Hi Scotty. I absolutely love your YouTube videos.
I have an oil question for you. I've been doing my oil changes at the dealer (two so far). I change it every 5,000 miles.
I asked the dealer about moving me to synthetic oil, as all the research I have done says it is better for the engine and turbo.
He told me it is best to use Mazda's Oil, which I think is a blend (5w30 for the turbo). They recommend synthetic for the naturally aspirated 4 cylinder without a turbo.
I need your advice. I want to change, but he seems to be genuine in telling me this, as he is losing money by not doing synthetic. What do you think? The manual says use Mazda's oil (a blend). But it also says to do oil changes every 10,000 miles which is insane to me. No way I'm going over 5,000 miles between changes in a car I plan to keep as long as it runs.
What should I do?
We get this question on a regular basis. Please see under our FAQ for guidance.
What should I do?
You should use the viscosity recommended in the owner's manual. Since Mazda doesn't make their oil, you can use any pure synthetic GF6 oil and be fine.
It used to be that synthetic oil was universally recommended for turbochargers due to its superior ability to resist coking under the high heat conditions found in a turbo. That was before the advent of synthetic blends, I don't know how those hold up in comparison. Turbochargers are expensive to replace when they fail so I'd err on the side of caution.
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He's probably saving you a bit of money. Any oil that meets the specs in your manual is fine.
I was surprised when I took a look under the hood of a Mazda CX-50 and the viscosity said 5W-30. A lot of Japanese cars have gone to 0W-20 or 0W-16. So I was pleasantly surprise to see the Mazda with 5W-30.
Check your owners manual to see what they recommend: synthetic, semi-synthetic, or conventional.
The manual isn't specific beyond telling you the certifications oil must have. They don't use the words conventional, blend, or synthetic. It echo's to use Mazda's oil (which I think is a blend) for best operating circumstances (mpg was in that section)