Tony Skilbeck

Where is the the evidence that MOBIL 1 is unsuitable? I currently use the relatively new Mobil 1 motorsport oil 15W50 but had great difficulty in even persuading Subaru dealers to recognise this superior product.
Warranty problems were quoted.

Ian Cook

They are probably getting their knickers in a twist and getting mixed up with the normal Mobil 1, which is too thin for turbo cars.

I think this came from Mobil ?

[This message has been edited by Ian Cook (edited 01-03-2000).]

RichardP

Regarding synthetic oil, last time I had my car serviced (Nov99)my dealer is now using MOBIL 1 5W-30. Speaking to the service manager,it seems this is a special 'brew' made by Mobil for Subaru to overcome the warranty issue associated with 'normal' Mobil 1.Are any other dealers using this, or just mine?


Richard.

johnfelstead

Richard, you just beat me to it. Mobil went bonkers last year as subaru sent a memo to all its dealers to stop using normal mobil 1 that is 0W rated.

They replaced all the dealers oil with mobil 5W-30 after making a blend specifacally for subaru. I dont know if you can buy this blend from anywhere else except a main dealer.

RichardP

John,

I've tried every where to buy some 5W-30 with no joy, could only find 15W-50 motorsport. I ended up taking an old oil container back to my dealer and he kindly gave me a couple of litres for topping up if nesessary.

Richard.

Paul Wilson

If your in France Mobil 1 5W-40 is avaiable in hypermarkets for about £8 for 2 litres.

PhilBennett

Yeah - I don't know why but in the UK trade price of oil less than half retail. It need not be so expensive in England.

Mike123

Yes can concur with above - I was in Auchun hypermarket near Calais two weeks ago and Mobil 1 5W/40 was definitely for sale and much cheaper than over here ( where you can only get 0W/40 or 15W/50 in Mobil 1)

Paul Wilson

Just checked the top up can bought from Auchon in Calais and its 5W-50 not 5W-40, don't know how much difference this makes but wouldn't like to mis-inform.

Andy Banks

5W-50 is the only stuff I can get my hands on easily. That or 0W40 (Tri-synthetic).

Is 5W-50 OK for an STi? (hot climate)

My dealer recommends Caltex (Texaco in the UK i think)...but I usually stick 5W50 Mobil 1 in...no problems as yet.

Andy

JOHN BRODERICK

hi
well by reading some of the coments on the bbs it seems 5w 30 is the way every body is going (shell heilix ultra) or castrol gtx (magnitec) i waiting to change my oil and i'm going to go with the shell 5w 30. but i'm still waiting for info on super roo oil tretment .it's supose to stop the follower tap i have in the legacy. let ya know how i get on.

strong

With turbo motors running hotter than 'normal' cars I thought that Castrol RS with its 10W-60 rating would be popular. Anyone got any comments on this product?

BTW, one of my local Subaru dealers uses Castrol Magnatec and the other Mobil 10W-40 (I don't believe it's Mobil 1 though).

Paul

jwhitton

As far as Castrol RS goes this is the only oil I use in the RS Turbo. It is thicker than Mobil 1 Motorsport as the SAE grade indicates.

If you vist the Mobil site:

Paul Wilson

strong,
Mobil have done a version of mobil 1 for use in Subaru garages, so it could be.

johnfelstead

i used castrol RS 15-60 in my cossie because it coped best with very high turbo temps. Ideal for uprated turbo motors, takes slightly longer than normal to get the hydraulic lifters pumped up from cold but works great with big power.

SteveC

I've used Castrol RS 10W-60 for a couple of years, and am well pleased with it. Seems to retain far more guts at high temp than the Magnatec that my Dealer uses, judging by the much quieter, smoother hot running I get in comparison. I'm not a fan of Magnatec, as I remember it showing a abrupt loss of pressure at high temp in a Clio 16V I had years back. Mobil 1 (5W-40 at that time)in the same car was fine.

The only drawback with RS (and this may just be my imagination!) seems to be an almost imperceptible increase in spool-up time from low revs until the oil is well hot. Hardly anything, tho', and not a problem.

strong

I don't understand the comment 'It is thicker than Mobil 1 Motorsport as the SAE grade indicates.'

I thought Subaru banned 0W-40 Mobil 1 because it was 'too thin for the engine', while Mobil 1 Motorsport is 15W-50. I though the W number gave you an idea of its thickness at cold temperatures. So wouldn't Mobil 1 Motorsport be thicker than Castrol RS which is 10W-60?

Paul

Andy Banks

Sorry for being a bit thick, but can somebody explain what the 5W and the 50 actually mean....

Andy

AlexM

Paul,

Yes you're right - the Mobil 1 Motorsport has a higher viscosity rating when cold than Castrol RS. Thicker isn't better for a cold oil though - it needs to be thick enough to maintain reasonable pressure though the engine's bottom end, but thin enough to circulate through the rest of the engine quickly and easily after a cold start. Both 10W and 15W ratings are fine. Once your engine (and oil) is up to operating temperature, then the Winter viscosity figure is irrelevant.

Isn't a 60-weight oil too thick for the Scoob in normal use - I don't have a manual to hand, but I seem to remember that it was only recommended for very hot climates?

Cheers,

Alex

Greg Jones

You're not being thick, I too am waiting eagerly at the response to this question.

(oops...someone who has just topped his MY96 WRX with Mobil 1 0W-something...DOH)

AlexM

Andy/Greg,

I was going to paraphrase, but you will be better off reading from the horses mouth (excuse the mixed metaphore!).

Have a look at:

DYNT

I have been using Castrol RS for all the high performance engine.

Is a great oil and been using it for the past 10yrs without any problem.

Very minimum wear and tear on the engine component after strippin down.

Just make sure u change the oil and oil filter regularly. I change it every 5000Km.

10W = when is cold
60 = when is hot.
(Thickness of the oil)

strong

Dynt, has your recommendation of changing the oil frequently got anything to do with Castrol RS being different, or only because changing the oil more often than the manufacturer's spec is a good idea (especially if you drive the car how it demands!).

Paul

Ian Cook

If you drive hard it certainly wont do any harm to change at 3500 miles as well as the regular service intervals. In fact a freind of a freind used to have a hugley powerful Escort cossie, and he used Motul (i think) oil in it, and changed it every 2000 miles, along with the gearbox, cos he shredded that as well

johnfelstead

motul competition is the dogs danglys, we use it in the group A rally car, its the slipyest oil i have ever seen.

DOME use it in all there customers rally cars aswell.

it is quite expensive but we change it every 3 events as in the overall cost of rallying it is worth the piece of mind.

rupertu

I definitely want to go the "fully synthetic" route with my car - but my dealer seems reluctant to use Silkolene which would be my preferred choice (from 10 years of use in Enduro bikes), even if I provided it. They use Shell, so does anyone have any experiences, positive or negative, of Shell Helix Ultra Fully Synthetic please ?

Danny Fisher

Rupert, just explain to your dealer that Subaru are OK with this oil.

Dan

SteveG

Has anybody any experience using Royal Purple synthetic oil?

rupertu

Sorry Dan, I didn't explain that very well - the dealer seemed reluctant to be using oil supplied by me (I wonder why 150% mark-up ;-) and suggested using the Shell synthetic equivalent, the Helix Ultra. All the Scoob dealers I've dealt with seem to supply Shell, so I'm just wondering what experiences people have had with the Ultra

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Danny Fisher:
<B>Rupert, just explain to your dealer that Subaru are OK with this oil.

Dan[/quote]

JamesS

I spoke with a (nameless) dealer yesterday who said he couldn`t get any Mobil 1 5W-30 for my service next week. He asked if I could provide it!

He was aware of the direction from IM to use only this grade and not 0W-40 standard however he said he couldn`t get it from any of his suppliers. Any comments?