What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

Full wash and hand-wax on the weekend. Just returned from a 150mile trip in the rain - car looks like s*** again. At least I can wipe most of it off once dry thanks to the heavy wax coat.

Turned it into a three seater, remove a chair from the 2nd row. Saves weight and the co-worker's service dog now has more room.
Eventually I'll build a 2piece deck for the trunk and spot where the removed seat was. Phenolic plywood (if I can find a local dealer), countersunk screws using the holes from removed seats.
 
Eventually I'll build a 2piece deck for the trunk and spot where the removed seat was. Phenolic plywood (if I can find a local dealer), countersunk screws using the holes from removed seats.

I always wanted to do a cargo shelf that sat on the rear armrests. I made a template and even had an old piece of furniture to make it from but it never got off the ground.
 
Over the weekend I changed my engine oil- Quaker State 5W20 Full Synthetic, Wix filter, dumped the transmission fluid, and added 3.25 quarts Royal Purple TransMax. Today, I finally got around to replacing the front and rear sway bar bushings and end links. Energy Suspension bushings w/grease fittings and Moog "problem solver" end links- also with grease fittings. Will take an octopus to grease those front bushings! No longer sounds like a giant popcorn popper going down the road.
 
PSA
Replace all 3 wiper inserts with none branded silicone wiper refill that are ~$4/ea SHIPPED! I have always been a PIAA silicone refill user (~$15-20/ea, depend on size) and happened to come across these by chance. The material finish, mold, and overall product quality feels FANFREAKINGTASTIC!. Dare I say they ARE PIAAs without the branding cost. They only come in one size 26” (driver side) so you need to cut to size for passenger and rear. FWIW, you WANT to reuse the old metal guide rails/inserts b/c they are ‘pre’ curved to fit stock glass curvature. If you are having problems with the rear, bend the top some more.

EDIT: Deleted reference link. Don't buy these refills. They are either 1) low quality where it matters or 2) summer ONLY inserts. I think it is likely #2 b/c they completely separated after 5 months (but during peak of winter). Did work great when new but short life span = junk.
 
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Just changed motor oil. Feel kind of wasteful but sticking to schedule in the OM. This oil could last much longer! When warranty is up will be running much longer intervals with Mobil 1 Extended Performance. I'm sure other high quality lubes like Pennzoil Platinum that I poured in today can last much longer than 7.5K miles/6 months with my driving also. My first and only used oil analysis (5 months and 3200 miles) for this car was very nice.

Out: M1 EP 0w-20 & Wix filter after 6 months and 4100 miles
In: PPPP 0w-20 & Wix filter

Changed oil. PPPP out and fresh PPPP back in. Sticking with Wix filters. This time OCI was almost 7K miles. Curious what if anything noteworthy the UOA will say.
 
Changed oil. PPPP out and fresh PPPP back in. Sticking with Wix filters. This time OCI was almost 7K miles. Curious what if anything noteworthy the UOA will say.
My kinda guy. I just bought our CPO 2014 two weeks ago so I have a while until I'll need to do an oil change. Couple questions;

  1. I, too, am planning onto sticking to the 7,500-mile intervals, but is it "or 6 months" per Mazda? For us, 6 months will come before the 7500 miles and I don't want to upset the warranty gods should we need them.
  2. In the VW world, the wrong brand of oil filter can cause real problems so, in their case, they generally stick to OEM suppliers (Mahle, Mahn, Hengst). Is your preference for Wix filters a brand loyalty thing or do you have evidence that they are better for these particular engine than other brands?
  3. Who does your oil analysis? Blackstone? I've always wanted to send them something but I've never had a vehicle that was this new or valuable to justify it. Any tips?
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My kinda guy. I just bought our CPO 2014 two weeks ago so I have a while until I'll need to do an oil change. Couple questions;

  1. I, too, am planning onto sticking to the 7,500-mile intervals, but is it "or 6 months" per Mazda? For us, 6 months will come before the 7500 miles and I don't want to upset the warranty gods should we need them.
  2. In the VW world, the wrong brand of oil filter can cause real problems so, in their case, they generally stick to OEM suppliers (Mahle, Mahn, Hengst). Is your preference for Wix filters a brand loyalty thing or do you have evidence that they are better for these particular engine than other brands?
  3. Who does your oil analysis? Blackstone? I've always wanted to send them something but I've never had a vehicle that was this new or valuable to justify it. Any tips?
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Hey, Karl!

1. As long as you are under warranty, I'd stay with recommended OCI. So the earliest of miles or days. Hopefully your powertrain will never cause any issues though and you won't need to benefit from the warranty! But as for me, I will probably increase intervals after warranty is up as I believe this engine is easy on the oil with our family's driving style.
2. I don't really have brand loyalty on oil/filters. I've read/heard that Wix makes good product though. Wix oil filter for this engine is same as NAPA Gold which is a very good filter also.
3. I've used Blackstone, ALS Tribology in Atlanta and Titan Laboratories in Denver. (ALS was via NAPA and Wix branded kits.) This time this sample plus one more will go to Titan as I have several unused pre-paid kits on the shelf! I don't think it's very necessary esp. on a newer engine. But I've had some interesting revelations from UOA's on an older engine in another vehicle...
 
I don't think it's very necessary esp. on a newer engine. But I've had some interesting revelations from UOA's on an older engine in another vehicle...
Don't they give you a recommended OCI based on your sample and mileage that was on it? Once the warranty is up, I'd like to go as long as they say the oil is good for. What have you learned regarding that?
 
New muffler

My 2006 OEM muffler finally needed replacement. If was still good but the rusty hanger let go while we were driving on the expressway. It left the muffler dangling and the pipe cracked when we almost reached home and that is when we noticed the exhaust noise.

The replacement was a Bosal 171-571001 direct replacement cost $240CAN, total cost including wielding of a rusted hanger back onto the car and taxes was $370CAN. It sounds a little louder than stock and did not come with a stainless steel tip.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to keep the exhaust parts from rusting? I was thinking of a cold galvanize spray on the steel parts or maybe some high temperature paint.

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Yesterday I removed my Raceland coilovers. I replaced them with KYB Excel-G struts and shocks and used Megan Racing drop springs. I also replaced front and rear sway bar bushings with Moog bushings. While I was at it I also replaced front and rear sway bar end links with the grease able Moog parts. WAY better ride and a lot quieter.
 
Gave the Mazda an annoyed look.

Wife said we have no need for an awesome, cheap 80s Toyota van (4wd, MT) that popped up on Craigslist, because Mazda...
 
OEM horn died due to water damage (historic flooding a couple months ago, just barely managed to move the car out of rising water in time). Finally got around to replacing it with Hella Supertones. Took way longer than I wanted because I was trying to figure out the electrical relay. Got it all hooked up and didn't work, so I said "screw it" and just plugged the horns into the OEM line. Work just fine.

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Installed snow tires last night.
Firestone Winterforce in 205/60R16 on the stock wheels from my wife's (lamented) 2003.5 Protege5

I'm ready:

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The tires turned out to be a bit bigger than expected, but there's no rubbing, and I may have gained as much as 3/4" in ground clearance!

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I'm thinking hard about adding mudflaps all around, and I'm probably going to try to modify a spare Yakima bike tray to use as a shovel mount on the roof rack. ...Speaking of that, I need to get that goofy-looking silver rocket launcher off of there, now that the tandem bike has be successfully transported to the new house! :)
 
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