Do You Love Your Mazda? Ditch That 0W-20 Oil!!!

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GJ-Molestor

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2011 BMW 528i, 2015 Mazda 6, 1995 Nissan Maxima Manual
Thought I would share my experience switching from the Castrol 0w-20 garbage to Liqui-Moly 5w30. the engine felt much more refined. it ran 10x quieter and smoother then before, no more valvetrain clatter! just the smooth ticking sound of the DI. it revs smoother and overall feels much more solid then before. oil consumption has dropped from 1L every 9000KM to 1L every 15,000+KM.

overall, highly recommend you do this if you live in a hot climate or drive the car hard. your con rod bearings will thank you...

now before i get blasted for this idea, please look up the CAFE requirements and understand why manufacturers slowly started to switch to thinner and thinner oil.
 
Are there any hard data studies on this? I'm more of a data oriented guy. Not so much into anecdotal.
 
Aznbagel said:
Are there any hard data studies on this? I'm more of a data oriented guy. Not so much into anecdotal.
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Thicker oil = more cushioning in between the critical metal bits of your engine which = better protection. The thicker oil also absorbs heat better but more importantly, does not shear and become watery closer toward the end of your oil intervals (hurting engine protection)

Literally EVERYWHERE except for North America this engine is specced for 5w30 oil. (CAFE requirements)

In Mexico 5w30 is used. Now before someone starts bleating about how their climate is hotter, Russia with their frigid temperatures still use 5w30 for this engine.

0W satisfies the huge average fuel economy requirements amongst all the brands and nothing else. You sacrifice engine protection over the long run for .2 MPG fuel savings.

Now if you regularly drive in -20C weather, 0w oil would actually be useful. If you dont drive aggressively or dont have hot summers, you dont need to switch if you really dont want to. But you really got nothing to lose as you WILL feel a difference with how the engine behaves. It just feels right whereas the 0w20 is far too thin.
 
Years ago in the UK i would only use 10/30 in very cold winters with NA petrols, never in summer, in summer it would be 20/50, both mineral oils.

I would only use recommened oils now with a DPF diesel.
 
xtrailman said:
Years ago in the UK i would only use 10/30 in very cold winters with NA petrols, never in summer, in summer it would be 20/50, both mineral oils.

I would only use recommened oils now with a DPF diesel.
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I take it in Europe you probably dont even see 0w oil. What is recommended over there?
 
Should have switched from Castrol to OEM (Idemitsu) oil. Castrol is just cheaper (drums) for dealerships to buy whereas the oem oil is bottled..
 
Chris_Top_Her said:
Should have switched from Castrol to OEM (Idemitsu) oil. Castrol is just cheaper (drums) for dealerships to buy whereas the oem oil is bottled..
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Doesnt matter to me because Im not putting 0w20 in my car again.

Liquimoly is a little pricey, but its top notch oil and is very resistant to shearing. I can run it to the point where the oil is very dirty but it will continue to protect the engine whereas 0w20 will not.
 
Do you know these things you are postulating about, or have you simply decided that "burns less oil, runs quieter" = "bearings have better oil flow and are wearing less"?

Why don't you post up comparative UOA's if you want us to take this seriously?

Thicker oil isn't always better. I am not saying 5-30 is bad, but also saying it improves wear...is unsubstantiated at this point.
 
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Send some of your oil to Blackstone Labs the next time you change it- see how the wear compares to 0w20 (which means you have to run it again for a period).
 
The idea that a higher viscosity oil is better for your engine is unfounded folklore.

Firstly, you can’t compress a fluid (as far as an engine is concerned) so no matter how low viscosity (thin) it won’t allow metal to metal contact and the use of higher viscosity oil is not going to cushion any metal parts. Secondly, you are risking damage by going to another grade because lower viscosity oil travels quickly through the fine tolerances of the engine when it is started from cold. Thirdly, all the figures for fuel consumption are done with the recommended oil. I absolutely reject the notion that anybody can detect what oil viscosity is in the engine by listening or feel. Its utter nonsense, sorry.
 
Anchorman said:
The idea that a higher viscosity oil is better for your engine is unfounded folklore.

Firstly, you can’t compress a fluid (as far as an engine is concerned) so no matter how low viscosity (thin) it won’t allow metal to metal contact and the use of higher viscosity oil is not going to cushion any metal parts. Secondly, you are risking damage by going to another grade because lower viscosity oil travels quickly through the fine tolerances of the engine when it is started from cold. Thirdly, all the figures for fuel consumption are done with the recommended oil. I absolutely reject the notion that anybody can detect what oil viscosity is in the engine by listening or feel. Its utter nonsense, sorry.
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The thing about the tolerances is nonsense, like I said earlier this engine has been recorded to use 5w30 with no issues. Cold weather starting proved to be not any harder on the engine when we used 0w20.

There is a BIG difference in terms of engine smoothness and how it sounds idling with the hood up. Its a very noticeable difference... you shouldnt just make assumptions about how it would sound, because you havent tried it yourself.

And again, .2 MPG difference. The figures would not change.

You are correct that oil/water cannot be compressed, but oil becomes thinner under high heat. Thicker oil has better resistance to shearing and becoming all watery.
 
Also the additives in the oil give additional antiwear properties. And different oils have different concentrations. I read something about moly withstanding up to 500,000 psi of pressure.. more than your cam lobe makes haha also under pressure filling microscopic holes/pits on the metal surfaces..
 
If any of this were true we'd have long heard about it from professional labs like Blackstone or a place like BITOG... another weird post from this guy.
 
I could see there being a benefit in running something with a higher viscosity if you're autocrossing or regularly bouncing off the limiter but I'm pretty sure that's not the way most of us use these. So in conclusion I'm going to run exactly what Mazda says to..the benefit of 0w20 with cold starts (not just @-20C) will outweigh hehe going with something heavier for the vast majority of users is what I firmly believe..particularly those who get cold winters..ie Toronto, hudson valley ny..most places in NA that aren't Mexico.
 
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GJ-Molestor said:
Thought I would share my experience switching from the Castrol 0w-20 garbage to Liqui-Moly 5w30. the engine felt much more refined. it ran 10x quieter and smoother then before, no more valvetrain clatter! just the smooth ticking sound of the DI. it revs smoother and overall feels much more solid then before. oil consumption has dropped from 1L every 9000KM to 1L every 15,000+KM.

overall, highly recommend you do this if you live in a hot climate or drive the car hard. your con rod bearings will thank you...

now before i get blasted for this idea, please look up the CAFE requirements and understand why manufacturers slowly started to switch to thinner and thinner oil.
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Questions:

Could be just Liqui Moly being better than that Castrol... and not having to do anything with weight. Maybe you should try Castrol 5w-20 to verify?

International Engine oil is spec'd differently than US spec Oil. Or is it North American spec oil?

Is US spec 0w-20 oil more similar to international 5w-20 oil than international 0w-20 oil?

Where is area 52?
 
This is from the same guy who said the things in his Ford/Mazda partnership thread was "insider information". (lol2)
 
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