Mobil 1 0W-20: Performance or Fuel Economy?

inlinev said:
At $2-3 a quart, the PP is a no brainer. Ordered two jugs.

My dealer uses Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 on all their Mazda's. Its what the dealer put in for our free oil change. I switched to the Mazda moly oil at $6.69 a quart to see what the fuss is about.

One thing I can confirm, there is no change in mileage, as some on here have claimed as high as a 5 mpg increase.
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I can't speak to the Pennzoil Platinum, but I was getting a steady 27-28mpg on the factory fill (Mazda Moly Oil) and that dropped to 25-26mpg when my dealer used the Castrol Edge OE Professional for the 1st oil change. I insisted on the MMO for the 2nd oil change, and now I'm up to 28-29mpg. No change in driving habits or routine, and the car has always had Shell gasoline from day 1.
 
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Speedie95 said:
I can't speak to the Pennzoil Platinum, but I was getting a steady 27-28mpg on the factory fill (Mazda Moly Oil) and that dropped to 25-26mpg when my dealer used the Castrol Edge OE Professional for the 1st oil change. I insisted on the MMO for the 2nd oil change, and now I'm up to 28-29mpg. No change in driving habits or routine, and the car has always had Shell gasoline from day 1.
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That is about a 10% drop in MPG! Well, we will see when I make my switch at 7,500 miles. I hope the MoS2 additive will help.
 
I've only used the Mazda oil so no idea what changes to MPG occurred. I am more interested in 8-10 year out and over 100K mile engine wear reductions this oil could provide. It will be a while to know whether it was worth it or not.
 
yrwei52 said:
No, I don't blame you trying to save money, and many people from younger generation wouldn't want to do so my kids included. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned. But look at the bigger picture. I change oil by myself by using Mazda moly oil and OEM filter. I can use flexible maintenance on OCI which could go up to 10,000 miles or 1 year. Even with longer OCI I don't void the new car and powertrain warranty. My labor is more valuable so I saved more on the labor and materials by changing oil less frequently. I also have less used oil coming out which is good to the environment. All of these I actually saved more money than most people do by using Mazda moly oil.
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I wish the flexible maintenance had been available on mine. I would be doing the same as you..
 
Kedis82ZE8 said:
I've only used the Mazda oil so no idea what changes to MPG occurred. I am more interested in 8-10 year out and over 100K mile engine wear reductions this oil could provide. It will be a while to know whether it was worth it or not.
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I'm honestly not sure that the moly is going to do much for it. That said, it's a good oil all around, and it's what Mazda recommends, so I figure, "why not?" It's not like BMW's stoopid expensive "house" oil.
 
ALafya said:
AFAIK, adding Moly yourself to an existing oil is not the same as an oil that's already formulated with Moly. That is why I get the OEM oil with Moly.
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I have heard the same thing. The Mazda moly is cheap enough when bought online w/free shipping. I noticed about 0.5 mpg increase. The moly is sacrificial so it takes a couple of changes for the full effect (and the effect will persist for some time afterwards if you switch to another oil).
 
Just curious, is the Mazda oil pretty dark compared to say Mobil 1?
 
To put things in perspective. If driving a new (non-Mazda) car that required 0W20 my top 4 are:

1. Amsoil Signature (best in high heat applications)
2. Mazda w/Moly (lowest vicosity plus has moly)
3. Penzoil Platinum (a half a notch below Mazda w/moly but much cheaper)
4. Mobil 1 AFE (good and readily available)
 
Somebody mentioned that mixing in Moly MoS2 is not the same as Mazda Moly, but I assume that it does some good to some degree? My next question is, would mixing in Ceratec be better (comparing to mixing in MoS2, and comparing to Mazda Moly)? Seems like Ceratec can last for 30K miles, so the price vs MoS2 doesn't seem to be of much difference.
 
Some places sell Ceretec for under $23 for a can. It depends on how much moly is needed but yes it can be more cost effective. After spending hours at browsing the oil forum, the Ceretec is not good for engines that burn oil since the ceramic will form deposits on the spark plug if the engine burns excessive amounts of oil. I may try Ceretec later on once the engine gets really broken in.
 
Once I'll master the art and science of formulating oil (which will never happen), then I am going to second guess a formulated oil and add stuff to it, change the ratio of chemicals in it and introduce other chemicals in a way that the new formulation is better than what experts have done.
 
ALafya said:
Once I'll master the art and science of formulating oil (which will never happen), then I am going to second guess a formulated oil and add stuff to it, change the ratio of chemicals in it and introduce other chemicals in a way that the new formulation is better than what experts have done.
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I look forward to reading your findings.
 
ALafya said:
Once I'll master the art and science of formulating oil (which will never happen), then I am going to second guess a formulated oil and add stuff to it, change the ratio of chemicals in it and introduce other chemicals in a way that the new formulation is better than what experts have done.
Click to expand...

Of course we're not trying to beat the oil experts, we're just trying to compromise good-enough but cheap oils with some (hopefully safe) addictive to get somewhere in between the two qualities. Life is full of compromises and experiments, that's why there're 3rd-party parts and mods (including turbo-mods), and what if Mazda stops making/selling its oil.
 
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