NAPA 0w-20 UOA Mazda6 2.5L 5000 miles

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 7, 2018
Messages
1,660
Location
Northern KY
Like the thread title says, this is a UOA for a 5000 mile interval using the NAPA 0w-20 synthetic, which is produced by Valvoline. The car is a 2016 Mazda6 with the 2.5L Skyactiv engine with 41000 miles. This is the first sampling from this car and it looks like I could have comfortably taken it a few more miles.

[Linked Image]


oil.png
 
That is a great looking report. I'm curious as to where the sodium came from though? I thought that Napa(Valvoline) had deleted that when d1G2 came into effect.
 
Wow.. you sure you ran that oil?...‚..jk...Very nice 👌
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by buster
Nice report. Mazda 2.0/2.5 are great engines.


Yep. Too bad Honda can't build a non turbo engine similar to the SkyActiv engines.
 
Elkins45, this is as clean of a report as anyone could ever hope for.

A little dab of moly...a big dab of boron.

Mazda6. Nice, beautiful sled.

Thanks for sharing.

NAPA value...it's a thing.
 
Last edited:
I bought three cases of it when it was on sale in January for $2.99/quart. When it goes on sale in 2020 I will probably pick up a couple more. I can do an oil change with a factory Mazda filter for $23 so I have no complaints.
 
Originally Posted by ZZman
Add pack looks good. Even has Titanium.

Seems Valvoline threw in a little bit of everything and it appears to be working. The 100c kv is right where it should be and there's reserve TBN; I'd be surprised if this lube couldn't do 7k in this engine.

OP, this Napa 0w20 just might be your go to lube.ðŸ‘
 
Great report! Very low wear. Low contamination.

Soooooooooo .... Elkins45, what did you learn from the UOA? I mean, what did you discover that will lead to actionable choice?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by dnewton3
Great report! Very low wear. Low contamination.

Soooooooooo .... Elkins45, what did you learn from the UOA? I mean, what did you discover that will lead to actionable choice?


The reason for doing it was to learn two things:

1. Is it actually a good quality oil suitable for long-term use (the answer seems to be yes)
2. Does it hold up to a 5K change interval? (it seems like it could go to 6K comfortably)
 
Originally Posted by Elkins45
Originally Posted by dnewton3
Great report! Very low wear. Low contamination.

Soooooooooo .... Elkins45, what did you learn from the UOA? I mean, what did you discover that will lead to actionable choice?


The reason for doing it was to learn two things:

1. Is it actually a good quality oil suitable for long-term use (the answer seems to be yes)
2. Does it hold up to a 5K change interval? (it seems like it could go to 6K comfortably)

Ding ding ding!... winner winner chicken dinner!...‚

If this were me I'd say I just found the lube I'm gonna be using for the foreseeable future.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Elkins45
Originally Posted by dnewton3
Great report! Very low wear. Low contamination.

Soooooooooo .... Elkins45, what did you learn from the UOA? I mean, what did you discover that will lead to actionable choice?


The reason for doing it was to learn two things:

1. Is it actually a good quality oil suitable for long-term use (the answer seems to be yes)
2. Does it hold up to a 5K change interval? (it seems like it could go to 6K comfortably)


Frankly, any lube in the right vis that has the API cert mark is going to be "suitable for long-term use". I have yet to see a UOA that indicates an API lube being inferior to such conditions. Could that lube in your lube go 6k miles? Yes. But that's a pittance. It appears that it could easily go 15k miles, and probably more. Your Fe wear rate is around 1ppm/1k miles; that's almost absurdly low! The other wear metals are non-issues as well. There's no contamination to speak of. Understandably, if you're under warranty, you're not likely to push this out far. OK, then. But there's no reason to be buying syns if you're just going to follow the OEM schedule.

Here's the bottom line; what the UOA is confirming ...
Either ditch the syn and follow the OEM interval with the least expensive conventional lube that is API licensed, and quit doing UOAs. (There is plenty of evidence to show that dino lubes can do just as well under such conditions).
Or extend the OCIs out to a reasonable condemnation point where the wear rates rise above "normal" wear trends, thereby getting value out of the syn and the UOAs.

Essentially you're doubling down on waste, because you're not only wasting perfectly good lube, but also wasting information you paid for.
 
The manual specifies 0w-20. They don't make a conventional 0w-20. If I decide to run something else it won't be until after the power train warranty expires. I have no desire to give them an out if something fails before 60K.

The WIX analysis costs $10 from Rock Auto, and I don't plan to do another.

The NAPA synthetic was $2.99/quart. I can't go buy a 5 quart jug of most conventional oils at off-the-shelf prices for that unless it's a house brand like Traveler or Harvest King. There's really no cost penalty for using this oil over a dino oil.

I may be misunderstanding you, but extending intervals until I start to get abnormal wear defeats the purpose of having lube. Isn't the goal to change it BEFORE the wear levels rise above normal?
 
https://www.mazdausa.com/siteassets/pdf/owners-optimized/2016/mzd6/2016-mazda6-owners-manual.pdf
Starting on page 6-27
0w-20 is the preferred oil in the US and Canada. That vis is not required; it's "recommended". They also recommend Castrol; do you use that?
They also spec 5w-30 for that same engine in Mexico and just about everywhere else on the planet. They also state that 5w-20 is acceptable if 5w-30 is not available.
IOW, any decent API certified lube between 0w-20 and 5w-30 is OK to use in that engine. You'll get ever so slightly better fuel economy using the thinner grades, obviously.
This is not a new topic; it gets played out with just about every brand of OEM and the owners of their cars.
Could Mazda give you a hassle if you didn't use 0w-20? Sure they can. But ultimately it comes down to the understanding of warranty provisions and burden of proof in the M/M Act.
Mazda does not even both developing their own oil spec; they just say "use what's recommended". (page 9-4)
Basically, as long as you use an API SM or better, in a vis between 0w-20 and 5w-30, you're good.
And when was the last time we saw a Mazda engine implode because of vis grade, anyway?????
21.gif

It's not like being in KY induces temps so cold that you need a 0w rated lube, or it's so hot that you must have a syn to avoid coking the oil.
Should I believe that 0w-20 is a pure necessity in El Paso, TX, but right across the border in Juarez is totally OK for dino 5w-30? What is it that happens to oil requirements when you cross the Rio Grande???
I could certainly understand 0w-20 being of benefit in the northern part of Alberta or Manitoba in winter, but come on now ... KY is so cold that we "need" a 0w rated syn? Give me a break.

You could easily find a house brand dino lube in 5w-20 or 5w-30 for less than $2.99. RK oil is $1.69/qrt; about half what you're paying. And I've run 10k mile OCIs repeatedly on that stuff; UOAs always come back as good as any brand name syn.

You are NOWHERE near anything close to poor wear rates. Even if you ran out to 15k miles, your wear would be just fine. There is tons of data to show that wear trends generally decline out to 15k miles, for just about every engine family I've ever studied. And I didn't say to run the oil until things went "abnormal" (your word). I said to run it until the wear rate goes above normal trends. As a generalization, wear rates start around 3ppm/1k, and then decline; this is a mass generalization. Your engine already super low in the wear rate. If it upticks above it's unique rate, it's still WELL WITHIN the macro normal trend.

For example; my old 4.6L engines ...
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4389122/5
I ran 10k mile OCIs, using both house brand dino (RK 5w-20) and band name syn (Peak 5w-20).
Wear rates for all tests fell WELL inside of "normal" bounds. The average Fe wear rate across 550 samples is about 3ppm/1k miles. Yet both oils I used ran anywhere from 1ppm to less than that! And that is including the dino oils!

If you have not yet read this, please do, so you understand the true relationship of micro and macro data in terms of UOA interpretations:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/used-oil-analysis-how-to-decide-what-is-normal/

I certainly understand one's fear of ruining an expensive investment; I get it. But real world data shows that generally we grossly over-maintain things like cars, because of fear. Once you understand what the real data tells you, that fear should subside and common sense should take over. Even if your wear rate doubled (from 1ppm to 2ppm per 1k miles), you'd still be WELL below any condemnation level for wear rates. Wear rates for your engine family can EASILY sustain 3-4ppm/1k miles and yet live to 300k miles or longer. THAT is what macro data analysis tells us.

I will put my money where my mouth is ... I'll challenge you to try an experiment and I'll pay for it if the data comes out worse than macro data expectations.
You run two successive API SM/SN 5w-20 or 5w-30 dino 5k OCIs, with the UOAs. I expect you to drive typical of what this current UOA represents; don't do odd things or use additives, etc. Just follow your daily life.
If the data in the UOA falls outside of macro data "normal" as defined by true statistical analysis, I'll reimburse you for the costs.
I'll even be willing to put the money in escrow; I'll send funds to a mutually agreed third-part BITOG member who'll hold the funds until the experiment is over.
If I'm wrong, you get the money. If I'm right, I get my money back and all you have to do is admit that reality speaks volumes.
Yes - I am that confident I'm right about this.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Railrust
Wow, even the house blend synthetics are looking good nowadays, with the moly and boron. Wasn't long ago that wasn't the case.



NAPA has been good for quite a while. It's just Valvoline in a different bottle, and that bottle is often on sale for great prices. Used to run the stuff over a decade ago when I had my old Subaru and it was the same thing back then. Good oil, good sales.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top