Penzoil 5w-30 high mileage, 6000mi, 02 Subaru WRX

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Hi guys,

My lead wear numbers have been very high for a while now. Looking for advice.
2002 WRX
143000 miles
Cobb stage 1 for most of the UOAs, recently flashed stage 2 with uppipe/downpipe install
Oil temp + Oil pressure gauges installed

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Back off the tune, possibly try again thicker oil and shorten your intervals to keep metals from accumulating unless you can afford to replace the engine.
 
I don't like 30-weight in a stock WRX, and yours is tuned. There are $5 rebates on Rotella T6 5w-40 right now. Get two gallons of that, back off the tune, and retest after a 3,000 mile run on T6.

If you're wanting to use high mileage oil, Mobil 1 10w-40 HM is the way to go.

What are your oil gauges showing?
 
De-tune back to stock, switch to RT6 5w40, Edge or M1 0w40 and start from there.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Yes T6 5w40 might be a good place to start, or Mobil 1 0w40.


Agreed.

Plus, what are your temps & oil pressures in various circumstances?
 
Switch to a synthetic non-Resource Conserving oil. Lots of good recommendations above. I would do that now.

What kind of tune do you have? Off The Shelf, an e-tune, or a protune? And I hope I that your make-up oil number is really the the total amount of oil you used and not the amount of replenishment. If it's replenishment you should just plan for an engine swap or rebuild.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Yes T6 5w40 might be a good place to start, or Mobil 1 0w40.


seconded. you are just begging for a turbocharger failure.
 
holy oil consumption!! I think you need to get your car checked out, as that is WAY too much make-up oil for such low OCIs.

As a former wrx owner (2004), I also agree w/ everyone else, you need to be running atleast a 0w40 on your vehicle, especially since it's tuned..

I would really try to figure out why your engine is burning so much oil, that can't be a good sign.
 
Make up numbers are for real
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When I bought it (105k), compression was ~150 psi in all cylinders but consumption was about the same then, too (Edit: actually, it wasn't quite as bad). The shop that recently did the DP/UP said the turbo looked good for the mileage. I did the passenger side valve cover gasket after I bought it. I'll check out the driver's side soon. There is some dried up oil around there, but no smell, and that oil could be from me spilling while filling. I have to clean it up and see if it re-appears. Not sure what else I should check for oil consumption?

Cobb Off the shelf tune is what I'm on.

Oil pressure is 15-20psi at warm idle. 90-110psi at cold start.
~65-75psi at cruising between 2000-3000 RPM. Goes up to ~80-90psi when driving hard.

As far as make up oil, I am right at the limit. I think Subaru says 1 quart per 1000 miles is the limit before the replace an engine. I know it's high, but the only thing I know of to check is the driver's side valve cover gasket.

I'll try Rotella T6. I have heard lots of people reducing consumption with it.

Thanks, all, for the replies and helpful info!
 
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Possibly the only reason his sample still reads as a 30 - eeek!

Just to pile on: Rotella T6 and 4K OCI with a UOA half way and at end. And start engine/re-builder shopping. 1 quart/1K is INSANE.



<------ Goes 6-7K mi. on RT6 with negligible loss
 
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Originally Posted By: oaklandish_wrx
Possibly the only reason his sample still reads as a 30 - eeek!

And start engine/re-builder shopping. 1 quart/1K is INSANE.


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OP - Not sure where you are in NY, but you might want to check out EFI Logics in CT or Performance Auto Solutions on Long Island. You can't get much better than either of those in NY, Northern NJ, or LI.

I would probably go with M1 10W40 High Mileage since it's a little thicker than RT6. Either is better than what you're running though.
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Originally Posted By: awns729
Not sure what else I should check for oil consumption?

Had the PCV valve ever been replaced?
 
Originally Posted By: bluesubie
Originally Posted By: awns729
Not sure what else I should check for oil consumption?

Had the PCV valve ever been replaced?


Yes, somewhere between 105k and 115k, don't remember when. Original valve, when shook, sounded fine too. There are some hoses that I think are part of the PCV system with a little dried up oil/dirt around them. I'm not sure if that indicates a larger issue here?
 
Originally Posted By: bluesubie
Originally Posted By: awns729
Not sure what else I should check for oil consumption?

Had the PCV valve ever been replaced?


This times a thousand.
 
Originally Posted By: bluesubie
Originally Posted By: oaklandish_wrx
Possibly the only reason his sample still reads as a 30 - eeek!

And start engine/re-builder shopping. 1 quart/1K is INSANE.


01.gif

OP - Not sure where you are in NY, but you might want to check out EFI Logics in CT or Performance Auto Solutions on Long Island. You can't get much better than either of those in NY, Northern NJ, or LI.

I would probably go with M1 10W40 High Mileage since it's a little thicker than RT6. Either is better than what you're running though.
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Yep, there's also The Shop in Norwalk, CT and Prime Motoring in NJ, both of which I've heard good things about. Not sure if Prime does rebuilds though. I'll keep EFI in mind as well. Thanks for the suggestions

Are these wear numbers really that bad that it's a definite rebuild coming soon? Even if switching oils lowers the wear to reasonable levels now?

Also, can anyone provide me with threads/articles that cover why these higher viscosity oils are recommended? I thought that startup wear was always a factor in picking oil, and a 5W-40 has a higher cold viscosity than a 5W-30 and therefore will cause more wear on startup. Seems like, whether true or not, that's not really relevant to turbo engines, since everyone's suggesting Rotella T6/M1 10W40, which I'm happy to try, but I'd love some more "scientific" reading as to why. Searching didn't turn up much - mostly just "switch to rotella T6 BEACAUSE" type threads lol


Thanks for the help!
 
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