I ran M1 synthetic 5W-30 in my WRX for about 90k miles without a second thought. When I noticed the oil consumption early on, a quick search of Subaru sites revealed this was "normal." I thought nothing of it...
Then I deployed to Iraq, got bored, discovered BITOG, a found the possible error of my ways. While my driving style is mostly tame, I take the occasional autobahn trip averaging about 80 mph, so I concluded I should care more about my oil.
Living in Germany, my oil choices are limited (on the economy there is some good stuff...for about $70 for 5 qts). But I sprung for the Liqui Moly syn 5W-40 ($70 for the oil alone). Sadly, I still saw oil consumption, though I felt I was better protected from the light weight M1 I had been running. But when it came time to change the oil, I decided to try the M1 0W-40 synthetic. Again, like the Liqui Moly, some consumption but not as high as the 5W-30. However, unlike with the 5W-30, I had a heck of a time checking the oil level with both the Liqui Moly and M1 0W-40. Check, recheck, wipe, cold, hot, sorta hot, after pumping gas, after short prayers. Sigh, never quite sure where the oil level was. FWIW, I'm a car guy and have successfully checked oil in lots and lots of cars.
I just changed the M1 syn 0W-40 after about 5k miles. I had added about 1/2 a quart during this time frame (after thinking I had a good oil read...still not so sure). I measured what I drained out...3.2 quarts. Eek! I believe it was decent up until my 3 hour round trip on the autobahn yesterday. Sooo...the heavier M1 isn't the answer to my oil consumption. I got a sample for Blackstone labs I'll send off. Here's hoping I don't need to budget for a bottom end...
Long post, but hey, I'm obsessive I guess...
Thoughts?
Then I deployed to Iraq, got bored, discovered BITOG, a found the possible error of my ways. While my driving style is mostly tame, I take the occasional autobahn trip averaging about 80 mph, so I concluded I should care more about my oil.
Living in Germany, my oil choices are limited (on the economy there is some good stuff...for about $70 for 5 qts). But I sprung for the Liqui Moly syn 5W-40 ($70 for the oil alone). Sadly, I still saw oil consumption, though I felt I was better protected from the light weight M1 I had been running. But when it came time to change the oil, I decided to try the M1 0W-40 synthetic. Again, like the Liqui Moly, some consumption but not as high as the 5W-30. However, unlike with the 5W-30, I had a heck of a time checking the oil level with both the Liqui Moly and M1 0W-40. Check, recheck, wipe, cold, hot, sorta hot, after pumping gas, after short prayers. Sigh, never quite sure where the oil level was. FWIW, I'm a car guy and have successfully checked oil in lots and lots of cars.
I just changed the M1 syn 0W-40 after about 5k miles. I had added about 1/2 a quart during this time frame (after thinking I had a good oil read...still not so sure). I measured what I drained out...3.2 quarts. Eek! I believe it was decent up until my 3 hour round trip on the autobahn yesterday. Sooo...the heavier M1 isn't the answer to my oil consumption. I got a sample for Blackstone labs I'll send off. Here's hoping I don't need to budget for a bottom end...
Long post, but hey, I'm obsessive I guess...
Thoughts?