2012 Mazdaspeed3 - Shell Rotella T6 - 5000 miles

[MD1032]

I'm starting to get very annoyed with how T6 is performing in my engine. I did change the turbo, however, I changed it out for a used unit with 4000 miles on it, not a new one. There is still bearing wear showing up (albeit small) in the form of lead. It definitely seems usage related to me. Lead has been high ever since I started tuning the car for a methanol mix. The 15 ppm sample was taken after a track event where the car was driven very hard.

At my next oil change, I will be switching to a full synthetic 5W-30 gasoline engine oil of some variety.

I'm not sure whether these levels are high enough to worry about the condition of my bearings at all. Hopefully some of you all can chip in on that.

In case anyone is wondering why my fuel dilution has all of a sudden plummeted, please be aware that my usage has changed: I am now commuting ~55 miles one direction to work instead of 1.5 and this is the reason it is no longer an issue.

 

[Turk]

That small amount of Pb is really nothing to be "annoyed" about.

If you're going to a full Syn 5w-30, consider a stout oil.
Amsoil offers some very stout oils for your set-up.

My good friend had a similar set-up & tuned, on the same vehicle and had great UOA's with the Amsoil.

 

[brslds]

Ever think about adding liquimoly mos2?

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Turk
That small amount of Pb is really nothing to be "annoyed" about.

If you're going to a full Syn 5w-30, consider a stout oil.
Amsoil offers some very stout oils for your set-up.

My good friend had a similar set-up & tuned, on the same vehicle and had great UOA's with the Amsoil.
I've looked at a lot of oil containers over the years and none of them were labeled "stout".

 

[MCompact]

Most every "Expert" at MSF.org likes to slam Mobil 1 5W-30, but-based on over 20 UOAs-it has performed just fine in my 2007 Mazdaspeed 3.
Of course, it only has 158,000 miles on the clock, so it's impossible to draw any conclusions about long term durability...

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: Turk
That small amount of Pb is really nothing to be "annoyed" about.

If you're going to a full Syn 5w-30, consider a stout oil.
Amsoil offers some very stout oils for your set-up.

My good friend had a similar set-up & tuned, on the same vehicle and had great UOA's with the Amsoil.
I've looked at a lot of oil containers over the years and none of them were labeled "stout".

Love it!!

But some Beers are labeled "Stout"...

Anyway, you know what I mean, a strong additive package, high TBN, etc.

 

[901Memphis]

Try Pennzoil Ultra 5w30

 

[ThirdeYe]

The "high" lead is just noise, IMO. My Acura always had slightly higher lead than the average with any oil I tried, and it was still running at 217k when I sold it.

 

[flatlander757]

Disregard

 

[Rolla07]

What is the recommended oil weight for this car? I wonder if M1 0w40 might be a good choice.

 

[lubricatosaurus]

Try titanium AW to fight the lead wear war. Could be a help.

Kendall GT-1 full synthetic 5w-30 has around 93 ppm titanium (Castrol Edge has far, far, less). Kendall still puts in the usual zinc, lots of boron, and a typical amount of moly too.

http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/kendallsyn.htm
http://www.jobbersworld.com/november 18 2008.htm

get at http://petroleumservicecompany.com/kendall-gt-1-fs-w-ti-5w-30.html mail order.

 

[MD1032]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
What is the recommended oil weight for this car? I wonder if M1 0w40 might be a good choice.


The recommended weight is 5W-30. However most of us use 5W-40 because fuel dilution is a big problem in this engine, particularly for those of us with upgraded high-pressure fuel pump internals, and has a tendency to make the oil lose a lot of viscosity (as you can see on my previous oil reports before I switched commutes). Since I don't do short trips anymore, this is no longer a concern.

Thanks for the tip on the full synthetic GT-1, lubricatosaurus. Maybe I'll give that a shot. It's actually cheaper than Rotella T6 at the link you provided (it's much more expensive on Amazon.com).