Having read the thread about the WR1, someone else made a comment about magnatec oil being used by Subaru and that this was a bad idea. Does anyone know if this is the case and if it is only bad for the WR1 and not my humble WRX??

Steve.

 

There's nothing bad about Magnatec, it's just that there are better alternatives out there! If you are determined to feed the car with the best, then you would use a 5w/40 or 10w/40 full synthetic oil. Magnatec is a semi-synthetic. Only switch to a full syn. if the car is nicely run-in (4-5k)

JohnD

 

Its 5w/40 i bought but never realised it was only semi synthetic. But at least i can use it to top up if im caught short away from a garage, cheers.

 

should not mix oil types ... eg mineral based and synthetic... take it back and change it...

 

My MY05 WRX has Magnatec in it ..... that was what the Subaru dealer put in it when they serviced it. They said it can be upgraded to fully synth but the Magnatec is more than OK. Car was standard at the time with 10K on it.

 

My local dealer used to use Magnatec, they have now changed to Shell Helix.

 

It is the minimum that Subaru specify and for a stock road car it will be adequate.

Also bear in mind that the Dealer will make 100% mark up on this oil and that's why they sell it against a proper synthetic on which they would make 20-30%

It is a mineral oil (cheap to produce) with some added esters to cling to the engine.

However...........................

If the car is modded or driven hard..............DON'T!

It is important to recognise the significance of the ACEA specs on the bottle as some are only A1/B1 which I would not recommend in a scoobie, you need A3 or A5 as these oils are built for performance.

ACEA Specifications
(Association des Constructeurs Europeens d’Automobiles)

ACEA ratings are prefixed with “A” for petrol, “B” for light or passenger car diesel and “E” for heavy duty diesel.

The current specifications are:

A1 Fuel economy petrol
A2 Standard performance level
A3 High performance and/or extended drain
A4 Reserved for future use in certain direct injection engines
A5 Combines A1 fuel economy with A3 performance

B1 Fuel economy diesel
B2 Standard performance level
B3 High performance and/or extended drain
B4 For direct injection car diesel engines
B5 Combines B1 fuel economy with B3/B4 performance

Cheers
Simon