2018 Subaru Crosstrek - 6075 mi - Idemitsu Zepro Eco Medalist Advanced Moly 0w20

[kaesees]

The previous OCI was the factory fill. No top-up oil was used during the first OCI (UOA thread for the first OCI is located here), while about 0.5 quarts were used during the second OCI. Oddly enough, dipstick readings showed the sump as being very nearly full until about 5000 miles in, when I took a reading in the middle of a long highway trip and it looked pretty low (that's when I added the make-up oil); there is a TSB from Subaru for a redesigned PCV valve that may be related, and I should probably talk to the dealer and see about following up on it. I took so long to get my sample in the mail that I've put 2k miles on the car since, and the oil level looks fine so far.

After the sample was taken, I filled the sump with a jug of the D1G2 version of Zepro. A new blue Subaru OE filter was used, as I purchased a 12-pack of them a while back.

Once again, NAPA's lab treated several fields that I filled in on the sheet as if they had been left blank, namely the oil brand, oil type, oil added, and sump capacity. I think there was also a slot for the engine type (the second gen Crosstrek uses an FB20D) which I filled in that didn't show up anywhere in the report. Not sure what's going on there.

 

[oil_film_movies]

That 418 silicon may be a new record high. Normal I guess for a new engine, coming from new seals, no problem.
That super-high moly level in the factory oil (1101 ppm) was from assembly lube probably. Idemitsu Zepro is known to be Mazda's house-brand oil, with a lot of moly. Japanese oil makers love moly. Idemitsu here is high, & my own Eneos Racing Street SN 0w20 I use actually comes with 900 ppm. Some tech papers have suggested extra moly is good, and notice racing oils usually have around 1500 ppm for comparison.
Zepro dexos1 Gen2 has less moly but still pretty high. Nice choice I think.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I've got this oil on the shelf for the next OCI on my mom's 18 Forester. It will go in the sump at 26k, in about a month or so. Hopefully a couple more oil changes have flushed out more of the initial wear metals; this OCI was PP 0W20.

Personally, I think your two TBN tests prove that the Subaru OCI is quite conservative at 6k.... TBN of 3.8 I'd run for at least another 3k before I dropped the fill to check it for suitability.

 

[kaesees]

I don't doubt that the Subaru OCI is very conservative - they switched from 7.5k to 6k at about the same time the early FB engines started having oil consumption issues. I don't know how close a kV100 of 7.1 is to the 'bottom' end of the 0w20 grade spec, but as you noted the TBN shows there's plenty of juice left in the add pack.

I'm personally sticking with the 6k OCI for the purposes of maintaining my powertrain warranty. I drive a bit over 12,000 miles/year on this car, so I'm hoping to get to the point where my drains happen in April and October. I use a longer drain interval with my family's minivan, which is out of its powertrain warranty and which has a 10k spec from Toyota.

I've got one jug of Zepro Advanced Moly left from the last good Amazon sale when AM was $21 and D1G2 was $19, and four jugs of regular Idemitsu 0w20 that I bought for $14/jug. I'm not sure what goes in the sump next time; Zepro has a lot more antiwear additives, but the regular Idemitsu (and D1G2 Zepro, which I don't have any more of at this time) has a better Noack volatility. Not sure what matters more in a NA direct-injection engine that sees the relatively 'soft' use of a 13 mile one-way commute, occasional short trips for groceries or to pick a kid up, and occasional longer drives for hiking/hunting/fishing/etc trips.

 

[buster]

Looks good. Looks better than most Honda UOA's these days. LOL

Has Subaru finally fixed their oil consumption issues? Crosstreks seem to be doing well.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Originally Posted by buster
Has Subaru finally fixed their oil consumption issues? Crosstreks seem to be doing well.


My mom's '18 Forester purchased new is now at about 23k, and has not consumed any oil over the 5 OCIs it's had; the level has dipped from right at the F line to literally just under it, so probably less than an ounce over 6k intervals. The first 4 OCI were Subaru 0W20 syn, this current fill is PP 0W20, and the next up is either this Idemitsu Eco Medalist or Rotella Gas Truck 0W20. I may try the RGT first since we already know what the Eco Medalist looks like

 

[buster]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted by buster
Has Subaru finally fixed their oil consumption issues? Crosstreks seem to be doing well.


My mom's '18 Forester purchased new is now at about 23k, and has not consumed any oil over the 5 OCIs it's had; the level has dipped from right at the F line to literally just under it, so probably less than an ounce over 6k intervals. The first 4 OCI were Subaru 0W20 syn, this current fill is PP 0W20, and the next up is either this Idemitsu Eco Medalist or Rotella Gas Truck 0W20. I may try the RGT first since we already know what the Eco Medalist looks like

Nice, that's good to know. I'm interested in the Crosstrek.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by buster


Nice, that's good to know. I'm interested in the Crosstrek.

The Crosstrek is a nice looking vehicle, I just wish they offered a turbo option for it!

Ever since my son picked up his 2002 WRX I've been on a bit of a Subaru kick, looking through the Auto Trader ads here for unique Subarus (such as anything non WRX that has a turbo in it, like an older Legacy Outback XT, Forrester XT or Legacy 2.5GT)

IIRC, didn't you have a rare Forrester XT turbo 5 speed a few years ago?

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I'd have picked up one of the turbo Subarus, but the old ones like Patman mentioned are always one of two things: beat to crap by some kid who didn't care about the vehicle; or, taken care of really nicely by an older, more responsible owner that wants about 4-10k more than the car should be worth.

I hope the advent of the 2.4T in the Ascent will bring about a resurgence of turbo models for Subaru, as I think a "hotted-up" 2.4 in a WRX would make an easy 350-375HP and be quite a blast!

 

[kaesees]

They announced the new Legacy is getting the 2.4T in lieu of a 6-cylinder boxer as the upgraded engine option for MY2020. I believe it will be further de-tuned compared to the already-not-high-strung FA24 in the Ascent, but it's a twin scroll design like all the FA and FB turbos so it should have great low-end torque.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
I'd have picked up one of the turbo Subarus, but the old ones like Patman mentioned are always one of two things: beat to crap by some kid who didn't care about the vehicle; or, taken care of really nicely by an older, more responsible owner that wants about 4-10k more than the car should be worth.

There are often some undiscovered gems out there that dealers don't even realize what they are worth. Currently there is a 2005 Legacy Outback XT for sale up here for $4995 CDN (that's under $4000 US)

Here is the ad:
https://wwwb.autotrader.ca/go/5-42324604

The nice thing about a car like this is that it's unlikely to have been modded. (this one looks bone stock) Of course, if I bought this car the first thing I'd do is give it more boost!