Subaru Legacy GT 2005

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Christchurch, New Zealand
Hi guys,

Recently I've bought a new car and, being the first semi-expensive/decent car I've owned, decided to put in research as best I can so that I can treat it right, and hopefully be treated well in return.

I've had a read through several forums, spoken to a mechanic, and had a look at a couple of other subi listings in BITOG to get an idea in which direction I should be looking with my oil. I thoroughly suspect I'll need to change my oil when the seasons change, but that is no problem at all, I'm already prepared for the fact I'll most likely need a summer oil and a winter oil.

As per the sticky I've put in the below requested details:

1. What kind of vehicle you have
2005 Subaru Legacy GT. 2.0 Litre Turbo, Japan Import. 130,000kms on the clock.

2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
Unfortunately, being the Japan import, the manual is in Japanese. I'm hoping the oil gurus won't need these specifically given how common and general Subarus are.

3. Where you live
New Zealand (yes, it exists).

I live in the south island, so our summers range from 5*C to 35*C, and our winters from -5*C to 25*C. The sun is also blinding hot due to a severe ozone layer deficiency, so being in the sun can seriously add or subtract 5*C.

The larger issue I have is that I ski and go up to the mountains regularly. On most days the temperatures at the car park are around 0*C but can fall as low as -10*C or even colder in extreme cases.

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Generally I drive easy, and I'll definitely let the engine warm up before driving hard, however I didn't buy a turbo for no reason, so I will undoubtedly feel the power on most drives. But the large majority of the time I'll be driving off-boost and economically.


5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
This will change on a daily basis. I try to avoid short trips but they invariably happen. During the week I work with clients that change on a weekly basis so some days I'll drive 20km to the client, on others only 10km. On the weekend I'll be driving to the mountain, which is a 100km trip and then a 25km access road (shingle and dirt etc), and the reverse on the way home.

6. Whether your car has any known problems
The car is currently (and hopefully will into the future) running perfectly. No issues noted, no oil is burnt etc.

7. Other info
The prior owner was putting 10w-60 into the engine, as his mate "rallied the same engine" and "highly recommended it". Since reading the forum I've realised how silly this is and have recently changed to a 5w-30, and noticed a remarkable increase in fuel efficiency, as well as how much faster the engine heats up.

Ideally I'd like to not have an OCI of 5,000km, I know Subarus have a shorter OCI than other cars, especially the turbos. The mechanic who did the last oil change expected it to last 10,000km which seems on the high side for me. He put in a full synthetic 5w-30 from Valvoline.

If any further information is needed let me know and I'll happily answer them!

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Nothing wrong with your mechanics choice of 5w30 Valvoline SynPower, in my experience maintaining Subaru cars of similar vintage (2005 Forrester) it performed well on 5w30 but consumed less oil on a 5w40. Both oils were run for 6,000 miles, the 5w30 would require a top off quart between 4,000-4,500 miles, the 5w40 was just a hair shy of 1 quart low when it was due for an oil change at 6,000 miles. Not topping off was handy for the owner of the car so they too preferred the 5w40. Your experience may vary, be sure to check the oil regularly.
 
Turbo'd EJ motors (what you have) are incredibly tough on oil- especially back there on cylinder #3. Many folks run a a 0w/5w40 to combat the challenges from a lubrication perspective. Mainly oil consumption. I see you have a JDM car, any chance you have the closed deck-twin scroll setup the STI gets? Not sure on the Japanese model Legacy. We don't get the good stuff here
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Penrite recommend a full synthetic 5w40 for that car, and it's what I'd go with, at 10,000km intervals. Your climate is very similar to mine - you won't need a different oil for summer and winter.
 
One of the best quality and best value full synthetics oils avaliable to you and myself, is Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 and this is what I would use. It's rated API SN, Euro A3/B4 plus OEMs like BMW LL-01, MB 229.5 and Porsche A40.

If you wanted to keep to a 5W30, in that car I would avoid the thinner ILSAC GF-5 oils, and go for the thicker Euro rated 5W30's that carry ACEA A3/B4. Some good examples would be Castrol Magnatec 5W30 "stop-start" full synthetic, Castrol Edge 5W30 A3/B4, and Shell Helix HX8 5W30. All are full synthetic oils that carry the Euro A3/B4 spec which makes it a very strong oil.

Also an honourable mention to Valvoline SynPower 5W40 (SN, A3/B4) which is often on sale every second month at SCA.
 
OP, SCA (SuperCheapAuto) is having a catalogue sale right now in Oz and NZ.

In NZ you can get both Nulon Full Synthetic 10W40 (API SN, ACEA A3/B4) and Valvoline SynPower 5W40 (API SN, ACEA A3/B4) full synthetic at 20% Off.

Either of these two would do me, summer or winter, no need for seasonal changes. 10W is good down to -20C and 5W even lower.
 
Rotella t6 if you can get it. Just Google rotella and Subaru together and you will see pages and pages of threads on all different forums recommending it for turbo Subarus.
 
Rotella is a good oil, but unfortunately we don't get it in Australia or New Zealand.

A mate who tracks a WRX with the boost turned up 22 psi, uses Delvac 15W-40 (mineral) and likes it a lot.
 
Originally Posted By: Flying_A
I see you have a JDM car, any chance you have the closed deck-twin scroll setup the STI gets? Not sure on the Japanese model Legacy. We don't get the good stuff here
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I do believe so, I think all JDM legacy GTs from that generation came with a twin scroll setup, but to be fair, I'm still new to the turbo game so I'm still trying to catch up on what my car has/hasn't got.

And thank you SR5, I've been thinking that 5w-40 would be the go to, and I've been thinking Castrol Magnatec would be a good shout. I'll take a look into what SCA has on offer!

Cheers guys, much appreciated for all the help!
 
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