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.
using a heavier oil weight has been an old trick to help with oil consumption in Subarus for a long time now. I used to use Rotella 5w40 (before the reformulation) in my old 04 Baja Turbo and that particular oil was the best to keep the oil burning down.
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.
My regular since i think 2014 or so has been helix ultra 5w40 running in all my vehicles currently.
I run 0w30 in my F82 M4 as that's what BMW and Shell recommend.
shell long ride sulit for honda click
Ive used T6 with good results. The major drawback with T6 is foaming, it's less than great in that regards.
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 Shell were overall better than OEM Subaru.
In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil Shell were overall more popular than OEM Subaru.
By vote balance, engine oil Shell surpassed OEM Subaru:
By number of reviews, engine oil Shell surpassed OEM Subaru:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, engine oil Shell led more car-specific ratings than OEM Subaru:
Shell are chosen by owners of cars such as: Honda Jazz, Subaru Outback, Subaru Impreza WRX, Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen Scirocco, and others.
OEM Subaru are chosen by owners of cars such as: Subaru Forester, Subaru Impreza, and others.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of engine oil Shell with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, PENNZOIL, RED LINE, OEM Toyota, Mannol.
Also available: comparisons of engine oil OEM Subaru with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, PENNZOIL, 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.
