2014 Subaru Forester Oil Weight Recommendation Request

[mt23]

I service many FB25 engines and use Mobil 1 0w40 without question to help with oil consumption

 

[Matt1357]

Matt,
I called my local Autozone this morning and they have it in stock in 0W20, 5W20 and 5W30. $38 for a 5 quart jug.

I'm cheapskate and am looking to spend about $29

 

[Matt1357]

The Valvoline advanced which I heard restore and protect is replacing is $26.97 at Walmart. I'm hoping it's the same price and I'll 2 delivered

 

[ChiTDI]

Choose your oil, and you might want to change the PCV valve as well.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

The Valvoline advanced which I heard restore and protect is replacing is $26.97 at Walmart. I'm hoping it's the same price and I'll 2 delivered

There’s not much chance R&P will be $27 at WM. If I was in your position I’d use Pennzoil Euro L to fit under the $ limit. It’s thick and has a good add pack, plus will do fine for your OCIs.

 

[Matt1357]

There’s not much chance R&P will be $27 at WM. If I was in your position I’d use Pennzoil Euro L to fit under the $ limit. It’s thick and has a good add pack, plus will do fine for your OCIs.

Usually when an oil is $39 @ autozone its $27-29 @ walmart tho

 

[Bellavita]

Keep the 0w20 for now, and buy some quarts of HPL EC30 for top up til this OCI is done. Then, on the next oil change at a 5:1 ratio replace engine oil with EC. So, if it’s 5 quarts use 4.25 quarts regular oil and 0.75 quarts EC30. Also, mix the last 0.25 qt EC with the 0.75 qt of regular oil for top-up during the OCI.

Might take 2 OCIs in this manner, but this will help clean the ring pack and hopefully reduce oil consumption with minimal increase in cost.

Hi SubieRubyRoo,
Happy New Year to you. I like this technique you recommended. I've got 2 quarts of the EC30 ordered and we're going to give it try.

Thank you!

 

[Bellavita]

Keep the 0w20 for now, and buy some quarts of HPL EC30 for top up til this OCI is done. Then, on the next oil change at a 5:1 ratio replace engine oil with EC. So, if it’s 5 quarts use 4.25 quarts regular oil and 0.75 quarts EC30. Also, mix the last 0.25 qt EC with the 0.75 qt of regular oil for top-up during the OCI.

Might take 2 OCIs in this manner, but this will help clean the ring pack and hopefully reduce oil consumption with minimal increase in cost.

Hi SRR,
My son has 3,165 miles left on his 5,000 OCI. To get the cleaning started, I was going to extract 1/2 quart of oil and replace it with 1/2 quart of the EC30 along with a new Extra Guard oil filter and run it out to 5,000 miles. Then on the next oil change follow your methodology.
Sound good?

Thank you.

 

[TwoTires]

I'm looking for guidance on an oil weight for my son's 2014 Subaru Forester Limited to reduce oil usage. He recently purchased the vehicle with 166,100 miles. He has 1,671 highway miles on the oil change he did when he bought vehicle and today he is down exactly 1/2 liter and we added 17 ounces to top it off. The oil and filter he is using is;

0W20 Valvoline High Mileage Full Synthetic (0W20 is the recommended weight)
Fram Tough Guard oil filter

His plan is to use a 5,000 mile OCI.

1. Should he stay with the 0W20 and add oil?
2. Can he move to a different weight, e.g. 5w30, to reduce oil consumption?

Thank you for your thoughts and recommendations.

The recommended oil in '14 was 0w-20, but the turbo model took 5w-30. I don't see an issue with running 5w-30. I've seen a lot of engine tear downs in recent year engines. If you are indeed consuming oil vs. leaking it I would suggest the cause could be a common one as of late; the oil control ring (or rings) maybe carboned up in the ring groves and preventing the rings from doing their job by expanding.