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Oil Brands: What are you running?

16K views 128 replies 51 participants last post by  Dr. Magnanimous 
#1 ·
For those of you who do your own oil changes, what oil brand have you been using?

Deciding myself between Valvoline, Pennzoil, or Mobil1. It probably doesn't matter, but just curious what others favor for this platform.
 
#40 ·
I'd recommend anyone curious about this to go watch the Project Farm oil series on Youtube. All modern synthetics basically protect to similar levels all things being equal as long as they meet the certs, but that does not mean there aren't superior oils, especially when you factor in cost. His testing isn't the end all be all, and he doesn't test all oils, but his testing did match up fairly well with UOAs/results available on BITOG and elsewhere so...
 
#45 · (Edited)
Went through all the manuals and looks like the the US manual recommendation for the BRZ is:
API SN Plus Resource Conserving or ILSAC GF-5
0W-20 recommended
5W-30 CONVENTIONAL as a top-off in between oil changes

Australian recommendation is:
API SN Plus Resource Conserving or ILSAC GF-5 or ACEA A3 or ACEA A5
0W-20 recommended (although ACEA A3 or A5 can't be a 20 grade, so the recommendation would default to 30 grade or higher)
5W-20, 0W-30, or 5W-30 as a top-off in between changes

Japanese recommendation is:
SN or "ECO" (I'm guessing ECO is a Japan specific marketing term or possibly a certification) in 0W-20 or 5W-30 or
"ZERO" (Again, I'm guessing this is some sort of marketing term or certification in Japan) in 0W-30

Looks like Subaru alone lists anything from a 0W-20 all the way to a 5W-30 as approved oils for the FA24D. Just depends on personal preference what you choose.
 
#51 ·
Forgive me if this has been addressed in an earlier post but for the FA24D am I correct in understanding that if a 5W-30 oil is used Subaru's engineers prefer a conventional rather than synthetic? Or in practice is there no issue with running a 5W-30 synthetic?

I've long used Mobil1 synthetic oil in my Toyotas. It is very easy to source Mobil1 oil almost anywhere on short notice.

Would Idemitsu 5W-30 oil be considered a better choice for these engines since it's the OEM replacement oil for all Subarus?
 
#55 ·
0-981 miles0w20OEM
981-5901 miles5w20Pennsoil Ultra Platinum
5901-11,200 miles5w30Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
11,200-16,408 miles5w20Castrol Edge
16,408-current(~18,000) miles5w30Pennzoil Ultra Platinum

Wanted to give Castrol Edge a try, had over a quart of consumption during the interval. Have had zero consumption with the Pennzoil during all it's intervals.
 
#57 ·
0-981 miles0w20OEM
981-5901 miles5w20Pennsoil Ultra Platinum
5901-11,200 miles5w30Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
11,200-16,408 miles5w20Castrol Edge
16,408-current(~18,000) miles5w30Pennzoil Ultra Platinum

Wanted to give Castrol Edge a try, had over a quart of consumption during the interval. Have had zero consumption with the Pennzoil during all it's intervals.
Pennzoil is really great stuff. IIRC you can get 6 quarts of it for right about $30 at walmart, which is like half what I pay for Motul lol. I just like Motul because RACECAR :p

But seriously, I ran Pennzoil on my last two twins and due to how cheap it was, I really didn't feel bad just changing the oil every 3,000 miles. Cheapest insurance you can have for your motor anyways, especially if you actually drive it like it's made to be driven. I still change my oil every 3,000 - 3,500 but with motul costing almost $60 for a 5L it hurtssss hahaha. Thankfully I don't drive this twin as much as my last two though. I just hit 6,200 miles yesterday after almost a full year of ownership (July 15th!)
 
#58 ·
Edge lasts extremely long without degrading, but does tend to vanish from the dipstick on turbo vehicles and those that rev high. The regular Pennzoil platinum is known for similar. If Pennzoil is your brand of choice the ultra platinum is the way to go for sure.
 
#62 ·
I can't give any input on my oil use in the Twins, because I do not have my BRZ yet, but I will discuss my 3.5 V6 Accord's oil use. I purchased the the thing in 2016 (it's a 2013 model year) with 22,000 miles on it. The Ford dealer that I purchased it from said they changed the oil with whatever 0w-20 oil they use. I ran the car to 25,000mi. and was down half a quart. Changed to 5w30 Liquimoly Top Tec 4200, and hold to a 5000 mile change interval. The car has not used any oil since, and I now have 76,000 miles on it. I don't beat on the car, but I don't baby it either. So after break in I'll just stick with what I'm using now in the BRZ.
 
#91 ·
That is about my experience as well with 5w20. Mild-moderate driving it consumes nothing at all. Keep the revs up high often enough and it definitely loses some. Over the course of 5k miles I use about 3\4 quart. I have yet to step up to the 5w30, but I can only assume it will improve. That is common and has been noted by other members.
 
#95 ·
is there any correlation between oil quality/properties and its color though?

From my experience every oil will look like this after couple of heat cycles. I would bet the oil would look ok on the dipstick and that’s what kind of matters to me.
 
#118 ·
I've been baffled with this. In a current non-gr86 car, I've always had oil that will get dark by 5k mi. where someone with the same car that has done the same amount of mi (5k) will have oil where it looks like only used for 1k mi. Dunno what that means, but just a very unscientific observation.
 
#96 ·
Is there any replacement that acts like magnetic?
Edge uses about half as much titanium as the old magnatec formula. I assume the logic behind that is that Edge uses a higher quality base oil so not as much additive is needed. Would still be even better with magnatec levels of Ti thought. Edge is not as polar as magnatec either. That translates to that "clinging molecule" they talk about in magnatec. While present in Edge, it is not to the same degree.

Kendall GT-1 uses a high Ti concentration. It is a bit more pricey and harder to find than Castrol products. Nothing wrong with it but not worth hunting down IMO.

Tons of great options these days but nothing I have seen as of yet that I like as much as magnatec.

is there any correlation between oil quality/properties and its color though?

From my experience every oil will look like this after couple of heat cycles. I would bet the oil would look ok on the dipstick and that’s what kind of matters to me.
When using the same product consistently, you will get to know how its color changes as it breaks down and oxidizes. But comparing different brands or even products under the same brand by color is impossible. Some get very dark, some turn pink\red. Some stay amber or just a bit brown long after they are no good. Different base oils and additives react differently.
 
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