wouldn't bother with synthetic. I have lost two cars engines prematurely due to this type of driving and I didn't want to do it again...Jim

I also use Amsoil, I am a dealer, thats the way to get the best price. There are people out there that always jump on the Amsoil people for some reason. What about all the Mobil 1 people, maybe they sell Mobil products or own a oil distributorship for Mobil. (or Castrol,or Valvoline)

Big oil fears the little guys like Amsoil and Redline. Amsoil clearly outperforms, they put the figures in writing and are they contested by the others ? They have never challenged the facts.

Just get tired of all the jealous Amsoil haters out there.

Hi,

I'm NOT a jealous Amsoil hater--used it for a while ~25 years ago when a coworker was a dealer. However, though I don't have a testing lab or anything fancier than my log books to look at, I could see NO improvement (gas mileage, lower oil consumption, obvious engine wear) using Amsoil over the Castrol GTX I've used in most of my vehicles that warranted the extra cost. (I repeated the "test" several years later in a different vehicle with Mobil 1--same conclusion.) My Subie has lived on dino oil its whole life, and now, at 344k miles, it's getting tired. Over that lifetime, the difference in price between Amsoil (or some other synthetics) and dino oil just about equals the price of a rebuilt engine. Nobody has been able to show me that my engine would have still been in great shape at this mileage with synthetics, be they Amsoil, Redline, Mobil 1 or others or that my overall cost per mile would go down. In fairness to the synthetics, I've never started right off with them--my "experiments" were with engines that had lots of dino oil miles on them first.

I'm not arguing synthetics are NOT good, just that, for me, they don't show themselves to be cost effective. But I live in SoCal, where it doesn't get really cold (does get HOT, though) and close to 85% of the

25k to 30k miles I put on most years is freeway driving, so I'm sure I'm not stressing things the same way a guy in New England or eastern Canada who drives mainly short distances (especially in winter) all the time might. YMMV, of course.

Rick

I'm not jealous. I just enjoy watching the small followings that Amsoil and Redline have and how its kept its small followings all these years. They pass themselves off as a "better" oil, and yet have never grown in market share. If they were indeed "better" they would have continually grown, like every other dino oil has over the years, and overtaken the superiority of the "lesser" dino oil producers as they like to view them.

There's alot to be said for staying grass roots and keeping your prices higher. You're perceived, by the ignorant, as the better product because you cost more and are harder to obtain. This myth perpetuates as more and more folks who are no more knowledgable than the person who recommended it to them buy it.

This is the reason you rarely see people defending them, other than distributors who have all the marketing propaganda to respond with. The people who do respond tend to be clueless as to what exactly the oil is doing better for their engine and are from the "i dunno, i just know its better DoOd" variety.

Used Quaker State full synth 5W-30 in my 96 Subaru Legacy with no problems. Now using the same oil in my '04 Forester XT.

The reason most people have not changed over to synthetics is because of the cost factor. Most people look for the cheapest method in car service (and alot of other things), so synthetics will not get a look in no matter how good it is. This is why they will never "grow" in market share. Having said that, BMW and Porsche recommend synthetics in their cars, partly because of extended drain intervals.

Dino oils generally perform adequately for most uses in cars especially those folk who drive their cars for long periods in a day and let the car warm up correctly. This allows the oil to boil off the condensation that develops in the first few minutes of start up from cold. If the condensation isn't boiled off, then the water can chemically react with impurities such as, but not limited to sulphur (petrol by product) and lead to formation of sulphuric acid which as we all know eats away at metal etc (not good for a motor). Synthetics have been shown to protect against these impurities as the oil itself clings to the metal better(especially diester based synthetics) and thus keeping a film against metal parts. Synthetics are also less affected by these acids.

So, as for your "ignorant" comment, you really should check the facts on synthetics before you make such a statement. Synthetics ARE better (proven generally) and to some worth the extra cost but this doesn't make synthetic users ignorant, on the contrary, they just spend more on a better product. Ther anr many advantages to synthetics and too many here to list, so, you'll have to look it up yourself. "Bobs the oil guy" is a good place to start.

Frankly, I don't care what oil you use and if you think a dino oil is adequate for your car, then goody for you, but I like the "peace of mind" that a good synthetic oil gives me. Kind of like the "peace of mind" knowing that I have awd or abs brakes on my Subaru. I may never NEED them but its nice to know they're there and hopefully work when and if I need them. There will be people from "either side of the fence" regarding oils, and if you feel superior for saving a few cents a mile on oil cost, then good. I feel better for knowing that the synthetic oil is better for my motor.

I am not a dealer but I do use synthetics (either Neo or Amsoil) and I have my oil checked periodically with an oil analysis co. They state that the oil is outperforming mineral oil at the same mileage mark as borne out by the very low impurities, metal from engine internals, acids, gums and varnish build up. I generally change at 10,000 miles but the analysis states that I could double that drain period as long as I change the oil filter at the manufacturers recommended period.

Every year National Oil & Lube News conducts its Mobile Lube Survey to determine patterns in Advertising, operations and sales. Survey results indicate that synthetic motor oils are popular in the mobile lube market, with 73 percent of operators offering them. Amsoil already has a significant presence, registering as the thir best-selling synthetic in the mobile lube market. Amsoil also competes in many markets . Snowmobile magazine survey's are showing it to be one of the top oils. Motocross Action magazine indicated the Amsoil is now the #1 non-factory synthetic 2-cycle for all motorcycles. The fact is Amsoil is growing but it still has a ways to go to compete with big oils size and political strengh.

Over the next five years,demands for lubricants offering improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and estended drain intervals will steadily grow, signaling the demise of conventional Group 1 base stocks (dino oils) while higher Group 2, Group2+, Group 3, and Group 4 (Synthetic) base stock will prosper. The most recent ILSAC GF-4 pasenger car motor oil specs will introduce in July, but discussions is already underway for the ILSAC GF-5 upgrade, targeted for 2007 or 2008 release. The upgrade will drive Group 1 base stock demand toward Group 2 while also shifting Group 2 volumes to Group2+ and Group 3.

Dino's days are numbered as we know them now.

Question your math, Amsoil used as recommended compared to 3000 mile dino oil changes dollar wise has to be less. Then figure time needed for all those oil changes and considering all that waste oil (improperly disposed of) to the enviroment. We could possibly be independent from foriegn oil if everyone used extended drain type oils. The Europeans are way ahead of us with most auto manufactures have 15-18,000 recommend oil changes with high grade oils. They are now considering 30,000 intervals.