What kind of motor oil do you use?

P

Peter B

Member
:
2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3
Ok
My car just past 2500 miles. Time for her first oil change and i have a couple of questions.

I have learned that good oil can make a big difference in engine life. My family has used The Mobil 1 10w-30 full synthetic on all our cars for a while now with good luck. We had a minivan that made it to about 290k miles and the engine still ran like a charm when we got rid of it.

My question is what brand/type/weight motor oil do you guys recommend? I have heard good things bout Mobil 1, but is there anything better? Also I was told by my dealer that the MS3 uses 5W-30, but could also handle 10w-30. What are the trade offs?

I don't think I was going to have the dealer do the change. They keep talking about using a natural/synthetic blend, and well I am not sure if I buy into that voodoo or not. Plus they want $40 for an oil change and the guy down the street will do it for $20.

Anyhow hoping that those of you who no more then me will weigh in on this. Want to have it done before i break 3k at the end of the week.

Thanks
-Pete
 
Ignore the dealer, read the manual. 5W-30 for the turbo. I changed mine with conventional oil at 1k. The next one (conventional again) will be at 5K. The next one (at 10K) I'll switch to synthetic. Make sure the "guy down the street" does it correctly. That damned cartridge filter seems a pain and a bit fragile. I let a local "quick change" place do mine so there is a record of the work. I don't have half a day to go to the dealer for an oil change.
 
Just did my first change (4k miles), and went with Amsoil. I'll be sending my used factory filled oil for an analysis (for baseline). I was a Mobil 1 user with past cars and bikes, but have done enough reading to see the light of better quality products out there.

Once the Amsoil is up, I'm thinking of switching to Red Line, Royal Purple, or Pennzoil Platinum. It's difficult to know which motor oil is choice for the DISI motor. The PP seems like the good choice, but have only seen one UOA to support this in regards to the fuel dilution item/issue.

You don't need to change oil early for your first change. You're not likely to run your engine high and hard enough to warrant an early change. That's typically for motors that are run hard out of the gate.... like breaking in your new bike/car on a dyno or at the track. For what you spend on an early oil change, there's little to no real gain or benefit you'll get out of doing it. Except maybe peace of mind that you did it, to be with the in crowd. ;)

For disclosure purposes... yes, I've done early changes on new bikes/cars before. But these days, I only do it for the bikes I break-in on the dyno.
 
Last edited:
It seems hard to find good neutral reviews of motor oil. I dont care what Mobil thinks of Mobil 1 thats not really a non-biassed opinion, yet thats mostly what im finding.

On a side note how often do you guys change your oil? I drive about 400 miles per week, mostly highway at about 75mph/3000 rpm's.

-Pete
 
Id say use anything that has a honda/acura certification for turbocharged vehicles. Penzoil Platinum 5w-30, Mobile 1 5w-30, Castrol's syn blend or 0w-30 full synthetic all do that I know of. The best thats actually a real synthetic is Amsoil. I'd stick with the 5w-30 myself, I used Penzoil Platinum. I did my first oil change at 2100 miles, there was a few metal flakes in the filter when I removed it which is normal, makes me wish I changed it sooner.
 
Running anything but what this engine is spec'd for is asking for trouble. There is no discernable advantage to using 0w-anything unless you count the additional .002 mpg you MIGHT get. When your turbo starts smoking, be prepared to play dumb when you go to get warranty work done. Unless you're living in Antarctica, 5W-30 is perfect for this engine, and it's what's required in your owner's manual.

Synthetics are an excellent product for turbocharged cars due to the additional heat and stress a turbo puts on oil. It's basically subjected to exaust-level heat inside turbo bearings and over time, conventinal oil can leave deposits in these critical areas. Synthetics are more stable in this regard and also resist shearing and fuel dilution, which this engine offers up in spades.

Which synthetic oil you use depends on how much money you care to spend. Redline and Amsoil have excellent reputations in the 'boutique' oil world (group IV and V) However, they're not certified with any automaker so if you're VERY unlucky and your engine lets go, TECHNICALLY Mazda could give you grief about your warranty. It's very unlikely that you'll suffer an oil-related failure using either. That's where Magnuson-Moss act comes in.

Non-boutique oils like Mobil1 and Pennzoil Platinum are both certified and won't even show up on radar if a warranty issue surfaces. It's been my opinion that if a group III synthetic oil is good enough for Aston Martin, Porsche, Corvette, etc, they're good enough for me. I choose Pennz Platinum due to it being a better value and it's excellent results on used oil analyses. I don't see a valid reason to use Mobil1 when Penz Platinum is returning UOAs just as good as M1.

Royal Purple has raised a few red flags with owners where UOAs are concerned. Wear numbers seemed high, but no explanation was given in any of the examples I read. But one bad analyses is enough to make me shy away from anything as important as engine oil, especially considering the fragine nature of the 2.3 DISI.

Considering my car is rarely driven and when it is, it's all short trips, I change my oil every 3000 mi or 6 months. My last OCI was 6 months, but only 2400 miles. Again, it's all about your own priorities, but while I still have a warranty, it's my intention to do whatever I can to prevent problems. Just because it's under warranty doesn't mean I care to flatbed it to the Mazda shop for warranty work, so I err on the side of safety.

When all opinions fail you, do exactly what your manual says do and use good products. It's really hard to go wrong that way.
 
BlackCherry06 said:
Running anything but what this engine is spec'd for is asking for trouble. There is no discernable advantage to using 0w-anything unless you count the additional .002 mpg you MIGHT get. When your turbo starts smoking, be prepared to play dumb when you go to get warranty work done. Unless you're living in Antarctica, 5W-30 is perfect for this engine, and it's what's required in your owner's manual.

Synthetics are an excellent product for turbocharged cars due to the additional heat and stress a turbo puts on oil. It's basically subjected to exaust-level heat inside turbo bearings and over time, conventinal oil can leave deposits in these critical areas. Synthetics are more stable in this regard and also resist shearing and fuel dilution, which this engine offers up in spades.

Which synthetic oil you use depends on how much money you care to spend. Redline and Amsoil have excellent reputations in the 'boutique' oil world (group IV and V) However, they're not certified with any automaker so if you're VERY unlucky and your engine lets go, TECHNICALLY Mazda could give you grief about your warranty. It's very unlikely that you'll suffer an oil-related failure using either. That's where Magnuson-Moss act comes in.

Non-boutique oils like Mobil1 and Pennzoil Platinum are both certified and won't even show up on radar if a warranty issue surfaces. It's been my opinion that if a group III synthetic oil is good enough for Aston Martin, Porsche, Corvette, etc, they're good enough for me. I choose Pennz Platinum due to it being a better value and it's excellent results on used oil analyses. I don't see a valid reason to use Mobil1 when Penz Platinum is returning UOAs just as good as M1.

Royal Purple has raised a few red flags with owners where UOAs are concerned. Wear numbers seemed high, but no explanation was given in any of the examples I read. But one bad analyses is enough to make me shy away from anything as important as engine oil, especially considering the fragine nature of the 2.3 DISI.

Considering my car is rarely driven and when it is, it's all short trips, I change my oil every 3000 mi or 6 months. My last OCI was 6 months, but only 2400 miles. Again, it's all about your own priorities, but while I still have a warranty, it's my intention to do whatever I can to prevent problems. Just because it's under warranty doesn't mean I care to flatbed it to the Mazda shop for warranty work, so I err on the side of safety.

When all opinions fail you, do exactly what your manual says do and use good products. It's really hard to go wrong that way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing. :)
 
Cool
Thank you everyone for the good info ... more is always welcomed.
Sounds like for now I will go with the M1 or penzoil plus 5w-30.

So if synthetic is really the better option, who do all the dealers waste my time by offering a 50/50 blend? How much money could they possibly be saving me? Im guessing none because the probably charge the same amount no matter what you ask for.

I'm going to wallmart for my oil. They sell 5 qrt jugs for about $22 there of the M1. I will check to see the price of the Penzoil.

-Thanks

-Pete
 
Walmart has the Penzoil Platinum for about $21 for the 5qt jug. You can get a wix or motorcraft filter for $3-5 and the crush washer for about $.66. I had my oil changed at a garage for $16. The dealer wanted to charge me $100 for a M1 oil change...
 
So how hard is it to change your own oil and change the filter? I have never really tried before. Is it the kind of thing you can figure out on your own the first time or do you need someone to show you? I am a little hesitant to go poking around in my car. That said I would like to learn. Kind of just getting into cars and how to work on them and am very much a rookie.

-Pete
 
The hardest or longest part of the oil change is taking all the bolts out and removing that huge plastic splash shield then not over torquing them and breaking the plastic holders. The other thing you should have is a oil filter wrench, ($3 at an auto parts store) so you don't rip up the black plastic housing that the filter is in. The rest is a breeze. If changing the oil when the car is hot you might want to wear gloves when taking off the oil cap, it gets hot...
 
i currently have 0w-20 in (it was a stupid mistake), shud i change that ASAP? Or will it be ok for a few thousand miles?
 
Ok update
Im getting my radio swaped out for one with the updated firmware on Saturday. I figured I will just have the oil changed as well while I am there. I talked to the service guy I have been dealing with and he said NOT to use synthetic oil. He said the factory told him it can cause problems, and mazda will not honor their warranty if you use synthetic. I did check my owners manual and it doesnt say one way or the other, it only says the oil must meet certain standards, which I assume PP and M1do. He mentioned that he has seen a couple of people have issues with their turbos and synthetic oil.

I was pretty much set to go to walmart today and buy the PP but now I am unsure. I have always been told synthetic is the way to go, It makes me wonder why the factory would say otherwise.

Thoughts?

-Pete
 
Peter B said:
Ok update
Im getting my radio swaped out for one with the updated firmware on Saturday. I figured I will just have the oil changed as well while I am there. I talked to the service guy I have been dealing with and he said NOT to use synthetic oil. He said the factory told him it can cause problems, and mazda will not honor their warranty if you use synthetic. I did check my owners manual and it doesnt say one way or the other, it only says the oil must meet certain standards, which I assume PP and M1do. He mentioned that he has seen a couple of people have issues with their turbos and synthetic oil.

I was pretty much set to go to walmart today and buy the PP but now I am unsure. I have always been told synthetic is the way to go, It makes me wonder why the factory would say otherwise.

Thoughts?

-Pete
Click to expand...

My thoughts is that is horse s***, they dont spell out what oil to put in your car other than 5w-30 and they will have no problem taking your $100 and doing a M1 synthetic oil change in their shop. I cant see how a synthetic oil would cause harm to your car. Honda/Acura wouldnt certify synthetic oil for turbocharged cars if they did.

I'm getting my radio replaced today after work, I'm interested to see how that goes.
 
That is for dam sure, they will put MB1 in your car in a heart beat and not say a word. And since when did the factory talk to the dealerships? The service reps would be the only contact and they dont talk to "The Factory". Sounds like a telemarketer, "the factory rep will be in your area tomorrow to show you our vinyl siding and why it is better than the rest". LOL... Tell them to eat a fat one and put what oil you want to run in it knowing your warranty will cover that turbo barring mods that they know of and can prove you have.
 
Peter B said:
Ok update
He said the factory told him it can cause problems, and mazda will not honor their warranty if you use synthetic. I did check my owners manual and it doesnt say one way or the other, it only says the oil must meet certain standards, which I assume PP and M1do. He mentioned that he has seen a couple of people have issues with their turbos and synthetic oil.

-Pete
Click to expand...


He said, she said.... blah blah blah... This is kinda cliche, but I say, "Show me in WRITING.", then I'll do it.
 
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