Help With Oil Choice: Mazda MX6 2.5 V6 (In South Africa)

[Xenithon]

I see. That is what I was told - that the AME (diesel) has " high detergency, high levels of ZDDP and calcium, and a high HTHS factor." Most of that is beyond my comprehension though.

I am think then it would come down to the AME Diesl (15W40) and the 5W30 Synthetic. Would do the experts say?

 

[Pablo]

Either would be my choice. In the USA the 15w40 is less expensive.

 

[haley10]

I will defer to whatever TooSlick has to say. I am not an expert. I would run the 5w30 ASL with confidence.

 

[haley10]

quote:

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Originally posted by Xenithon:
When I contacted the local Amsoil distributor (who is meant to be fairly knowledgable) he said the following:

"When you ask your local Mazda dealers they would recommend a 20W50 for South African conditions and the fact that the car has done 140000 km emphasizes the suitability of a thicker oil as the clearances are bigger now."

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[Pablo]

quote:

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I will defer to whatever TooSlick has to say.

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As if Too Slick knows more than me....OK he does...but his OPINION isn't always correct - who's is?

 

[Xenithon]

Well, anyone who can objectively help out will be greatly appreciated

 

[Pablo]

No offense really -

Same price - that's odd - how much(?)

I would say that you wouldn't see a whole lot of wear difference between the oils. I'm old school and like the 15w40 - and say that a 5w30 is not needed for you. So I would lean toward any 40 (and since you can't get the 5W-40) go with the 15w40 because 15W will be fine for your climate.

Also see if you can get the ACD 10w30 - that would be an interesting oil for you - also a HDEO.

Also - the linked list is quite old. I don't think Amsoil makes the PMO 10W-40 blend anymore.

 

[Xenithon]

That linked list is from AFTSA, the company which imports the stuff here. That is why I linked it - it shows what is currently available.

You say a 40 might be the one to go for. That would mean either the 15W40 Diesel or the 10W40 full synthetic. The others are all 30 (0/5/10W30).

Pricing here is around $35-$40 for 5l.

 

[Dr. T]

If the gentleman has been using 20-50 for the life of the car, what do you guys think will probably happen when he goes with anything thinner?

A. Burnoff and consumption.

Why not stick with a 20-50 or 15-40 synthetic? Of course, the 10-60 would suffice as well...

[ September 20, 2005, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Dr. T ]

 

[Xenithon]

That was why I was thinking of the 10W40 or 15W40. I also assumed that the 5 would be too thin, but they say that as long as the upper weight is 40 it should be fine?

 

[haley10]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. T:
If the gentleman has been using 20-50 for the life of the car, what do you guys think will probably happen when he goes with anything thinner?

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Better fuel economy, more power from the butt dyno, cooler running and excellent protection.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

You could use about any of the oils. I've changed dozens of cars to AMSOIL when they had 100,000 or more miles on them. First I used 10W-40, because that was what was available. Later used 10w30 or 0W-30. Were it my car, I'd go with an xW-30.

 

[oilyriser]

30 degrees is not very hot, and 15 is not very cold. Any decent 10w30 would give good fuel economy, and it's cheap so you can change it often to keep the HLA's clean.

 

[Geoff]

We had an MX-6 2.6 v-6 a few years ago. I really liked the car. We used Mobil 1 10w30 up through about 65K miles when we sold it. The engine didn't require top up between oil changes at about 4K mile intervals. Its hot here: 38C today.

In my opinion Mazda assumed 30/40 grades for this engine at design time for warm weather.

If using an oil with a wide spread, like 10w-40, synthetics will last longer, be cleaner, and stay in grade. A mineral oil will shear to a 10w30 in about 3K miles and leave a bunch of residue in your engine in the process.

Mineral oils are better now in the US, and probably overseas as well. They are purer, so they don't leave residues, and the viscosity improvers and additives hold up better.

Years ago going synthetic was a must for real long term engine cleanliness.

One thing with that engine - an intermittant miss under load is caused condensation in the deep sparkplug wells in the valve cover. This leads to arcing. Solved by new sparkplug wires.

I would find a commercial Mobil distributor and buy 10w30EP from him. Surely they will otherwise have Delvac 5w-40. Just keep calling.

 

[TooSlick]

This is a fairly low mileage (88k), N/A engine and the expected temp range is quite moderate. I see no reason to use anything thicker than a 10w30 synthetic in this application, at least for the next 125k-150k miles.

This idea that an engine gets "used to" a particular viscosity is without merit....In particular, a high rpm engine will run cooler and fuel efficiency will be measurably better with a low viscosity lubricant. I'd expect an immediate increase in fuel efficiency of 3%-5% simply by making this switch.

BTW, 5C to 30C is 41F to 86F...(9/5 + 32F for those who are "metricly challenged"

)

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
our climate is similar to yours and Castrol here recommend Magnatec 10w-40 (semi-synthetic) for your car

I suggest that you consider one of the very best synthetic oils around - Shell's "Helix Ultra" 5w-40 (and in some markets as 0w-40)
This oil will perform extremely well when added to high mileage engines that have lived their previous life on a mineral lubricant

Either of Caltex-Chevron or Havoline synthetics of similar viscosities are excellent products too and have all the right credentials

Doug

 

[C.S.]

quote:

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Originally posted by Xenithon:


I have a Mazda MX6 2.5 V6 manual. It has 140000km on the clock (roughly 88000 miles). I have been using generic oil (20W50 as suggested by Mazda dealers here) but would like to change to a higher quality synthetic oil.


X

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I'll assume that is the KL engine. Using the 20W50 probably gives you a lot of HLA clatter at startup. The Hydraulic Lash Adjusters have no bleedback valve, and after a few miles the tiny passages get clogged enough that they don't pump up properly until the oil thins out a bit. Keeping the engine clean helps, but even the best maintained will sometimes develop the clatter.

A 5Wsomething will reduce the HLA noise considerably. I use the 5W40 Rotella in Florida, where we've had 60 straight days over 32. My 197K engine is as quiet as any. At a carshow this past summer I was accused of having an electric motor.

In the KL engine that 5W is important for the first few minutes of each start-up. The 5W40 is my year-round oil, though a 5W30 would probably do just fine.

 

[Xenithon]

Yup it's the KL with the irritating HLA tick

At the moment I see three choices appearing:
1. the AME diesel 15W40
2. the Amsoil 5W30 Synthetic
3. Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 Synthetic

Any others are similarly priced and not that good. In fact the Shell Helix Ultra is cheaper than the Amsoil as it is freely available at Shell service stations, whereas AMSOIL is imported by a single company only.

 

[Xenithon]

Pablo - both are the same price here. What would the (dis)advantages of the 15W40 and 5W30 be?

 

[haley10]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pablo:

quote:

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I will defer to whatever TooSlick has to say.

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As if Too Slick knows more than me....OK he does...but his OPINION isn't always correct - who's is?

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Didn't mean to offend. Sorry. I just thought he might have a bit more access to data on this particular engine. My concern was with the HLA on the thicker brews and I thought Ted might clarify the point.