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!
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!