So I finally jumped on the Amsoil wagon...

[SubieRubyRoo]

I went all in, I just finished a ~950 mile Kreen flush after replacing the valve cover and spark plug tube gaskets, and dumped in 4.5 quarts of Amsoil SS 10W30 and an FU 7317 filter. The light tapping valvetrain noises that were present on the Rotella Gas Truck 5W30 seem to be quieted to the point of inaudibility, so far so good. Plan is to pull a dipstick tube sample at 10k (provided that consumption does not create the need to add oil) and gauge what to do with it at that point.

I'm hoping the ~4% NOACK and a nice and Kreen (

) engine help keep the level full; the engine did not consume anything prior but there is only ~3500 miles of personal history with this vehicle so time will tell. I've been tracking everything with Fuelly since I bought the car, and have been hovering right around the 28.8-28.9mpg/tank with a high of 30.9 mpg when I drove to Cincy, so the warm weather will slightly skew things in favor of the Amsoil. However, the long-term trends should be interesting with the Amsoil.

That is one nice thing about the 2000's Subarus... they all had a 16-gallon tank, and roughly 25-28mpg, so each quarter tank is roughly 100 miles traveled, so you can mentally guesstimate if mileage is up or down, and remaining distance to empty

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Bottling date of the SS was 3/21/18 so I don't know if Amsoil made any formula changes since then... Rural King's shelf stock is a little dusty, since I don't know many farmers willing to drop $12/qt on tractor oil. I sorted thru the pile and got all 5 quarts that were filled on the same date.

 

[JustN89]

The Amsoil should treat your Subaru well. The 10W-30 looks to be some stout stuff.

 

[racin4ds]

I'll be interested in your results and thoughts. My 08 LGT has recently began using oil as well. It just hit 165k miles and doesn't leak but the tiniest drop from the oil filter sandwich adapter. I don't see any smoke or evidence that it is burning it but I was just a quart low upon checking it with this newest OCI of Rotella T6 5W40 with 1600miles.

I'm wondering if a good blast of Kreen wouldn't help out some? I actually need to replace my PCV valve too, as that may be a contributor.

 

[JLTD]

Nice and Kreen.

Welcome to the Amsoil experience...it will be interesting to see your results.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Racin, I would give the RT6 some time; when I switched my 01 Forester over to it, it consumed about 3/4 of a quart during the first 3k, which I topped off. After that, the level never moved from full again over the next 4-5 OCIs.

New PCVs are good. Just be sure to get OEM, check out "sixstarbernie" on ebay. He's a great seller and always has a ton of OEM Subaru parts you can get for way less than even online dealerships.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Is it using oil or are you just looking at a longer OCI?

 

[D1dad]

I haven't visited amsoil in years. Last time I used it I saw no advantages over any other oil considering there's no way I'd run an oil 25k miles in a year. In addition to that, I've never owned a vehicle that didn't use even a little bit of oil in 5k and at $10 a quart, it just wasn't worth it for top ups.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
I went all in, I just finished a ~950 mile Kreen flush after replacing the valve cover and spark plug tube gaskets, and dumped in 4.5 quarts of Amsoil SS 10W30 and an FU 7317 filter. The light tapping valvetrain noises that were present on the Rotella Gas Truck 5W30 seem to be quieted to the point of inaudibility, so far so good. Plan is to pull a dipstick tube sample at 10k (provided that consumption does not create the need to add oil) and gauge what to do with it at that point.

I'm hoping the ~4% NOACK and a nice and Kreen (

) engine help keep the level full; the engine did not consume anything prior but there is only ~3500 miles of personal history with this vehicle so time will tell. I've been tracking everything with Fuelly since I bought the car, and have been hovering right around the 28.8-28.9mpg/tank with a high of 30.9 mpg when I drove to Cincy, so the warm weather will slightly skew things in favor of the Amsoil. However, the long-term trends should be interesting with the Amsoil.

That is one nice thing about the 2000's Subarus... they all had a 16-gallon tank, and roughly 25-28mpg, so each quarter tank is roughly 100 miles traveled, so you can mentally guesstimate if mileage is up or down, and remaining distance to empty

Summer may not negatively impact MPG , until it gets warm enough to requite you to use the A/C . Have you used the defrost , much , in the winter ?

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Johnny- No, it's not using oil. I just decided to try something different. I've got a shelf full of PUP and PP Euro 0W40, along with some Ravenol DXG, and a jug of Motul 15W50. I was in the mood for something off my beaten path.

Wyr, I was talking about summer having a positive effect on mileage; no real "cold" starts, quicker warmup, and the engine will automatically have to add less fuel because warm air is less dense. Defrost was used some (really cold spells caused mileage to dip as low as 26.6) but I know from multiple Subarus I usually only see about a 0.8-1.1mpg difference when using A/C. When you've only got 13 hamsters under the hood and the A/C takes 3 of them nearly full time, you definitely notice it!

Dad, I don't believe that in a vehicle that is used regularly (i.e. fully warmed up) that a one calendar year interval really holds any weight, at least not in my 30-something-odd UOAs. I've had ~7k OCIs that lasted around a year, all the way up to a 17k OCI that lasted about 9 months on the same engine, and there were no statistically significant differences in wear metals, fuel dilution, or viscosity changes. So to me, that says in all reality, time in use alone is not a good factor to condemn an oil on.

 

[bbhero]

Hey man... If you can afford it and still eat porterhouse steaks once a week... Roll on with it

 

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Johnny- No, it's not using oil. I just decided to try something different. I've got a shelf full of PUP and PP Euro 0W40, along with some Ravenol DXG, and a jug of Motul 15W50. I was in the mood for something off my beaten path.

Wyr, I was talking about summer having a positive effect on mileage; no real "cold" starts, quicker warmup, and the engine will automatically have to add less fuel because warm air is less dense. Defrost was used some (really cold spells caused mileage to dip as low as 26.6) but I know from multiple Subarus I usually only see about a 0.8-1.1mpg difference when using A/C. When you've only got 13 hamsters under the hood and the A/C takes 3 of them nearly full time, you definitely notice it!

Dad, I don't believe that in a vehicle that is used regularly (i.e. fully warmed up) that a one calendar year interval really holds any weight, at least not in my 30-something-odd UOAs. I've had ~7k OCIs that lasted around a year, all the way up to a 17k OCI that lasted about 9 months on the same engine, and there were no statistically significant differences in wear metals, fuel dilution, or viscosity changes. So to me, that says in all reality, time in use alone is not a good factor to condemn an oil on.



You have PP 0w40 and I'm jealous

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I still have eight 5-qt jugs of it

7 jugs of PUP
Ravenol DXG
Motul 15w50
And one Rotella Gas Truck 5w30

And a bunch of new and used filters with your name on them I still need to mail

 

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
I still have eight 5-qt jugs of it

7 jugs of PUP
Ravenol DXG
Motul 15w50
And one Rotella Gas Truck 5w30

And a bunch of new and used filters with your name on them I still need to mail

I have PPHM 5W30 to use next with either one of the 2 Bosch D+ you sent me or the XG 3614

 

[spk2000]

Didn't know Rural King carried Amsoil. i tried reaching out to a local dealer and all he wants is to sign me up as a preferred customer. All I want is the mower hydro static fluid as Ihave heard many ggod things and my hill breaks down the Mobil 1 15W50 to the point it won't climb anymore then I replace fluid and it goes strong again for a few months. My hill really heats up the hydro fluid but changing it frequently is still cheaper than buying a commercial model with heavy duty transmission. It is a Snapper Garden tractor with a mid grade transmission - Tuff Torq K57.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Summer may not negatively impact MPG , until it gets warm enough to requite you to use the A/C . Have you used the defrost , much , in the winter ?

Summer always negatively impacts my mileage, since my right foot gets inexplicably heavier.

 

[BigShug681]

Originally Posted by spk2000
Didn't know Rural King carried Amsoil. i tried reaching out to a local dealer and all he wants is to sign me up as a preferred customer. All I want is the mower hydro static fluid as Ihave heard many ggod things and my hill breaks down the Mobil 1 15W50 to the point it won't climb anymore then I replace fluid and it goes strong again for a few months. My hill really heats up the hydro fluid but changing it frequently is still cheaper than buying a commercial model with heavy duty transmission. It is a Snapper Garden tractor with a mid grade transmission - Tuff Torq K57.

I sent you a PM maybe I can help you out

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Originally Posted by Garak
Summer always negatively impacts my mileage, since my right foot gets inexplicably heavier.

That may be true, Garak, but remember I have N/A Subarus in my stable. The only time I can break all 4 tires loose and/or feel like I'm Ken Block is when there's at least an inch or two of snow on the ground.

 

[Garak]

Yes, but it's still fun to give more throttle when the weather gets nice and there's real traction.

When I did that spreadsheet about fuel economy and oil viscosity, my worst fuel economy came with an ILSAC lube and spring and me enjoying the weather.

 

[kstanf150]

Congrats Subie

I also have been washed in the ways of different oil
Always been a QS guy
But I bought 2 jugs of Chevron XSP 5W-40 for my
6.2L Ford