I already changed my oil after the 1000 mile break in. My Toyota app says I have to get an oil change at 3750 miles and then again at 7.5k miles (that’s when the Toyota maintenance plan thing kicks in). The owners manual says the first change is at 7.5k and that’s when I plan on doing the next one but I just want to see what everyone else who changed there oil after 1k is doing.
How often do you guys change your oil?
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For me it depends on the car. My taurus with twin turbos is hard on oil. I change that every 5k. Same with my speed 3. My regular mazda 3 only gets oil changes every 10k, but thats because its just my beater commute car. I dont think your average street driven BRZ\86 would have any issues with 7k changes. I drive the car hard pretty much at all times so I personally will stick to 5k. 3k in all honesty is excessive for any vehicle produced in the last 15 years, even with conventional oil.
Do black stone oil analysis every oil change and see how well your choice of oil is genuinely holding up
Most would be surprised how long modern day synthetics hold additives and lubrication properties.
10-15k intervals for cars that see no hard driving is very common.
start off following manual’s recommended or slightly sooner (5k is a nice easy number to remember and catch)
send in a sample to blackstone labs and by the time your warranty period is over, you’ll have a solid idea of well your engine is doing and if you should continue 5k intervals or extend them out
If you track your car at all, change your oil both before and after the track day. You want fresh oil going in because it’s gonna be a day of hard driving that will break down oils. You want as much lubrication as possible. You want fresh oil afterwards too… you don’t wanna be driving on oil that saw rpm and heat for an extended period of time
Most would be surprised how long modern day synthetics hold additives and lubrication properties.
10-15k intervals for cars that see no hard driving is very common.
start off following manual’s recommended or slightly sooner (5k is a nice easy number to remember and catch)
send in a sample to blackstone labs and by the time your warranty period is over, you’ll have a solid idea of well your engine is doing and if you should continue 5k intervals or extend them out
If you track your car at all, change your oil both before and after the track day. You want fresh oil going in because it’s gonna be a day of hard driving that will break down oils. You want as much lubrication as possible. You want fresh oil afterwards too… you don’t wanna be driving on oil that saw rpm and heat for an extended period of time
I just had my first service at 7800 KM (4846 miles). Every 6 months or 8000 KM (5000 miles) will be my oil change schedule.
I was looking into maybe using a better oil next time. I’ve read the Toyota oil isn’t as good as the other aftermarket oils. Is this true? I’m a oil rookie.
I was looking into maybe using a better oil next time. I’ve read the Toyota oil isn’t as good as the other aftermarket oils. Is this true? I’m a oil rookie.
Going for 1k then every 5k. Listened to an older Carmudgeon podcast with Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott, and both stated basically doing oil change between 20-100 miles, not even severe, and then regular oil changes afterward.
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I'm sure it's perfectly good oil, but it probably isn't as good a value for your money. I've never been sucked into the idea that I need to buy branded fluids at high markup from the carmaker.
Toyota branded oil is made by exxon mobil. As far is manufacturer branded oil its about as good as they come. It is very close in quality to the brands mobile 1 oil line. The additives are slightly different. If taking the car to toyota for oil changes I would not bither bringing my own stuff or asking for something "better" its good stuff. However is buying your own supplies and doing the change yourself I would not spend the extra money for toyota labeled oil. There are better options for less money.
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👆 So is the Toyota oil different than what's in the engines from the factory? Wondering because there has been a lot of comments about the "break in oil" being low quality.
Yes it is. The factory fill oil is a crappy blend made by idemitsu. Its perfect for 1000 miles on a new engine and no longer. The regular idemitsu oil subaru uses in dealerships is not the same blend and is much better quality. But the toyota branded stuff from exxon mobil is still better.
I ended up going down the rabbit hole of oil this past weekend. My understanding is that you work in the industry. Is there any concern running xW-20 oil regarding bearing clearance? There are some vocal posters over at BTOG that claim xW-20 oils cause excess bearing wear in engines not designed for it which got me thinking since I believe the GR86 ships from the factory with 5W-30 in other countries. Just curious what your thoughts are.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "if the engines are not designed for it". The FA series of engines being the newest in the subaru lineup are certainly designed for it. Everything these days in the auto industry revolves around fuel economy. Engineers are fully aware that the heavier your oil the more efficiency you lose. I have no doubt the engines were made to operate on xW20 oils. Hot climates and track use will still benefit from something heavier like a 5w30. It will not hurt anything but MPG will suffer. I stand by 5w20. Its the sweet spot right in the middle. It is good in almost all climates all year round. It offers better protection than 0w20 at elevated temps, and will not make a noticeable change in MPG. There is also less viscosity breakdown over time.
Just my 2 cents. I have been running 5w20 in cars that call for 0w20 for many years.
Just my 2 cents. I have been running 5w20 in cars that call for 0w20 for many years.
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Got some questions:
How is 5w20 better at temp than 0w20 since they are both supposedly 20w when heated? Shouldn't the only difference between the two be the cold viscosity?
Less viscosity breakdown over time?
They will be similar but the difference is in the base stock oil. There is a "range" to be considered a certain oil weight. It varys from brand to brand and even within the same brand based on what tier of product. But if you compare the same exact oils in 0w20 vs 5w20 the 5w will carry 5-9% higher viscosity through almost all operating temps. The reason is because the base oil will typically carry a higher visc to begin with and uses less modifiers and chemicals to adjust to temp changes. So while the 0w will cover a wider range of temps its viscosity has to fluctuate much more to cover all ends of the spectrum. The 5w loses a very small amount of cold range operation so it can carry a slightly higher viscosity in the mid to higher temps.
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Was thinking after I posted above, the less viscosity breakdown, due to less modifiers in the 5w20?
Makes sense, thank you for the input. I'm currently running 5W-20 Castrol Edge and probably will continue doing so. It doesn't get cold enough here to worry about going down to 0W.
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Every 10k. Mobil 1 only. Every car for the last 20 years. No engine problems with any of them.
Woofff please don't wait to change your oil every 10k guys. We have a service manual for reason, follow it. 5-7.5k miles on full synthetic. If you drive like an arse, change every 5k, if not you could go up to 7.5k, I wouldn't in this car...lol
5k it is...!! 😂
A lot just depends on the driver and driving environment. If I'm driving in So Cal with traffic, 10k is not it. 5k makes more sense.
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