2011 Mazda6, 2.5L I4, 6,638mi, Mobil 1 0w20

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Oil service interval was 5 months.

During this time the car was driven 75% highway (including a few long distance trips), 25% rural/city. I typically drive the car conservatively, but I sometimes like to accelerate fast on open highway on-ramps and get the RPMs close to red line.

Oil was Mobil 1 0w20 SM and oil filter was a Purolator PureOne.

My reason for sampling is from the thread below where I was concerned with visual cam lobe wear (although the report doesn't find anything out of sorts).

Cam Lobe Wear

The oil was changed at the time of UOA sampling. UOA was done after idling the car although it was still warm from a prior highway drive. The current fill is Mobil 1 0w20 SN and a Purolator PureOne filter. I will follow the 7,500 mile OCI as dictated by Mazda.

Most importantly, I love driving this car! Let me know what you folks think. Thanks.

Mazda UOA.jpg




Code:




Make/Model: Mazda6 2.5L 4-cyl

Oil Type & Grade: Mobil 1 0w/20

Fuel Type: Gasoline (Unleaded)



Mi/HR on Oil: 6,638

Mi/HR on Unit: 9,885

Sample Date: 09/24/11

Make up Oil Added: 0.4 quarts



Aluminum 4

Chromium 0

Iron 13

Copper 18

Lead 1

Tin 2

Molybdenum 199

Nickel 1

Manganese 2

Silver 0

Titanium 0

Potassium 0

Boron 76

Silicon 12

Sodium 6

Calcium 1295

Magnesium 787

Phosphorus 642

Zinc 818

Barium 2



SUS Viscosity @ 210F: 50.4

cSt Viscosity @ 100C: 7.39

Flashpoint in F: 400

Fuel%
Antifreeze% 0.0

Water% 0.0

Insolubles % 0.2
 
Comparing the results of this UOA I'd say this is actually Mobil 1 0w20 SN rather than SM...even though all the 1 quart containers I used were labeled SM. They were bought right around the time of the switchover from SM to SN so I wouldn't be surprised if Mobil was filling SN into SM labeled bottles.
 
For a synthetic oil, I'd say that's terrible. And the main reason I think the numbers are too high is because of the viscosity. You've got to have a minimum amount of viscosity for an oil to lubricate. 5W-30 would bring those wear numbers down. And even a conventional 5W-30 would bring those wear numbers down.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
For a synthetic oil, I'd say that's terrible. And the main reason I think the numbers are too high is because of the viscosity. You've got to have a minimum amount of viscosity for an oil to lubricate. 5W-30 would bring those wear numbers down. And even a conventional 5W-30 would bring those wear numbers down.


I'd have to disagree with pretty much your whole statement there. the numbers aren't excessive and its a new engine. I bet if it wasnt M1 your comment would have been different.
18.gif


The viscosity is is dead middle of the 20weight range.

That being said I dont think 0w30 would hurt anything except a small amount of Mpg.

Esp with winter coming on and possibly heavy DI fuel dilution (if you short trip)
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
I bet if it wasnt M1 your comment would have been different.
18.gif



No sir ... you're making assumptions. I have nothing against the brand; it's the viscosity grade I'm putting into question. Oil needs to be thick enough to prevent parts from coming in contact with each other. That 0W-20 may be easy for the oil pump to pump, but it's clearly not providing enough protection.
 
Merkava, out of curiosity what leads you to believe the wear was from the low viscosity rather than break-in?

For the record I believe this oil starts at a viscosity of right around 9.0

I am using 0w20 as that is what Mazda specs. Is 5w20 proven more shear stable due to less VI? I'm not sure if these motors are tough on oil....I will have to check some of the Ford 2.5L UOAs. This motor is not DI by the way...its cousin is the Ford Duratec 2.5L.

20 weight viscosity ranges between 5.6 and 9.3...so the oil is still in grade. Don't 5w30 motor oils typically shear to 20w regardless?
 
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Originally Posted By: GMFan
Merkava, out of curiosity what leads you to believe the wear was from the low viscosity rather than break-in?


The engine is still breaking in with over 9000 miles on it? I don't think so.
I think it's wearing out. You're getting metal to metal contact with that thin oil.
 
Hey GM Fan...did you ever figure out anything concerning the cam lobe wear? As you can see, I've got a few Mazda's with the same engine. Also, running similar oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Merkava, out of curiosity what leads you to believe the wear was from the low viscosity rather than break-in?


The engine is still breaking in with over 9000 miles on it? I don't think so.
I think it's wearing out. You're getting metal to metal contact with that thin oil.


He put the oil in at around 3,000.
 
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Merkava, out of curiosity what leads you to believe the wear was from the low viscosity rather than break-in?


The engine is still breaking in with over 9000 miles on it? I don't think so.
I think it's wearing out. You're getting metal to metal contact with that thin oil.


He put the oil in at around 3,000.


I have to agree that the excess metals are most likely still from break-in. It's a fact that some engines can take as long as 15-20k miles to FULLY break-in to the point where metals in UOA stabilize. (This can be seen is dozens of UOA trending in various engines.)
 
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Comparing the results of this UOA I'd say this is actually Mobil 1 0w20 SN rather than SM...even though all the 1 quart containers I used were labeled SM. They were bought right around the time of the switchover from SM to SN so I wouldn't be surprised if Mobil was filling SN into SM labeled bottles.



I agree with you about the blending right around the time of SN full release. I think they were already blending differently.

The UOA looks really good. Maybe the lobes were like that from the factory?
 
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
Hey GM Fan...did you ever figure out anything concerning the cam lobe wear? As you can see, I've got a few Mazda's with the same engine. Also, running similar oil.


I haven't really looked into it too much more. The few times I opened the oil fill cap to take a look the camshaft was stopped in such a way as to block vision of the top of the lobe. If I said I was really concerned I'd be lying....I pulled a UOA sample out of curiosity more than anything. I will certainly check up on it at just to make sure it isn't worsening to any degree.

What mileage are you getting with your 2010 Mazda6? I'm getting 30-31mpg pretty consistently with my commute with the 6spd MT.

Are folks here in general agreement that the 0w20 manufacturers "recommend" is for fuel economy and a 5w20 would still be acceptable as it is still a 20w? I'm not sure I'm willing to risk using a 5w20 however for warranty reasons....I've debated running a syn blend 5w20 like Motorcraft or just a 5w20 conventional for 6-7,000 miles and call it a day. It's hard to get a definitive answer on questions like this. I was a die-hard conventional user until I cracked open the manual upon purchase of this car and saw Mazda "recommended" an 0w20.
 
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Both of my Mazda's have the 2.5L with a 5spd automatic. I can get 30mpg in both on a highway trip if I don't push them too hard. They both average around 27.5mpg in mixed driving.

On a Mazda forum I was talking to a few folks with the Mazda3's with the 6spd close ratio MT. Not sure if your's is close ratio or not. My 3 goes 87mph at 3,000 rpm. The guys with the MT hit about 76mph in 6th gear at 3,000rpm.

As for oil....my 2010 6 calls for 5w20...the 2011 3 calls for 0w20. It's my opinion that it's all for CAFE reasons. I'm confident the engines are identical. You should be okay running any 20wt oil. I will probably run the thickest 5w20 I can find in both once my stock pile is gone....most likely M1 5w20 in both. I did run Motorcraft 5w20 in the 6 for the first 30,000 miles but got a really good deal on some M1 so switched to that.
 
Originally Posted By: Artem
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Merkava, out of curiosity what leads you to believe the wear was from the low viscosity rather than break-in?


The engine is still breaking in with over 9000 miles on it? I don't think so.
I think it's wearing out. You're getting metal to metal contact with that thin oil.


He put the oil in at around 3,000.


I have to agree that the excess metals are most likely still from break-in. It's a fact that some engines can take as long as 15-20k miles to FULLY break-in to the point where metals in UOA stabilize. (This can be seen is dozens of UOA trending in various engines.)
+1. It's a good report,net of the break in wear.
 
Yeah, either 5W20 or 0W20 would be suitable, though I would run what it calls for during the duration of the warranty. Not that I think youll have an issue with the engine, just, if you do it would be better to show you ran what was called for.
Yes, this is still residual break-in wear showing up a bit here. Well within normal tolerance. The oil choice is fine; no need to change.
 
The report is excellent, particularly with the mileage. Many engines put out much higher numbers from break-in at this mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: Mark_Walk

On a Mazda forum I was talking to a few folks with the Mazda3's with the 6spd close ratio MT. Not sure if your's is close ratio or not. My 3 goes 87mph at 3,000 rpm. The guys with the MT hit about 76mph in 6th gear at 3,000rpm.


I haven't paid very close attention but I believe its around 3,000rpm at 70mph in 6th gear. The gear ratios feel pretty close on this transmission. I will pay attention to what my rpms are on my commute to work tomorrow and post back.
 
Originally Posted By: Indydriver
~200 ppm moly in an SN? I'd love to see that on a consistent basis. I'm betting this is SM.


The moly was most likely residual from the previous factory fill as this UOA was on the first oil change I did. It looks like whatever Mazda used as the FF was high in moly.
 
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