Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 Subaru H6 10.6K

[SubieRubyRoo]

OP, this thread has accumulated some truths, some misguided intentions, and some whining. I'll only address the first two.

Subaru H6s AFAIK all have the oil cooler. High copper by itself is not a concern on Subarus; copper in a UOA without lead or tin does not point to mechanical issues, it points to the cooler.

Owner's manual says you can use conventional or synthetic; considering 99% of the engine is essentially identical to what was intially designed all the way back in 1999, there are no crazy oil requirements. In all reality (but not suggesting you should) there would likely be no issues running an API SL oil from back in 1999. Since it's not a turbo EJ, this engine design is not particularly demanding of oil. PUP is a great choice, especially the older stuff it appears you have. I would use every bit of it, and change it at the 7.5k intervals in the OM. As long as the engine and oil is up to temp on a regular basis, there's no real need to follow severe service.

 

[jbutch]

Originally Posted by lfdal
Originally Posted by csandste
Originally Posted by toneydoc
Your driving pattern does not appear to be severe service to me
You are changing out a very good oil that has a ton of life left in it
I would change it out at normal driving Subaru intervals while under warranty
After that, you could extend the change interval easily with that oil


This. Stop wasting your money.



As to copper, I have a history of UOA's with the NA H4's and the turbo H4's, all Subies, since 2003. None has ever had this much copper, but this is my first H6.

I've asked the folks over at the Outback forum if they know if the oil cooler is copper internally. Its an external bolted on cooler the filter mounts to. The FSM doesn't provide much info on it other than how to change it.

Thanks for all the responses, they are much appreciated.



I also had quite a spike with copper when I switched to PP, I switched to QSUD and it went away. I also read it might have something to do with the oil cooler, however I did not like to see such high copper numbers.

 

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
OP, this thread has accumulated some truths, some misguided intentions, and some whining. I'll only address the first two.

Subaru H6s AFAIK all have the oil cooler. High copper by itself is not a concern on Subarus; copper in a UOA without lead or tin does not point to mechanical issues, it points to the cooler.

Owner's manual says you can use conventional or synthetic; considering 99% of the engine is essentially identical to what was intially designed all the way back in 1999, there are no crazy oil requirements. In all reality (but not suggesting you should) there would likely be no issues running an API SL oil from back in 1999. Since it's not a turbo EJ, this engine design is not particularly demanding of oil. PUP is a great choice, especially the older stuff it appears you have. I would use every bit of it, and change it at the 7.5k intervals in the OM. As long as the engine and oil is up to temp on a regular basis, there's no real need to follow severe service.

Originally Posted by jbutch
Originally Posted by lfdal
Originally Posted by csandste
Originally Posted by toneydoc
Your driving pattern does not appear to be severe service to me
You are changing out a very good oil that has a ton of life left in it
I would change it out at normal driving Subaru intervals while under warranty
After that, you could extend the change interval easily with that oil


This. Stop wasting your money.



As to copper, I have a history of UOA's with the NA H4's and the turbo H4's, all Subies, since 2003. None has ever had this much copper, but this is my first H6.

I've asked the folks over at the Outback forum if they know if the oil cooler is copper internally. Its an external bolted on cooler the filter mounts to. The FSM doesn't provide much info on it other than how to change it.

Thanks for all the responses, they are much appreciated.



I also had quite a spike with copper when I switched to PP, I switched to QSUD and it went away. I also read it might have something to do with the oil cooler, however I did not like to see such high copper numbers.


^ What they said.

IMO, the copper is a combination of oil cooler, break-in wear, and/or what is becoming sort of a signature in Subaru's running Pennzoil. It's trending down but may remain elevated since that's what we're seeing.

If a dealer ever gave me any hassle on a potential Powertrain Warranty claim with 6k mile intervals on an H6, I would be setting up a meeting with the District Subaru rep. Not sure about Subaru NE, but the ones in NY and NJ are sensible.

 

[bluesubie]

P.S. - According to parts.subaru.com there is an oil cooler which you should be able to see when you remove the filter:

OIL COOLER COMPLETE
This Fits Your 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6L CVT R Limited w/EyeSight
Part Number: 21311AA140

 

[Hounds]

For the sake of comparison: https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...obil-1-ep-5-30-10k-subaru-h6#Post5093582

 

[ChiTDI]

Looked back at the first change and was impressed with the break-in formula.
Molybdenum and Manganese both!
I didn’t know Subaru did that for their h6.
i do remember the dealer pounding me about changing my ‘14 at 3000 miles. Maybe that was why.