My mom's impreza will loose oil between oil changes with 0w-20 and will be fine with 5w-30. It burns the thinner oil.
My wife\u2019s 2012 Impreza is at 195k miles and I switched it to 0w-30 and then 5w-30 due to oil consumption. Was burning a quart every 1K miles on 0w-20, burns half that on 5w-30. I\u2019m actually considering going thicker.
SP certified oils have better LSPI protection than SN, and SP is what Subaru requires for this generation.
The dealership here itself was using 5w-30 as the default for oil changes even though 0w-20 is stamped on the filler cap. After checking myself that Subaru said that would be OK, I started using it too for my own changes just to avoid flipping back and forth -- though I have no idea if that would be a problem. In any case, the Forester seems happy, even if the mileage may have dipped slightly.
Engine does become a bit quieter with 5w-30.
I use PUP 0w20 in mine. Lots of tests and UOA show that Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is the best non-boutique oil you can buy. But honestly any top shelf oil will work. 5k km intervals are more important than brand with a turbo engine.
Do her a favor a change the oil, with Valvoline Restore and Protect or Pennzoil Ultra platinum, it will quite down a little and it would be great for the car.
Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic. My 1988 740 has near excellent compression at 245k og miles.
I've been using Penzoil ultra platinum full synthetic 0w-20, though it does burn sometimes a quart every oil change.
Do not listen to them. I have a 2015 forester non turbo I used 5w30 and had all kinds of problems id get codes for over advanced timing on one bank and under advanced on the other, I was getting power loss going uphill, weird chattering noise.
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If choosing engine oil across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare engine oil across these categories:
In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil PENNZOIL were overall better than OEM Subaru.
In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil PENNZOIL were overall more popular than OEM Subaru.
By vote balance, engine oil PENNZOIL surpassed OEM Subaru:
By number of reviews, engine oil PENNZOIL surpassed OEM Subaru:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, engine oil OEM Subaru led more car-specific ratings than PENNZOIL:
OEM Subaru are chosen by owners of cars such as: Subaru Forester, Subaru Impreza, and others.
Engine oil PENNZOIL have not yet taken leading positions in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding a review and specifying your car.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of engine oil PENNZOIL with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, Shell, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, RED LINE, OEM Toyota, Mannol.
Also available: comparisons of engine oil OEM Subaru with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, Shell, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, RED LINE, OEM Toyota, Mannol.
You can also see who is better among other engine oil manufacturers: Mobil or Castrol, Mobil or LIQUI MOLY, Mobil or MOTUL, Mobil or Shell, LIQUI MOLY or Castrol.
