Engine oil Shell or OEM Subaru

PartReview Score

Rank #4 in ranking

944

325

351

4.5

Engine noise

4.3

Exhaust smoke

4.2

Warning light

4.3

Owners' choice:

PR Score

Ranking

Votes

Reviews

Average rating

Properties

Car

PartReview Score

Rank #21 in ranking

3.9

Engine noise

3.5

Exhaust smoke

3.3

Owners' choice:

Reviews

All

Shell

OEM Subaru

OEM Subaru › Engine oil

Expensive_Community2 24 Jan 2026, 04:13

Exhaust smoke:

Rating 4.0

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.

Pros: fine with 5w-30

Cons: burns thinner oil

Vehicle: Subaru Impreza

OEM Subaru › Engine oil

CRYPTIC_SUNSET 24 Jan 2026, 01:03

Exhaust smoke:

Rating 4.0

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.

Pros: burns half that

Cons: oil consumption

Vehicle: Subaru Impreza

Mileage: 195000 km

Shell › Engine oil

QueenAlpaca 23 Jan 2026, 22:12

Exhaust smoke:

Rating 5.0

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.

Pros: keep oil burning down

Vehicle: Subaru

OEM Subaru › Engine oil

ajuscojohn 23 Jan 2026, 15:36

Rating 4.0

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.

Pros: Forester seems happy

Cons: mileage may have dipped

Vehicle: Subaru Forester

OEM Subaru › Engine oil

Silver-Neckbeard 23 Jan 2026, 15:25

Engine noise:

Rating 4.0

Engine does become a bit quieter with 5w-30.

Pros: engine becomes quieter

Shell › Engine oil

Used-Computer-2572 20 Jan 2026, 22:15

Rating 4.0

My regular since i think 2014 or so has been helix ultra 5w40 running in all my vehicles currently.

Pros: good and vfm

Cons: not good

Shell › Engine oil

Dre9872 17 Jan 2026, 17:51

Rating 5.0

I run 0w30 in my F82 M4 as that's what BMW and Shell recommend.

Pros: BMW and Shell recommend

Vehicle: BMW M4

Shell › Engine oil

Akoneon 9 Jan 2026, 14:26

Rating 5.0

shell long ride sulit for honda click

Pros: sulit for long ride

Vehicle: Honda

Shell › Engine oil

inconvenient_penguin 20 Oct 2025, 23:50

Rating 3.5

Ive used T6 with good results. The major drawback with T6 is foaming, it's less than great in that regards.

Pros: good results

Cons: foaming

OEM Subaru › Engine oil

Tyesokay 23 Aug 2025, 02:57

Engine noise:

Rating 1.0

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.

Cons: power loss, weird noise

Vehicle: Subaru Forester

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Which engine oil to choose — Shell or OEM Subaru?

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:

Comparison of engine oil Shell and OEM Subaru

PR Score.
Overall ranking.
Vote balance.
Average rating.
Number of reviews.
Feature ratings.
Car owners’ choice.

Which engine oil are better — OEM Subaru or Shell?

In March 2026 on PartReview, engine oil Shell were overall better than OEM Subaru.

Shell received a PR Score of 94 out of 100, and OEM Subaru scored 81 point.
Shell ranked 4 in the overall ranking, and OEM Subaru ranked 21.
The average rating is higher for Shell (4.5) than for OEM Subaru (3.9).
Engine oil Shell have better feature ratings than OEM Subaru:
- Engine noise - owners believe, that this property for Shell is better than OEM Subaru.
- Warning light - drivers claim, that this property for Shell is outperforms OEM Subaru.
- Exhaust smoke - reviews suggest, that this property for Shell is preferred to OEM Subaru.

Which engine oil are more popular — Shell or 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:

For Shell, the ratio of positive (1007) to negative (62) votes is 945 votes.
For OEM Subaru, the ratio of positive (77) to negative (17) votes is 60 votes.

By number of reviews, engine oil Shell surpassed OEM Subaru:

For engine oil Shell there are 351 review: 325 positive, 16 neutral, 10 negative.
For engine oil OEM Subaru there are 30 reviews: 23 positive, 4 neutral, 3 negative.

Which engine oil do car owners prefer — Shell or 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.

Other comparisons of engine oil

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.