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Dean here (new to Subies),

I'm wondering what oil viscocity you'd recommend for my stock 92 BF 2.2, auto, for
simply driving back & forth to work? It's mostly all 70-80mph highway. Both my new
Haynes and Chilton tell me to use 10W/30, but my car seems to start and rev just fine
in the cold with 15W/40 and Tufoil.

Do these Soobs like it thin?

Dean

You forgot to mention what part of the country you live in, and what sort of temperatures you see.

Normally it is best to run thinner oil because your gas mileage will be better, also it flows better in cold mornings.

If the owners manual says you can run 15w-40, then you should be fine running it.

I personally run 10w-30 in mine, and I live in Houston, so temps get pretty hot during the summer months.

Most newer cars have tighter tolerances and oil passages and need thinner oil to maintain proper oil flow.

Just go what's recommended in the owner's manual. I believe it states that under normal driving conditions to use 5w-30 or 10w-30, 10w-40 and under severe, 15w-40 or 50

Josh

Hi Josh,
I live in New England (20º one morning, 70º the next). 10W/30 just seems too thin to me, especially with the engine pushing 100,000 miles. Do soobs use oil? I haven't driven enough miles to tell.

Dean

I got my 90 legacy in 95 with 80,000 miles on it. I've run pretty much exclusively 10w30 in it since I've owned it. Used 10w40 on a couple occasions, but for the past 5+ years, it's got nothing but 10w30. I've got 170,000 miles on it, and burn zero oil.

I've played around with different brands of oil and some, penzoil, castrol I will burn oil. I use mobil 10w30. Not the synthetic, just their drive blend dino oil. I've been using it for 5+ years and have not had any problems, I don't burn oil, so I don't see any reason to change.

Like I said, newer cars/engines don't need the thicker oil. 100,000 miles for a subaru motor is nothing! I'm sure I'll hit 200,000 before I decide to do anything to it.

With you being up north......I know if it were me, I wouldn't be running that thick of an oil, especially since it doesn't sound like you're pushing the motor real hard. But that's me.

Josh

At my next oil change, I'll put in Mobile 10W/30 and see what happens. I just hope the other Fiesta guys don't hear about it.

Cool, thanks.
Dean

haha......yeah I won't tell if you won't tell.

Give it a shot.....if you like it, great.....if not....go back to what you do like. After I did some oil testing, and found one I liked, I ran an oil flush through at oil change time, and put the mobil stuff in. Since then, that's all that I've put in.

Different oil companies will have different additives, which help the oil molecules bond to the metal. When you change oil brands, you break the old bonds down, and it takes a little bit for the new ones to build. Just something for those that don't use the same oil every time.

Will this severely affect engine performance or longevity......probably not.....

Josh

I use 10w60 in my 2lt turbo.

Regards Doug
Newcastle Australia

10W/60... whoa! I've never seen that before.

I was once told informally by an oil company chemist that when the catalyst which allows an oil to be multi weighted starts to break down, it turns acidic and causes tarnish and other naughty things. The greater distance between the cold temp and hot temp in the oil, the greater the amount of the catalyst. That's why an older engine turns brown to black inside and things like the PCV need to be changed.

Maybe the bloke was just pullin' my dip stick to sound cool, but who knows?

Dean (new to soobs)

ps. Do they market the Subaru Outback in Australia, or is it called something like the Busch Wacker?

"That's why an older engine turns brown to
black inside and things like the PCV need to be
changed."
Your engine just needs a good cleaning!
Dan

Castrol Formula R Synthetic. Its the only thing that shuts the tappets up.

replace PCV?????????? only if faulty... what has to do with engine oil visc???

What makes them faulty?
dean

to check the pcv valve, remove it and shake it... it should rattle.... if it doesn't the little 'valve' is stuck and so it won't work properly....