Evolution of Mazda USA 0W-20 Oils

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Oct 10, 2009
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81
Location
Dallas, TX
Silly post. Nothing much technical here, but just wanted to share the evolution of Mazda USA's OEM Idemitsu label/bottle changes over the years, for those of you who want a point of reference. Current generic Idemitsu IFG3 included in pic as bonus. 2 sets of pics because the first set was taken almost 2 years ago, and the old noughties style bottle has long since gone to the landfill lol... 2nd set of pics taken just a few days ago.
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Curiously, the latest Mazda version, the "ECO 7" is API SP, while the generic Idemitsu is API SQ. Must be very different formulations, besides the fact that it's well known by now (through VOAs) that except for the discontinued "high mileage" Idemitsu, the Idemitsu moly counts are quite low compared to Mazda OEM.

I've tried hard searching for VOAs or UOAs of the "ECO 7" but haven't been able to find any. I guess it's because it's stupid expensive, at boutique oil prices, that's why there's no love? lol... FWIW, I only splurged on 1 bottle of the "ECO 7" as curiosity. The old GF-5 0W20 with moly Mazda OEM oil has been discontinued at least since the beginning of the year. The much higher prices of the "ECO 7" basically forced me to buy something else, so I've settled on generic Idemitsu and mixing a quart of the remaining old stock of the Mazda 0W20 I have for the next few years. Left over from the 5 quart jug of the Idemitsu will be saved for top off oil later due to some oil burning that just happens normally. Any pointers to the "ECO 7" VOAs or UOAs will be greatly appreciated, as it serves as a good comparison between its newer GF-6 formulation and the old GF-5 one.
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Never was a problem and many never had a problem either
In my Mazda (L5VE engine - car came with factory installed oil cooler as I live in the Middle E), I've run several different oil grades (ie 0w20, 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, 10w40,15w40...and a blend of spare 15w40 and 20w50 I had lying around). No major issues with any of the aforementioned grades (the bumometer felt the car being a bit more sluggish using the 40 and 50 weighted oils, and the wallet was lighter, but overall it worked fine).

Bar pricing and availability issues, I'll continue to use either a 0w20 or 5w20 oil.
 
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In my Mazda (L5VE engine - car came with factory installed oil cooler as I live in the Middle E), I've run several different oil grades (ie 0w20, 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, 15w40). No major issues with any of the aforementioned grades (the bumometer felt the car being a bit more sluggish using the 15w40 oil, but you get used to it). Bar local availability issues, I'll continue to run either the 0w20 or 5w20 oil (whatever is cheaper).
I had basically the same thing in the L3-VE back in the days before I sold the car, but I took off the upgrade and sold it to my friend who has a LF-VE lol... I always ran GC 0W30 (R.I.P.) after the initial 5W20 factory fill.... never burned a single drop of oil that the L3-VE is infamous for
 
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