Hi,

I need to change the oil on my 2005 WRX, and this time around I've had no luck finding oil filters for the car. Is there a good place online where I can order a few filters?

The other topic is that I live in Florida, where it's hot as ***** in the summer. Is it worth considering 15W oil or a mix of 10 and 15 weight oil? Lastly, I used to own a 3rd gen RX-7 and there was a certain unwritten requirement to use only Castrol GTX or Royal Purple (if you have loads of cash), since most synthetic oils ate the seals. Is there are prefered oil for the WRX? I was just going to get some Castrol Syntec or whatever synthetic is convenient.

Thanks.

 

I just refer to the oil selection chart in the owner's manual. It's based on ambient air temperatures. I don't know how hot it gets in your FL location but I live in Sacramento where summer temps are typically in the mid-90s with occasional hot spells over 100 degrees.

I use Mobil 1 5W-30 synthetic because it's readily available almost anywhere at a reasonable cost. I have 65,000+ miles on my '02 WRX with no leaks.

I ordered about 8 factory oil filters from www.subaruparts.com/ a while back and it seems to be more economical when you order a bunch at once to offset the shipping cost. This is an actual Subaru dealership with an extensive parts and mail order department.

I don't bother ordering the crush washers for the drain plug because I have a Fumoto oil drain valve installed and it's been leak-free for over two years - faster oil draining with less mess. No more hot oil pouring onto your hand and no more dropped drain plugs into the pan! I ordered my Fumoto drain valve from http://www.lubricationspecialist.com/.

I haven't searched for filters or the Fumoto valve lately so you might find better prices elsewhere.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

Thanks!

It looks like I'll be buying both the OEM filters and the drain plug. . . The worst is when your socket wrench and the bolt fall into the oil pan. It gets pretty nasty in Florida, but given your anecdote I don't see a reason to go past 10W.

 

If you track (road course) your car, one item that is popular is a small, high-performance engine oil cooler mounted ahead of the radiator. This drops the oil temperature down enough so that you don't have to resort to heavier viscosity oil, which takes more horsepower to pump through the engine. A small to moderate-sized oil cooler is sufficient for 20-minute track sessions.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

i just put in mobil 1 15,000 mile oil. It says it can protect that long??? i'll probally change it at lik 5000 miles. Any one ever use this oil? its fricken ex$pen$ive. 7.20/quart

 

FAQ. If you're going to change it out at 5k miles, I'd stick with a non-extended change interval synthetic.

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush