4700 RPM all day on 5W20?

[bulwnkl]

I have a new vehicle and am wondering about a road-trip to see family. Because of the factory gearing and some tire choices, this will cause the engine (the Mazda MZR 2.3-liter) to run at 4500-4750 rpm the whole day. It's ~1000 miles one-way, and we'd do it in 1 day. Would it concern any of you to do this on a new (1,000 miles) engine on 5W20 oil? If so, what would you do to address your concern? Changing to 5W30 will not happen. I might consider Red Line or Schaeffer 5W20 instead of the Pennzoil I have at $0.99/qt if that is necessary. Thanks for your input!

EDIT: This is not a Mazda 3, it's a 5; it's higher wind-resistance and heavier than a 3.

 

[porcupine73]

I would use a high quality synthetic oil with a good antiwear package; it should be able to take the heat better than dino.

Does your owners manual say anything about the 'break-in' period and not exceeding a certain rpm for an extended period and not to travel at the same speed for a long period of time?

 

[Mr Nice]

If it was my car, I would definitely put Mobil 1 or Redline just for added safety.

I'm sure 5w20 dino would be fine, but thats alot of RPM's for 1000 miles.

Did you put smaller (height tires) on your car?

 

[JAG]

It's not the oil choice that would concern me, it's whether that kind of sustained, mid-rpm driving will allow optimal piston ring break-in.

 

[MADMIKE]

Are you planning to average 95 MPH or something? That RPM level sounds excessive and doesn't make sense without ridiculously high speeds!

 

[mshu7]

Eoin,

What speed are you traveling when the tach is at that RPM?

 

[bulwnkl]

Owner's manual specifies 600 miles for break-in. We have over 900 now. I followed the break-in procedure for the 600 miles listed. We should have somewhere between 1,200 & 1,500 miles on it by the time this trip comes around. We are still debating whether to drive this trip or not, so it may all get called off.

MADMIKE & mshu7: I decline to comment specifically on your questions except to say that yes, the vehicle is geared quite low for a current-production vehicle. It's geared even lower than my '91 Subaru, which turned ~3800 rpm on the freeway. The routing of our trip will result in it being a high-speed trip. Perhpas realistically 4250-4500 rpm will be the all-day range, but periods of 4500-4750 are to be expected.

 

[JAG]

Ok, if break-in is over with already and you are going to use that car for the trip, I say change the factory oil out before the trip and put in whatever oil you prefer. I'd look for something with good dose of anti-wear additives (ZDDP, antimony, moly,...).

 

[Steelhead]

pulling Idaho/Montana mountain passes in 3rd or 4th gear?....or Montana I90/94 with pedal to the metal speed limit and all the smokies layed off?
go with PAO/ester true synthetics, Mobil 1 is great, can be found everywhere
winter time oil temps will be in spec range...can be crossed W-E in 6 hr at 85 mph ave speed

 

[V1]

Even though Mazda says that engine break-in lasts only 600 miles, I believe that an honest-to-goodness break-in lasts much longer than that.

The main idea behind break-in is to vary your RPM's as much as possible. Your rings may have already been seated, but your bearings and everything else are still wearing in. Therefore, with the mileage you have on that car, I would not take it on any road trip, at any RPM for that distance. Moreover, I can assure you that your fuel mileage will not be anything to write home about.

 

[Norm Olt]

Gearing can't be that low, from a realistic point of view, can it?

Obviously not talking about an automatic trans here, so you must be planning to be in "...3rd or 4th..." as opined by Steelhead for most of the time? What is the redline on this vehicle, anyway?

I have no qualms about a "high speed" trip, it just seems to me you are questioning two different things:

1) Will it somehow "hurt" the motor because it is relatively new?

2) Will a 5W-20 oil adequately protect this engine at these rpms and for this interval?

I would opine NO & YES. You are not driving a '70's pushrod V8 with a 5,700 rpm redline. The suggestion you change out the oil & filter makes a lot of sense since you would want to get the factory fill out around this time anyway. I would think your Pennzoil 5W-20, which is semi-synthetic to begin with, would be just fine.

What you are really looking at, IMHO, is an almost perfect opportunity to finish "breaking-in" your car. Your gas mileage may even improve a bit on the way home...

Cheers!

 

[dB]

Isn't this a perfect example of why German cars have a 40wt oil recommended for high speed driving (i.e. on the autobahn)? I'd at least go xW30 if not a good 5W40. My '86 Audi manual shows that you can use a xW30 or xW20, unless you plan sustained high speed driving.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Unless your owner's manual specifically states that another grade of oil is needed for extended high speed hwy driving, I wouldn't worry much about it.

What's the redline on this thing? 6500 rpm? So you'd be at 70% of it at 4500 rpm. If 4500 rpm was unsafe, then that's where the redline would be. Honestly, I don't see a problem here. If this engine cannot sustain this rpm for extended periods, then I'd say something is wrong with it and should be fixed under warranty.

I also agree with others to vary your rpm frequently. Don't put it on cruise control. You're still close to the break-in period.

Just curious, what rpm are you running in last gear at 55 mph?

 

[therealdeal770]

man i thought my truck was geared low turning 3000rpms at 75mph.thats with a .75 to 1 5th gear and 3.73 rear with 26inch tall tires.you must have like a 1to1 top gear and 4.56 gears or something

 

[mshu7]

In my Mazda3 with the 2.3/5spd. manual, my tach at 70mph is just over 3K. I think 3K is about 68mph. So, probably like 3100-3200K at 70mph.

[ February 01, 2006, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: mshu7 ]

 

[hominid7]

Since you want to stay with 5w-20, the motorcraft 5w-20 your car came stock with seems to be reporting very good results over in the UOA section, so it might be an option to consider as well.

While you may be by the first 600 miles, i'd tend to want to not use the cruise control too much during the first 3,000 miles. Highway speeds wont hurt your car at all, but sticking at one contant speed for hundreds of miles without a break might not be the best thing to do.

Whatever you decide to go with, i would change the oil before i left and as soon as i got back. Just for fun you might send it in for analysis to see if your speculations, hopes, and fears came true.

When i first bought my 2001 mazda 626 V6 brand new i drove it the second day i owned it to houston and back (from Dallas). I did NOT use the cruise and changed the speed up often, ranging from 60mph to 90mph. I changed the oil as soon as i got back. My 626 is geared somewhat towards a high RPM, pulling about 3,000 RPM at 70mph. It will run 80-90 mph all day and not complain one bit though.

The car now has 42,000 miles on it, and the engine is tight, clean, and runs the same as the day i bought it. Check back with me in 150,000 more miles and we'll see how it held up

Your new Mazda5 is a nice ride...i bet you will have a fun road trip.

zoomzoomzoom

 

[thooks]

You gonna run a Ford engine at 5,000 rpms for 11 hours?

Good luck.

 

[427Z06]

Run a high quality synthetic oil and you should be fine. Keep an eye on the temp gauges. If you had an oil temp gauge, that would be ideal.

 

[glennc]

I'm trying to figure out what you're going to be doing with this thing to average 4krpm+ engine speeds.

This is a new mini-minivan. approx. 3300lb curb weight. 157hp/148tq@4500rpm, 4:42 final drive (that is pretty short). Auto or manual trans available, both with overdrive. Stock tire size 205/50-17. The redline must be about 7krpm since the power spec is quoted at, I think, 6500.

I'm going to guess that your stock gearing and tire choices puts your overdrive at a theoretical 150mph at 7krpm. That would make 4500rpm equal to 96mph. It might be more, but probably not much less. So in the absence of your giving us this information, I'm guessing you are planning to run 90-100mph across some portions of our great western states on your trip. That can reasonably be done without much chance of a problem, though you should slow down after dark unless you want to wake up in the hospital with an elk sticking out of your forehead; and you should watch for ice in the shaded areas on mountain passes.

I think the oil will be fine. I'm sure plenty of testing has been done at the loads and rpms you'll encounter, and it will probably be a good break-in experience for the car. You'll be varying speeds whether you want to or not, because of hills, winds, curves, road conditions and maybe even some occasional traffic.

If anything I might consider adding some VSOT to toughen the oil a little. It'll bring up the viscosity a little and boost ep protection, and add some moly as a barrier in the infrequent event of metal-metal contact.

Have fun!

- Glenn

 

[Schism]

"You gonna run a Ford engine at 5,000 rpms for 11 hours?

Good luck."

thooks, the 4 cylinder version of this car has a matching mazda powerplant, it isn't a ford motor that mazda tuned like the v6.
Though I see not alot wrong with the 24v v6. seems pretty reliable. Fords main problem is it's fwd auto trannies, we'll see if that is fixed once their new six speeds rack up on miles.


bulwnkl, I dont know why you are hesitant to give us info. I'd honestly like to know atleast the road/s you are taking that allow that kind of speed(assumed speed of atleast around 100) with little intervention from law enforcement, even with a first class radar detector. But if you really wish not to say, I'll respect that.