Mazdaspeed 3 - Castrol 5w 30 - first UOA

[darreno1]

2.3L MZR DISI TURBO
19500 miles total / 3800 miles on oil
castrol gtx 5w/30

Blackstone Labs report:

No problems showed up in the initial sample from your Mazda. The universal averages
column shows typical wear from this type of engine after 3900 miles use of the oil. You ran this oil
3800 miles, and wear read around average, with bearing wear reading better than average. We think
you could easily go more miles for the next oil change if you wanted. The viscosity was light for a
5W/30, but the flashpoint was normal so we don't suspect you are getting any fuel. No coolant
present. This engine appears to be doing very well. The viscosity isn't hurting anything.


ALUMINUM.................2
CHROMIUM.................1
IRON.........................20
COPPER2...................2
LEAD........................1
TIN..........................1
MOLYBDENUM.............62
NICKEL......................0
MANGANESE................0
SILVER.......................0
TITANIUM...................0
POTASSIUM.................1
BORON........................65
SILICON......................4
SODIUM.......................20
CALCIUM.....................1833
MAGNESIUM.................14
PHOSPHORUS................611
ZINC............................744
BARIUM.........................0


Seems pretty good, what do you guys think?

 

[Cutehumor]

do you plan on running syn in the turbo? I've read that turbos last longer with syn oil

 

[Pablo]

Fe seems high for the short miles, but it is a turbo. Where are the other numbers? What was the vis?

 

[darreno1]

Sorry here's the rest:

vis - 49.9
flashpoint - 370
fuel - antifreeze - 0
water - 0 insolubles 0.4

 

[mikeg5]

run a syn for 3-5k miles in that turbo and get another uoa done. its is a turbo and can breakdown oil far quicker than regular motors.. iron seems pretty high though

 

[darreno1]

Right now I'm weary about going synthetic after seeing some of the other UOAs on this engine with mobil 1 and a few others. I plan to continue on a stricter 3000 mile interval with regular dino. I agree the iron numbers are high but every one I've seen has been high.

 

[Pablo]

This oil thinned way too much for such a short interval, and probably is the cause of the high Fe. The cause could be fuel, or more likely heat/mechanical action. I'm not sure why you make such statements about shear stable synthetic oils. Do you have links to thes bad UOA's?

 

[buster]

I would definitely use a good synthetic. Try RLI 0w-20 or Amsoil 0w-20.

 

[darreno1]

Quote:

---

This oil thinned way too much for such a short interval, and probably is the cause of the high Fe. The cause could be fuel, or more likely heat/mechanical action. I'm not sure why you make such statements about shear stable synthetic oils. Do you have links to thes bad UOA's?

---

Here's a couple:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...part=1&vc=1

http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=85552.0


There's at least one more with similar results but I can't find it.

 

[Pablo]

Thanks for digging those up. One is M1 and the other OEM fill. Not sure what conclusion I can draw. The fuel in one is 1.6% - a bit high and both thinned substantially as yours did. Both certainly have high break in metals. I guess I have no problems using conventional oil for 3 or 5 initial clean out OCI’s, and getting proper filtration and rich running conditions under control, but eventually an oil will need to stand on it’s own in your engine and keep the metal wear down.

I’d like to see a UOA with Redline, RLI, or Amsoil – all fairly stable formulas, sometimes you get what you pay for.

 

[Last_Z]

buster,

For the 5th time, this engine calls for 5W-30.....not a 20W.

I think running a 20W in these engines is risky, although I've done it twice. From what we've seen in most UOAs done on these MZR engines, the fuel dilute will kill a 20W in no time.

Very nice report! Glad to see fuel is at normal level. Iron is high by a bit though. I am in the process of getting some Pennzoil Platinum, per Terry's recommendation.

Rick

 

[Pablo]

I was wondering why he recommended XW-20 and I just assumed he make boo-boo typo.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

Quote:

---

Right now I'm weary about going synthetic after seeing some of the other UOAs on this engine with mobil 1 and a few others.

---

2006 Mazdaspeed 6 here....

I plan to change my oil in early October and send a sample in for a UOA. Mobil1 5W30 coming out, Penzoil Platinum 5W30 going in. I'm averaging around 500 miles per month - October 6th will be the car's 6 month anniversary in my possession, so the oil should have right on 3000 miles by then. The car had 2000 miles on it when I bought it and the oil had been changed twice at that point. Keep your eyes peeled in the UOA section. I'm looking forward to the Mobil1 and Penz Platinum comparison in this engine.

 

[buster]

My bad...I seem to think everything takes a 20wt these days.

 

[darreno1]

Thanks for the input everyone! I think i'll have a Dyson report done on my next oil change to compare numbers. Keep in mind these engines run very rich stock so that could be a reason for some higher than normal fuel dilution - no expert here, just putting that out. Anyway, looking forward to more input on my next UOA

 

[blackdiamond]

Those links are to my car! Your numbers don't look too bad considering the results in several others.

 

[unDummy]

I would use a synth.
Those comparisons UOAs are meaningless. Since Cu is low, this engine is well broken in. In FL, cold starts aren't as cold as Washington.

A couple runs on Mobil1 HM 10w30 or Euro 0w40 would be interesting.

If you really want to stick with mineral oils, then keep the OCIs at
Don't become a future sludge or noise statistics. Use a synthetic.

 

[blackdiamond]

My Mazdaspeed 3 lives in Washington and probably has not had a "cold start" under 50 degrees since we have owned it. Obviously, Florida is much warmer, but I don't think "cold starts" has any real influence on my UOA.

I hadn't noticed that you had almost 20k on the car total so it looks like the UOAs should settle in over time. Is this your first UOA?

 

[blackdiamond]

p.s. both of the links above are for my car. I'm blackdiamond and bdrunner89. The 4Runner in the picture is my daily driver as my wife drives the MS3.

 

[jorton]

Quote:

---

This oil thinned way too much for such a short interval, and probably is the cause of the high Fe. The cause could be fuel, or more likely heat/mechanical action. I'm not sure why you make such statements about shear stable synthetic oils. Do you have links to thes bad UOA's?

---

Ed Hackett uses Shell Rotella 10w-30 in his turbo Subaru partially because it's not energy conserving(gf-4) but this grade is hard to find. If you're loyal to Castrol, try non-energy conserving 10w-40.