2018 Mazda 3 2.5 Castrol or Mazda Moly

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I just picked up a new Mazda 3 with a 2.5 for work purposes that at this time will see an expected 25-30k miles a year. I am stuck between going with the dealer bulk Castrol which appears to be a good oil or having them use the Mazda Skyactive specific oil at least until the warranty is up. After the warranty is up, would you guys suggest to keep with the same oil or switch to something OTC such as Castrol edge 0w20, Valvoline 0w20, or then switch to Mazda Skyactive?
 
What is Mazda Skyactive specific oil ? What oils does the manual recommend?that is the starting point of oil selection .
 
You're going to get lots of opinions on this when in fact your OM calls for any oil meeting 0W20, which only come in synthetic.
 
You can run any major brand of oil in that Mazda. I am currently running Valvoline in mine.

That's a nice car. The 2.5 likes to be wound up and does it easily.
 
Mazda High Moly oil is a great oil but, expensive. Mazda bulk oil is just fine for you engine also. After warranty I'd go with 0w20 Pennzoil Platinum or any other brand name 0w20
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
You're going to get lots of opinions on this when in fact your OM calls for any oil meeting 0W20, which only come in synthetic.


Exactly.
I'd leave the FF (moly) oil in until 5K and then switch to any name brand 0w20 synthetic for 10K OCIs.....Mobil 1 AFE 0w20 is a great choice at Walmart prices.
 
Originally Posted by mazdamonky
I just picked up a new Mazda 3 with a 2.5 for work purposes that at this time will see an expected 25-30k miles a year. I am stuck between going with the dealer bulk Castrol which appears to be a good oil or having them use the Mazda Skyactive specific oil at least until the warranty is up. After the warranty is up, would you guys suggest to keep with the same oil or switch to something OTC such as Castrol edge 0w20, Valvoline 0w20, or then switch to Mazda Skyactive?


Any oil that meets or exceeds the manual's specs, I'm not a fan of bulk oil unless the shop does a LOT of oil changes weekly, I prefer to get my oil in 1L bottles.
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
You're going to get lots of opinions on this when in fact your OM calls for any oil meeting 0W20, which only come in synthetic.



Not true A.C. Delco and Honda are two blends.
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
Originally Posted by Zee09
0w20 SS oil does exist


What is SS oil?...Super Synthetic?

Semi-synthetic, I'm guessing.
 
Just run a quality major brand synthetic. You have a cylinder deactivation system with that 2018 engine. Also, I would limit the oci to 5k or 7.5k until you can see how fuel dilution will be. In general the Mazda SkyActiv engines don't have the fuel dilution issues of some engines but it's always good to confirm.
 
Originally Posted by mazdamonky
I just picked up a new Mazda 3 with a 2.5 ............... or having them use the Mazda Skyactive specific oil at least until the warranty is up.

Originally Posted by 1JZ_E46
If I was stuck with 0W-20 I'd run a high moly oil. Idemitsu Zepro moly seems popular.
This advice wins here. Idemitsu Zepro Eco Medalist or Mazda's own house brand 0w20 both have a lot of moly in them. .....------Lots of posts here in the past about how some engineers at Honda have been very vocal about keeping a lot of moly in the oil for break-in especially. Other car makers don't discuss it as much, but the principle of moly protecting rough surfaces during break-in is sound. I would change the oil out before 1,000 miles to get the inital burst of metal particles out first, then put in a high-moly 0w20.
Or, what you could do as a 2nd option for convenience, is go ahead and put in the bulk Castrol or whatever (low-moly) oil, then put in half a bottle of LubeGard BioTech or Berryman Engine Oil Extender or Ceratec to bump up the moly content.
 
The Idemitsu Zepro Moly oil mentioned above is a pretty foolproof choice given that it's essentially the Mazda Moly oil and available at good prices on Amazon. It's what I use in both my ND Miata and Mazda 3 2.5.
 
Please don't let the dealer's monkeys ruin your engine. Changing oil is not difficult.

I'm putting Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0w-20 and now 5w-30 in my CX-5. Mazda filters used.
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by Char Baby
You're going to get lots of opinions on this when in fact your OM calls for any oil meeting 0W20, which only come in synthetic.



Not true A.C. Delco and Honda are two blends.



Ah yes!
I do forget about these dealer/OE oils as most members myself included, buy OTC oils and forget about or avoid dealerships oils for the DIYer.
 
I have been the most pleased with M1 0W-20 EP - least amount of oil consumption and runs very well on 7500 mile OCIs in my 2014. I drive about 18k miles a year.
 
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