Im gonna do an oil and filter change and was thinking of using Castrol Magnatex 10w40. Is this oil suitable for a UK MY97 ?
There seems to be many differing opinions on the bbs threads

Any advice or opinions welcome

Thanks

Steve

I wouldn't.
I'd use Motul 300 or Mobil 1 15/50, or virtually any other fully-synth 15/50 over Magnatex...
Although others seem to use it happily!
The Motul is particularly good at holding a constant pressure - Mine's 6.5 bar at idle when cold, 6.5 bar when cruising when hot... drops to 2.8 bar at idle when hot, but that's quite acceptable :D
All others leap about all over the place by comparison.

I would think the oil pressure is very stable using a "15W" oil. All the reccommended paperwork seems to steer towards a "10W" oil, being a bit thinner for "European use" shall we say. A thicker oil would be more suitable for continued high temperature running or er, "warmer climate" than what we "normally " get over ere !

10W/40 Magnetec is certainly less tappety in mine first thing in the morning.
I did try Mobil 15W/50, but took it out as it was too noisey on cold starts.
The opinion of a Subaru Techy I asked was that it may be too thick for the Hydraulic Tappets when cold.

Ok, a 10/50 if you can find one, but you want the /50 bit (or /60).
And I'd still go for a 15/50 anyway. Look at the choices that those who are more concerned about their engine than their immediate pocket & you'll find the choice is between the Mobil 1 15/50 & Motul 15/50. I haven't found a 10/anything that convinces anything like as much as those two.

magnatec is fine we have been using it for years and never had a problem. the figures quoted by nom are pretty much what we get as well.
at the end of the day the choice is yours unless it's got some highly tweeked race engine then you will be ok on magnatec

Based on several threads on this forum I concluded 10W50 was a good compromise for my sort of motoring (6 miles to work and back each day plus the weekend 'proper' drives).
Having used Morris oils on my last 2 Mark 2 Golf GTi's (which both made it over 200,000 miles with no engine problems) I switched to Morris Multilife 10W50 fully synthetic oil which is avaialble from a local motor factors in Bournemouth for £27 for 5 litres. Seems fine, the oil meets the latest SL spec and I change the oil every 3750 miles, car still running well at 120,000 miles - has anyone else got experience of this oil in Scoobs??

I wouldn't use Magnatec. Not because I know anything bad about it personally, more because the people who know more about Subaru engines than anyone else bar Subaru themselves suggest Motul 300V or Mobil 1 Motorsport as being the best you can use.

Regarding comment above about 15w/50 being a little thick for colder climates, I don't believe there's as much difference in typical summer and winter engine operating temperatures for this to be a significant factor. Sure, the oil will take longer to warm up if ambient temps are lower, but I wouldn't have thought that there'd be very much difference in running temperatures.

If in doubt, just fill the engine with 3.5 litres of 15/50 and a litre of 0w/40. :)

(edited due to unclear wording :))

[Edited by greasemonkey - 9/23/2003 10:38:44 PM]

Magnatec is definately not "good", it carburises far too easily, Mobil 15w:50, Motul M300V 15:50 or Castrol RS10:60 are the oils of choice. I use the Motul and it does hold up very well under extreme's, gave me an extra bar of idle oil pressure in the Sti5 (4 bar) and 7 bar cruise pressure when hot.

Currently using Shell Helix Plus 10:40 in the STi9 as its too early for fully synthetic, thats not bad stuff although pressure is up and down (as they say) and "only" 2 bar at idle. Will be changing to fully synth at 7500 miles. (only 4k so far)

cheers

bob

Thanks for all the advice and opinions. 1 further question is the Mobil 1 Motorsport which Greasemonkey is referring to the same oil as the Mobil 15w:50 which is on Bob Rawle's recommendations ?

Thanks again

Steve

Its one and the same

cheers

Thanks Bob I'll go with the Mobil

You won't go wrong with that Steve. Don't know if you've already seen it, but before you dive in, it might be worth having a quick scan of this.

Thanks Grease - similar method that I use when I chance the oil in the twin-cam

Steve

* change even :)

[Edited by big500 - 9/23/2003 11:19:02 PM]

Guys.. if Subaru themselves use it (my garage included) can it really be that bad for a standard turbo?

Jza

Subaru (i.e. in the factory) don't use it, and neither do Prodrive. Some Subaru dealers may, but that's not the same thing.

Dealers will use what their buyer buys in for them to use, and that often has more to do with economics than the performance of the oil, and Castrol does very big discounts to bulk purchasers.

Don't forget, if your engine happens to blow under warranty, IM's or the third party warranty provider picks up the tab. If your engine happens to blow out of warranty, you pick up the tab, so either way there's not much incentive for a dealer to spend more money using an oil that's better for your car.

At end of day, why are you so keen to skimp? Surely you want to put the best oil possible in your car?

Job done , Mobil 1 15w50 got the vote , changed the plugs , air filter and heater matrix too ! .
Thanks for the adv guys

Steve