I use x-clean, not sure what the difference is but it works fine

 

I use X-Clean as well.

 

I use x-clean, not sure what the difference is but it works fine

Thank you guys for the response. I found a couple threads on here about the x-cess and eco-energy. But nothing that explains their difference or their specific use. Their description on Motul's site are pretty similar. I guess I could email them directly.

 

Take a look at the data sheets on their site if they work. I know I tried months ago and they never loaded.

I'm pretty sure the differences are in the certifications for that oil as well as OEM approvals.

 

Out of the oils you listed I'd use the 5W-40. It flows well in colder temps and at high temps won't shear down as easily. It meets Porsche A40 spec, which is a minimum of 3.7 HT/HS rating I believe... so it'll handle your 3,000 mile OCI no problem without shearing down to a light oil that can't protect your engine.

M1 0W-40 meets similar specs and is readily available at Walbog for a good price.

 

5W-40 X-cess for it's higher anti-wear additive levels than the X-clean, but it's a complete waste to change any Motul oil at 3,000 mile intervals. 5-6k miles would be a breeze using X-cess including auto-x and even HPDE. Auto-x is nothing on oil. My short daily commute is harsher on oil than an auto-x. Eco-nergy 5W-30 is good and has the old API SL anti-wear additive levels, but it's a very thin 5W-30 when hot. Eco-nergy might be fine for the winter though.

For 300V, the 5W-30 would be fine as it has higher anti-wear additive levels, ester base stocks, higher kinematic viscosity, and higher High Temp High Shear than the 8100 oils.

-Dennis

 

Thank you guys for your response! Getting different feedback actually encouraged me to dig deeper and research more about engine oils. I finally said f*** it and went over to bobtheoilguy.com, which I felt was a little intimidating at first. After reading his long "lecture" about oil and the common misunderstanding of the meaning behind the xW-xx labels on oil cans, I finally have my own answer of what I need to run in my STI.

Long story short, you always want to run the same grade oil that the manual says or even lower if you can. This number is the 20, 30, 40...after the W. Simply put, the grade relates to the viscosity of the oil at start up, driving conditions, and racing temps. Most oils will reach relatively the same viscosity at normal operating temperatures and at high temps only varying by a few units. What changes in these scenarios (20 grade, 30 grade, 40 grade) is the oil pressure and the max flow rate also decreases as the grade goes up. What is important is during start up, where most of the engine wear occurs. Higher grade oils have higher viscosity at start up temps which means less lubrication and longer time for the oil to get to temp. The number before the W only determines how much the oil thickens after use. A 0w-30 has a lower viscosity compared to a 5w-30 AT start up, but they both have the same flow rate at normal temps.

So I found out I can run 0w-30 or even 0w-20 year round. The 0 grade will have lower viscosity after the car has been sitting at night and the 30 or 20 grade will have better flow at normal temps compared to the 40 grade (which isn't ideal for colder temps btw because of the high start up viscosity).

 

After looking on Motul's site, all of their synthetic oils that are 0w-30 are only SL API rated. Meaning they're pretty outdated oils. Oils (Like the X-cess) are now rated at SN. The X-clean is rated at SM so its still acceptable.

For now I will go for the X-clean 5W-30.

If Motul produces the X-cess in this grade I will certainly go for that. I will upload the tech sheets for these two oils for reference.

Sorry for the lengthy posts lol. It helps me understand myself better I guess. If there's something that I'm missing or misunderstanding please let me know.

Thank you guys again for the feedback.

 

Whoa, hold on there.

The Motor Oil University (if that's what you're referring to) was not written by Bob or anyone that has formal training in the lubrication industry. The author is a plastic surgeon and some engineers there do not agree with all of the points in that article. He also putts around Southern Florida in exotics and runs thin, expensive oil (Renewable Lubricants Inc.).You do not want to run a 0W-20 in an STI ever, unless you're running something robust like Motul 300V 0W-20 or Red Line 0W-20, have a gauge to measure oil pressure, and spend way more than $30 on used oil analysis. In a Subaru turbo, you should probably care more about HTHS than the grade on the bottle because HTHS is a better indicator of film strength.

Motul doesn't care about ensuring all of their oils meet the latest American Petroleum Institute specs. They care more about the ACEA's specs and German builder approvals. That's the same reason why German Castrol 0W-30 only meets API SL. It is intended for cars that spec VW502, BMW Long Life 01, MB 229.1, 229.3, and 229.5

Having said that, Motul X-Clean 5W-30 is a good choice. It has a high HTHS and a thick viscosity at operating temp. Although, it has a low TBN so I wouldn't push it much farther than 5k miles without ensuring that TBN retention is strong (uoa including TBN). But since it's a mid-SAPS oil, it has lower levels of some anti-wear additives and detergents than the other Motul oils to be more cat and DPF friendly.

http://www.motul.com/system/product...ions/technical_data_sheets/2647/original/8100_X-clean_5W-30_(GB).pdf?1302202191

Remember. The first number in a multi-grade oil is measured at -30C for a 5W oil and -35C for a 0W oil.
Resource Room
It does not tell you how thin or thick the oil will be in your particular "cold start" temps. Many 5W-30's will be thinner than some 0W-30's above 0F or so. Even some 10W-30's are thinner than 5W-30's and 0W-30 at that temp.

For the track (if you decide more than auto-x), I would probably keep some 5W-30 300V on hand for top ups. The first couple of uoa's that I saw on X-clean had high zinc levels, but the last one had a much lower level (a few WRX uoa's are posted at bitog). Heck, I believe that even the thin Eco-nergy has higher zinc levels than the the last uoa I saw on X-clean (although Blackstone's zinc readings are sometimes wonky).

-Dennis

 

Whoa, hold on there.

The Motor Oil University (if that's what you're referring to) was not written by Bob or anyone that has formal training in the lubrication industry. The author is a plastic surgeon and some engineers there do not agree with all of the points in that article. He also putts around Southern Florida in exotics and runs thin, expensive oil (Renewable Lubricants Inc.). [...] In a Subaru turbo, you should probably care more about HTHS than the grade on the bottle because HTHS is a better indicator of film strength.

Motul doesn't care about ensuring all of their oils meet the latest American Petroleum Institute specs. They care more about the ACEA's specs and German builder approvals. That's the same reason why German Castrol 0W-30 only meets API SL. It is intended for cars that spec VW502, BMW Long Life 01, MB 229.1, 229.3, and 229.5

[...]
Having said that, Motul X-Clean 5W-30 is a good choice. It has a high HTHS and a thick viscosity at operating temp. Although, it has a low TBN so I wouldn't push it much farther than 5k miles without ensuring that TBN retention is strong (uoa including TBN). But since it's a mid-SAPS oil, it has lower levels of some anti-wear additives and detergents than the other Motul oils to be more cat and DPF friendly.

For the track (if you decide more than auto-x), I would probably keep some 5W-30 300V on hand for top ups. The first couple of uoa's that I saw on X-clean had high zinc levels, but the last one had a much lower level (a few WRX uoa's are posted at bitog). Heck, I believe that even the thin Eco-nergy has higher zinc levels than the the last uoa I saw on X-clean (although Blackstone's zinc readings are sometimes wonky).

-Dennis

Wow, didn't realize it wasn't a formal article. Thanks for the heads up. So definitely won't run 0w in my sti.

Great in depth information in the last reply!

I was planning on running X-Clean or Eco-Nergy. My local shop ordered me the wrong oil though, they brought in X-Cess, and I was questioning running it. I plan to run 300V come track season anyway, and my car isn't being ran until spring so maybe I will just hold off and go with the 300V.

Yup, that's still the plan for me as well. I'm going to run X-clean for the winter time, then MAYBE switch it up to 300v 5w-30 for the auto-x season.

The problem I'm having now is that X-Clean seems to be backordered for the most part.

 

I have X-Clean in my rex now. Highly recommended by the guys at AZP installs in NJ.