My Oil Analysis Results

Jasnall

Member
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Mazdaspeed 3 GT, True Red, 2008.5
Thought i'd share my results from blackstone. This is my second one, I know a lot of people argue over how many miles on synthetic maybe this will help some people decide.

I drive a lot of highway miles(60mi commute RT) and have my moments of spirited fun. I think changing full synthetic every 3000 is just too much.

34,000mi on engine
OIL TYPE & GRADE:Mobil 1 5W/30
OIL USE INTERVAL: 5,500 Miles

"In spite of the spirited driving the engine experienced, wear looks better than it did last time, which
is typically a great sign that things are still in order for this Mazda. This engine is leaving much less
microscopic copper in the oil than average for the 2.3L DISI, but we're not complaining! The main oil additive
levels held steady, showing no heat or moisture damage to the oil. Low insolubles (0.3%) show sound oil
filtration and no combustion issues. The viscosity of the oil was normal and no water or fuel was noted. You
can go at least 6-7K mi on the next fill."

I dunno if i'll go 7k but 5-6 for sure
 
Nice. That's pretty cool. I may have to try that once and see what they say about mine. They'd probably find coolant, fuel, methanol, etc., lol.
 
That's good news. I have 14k miles on my MS3 and have been using the same Mobil 1. However for the next oil change I found some Pennzoil full synthetic that was 5 bucks or so cheaper at Sam's Club, so I'm going to give that a shot. And then my engine will blow up! Damn Sam's Club!
 
thats good info for me since i also change the oil at 5k since i drive about 3000 miles a month. 3000 for every change is just impractical for my situation. i use AMSoil instead tho
 
Ya changing at 3000 on full synth is totally impractical I think. I also drive like 2-3k a month for work.
 
i switched to synthetic @ 10k miles and have been changing every 3k since
looks like i can wait till 5k which is what i was debating anyways.
it takes me forever to get to 3k miles tho as my commute is less than 30 miles a day.

i just passed 19k miles this week
 
I've been going about 4k between changes with Pennzoil Pure Platinum. I should probably pony up for a UOA on my car as well, just to make sure the PPP holds up as well as Mobil 1. I'd just like to know for sure before I extend my interval. But this is very promising. Thanks for sharing.
 
i'm planning on switching to the 5k intervals as well... i just did another change on mine, and the oil sure looked lightly used. this synth is incredible. i'm running it on the tundra as well now. thinking of going to 6k intervals on it.
 
on my last oil change I went 5300 mi with PP 5w-40. Here is the analysis:

COMMENTS
"PHIL: Universal averages show typical wear levels for this type of engine after about 4,100 miles on the oil. Metals are generally pretty low, showing that this engine has phased through break-in normally. The mildly high iron is from lingering wear-in at steel parts, and silicon is from silicone sealer and/or sand-casted parts from when the engine was assembled. Neither the 0.8% fuel nor the mildly thin viscosity (possibly related) are problems at these levels. The 6.4 TBN shows lots of oil additive still active against acidity. You should be able to easily run 7-8K miles next oil change."

edit: at the time of the oil change, the car had ~14,000mi
 
i've been using PP since texas had that storm go through their Mobil oil plant, which prevented shipment to consumers. i didn't know what the deal was until i decided to stop waiting and go with PP. havn't gone back to Mobil1 since then, but i change mine every approximatly every 3k

i only do that because i tell myself if the weather is nice i'll do it then. if not there are plenty of miles left to wait until the weather is nice again. if i were to wait until 5k like most synthetics recommend and we all of a sudden get a stint of bad weather for a week or 2, i will have added another thousand miles to my car, and im a nervous wreck when it comes to missing proper maintinence scheduling
 
i switched to synthetic @ 10k miles and have been changing every 3k since
looks like i can wait till 5k which is what i was debating anyways.
it takes me forever to get to 3k miles tho as my commute is less than 30 miles a day.

i just passed 19k miles this week

Remember, it's not just miles, it's time, and how you use the car.

By the time of my 09's first birthday next month, it should only have about 9K on it. I live near the beach and it's turning to Fall, which means 15-30 degree temp changes and big humidity changes during the course of the day, which sucks a lot of condensation into the motor. Plus, here in LA, a 5 mile drive might take you half an hour. And I've also been known to drive the car pretty hard for long periods. That's really hard on a motor regardless of the miles.

Informal analysis (look at the dipstick) tells me that 3K intervals with quality products are called for. 5000 miles is like half a year for me, so I change it every 4 months whether it needs it or not. Pennzoil Plat Synth, 5/30, Purolator Pure One filter cartridges. Good stuff.

Next oil change I'll grab a sample and see what they say. But it's nice to see that the two mentioned in this thread don't mention fuel contamination.
 
(iagree) Good piont to remember, It really depends on driving habits. I can do 3000 miles in a month easy, where some people may only drive 200. So mile oil use may not be the same as others. I drive around LA all the time and as you said it's gone from 100+ to like 60 now.

Don't forget driving habits and weather play a pretty important part on oil life. i still think changing at 3k on synth is too soon for most.

this Blackstone test isn't too spendy either, like under 20 bucks I think. Well worth it IMO if you're curious about your wear.
 
Remember, it's not just miles, it's time, and how you use the car.

By the time of my 09's first birthday next month, it should only have about 9K on it. I live near the beach and it's turning to Fall, which means 15-30 degree temp changes and big humidity changes during the course of the day, which sucks a lot of condensation into the motor. Plus, here in LA, a 5 mile drive might take you half an hour. And I've also been known to drive the car pretty hard for long periods. That's really hard on a motor regardless of the miles.

Informal analysis (look at the dipstick) tells me that 3K intervals with quality products are called for. 5000 miles is like half a year for me, so I change it every 4 months whether it needs it or not. Pennzoil Plat Synth, 5/30, Purolator Pure One filter cartridges. Good stuff.

Next oil change I'll grab a sample and see what they say. But it's nice to see that the two mentioned in this thread don't mention fuel contamination.

understood, my commute has no traffic, it's just a straight freeway shoot of 11 minutes every morning and afternoon so i should be ok (couch)
 
wix filters for me, and 5k changes with synthetic valvoline.... i thought to go to 6k or 7k... but i just can't seem to do it :)

i've always run valvoline in my chevrolet engines, with total sucess (racing 40w and 50w for the most part)... and now i'm running the synthetic 5/30 'synpower' they offer in the speed and the tundra. they offer some kind of engine damage warranty, but i don't care about that.

is anyone else running the synpower valvoline?
 
Wix makes good filters, but the nearest Napa is many many miles away.

The best alternative, IMO, is the Purolator Pure one. Uses the same synthetic media as the Wix filters do. In any case, either one is superior to paper media filters like the regular Fram's, etc.

I'm sure Valvoline Synth is good stuff, but before Mazda changed the turbo halfway through 2008, people were reporting less smoking issues with Pennzoil Platinum synth than anything else. I have a 2009 which has the revised (better seals) turbo, but I figure if it worked so well with a problematic part, it should be flawless with the updated part. Also, some people say it's the most resistant to fuel dilution, but I can't verify that. I've never smelled fuel on the dipstick though, like some people do.

I run track days and drive it pretty hard at times, but mostly do city driving (which is hard on oil too), so I change it fairly often.

Another factor is that I live at the beach and only drive a car 8-9K per year on average, so there's a time component in there too. And there's the occasional cold engine, short trip to the store where the motor never warms up enough to burn off the salty condensation, so regardless of anything, I change it 3-4 times a year regardless of mileage. It usually works out to about a 3000 mile interval. A 15K/year highway commuter car can run longer intervals than a 9K/year city car can.

Overkill? Perhaps. But I'd rather have documentation of ahead of schedule changes should my motor pop.
 
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