2014 Mazda 3 Skyactiv 2.0L - Mobil 1 0w30 - 3,079

[Artem]

Hi guys and gals, here's the very first UOA from my Brand Sparkling New 2014 Mazda 3 Hatchback.

The factory fill ( Mazda's 0w20 ) was dumped after 1,000 miles of hard city driving and Mobil 1 0w30 AFE was poured in and sampled after 3,000 miles on the oil ( 4,000 miles on the engine ).

I decided to check on the condition of the oil after only 3,000 miles in order to see if my relatively short city sprints are causing fuel dilution with this DI engine. Although I'm glad to see that no serious amount of fuel is present, I'm also wondering what lowered the viscosity...?

When I choose to run the 0w30 instead of the factory recommended 0w20, I did so because of my location ( sunny Florida ) and the fact that the engine is already beginning to be modified ( aftermarket intake and exhaust were installed @ 2,000 miles ) so the car is driven in a VERY spirited manner 90% of the time, as I constantly push the 2.0L engine to deliver the advertised 155hp / 150tq at Redline to get me from point A to B in a hurry.

I don't see any effect on gas mileage with the thicker oil, and even with the abusive driving, I'm averaging 27-33mpg with 70/30 city / highway sprints around town.

Anyway, this oil was drained when the sample was taken as it's part of my early flush procedure ( change FF @ 1,000 miles and then another oil change after 3,000 miles ) in order to flush out the break-in shavings. I plan to run the current fill of M1 for 5,000 miles and resample and go from there based on the results, although I'll most likely stick with 5k OCIs while the engine is fresh.

Vehicle:
2014 Mazda 3 Hatchback i Touring w/ tech package & 6 speed manual tranny.

Engine:
2.0L Skyactiv DI 4 banger.

Engine oil capacity:
4.5qts

Oil type:
Mobil 1 0w30 SN formula from Walmart in a 5qt jug.

Oil additives:
None

Gas Additives:
Redline's Fuel System Cleaner in a small maintenance dose about midway into the OCI (just for the heck of it)

Make up oil added:
None

Oil filter:
Mazda OEM made by Toyo Roki in Japan

Air filter:
OEM Mazda filter during the FF and then a dry AEM cone air filter after that.

USE: city / highway @ 70/30. I was redlining and running the car HARD as I always do with all my vehicles. Sample was taken after a typical short city drive of 20-30 minutes to mimic actual daily use.

Code:


OIL Mobil 1 SN formula 0w30

MILES IN USE 3,079 miles

MILES on unit 4,084

SAMPLE TAKEN 02/23/2014

Make up Oil 0



Universal Average

ALUMINUM 3 3

CHROMIUM 0 0

IRON 8 10

COPPER 8 6

LEAD 0 0

TIN 0 1

MOLYBDENUM 138 179

NICKEL 0 0

MANGANESE 0 0

SILVER 1 0

TITANIUM 0 1

POTASSIUM 1 2

BORON 90 88

SILICON 14 14

SODIUM 3 25

CALCIUM 1245 2073

MAGNESIUM 684 264

PHOSPHORUS 598 704

ZINC 674 798

BARIUM 2 1



Values Should Be*

SUS VIS 210ºF 52.6 54-67

cSt @ 212ºF 8.05 8.5-12.4

FLASHPOINT ºF 445 >385

Fuel %
Antifreeze 0.0 0.0

WATER 0.0
INSOLUBLES TR
TBN 4.7 >1.0

TAN 3.0


As always, comments are much appreciated.

 

[Artem]

Photoshoped pic of what my baby will look like in the near future...

 

[brandini]

Probably from you driving it hard and using the wrong viscosity.

Oil needs to flow to work, forcing a thicker 30 to do the same thing at the same ambient temp as a 20 is only going to be a restriction and create more heat.

It's a brand new engine with a beauty of a 4-2-1 header from the factory, stick to the manual unless a UOA at 5k indicates otherwise!


Few questions since Mazda flipflops:
-does the car have a coolant gauge?
-does it have the coolant/oil temp 'cold' light?
-do you warm it up gently then romp around or do you get in and go?

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: brandini
Probably from you driving it hard and using the wrong viscosity.

Oil needs to flow to work, forcing a thicker 30 to do the same thing at the same ambient temp as a 20 is only going to be a restriction and create more heat.

It's a brand new engine with a beauty of a 4-2-1 header from the factory, stick to the manual unless a UOA at 5k indicates otherwise!


Few questions since Mazda flipflops:
-does the car have a coolant gauge?
-does it have the coolant/oil temp 'cold' light?
-do you warm it up gently then romp around or do you get in and go?


-the car has a blue coolant dummy light that stays lit until coolant temps reach 125F and then it goes off and there's no other indication of coolant temp, unless it gets too hot and then the same dummy light comes on a glows RED.
-read above for coolant light. There's no oil temp info.
-year the car gets driven VERY gently until coolant reaches 180F and then I proceed to raise the revs a bit more, while everything else warms up (like the tranny) and about 15-20 minutes into the drive, I feel comfortable to engage "sport driving mode" with my right foot.

Because the car doesn't have any indication of coolant temp, I've installed a Scan Gauge II on the dash, which shows me my coolant temp, along with intake temp (as I keep an eye on my aftermarket intake) and other bits of info.

Mazda recommends 0w20 in the US but 5w30 elsewhere in the world for this car, so I feel perfectly comfortable running 0w30 in it.

The oil could be slightly thin because of leftover 0w20 of the FF or it sheared a bit with all the redlining i've been doing.

 

[Eddie]

Looks fairly good considering the type of driving. I'm glad you brought attention that 5w30 is the preferred oil in other countries than the US & CAN. Ed

 

[aquariuscsm]

Stick with the thicker oil and keep on doing what you're doing. Uoa looks great!

 

[shDK]

Our local Mazda dealer use genuin Mazda dexelia 0-30. However I remember reading somewhere. Mazda specs a 5w-30 acea a5/b5

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I decided to check on the condition of the oil after only 3,000 miles in order to see if my relatively short city sprints are causing fuel dilution with this DI engine. Although I'm glad to see that no serious amount of fuel is present, I'm also wondering what lowered the viscosity...?

Two possibilities:

1. Blackstone's fuel dilution testing isn't very accurate since they don't use gas chromatography.

2. These DI engines are just harder on oil. We see it all the time in VAG DI engines, for example.

 

[brandini]

Also remember the US has lower compression ratio than other countries since we have lower quality fuel.

EDIT:Sad you don't get Mazda's Sport Mode. I hear it's awesome at holding gears in the turns on that 6-speed sorta-auto.

I'd chalk it up to shear due to such tight tolerances and a new engine, it hasn't broken in yet by far!

What MPGs are you getting being a leadfoot in the heavier hatch?

 

[buster]

Nice ride. I'm thinking of getting this exact model with the 6 speed. Nice results. I think the 0w30 is a nice choice.

 

[Eddie]

This is the second UOA on the SkyActiv engine showing low fuel dilution so maybe Mazda has solved the issue. Ed

 

[Phishin]

Artem,

If I was you, I'd ignore brandini. Run that 30 weight. Your UOA looks ridiculously good, especially considering your motor is still breaking in.

The good thing about running a 30 weight in your Mazda is, if it does shear down or gets diluted down by fuel, it will be a heavier 20 weight oil, which is also spec'ed for the engine. I always says it's better to run heavier and shear into spec, than start in spec and shear too thin. Way better.

This is why I run a 30 weight in my K24 Accord. This car ONLY gets driven on the highway. I have to at least drive her 50 miles one way, or she stays in the garage. And there has YET to be cruise in that 4 cylinder 4-door Sedan that I haven't hit 5k RPM's or higher a few times per jaunt. So, I like a thicker oil too.

 

[wymi516]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
This is the second UOA on the SkyActiv engine showing low fuel dilution so maybe Mazda has solved the issue. Ed


Do we have UOA's here showing high fuel dilution?

 

[KCJeep]

Blackstone has a pattern of not doing real well on fuel dilution IMO.

Wear looks great. Sheared badly especially for 3k, wow. Either there is a lot more fuel than Blackstone says or it tore this stuff up! Didn't seem to hurt it one bit though.

 

[SF0059]

I think you are a perfect candidate for the Caterham blend of TGMO 0w-20 and M1 0w-40. That would be a nice, shear resistant 0w-30 for you, much better than M1's.

I intend to buy that same model in the very near future and that blend is most likely what I will run in the summer. As an aside, what trim level did you get and what did you pay?

 

[Eddie]

First I normally look at the wear values and IF those are bad, then I look for a reason. I don't look at coolent, TBN or fuel dilution first as that is backward thinking.

 

[JAG]

Originally Posted By: buster
Nice ride. I'm thinking of getting this exact model with the 6 speed. Nice results. I think the 0w30 is a nice choice.

+1. I'd get it now if I wasn't a tight-wad whose GTI is still going strong at 192k miles.

 

[buster]

haa I hear you. I may just keep the Subaru for my beater/off-road car and get a 3. I'm just not sure what model to get. I want the hatch, but it's between the 2.0 and 2.5 (MT vs AT with paddle shifters). The Mazda manuals are really good, but so is the new automatic. I think I'd get bored with the AT.

My wife's 07 3 has been great. I love that car for the $. Go Mazda.

 

[buster]

Artem, how did you break-in the engine?

You seem to drive like I do. I personally like bumping the viscosity up a tad in 20 grade applications by using an oil or blend around 3.0 for HT/HS. With the DI, I'd even more likely go up a bit.

I would also highly consider the new Pennzoil Ultra/Platinum oils. On paper they are the best.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
Looks fairly good considering the type of driving. I'm glad you brought attention that 5w30 is the preferred oil in other countries than the US & CAN. Ed


Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Stick with the thicker oil and keep on doing what you're doing. Uoa looks great!