Castrol GTX 5W-20 UOA

[mzj56j]

Vehicle is a 2003 Mazda6s (3.0L Duratec) that was run from 8,657 to 12,554 miles (3897) on Castrol GTX 5W-20. Filter is a Wix-NAPA Gold. I'd guess that ~85% of driving is highway.

Values reported as 0 have been left out.

element: uoa/voa
Aluminum: 5/0
Chromium: 3/0
Iron: 20/1
Copper: 5/0
Lead: 1/0
Moly: 107/103
Nickel: 1/0
Manganese: 1/1
Boron: 8/2
Silicon: 17/6
Sodium: 3/1
Calcium: 2553/2414
Magnesium: 4/3
Phosphorus: 842/823
Zinc: 902/1018

TBN: 4.2
Viscosity (SUS @ 210F): 51.8/54.7
Flashpoint (F): 415/435
Fuel < 0.5%
AntiFreeze: 0.0%
Water: 0.0%
Insolubles: 0.4%

Needless to say, I'll leave it in a bit longer this next time around.

[ August 06, 2003, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: mzj56j ]

 

[quadrun1]

Looks good, probably could've gone 5,000 miles?

 

[Al]

Looks good-why the 20 wt??

[ August 06, 2003, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: Al ]

 

[mzj56j]

I went with the -20 because that's what Mazda recommends for the M6 engines. In looking through the manual there's no warranty requirement to use the -20, but I figured I'd give it a try and see how it works out. I also have quite a bit of faith in the Mazda engineers because my old 89 626 has 196k on it and still running strong after quite a bit of abuse.

I'm not sure how far I'm going to take it this time around. It was a pain taking that oil sample. I have a fumoto valve on order, so it may be a while before I check the oil at 5k.

 

[khager]

Isn't the 3.0L Duratech actually a Ford engine? Maybe this is why Mazda recommends 5W-20

 

[mzj56j]

The Duratec as installed in the Mazda6 has a bit of both Ford and Mazda in it. The info I have is that the cylinder heads are a Mazda design and the block is cary-over from existing Duratec production.

 

[drm7]

My wife has an '03 Mazda MPV with this same engine in it. It also calls for 5w20. I've been using motorcraft 5w20 @ 4000 OCI. It currently has 5500 miles on it. I was wondering, are the iron and si numbers high in this analysis? I'm still a newbie at this so I'm not sure. I'm hoping to get 200k out of this engine myself. I think if you look you'll find a Mazda TSB on recommended oil for this car. There is one on the MPV and it allows the use of 5w30 oil but states that 5w20 will give better EPA numbers. This might be important to you if you care what the manufacturer wants you to use. I'm still on the fence about this. I'm considering M1 0/5w30 @ 5k OCI. Not sure yet.

Thanks!

 

[YZF150]

Over 5ppm iron per thousand. Not great. Was this oil in the engine during a lot of wet weather?

 

[mzj56j]

Here are some new numbers for this oil in the same vehicle using a new NAPA Gold filter. This fill of oil was run from 29,600 to 33,860 (4,260) miles. Driving is ~85% highway from early February to mid April. Testing performed by Blackstone.

Values reported as 0 have been left out.

element: ppm
Aluminum: 4
Chromium: 3
Iron: 9
Copper: 1
Moly: 94
Manganese: 1
Boron: 3
Silicon: 12
Sodium: 2
Calcium: 2418
Magnesium: 4
Phosphorus: 737
Zinc: 814

TBN: 5.2
Viscosity (SUS @ 210F): 53.4
Flashpoint (F): 400
Fuel < 0.5%
AntiFreeze: 0.0%
Water: 0.0%
Insolubles: 0.4%

 

[sbc350gearhead]

Looks good.

I am totally impressed by the 20 weights in fords(mazda)and hondas.

 

[mzj56j]

From the comments in the report "If wear looked any better in this oil sample, we would have trouble believing it was actually in use 4,260 miles!"

A note on the weather here. February was cold (subfreezing) but dry. March was rainy (~4.8in) with temps mostly in the 40's. April temps have been normal, but precip has been a meager 0.5in.

 

[crossbow]

The silicon in the 6 is always in the double digits...I haven't seen a single UOA yet in the single digits

.

Very odd. You using the stock paper filter right?

I added your UOA in with the other ones on 6tech. Here's the url for visiting all other Mazda 6 UOA's.

Mazda 6 UOA Master List

If you ever get a chance, try running 0w-20 Mobil1 for a 5-7k interval. I'm curious to see if your wear numbers drop any.

Also if you've got your reports in pdf format, I'm willing to host them at mazda6tech (after editing out your personal information), so everyone has access to the original reports. Just fire me off a pm on bobs or mazda6tech and I'll give you my email addy to send the pdf's.

Thanks!

[ April 24, 2004, 09:29 AM: Message edited by: crossbow ]

 

[mzj56j]

Crossbow, yeah it's the stock paper filter.

I think you've already got my castrol 5W-20 UOA's on the list on 6tech. I posted my latest numbers to this thread so URLs wouldn't have to be added or changed.

As for the Mobil 1 0W-20, I haven't found anyone local who sells the stuff (wally world, autozone, auto value, NAPA, meijers, and a couple of the locals). The nearest advance or pep boys is ~45min away and don't know if they even carry it.

 

[Bror Jace]

mzj56j, the low lead shows that this engine likes this weight of oil ... but an iron of 20?

Seems like an area which could be improved.

--- Bror Jace

 

[darkdan]

The first one was from when the motor had less than 9,000 miles on the motor. Things are still breaking in.

 

[deoxy4]

Seems to me that Ford, Mazda, and Honda owners under warranty and severe duty where oil changes are recommended @ 5K miles would be well served by using a high moly oil (Exxon superflo or this oil).

Why would anyone consider using M1 given the conditions above?

I have a Honda 2.4L, with 1K miles and plan to use Exxon Superflo 5-20 or this oil after break in.

What am I missing?

 

[Bror Jace]

deoxy4, I don't think you are "missing" anything. I agree that the result above leaves a healthy amount of room for improvement.

But Mobil 1 0W20 boosts the effectiveness of its moly with a good dose of boron as well. I wouldn't discount it just because a few of the 5W20 dinos & blends have another 50-80PPM of moly.

Of course, it would be interesting to know how many oil changes this vehicle saw in the first 8,657 miles. Some of those wear numbers (the iron) are probably still from break-in.

Oh, and kudos to you for searching for, and resurrecting this thread.

--- Bror Jace

 

[edvanp]

mzj56j- Just saw M1 0w20 at a local Meijers in Grand Rapids.

 

[drm7]

Wow, old thread and I see that I posted last August.

I have since switched my MPV Duratech to M1 0w20 @ 5000 mile OCI. I may UOA this next change, due in about 2000 miles. I will have about 25,000 on the clock and would like to see how it's holding up. I've run M1 0w20 since 8000 miles.

I see where people ask why switch to M1 when Castrol is running 5000 miles easy. I used Castrol the first 8000 miles (3 changes). For me I'm hoping that M1 will keep it clean, especially the rings, so that I may run this van 200k+.

We'll see.