Pennzoil synthetic any good?

[Allen]

Ok, so judging by the posts on this thread, am I to understand that AMSoil is the most popular oil as well as best for your vehicle's gas mileage and audible noise level?

Now, once using AMSoil, can one extend the amount of mileage between oil changes to say 7000mi due to the high level of oil quality? Also, this would help justify the cost increase even more for those would-be financial planners?

How often is everyone here changing their oil?

I would think using any synthetic oil (which should already be high quality) would last you a good deal of 6000 miles before a new oil change. Why pay for that extra money (if it is an increase for special brand name) if it will only last you one thousand extra miles? I changed my oil at 3K (as a new car), which included a free dealership oil change around 1K miles ago. Therefore, I plan on the next change around 6K miles. It isn't very dusty where I live, I don't drive it extensively during the weekdays and I like to say I drive most often on the highways. The dealership used Mobile in my last oil change.

 

[Syzygy]

Re: Is synthetic really superior?

(snip)...NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE between any brand they tested, including organic and synthetic. They all performed well. The only reason they suggested spending the extra money on synthetic would be if you had a high load motor, such as a work truck or something...(snip)

I don't race my P5, but I have always put the best oil in my cars. IMO, the guys who race their Mazdas would certainly be considered to be running at "high load".

From my first oil change, I've used Castrol 5W/50W synthetic. It runs exceedingly smoother at higher revs (freeway); this could be a coincidence, because of break-in, but I don't think so. I live in AZ, an environment that kicks oil viscosity's butt during the summer. That alone gives me a warm and fuzzy for using synthetic.

Reasons I use synthetic:

1) I can afford it.
2) I feel good giving my car the best.
3) I may be old-guard here, but I've always believed that changing the oil regularly and with a quality grade is the best thing you can do to make your engine last.

I may be dreaming that synthetic is superior, but peace of mind is hard to come by.

One last observation: I'm a member of Consumer Union (Consumer Reports) and I respect their objective view and balanced reviews. However, I have found that the results of their tests are often skewed by one of two things (or both):

1) A misunderstanding of the specialized environment that demands specific attributes from a product.
2) "Controls" for testing which don't address these specific attributes demanded by a (granted) minority of consumers.

Example: Cross-reference a home receiver review done by CU with reviews done by high-tech home theater publications. Nary a mention of THD's by CU. They usually say something like "all name brands tested perform well, with no audible distortion". I convert that to mean "we didn't hear any hiss".

Remember, I'm not saying that CU is totally unaware of what they are doing. For the general consumer (which includes me, BTW, when I'm looking for a vacuum cleaner or a washing machine), their reviews are excellent.

 

[zmzmzm]

I think you're right, Syzygy... peace of mind is hard to come by. I've done a bit more research, and I'll be going with AMSoil on my next change; around 10,000 miles. I'm not sure I'll wait for 25,000 miles for the next change like AMSoil suggests, though. I'm thinking at the most around 10,000 miles between changes, depending on the trips I take. With 90 % of my driving on the highway, I think that should be fine. Enough of a mileage extension on the oil change to make the synthetic stuff pay for itself, but not enough of an extension to make me worry about motor health.

We'll see. I've never done my own oil changes, so that'll be new for me, too.

Hey Racer 5... do you buy the OEM oil filter right from the dealership? Or can you buy it from Auto Zone or someplace like that?

Thanks. Chris

 

[Racer 5]

OEM filter~~ bought it at the dealership. The only OEM filters that I have seen outside of dealerships, sold in stores are ACDelco (Chevy) and MotorCraft(Ford). If MotorCraft makes one for the Mazda (it may, us being a division of Ford) you can get them at places like Walmart.

Also, I do not intend on changing my oil at 25000 mile intervals either, but I know that in my last car, I used Mobil 1, and didn't change the oil for 15000, and that car had 130k miles on it. Still ran like a champ. Now, my initial reactions to AMSoil are better than that of Mobil1, so, I am thinking that 15k, or once a year will be fine. However, I will more than likely change it at least 2x a year.

 

[Racer 5]

Just a word of advice when changing your oil for the first time ZmZmZm, make sure you drain the crank not the tranny pan. LOL, I have heard of this happening believe it or not with people who never changed thier oil before. Next thing you know that tranny siezes ~~ ahh damn, hate when that happens!