Mazda3 Forums banner

Oil Brands/Oil Change Frequency

21K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  chubbs 
#1 ·
I bought my 3 new in 2010 and have been researching oil ever since. I currently use Valvoline 5w-20 Full Syn and change every 6k miles. I think the oil may be good for longer than 6k but I'm not sure so I just play it safe. I only have 14k on the car and miles are 80% highway. What do you use whether conventional, syn blend or full, how often you change, etc.? Anything along the lines of regular maintenence would be great. Thanks in advance for your input.
 
#2 ·
I've used Royal Purple 5w-20 synthetic and Mobil 1 5w-20 Synthetic. I change every 4 thousand miles or 6 months, whichever is first since I don't drive much.

I recently put in Mobil 1 0w-20 as I found out the 2011 Mazds 3's come with it and recommend it now on the oil caps. I've gained about 2-3 mpg over the 5w-20 and also the engine revs a little freer than before. The 0w will cause less stress on the engine during start up, and since it never gets above 85 degrees here, I feel it's fine to run a slightly thinner oil. If I were in Texas or something like that, I'd stay with the 5w-20.

Only downside I've noticed is slightly more vibrations when I drive, but that's because I have removed the balance shaft and run on stiff mounts. Most likely you wouldn't notice any difference.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply. I was digging through the manual and it says change every 7,500. Also found from the dealer that they come from the factory with a syn. blend motor oil. I'm gonna change my current oil at 7,500 and see what it looks/feels likes and post back. thanks again
 
#6 ·
Actually the manual says every 7,500 miles OR 6 months, whichever comes first under normal driving characteristics. This is maintenance schedule 1

If any of these apply, you follow maintenance schedule 2:
Driving in dust
Lots of short distance driving
Driving using lots of braking
Driving in areas that use salt
Driving on rough and muddy roads
Driving in low speeds or excessive idling
Driving in very cold or humid climates


The bold font pertains to the conditions that affect oil life.

So if your car meets any of those points, more specifically the bold ones, the manual suggests you change every 4 months or 5 thousand miles.

I drive my car harder then 99% of the people I see on the road, so I know I'm putting more stresses on the components and fluids. Also the addition of my aftermarket parts make the engine work different/harder then from factory, so I think if you drive hard or have lots of mods you definitely should change a bit sooner. That's why I change mine every 4k or so.
 
#7 ·
I have 3700 miles and have yet to do a oil change. On my last car I went 10k between oil changes with the same filter. I used Synpower full syn or Castrol Syntec. It was a 2006 Accord. Dont know if I have the guts to go 10k this time around with a Mazda car. Probably change every 8k with Valvoline Synpower. I do LOTs of short trips.
 
#8 ·
[quote author=eric_zahn link=topic=192999.msg4063450#msg4063450 date=1309740322]
I bought my 3 new in 2010 and have been researching oil ever since. I currently use Valvoline 5w-20 Full Syn and change every 6k miles. I think the oil may be good for longer than 6k but I'm not sure so I just play it safe. I only have 14k on the car and miles are 80% highway. What do you use whether conventional, syn blend or full, how often you change, etc.? Anything along the lines of regular maintenence would be great. Thanks in advance for your input.
[/quote]

80 Hwy and only 6k with Full Syn? Your oil has another 3-4k to go.
 
#9 ·
I figured the oil should be good for atleast 10k....my dad uses mobile 1 in his newer civic and changes every 15k! It'd be nice if there was a place u could send ur spent oil and see what percentage of life it has left. Thanks again for all the input
 
#10 ·
I changed to 0-20 synthetic (Amsoil initially, but Mobil1 shortly thereafter and since) the day after I bought my 2006 Mazda3 (used with 17k miles in 2007). I change just the filter, which is annoying as hell, why the 2.3L uses a cartridge instead of a spin on I'll never understand, every 3-4k miles, but only replace all the oil outright every 12 months, which rounds out to 12-18k miles depending on what my college schedule does. Even at the outside the oil has always come out looking quite clean.

I'm trading it in for a 2011 in a couple of weeks, and from what's been said here it looks like the switch to Mobil1 0-20 is a stock consideration now. Any reason I should change my current practice? The vast majority of my driving is on the highway.
 
#12 ·
Interesting, when I was using Amsoil their main selling point was that you could go 25k between changes. At any rate, I've always been a better safe than sorry kinda guy, an oil change is like $30 anyway, so not like there's a real downside.

The dealer I'm buying the new one from offers oil & tires for the life of the car when you buy it from them...although I'm wary of the details. I'd rather do the oil myself unless I happen to be in the neighborhood and they don't have a wait time.
 
#13 ·
Yeah. Their site says in unmodified engines up to 25k miles.

It says if you modify the air induction, exhaust or electronic control of the engine (a chip or reflash) that the oil drain recommendation doesn't apply. They don't give an alternative draining schedule either. I have all 3 of the things they listed, intake exhaust and a reflash, which is why I would probably change at half that if I used their oil. So it kinda goes with what I was saying in my original answer up there - if you drive harder or have lots of mods, change it sooner.
 
#14 ·
Yeah that makes sense. My new one is well...new, and obviously stock. I've never modded a car before (well at least not the engine). In theory I'd like to, but a friend of mine told me that tuning the PZEV variants is a pain. Utah doesn't require emissions that strict, but as I understand it if I play with things too much it might freak out the computers.
 
#15 ·
Only way to know if you can go longer is to have an oil analysis done. That said, I go 5k between changes, and changed from Mobil 1 to Valvoline Synth a few years ago. Valvoline has worked well for me in our old Protege5 (sold with 191k miles on the engine and ran like a champ and burnt zero oil) and our old Tahoe (traded in with 65k miles, but ran like new). I used to use Mobil 1 in my track car, until it ruined a set of cams and valve rockers. I now use Joe Gibbs in the track car, but Valvoline in all of our street cars. I'm thinking about switching my wife's car over to Valvoline, but I haven't decided yet.

I just did my first oil change today (just over 1k miles on the car), and I went with Valvoline Synth in 5W20 with an oversized Wix 51516 filter. The Wix 51516 filter has the same specs as the Wix OEM replacement filter with a little better filtration efficiency and it's a bit larger.

Here are a few pictures that compare it to the OEM filter.


 
#17 ·
God there are so many MYTHS about oil. Like you, I did a ridiciolous amount of research on oil after I got my 3 in December.

First off, it never hurts to change your oil often (except your wallet). Anyways, 5w-20 should be fine, unless you live in the Arctic Circle or something. I use Pennzoil Ultra 5w-20 since:

A) It's readily available
B) It's been proven to be one of the best performing oils in MZ3s.
C) I don't live in a cold climate, so a 0w-20 is not necessary.

Oh btw. I use OEM Filters and I change the oil every 5000 miles.
 
#19 ·
[quote author=eric_zahn link=topic=192999.msg4067119#msg4067119 date=1310169383]
It'd be nice if there was a place u could send ur spent oil and see what percentage of life it has left.
[/quote]

There is. lol :mrgreen:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/standard-analysis.php

Here's to you learning something today :mica3speedy:





I've been changing my oil every 5K-7K miles, depending on the mood. So far I tried Mobil 1 Synth 5w-30 (15K oil), Mobil 1 Synth 0w-20 (10K oil), Castrol Synth 10w-30. I don't have preference for any particular brand. I go with w/e is the best oil there is on sale (synthetic only). Besides, it's not like the car is boosted or pushing high compression lol
That said, I do use Lucas oil additive every oil change, but don't add it every 1K miles like instructions call for.
 
#21 ·
[quote author=eric_zahn link=topic=192999.msg4067119#msg4067119 date=1310169383]
I figured the oil should be good for atleast 10k....my dad uses mobile 1 in his newer civic and changes every 15k! It'd be nice if there was a place u could send ur spent oil and see what percentage of life it has left. Thanks again for all the input
[/quote]
Theres a place that can do just that. Look up Blackstone oil labs. I have been using Mobile 1 5-20 synthetic every 7500k.
 
#22 ·
I just bring mine to the dealer. OEM filter and OEM full synth 0w-20 is what goes in mine every 5k miles. I would change it myself but I'm ok with forking over $47 every few months to get it done at the dealer since this is my first new car and want to take real good care of it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top