noob question

[M32008]

still figuring out how to navigate these forums but i did search, my question is:

i own a 2008 mazda3 s GT. the required oil is 5w-20,

does anyone use synthetic or would i be wasting my money?

thanks

 

[tsunami]

a lot of us use synthetic this topic has been hashed a couple of times for sure.



my apologies as i did a quick search and it only goes back a certian amount of time unless you direct the search otherwise and all the oil discussions i could find were regarding the MS3 not the reg 3.


so to answer your question more fully synthetic is good for the car especially if you modify it, drive it on a track, or want longer intervals between oil changes. if you plan on still changing your oil every 3-5k and driving your car like a blue hair then the added money in synthetic is pretty much a waste and just get reg dino oil.

 

[JackWhite75]

Does using synthetic help your mpg? If so by how much? I'm getting around 29 city and 34 hwy but more would be great.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

what you are getting is really good gas mileage. synthetic oil over dinosaur oil is not going to make a difference.

 

[Mazda3Spaz]

Synthetic is also proven to give you a little additional HP as well (2-3 hp).

 

[Captain KRM P5]

Synthetic is also proven to give you a little additional HP as well (2-3 hp).

yeah i've read royal purple's claims on that, but frankly 2 to 3 whp can be chalked up to dyno variances and a few degrees difference in ambient temperature. accurately measuring 2 to 3 wheel horsepower on a dyno is next to impossible regardless of the dyno type.

not that i am not advocating the use of synthetic oil - its all i use anymore. its better for wear and tear, it holds up better between changes and is much nicer to the turbocharger than dino oil.

 

[Mazda3Spaz]

yeah i've read royal purple's claims on that, but frankly 2 to 3 whp can be chalked up to dyno variances and a few degrees difference in ambient temperature. accurately measuring 2 to 3 wheel horsepower on a dyno is next to impossible regardless of the dyno type.

not that i am not advocating the use of synthetic oil - its all i use anymore. its better for wear and tear, it holds up better between changes and is much nicer to the turbocharger than dino oil.

I was reading it in a Import Tuner magazine. They used three different regular oils and changed the filter three times and did the same with 3 kinds of synthetic and the average gain with synthetic was 2-3 HP. it's not much but hell I'll take it.

 

[bbrich57]

Also, if you run synthetics as I do (currently Castrol Syntec 5w-20) to 10k miles, be sure to do at least one filter change and top it off in between.
Mileage? Nah.
You're still doing better than I am, but I do have a heavy right foot too.

That's why I walk funny. (lol)