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.
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.
Red Line.
Doesn\u2019t hurt so why not. I feel like that\u2019s the main answer and what pushes me to do it.
I bought a new limited, last week. I did my first oil change yesterday and the amount of shit in it was crazy. Definitely do it.
I like red line oils, because they have a bit more zddp which is nice for the rockers.
I just put Redline 5w-30 into my 2011 STI at the last oil change. We'll see how it goes.
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 RED LINE were overall better than OEM Subaru.
In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil RED LINE were overall more popular than OEM Subaru.
By vote balance, engine oil RED LINE surpassed OEM Subaru:
By number of reviews, engine oil RED LINE surpassed OEM Subaru:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, engine oil OEM Subaru led more car-specific ratings than RED LINE:
OEM Subaru are chosen by owners of cars such as: Subaru Forester, Subaru Impreza, and others.
RED LINE are chosen by owners of cars such as: Audi S3, and others.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of engine oil RED LINE with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, Shell, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, PENNZOIL, OEM Toyota, Mannol.
Also available: comparisons of engine oil OEM Subaru with: Mobil, Castrol, LIQUI MOLY, MOTUL, Shell, AMSOIL, VALVOLINE, PENNZOIL, 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.
