I am at 4,000miles with my WRX and I am about to change my oil. I am trying to decide on oil and filter. I going to go to a synthetic oil but I don't know if is ok to go to a synthetic oil this soon or not. As far as brands I was looking at Royal Purple and Red Line or maybe someone has a different brand they like. I don't know what brand of oil filter to go with so any suggestions would be great.

 

I began running a synthetic oil at 6000 miles (Mobil 1 Syntec) and I use a can of MOA (BG Motor Oil Additive) every other oil change. Ive been told to stay away from aftermarket oil filters (Fram especially) and only use an oem filter. I think that Royal Purple and Redline are a couple of the best high performance oils out there and would be a perfectly good choice. Try a few different oils out and see what you like best. I personally like Mobil 1 a lot.

 

You may use synthetic motor oil as early as you like. It will not hurt your engine nor will it impact break in in any way.

Synthetic will NOT break down as quickly as traditional oil.

Synthetic oil is OEM in some of the highest performing cars in the world. One example is the Corvette which does not have a recommended period between changes. Instead, it has an indicator which notifies the driver that the oil needs to be changed. One owner has relayed that he changes his every 15,000 to 20,000 miles. According to the dealer, that is average. Oh and the 'vette has been moded so it is likely more HP than anyone in this forum can touch and it is driven hard.

With all of that being said, I am currently using traditional motor oil.

Why?

I only have 2,200 miles on my car. My first scheduled oil change is at 3,000 miles. I will put traditional in it again because the second oil change is due a little early (per the service manual) and there is no need wasting money on synthetic just to dump it in 4,500 miles.

I have to believe that the initial oil changes being recommended early is to safeguard against possible contamination in the new engine. It is a common rumor, I know, but I usually try to stick to facts.

Once those initial (and early) oil changes are out of the way, I will go synthetic and probably change my oil every 7,500 miles which equates to every 6 months.

What should you do? If you want the best, use synthetic. As an ex-racer I am partial to Mobile 1. Just don't feel compeled to change you oil any more often than 7,500 miles. In fact, you can probably go a LOT longer. I would not have any difficulty doing 10,000 miles on it.

As a final note, I noticed that you are ready to change at 4,000 miles. Are you late for your first or did you jump the gun?

I hope this helps.

 

I've been running 5w 40 shell rotella syn. since 500 miles. I now have 6500 miles.