2018 Mazda6 oil choice?

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So im 500 miles away from my first oil change on the new to me CPO Mazda6. The dealer did an oil change on it when they did the CPO inspection with it says Castrol 0w20. Car will have roughly 7700 miles when it says its due. Its set on looks like 5K services. Now i plan on using a motorcraft 816 filter but trying to decide on the oil. I can get 0w20 motorcraft in bulk at work for dirt cheap or get Castrol or pennzoil full syn off Amazon for like $23.
 
Great car! Enjoy the ride.

I had a '17 Mazda6 bought new and put 28k miles on it in 10 months. It's not picky about oil. Mileage, noise, cold starts...didn't matter. I did 5k changes to make it easy with tire rotations. If you have the Dunlop tires, keep them rotated frequently or they get noisy.

I used:
M1AFE in both 20 and 30 grades
PPPP
QSUD
PUP 5w-20
M1EP

Filters:
D+
XG6607
TG6607

Mazda6 mileage log
 
Any major brand of 0w20 will run fine. Consider the Roki OEM filters. Some dealers sell them at a good price.
 
I run my 2013 Mazda 3 (Skyactiv G motor) with several different brands of 0w20 (Idemitsu, Mobil 1, Supertech)

Next up is the havoline 0w20 boxed oil.

I sent in my first sample to blackstone on a 7K mile OCI and everything looked great. They suggested trying 8K miles but I stick to 7K max.

The car can easily do 7-10K miles per OCI but for warranty I guess you should stick to around 5K for now.

Currently I'm running supertech 0w20 and it's running great. I've used Purolator (blue can) and Mobil 1 filters so far without issue. I may start to buy filters from the dealer at $7 a pop.
 
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Warranty allows for a 7500 mile OCI if you set your maintenance interval to flexible. I have a Mazda 3 hatch 2.5 that seems to love the Mazda Moly oil I have been feeding it so far. It is a fun car and I expect it will last forever with 7500 mile OCI's on whichever 0w20 major brand you prefer.
 
use whatever supports your warranty for now! look at the owners manual for specs + keep records + receipts just in case! i was steering my girlfriend toward a fairly new 3 or 6 to replace her oil drinkin 13 malibu 2.5, but a nice kia optima caught her eye + that was that, her $$$$ her choice but advised NO CVT! i like thicker oils + checking owners manual i seen 20 or 30 WT are fine so i dumped the semi-syn 5-20 the car dealer just put in for 10-30 in summer + prolly 5-30 for winter, almost any fake synthetic group III that meets manufacturers spec will do, so seeing quaker state full synthetic ultimate durability for $18 i got some!
 
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Well, it depends.

What Mazda recommends is Mazda Moly Oil, which is an ultra high moly oil manufactured by Idemitsu. While it's fine oil, I don't really see the point of buyiing the Mazda branded oil when you can get Idemitsu EcoMedalist Moly (make sure you get the moly version, there are EcoMedalist blends with far less) for less money and it is, near as anyone an tell, the same oil.

However, I don't really like the Idemitsu much either. It wasn't badly priced for a while, but now that people have caught on the prices have gone way up to $40+ for a 5qt jug, or $8 and some change a qt. That's less than Mazda, but still pretty expensive.

If you want to go with a high moly oil, what I'd actually recommend is Toyota Genuine oil, which is very similar to Mazda/Idemitsu oil (it also has an enormous slug of Moly) but is considerably less expensive than either. Currently it's sitting on Amazon at about $7.20 a qt, although you need to buy 12qts to get that deal. The price is higher than it was last I checked, and it does vary quite a bit so keep your eyes open. There are a few differences in the formula vs Mazda, but ultimately it's a quality oil made by a major manufacturer (Exxon-Mobil) to similar specs for the same reasons.

That said, I don't run any of those in my Mazda. While a high moly oil isn't going to hurt, and it does bring some benefits (mostly in MPGs), it's really not necessary and it's quite expensive. You may get fractionally better MPGs, but you will get the same life out of your engine with any quality synthetic as you will with the mega-bucks mega-moly oils. It's worth pointing out that in my owners manual, right next to the recommendation for Mazda Moly oil, is a recommendation for Castrol, followed up by a statement that any SN rated oil is acceptable and Mazda will warrant their use. Castrol does not make a high moly oil, so it leads me to believe that the high moly is not necessary for proper function of your engine. Mazda wouldn't recommend, let alone warrant, low moly Castrol otherwise.

Right now, I'm running Pennzoil Platinum 0W20 in mine because it was on sale for a good price. When it comes time to change, I'll probably get whatever's a good deal at the time and not worry about it. Mobil, Magnatec, Quaker State UD, black bottle Castrol, Pennzoil, Valvoline, even most store brands, it's all fine. It's your car and your money, so you can do whatever you want, but IMO you'll be just fine with any synthetic oil from a reputable manufacturer changed on schedule.
 
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At the Mazda dealer you're more than likely getting Castrol 0w20. I've never seen a US based Mazda dealer push Idemitsu.

If you're worried about high moly content, just buy QSUD for $17.99/5qt.

If I wasn't stockpiled with PP, Havoline and The low end Idemitsu, I'd buy the QSUD in a heartbeat for my Mazda.
 
Any SN+ d1G2 0w20 will run fine. I am currently running the Havoline Pro DS in mine. The engine is smooth and quiet.
 
As others have said it really doesn't matter much. The Skyactiv engines are very durable and will run well on any SN+/d1 G2 oil.

One thing to consider is going with an oil that has a decent Noack volatility number and also a low SA. Lower SA and lower Noack may reduce intake valve deposits.

What I don't like about the Idemitsu is the 14% Noack. Mazda uses very good oil control rings so oil consumption is often rare compared to Honda and other brands, from my experience. With intake valve deposit issues in GDI engines, my preference is Mobil 1 0w20 EP/AFE, both of which have a 10% Noack and SA of .8. Castrol Edge would be my second choice followed by PP 0w20.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Any SN+ d1G2 0w20 will run fine. I am currently running the Havoline Pro DS in mine. The engine is smooth and quiet.


I look forward to running that next. Those boxes are starting to expand from the humidity. I don't trust the cardboard in the long run.
 
My selling dealer uses Total and Mazda Value Line filter and they overfill. Only oil change I didn't do myself in 30-35 years. I just changed again with Zepro advanced Moly and a genuine Mazda filter. My 2018 CX-5 has only 5500 miles but goes mostly short trips. Local dealer where I buy my filter uses Mazda oil and genuine Mazda filters, not value line. I have Mobil 1 and Schaeffer's for future changes.
 
I would have to say QSUD. Just changed oil with that one in a Mazda 3.. Cost a full 20 bucks at Walmart and it is smooth.
 
Originally Posted by talest
I would have to say QSUD. Just changed oil with that one in a Mazda 3.. Cost a full 20 bucks at Walmart and it is smooth.


It's been 17.99 on rollback lately.
 
Nothing wrong with the Motorcraft 0W20. Why not use it especially if you can get a super deal on it?

EDIT:
I just looked at their website and no 0W20 was listed at all. There was a full synth 5W20 as well as a blend.
 
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