Mobil 1 5w30... too thick for 2005 Mazda 3?

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Yet another "is this oil good" thread... hehe. My motor is spec'd for the 5w20 (obviously), but with the 5qt jugs of 5w30 for $20 at Wal-Mart... would I be causing any harm AND/OR losing any benefits of having the lighter weight oil in my vehicle (i.e. gas mileage, power, revving ability)???
 
farrarfan1,

Cost and conveinence! - 5W20 is not sold in 5 qt jugs for $19.99. The large mouth jug is great because it's easy to pour old oil into and return for recycling.
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On your mazda3, how do you change the oil filter? A friend of mine has one and called me up asking how - since it's the cannister type and Ive never worked on one... what do you do? He bought oil filters for it from mazdastuff.com but doesn't know what to do
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I personally think 5W30 would be perfect for the car.
 
The M1 xw-30 would be fine and probaly not lower fuel economy. I would not go the GC route since its much heavier and probaly would harm fuel economy.

I am considering running the M1 10w-30 with lube control in the wife's 2004 Odyssey (specs 5w-20) for the warm months to see how it does.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Dominic:
On your mazda3, how do you change the oil filter? A friend of mine has one and called me up asking how - since it's the cannister type and Ive never worked on one... what do you do? He bought oil filters for it from mazdastuff.com but doesn't know what to do
smile.gif


I personally think 5W30 would be perfect for the car.


My car is the cartridge style as well... I actually just take my car into the dealership and let them do it. They have a particular tool (which u can't buy from them I might add...) which allows them to twist off the bottom of the filter canister w/o damaging it. A buddy of mine is one of the service reps., so I get it for a good deal whenever I want... plus he makes sure it gets done right.
 
Hmmm well I put in castrol 5W30 into my sisters mazda 3. The filter was just a normal canister type, not a catridge type too when I replaced it..
 
quote:

Originally posted by Leo:
Hmmm well I put in castrol 5W30 into my sisters mazda 3. The filter was just a normal canister type, not a catridge type too when I replaced it..

Mazda switched to the canister type mid-year, I believe during the first or second model year.
 
quote:

Originally posted by TomJones76:

quote:

Originally posted by Leo:
Hmmm well I put in castrol 5W30 into my sisters mazda 3. The filter was just a normal canister type, not a catridge type too when I replaced it..

Mazda switched to the canister type mid-year, I believe during the first or second model year.


No they didn't... Mine's a 2005 model (build date in December '04). All factory 3's still come with the cartridge style filter... there were some that had a factory conversion to the spin-off filter. That was not a factory mandate however.
 
Mazda keeps going back and forth on the whole spin-on/cartridge systems.

The cartridge systems are great, but the bottom of the filter assembly is plastic which leaves it extremely vulnerable to "improper torquing".

Thousands of 3s and 6i engines have died due to users trying to remove the cap with pliers (or quickie lubes). That combined with the fact that both orings MUST BE REPLACED every single change (or they swell and leak), and your left with a rather dangerous filter change system for most individuals.

If your doing your own work, always replace the o rings, and always use the proper tool and don't overtorque.

At 90 psi, even a tiny hairline crack results in rather fast oil starvation issues.

As for oil, one of the best UOA's ever was on 5w-30 on a 6i (same engine as the 3s). But 75% of the miles were non stop highway
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If cost is ever an issue, the stock motorcraft 5w-20 semi-syn is fantastic, and hella cheap.
 
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