Synthetic Oil, or no?
 

I am running a 2006 Mazda3 2.0 and I am driving about 280km per day (yes long commute) but it is all 100 km/hr highway (115 - 401 - 410 in the GTA).

I am changing my oil on a regular basis, but I am wondering if maybe a switch to Synthetic would be better. Any ideas?

I run syn in my piston engine cars. I believe it is worth the extra money.

yes run synthetic will save you money and is better for the engine

http://www.amsoil.com/

Motor Oil
 

Remember if you go to a Full-Synthetic Motor Oil, You cannot switch back to regular Motor oil. I personaly have always ran a Synthetic Blend. This way you can switch back if needed for any reason, and you still get the benefits of synthetic oil. If you choose to go with a full synthetic check into Royal Purple.
This is the web Site http://www.royalpurple.com/

not true you can switch back and forth all you want.

Yea, I have never heard of that before, that you can't go back to dino oil after syn. where did you hear/read that?

Be very careful
 

I just purchased a 2010 Mazda3 Hatchback. I noticed in the owners manual there wasn't a synthetic oil recommend, so i emailed Mazda. They said that they do not recommend synthetic oil due to they have no longevity numbers. Using a synthetic oil can void your warranty, especially if the problem relates to a engine problem.

Tell them to read up on the magnum-ross act.


https://www.amsoil.com/magnuson_moss.aspx

More info - I have been using 0w-20 since the first oil change.
My dealer never had a problem with me using it and even said wished more people would use amsoil.

I use regular motor oil. With synth I've heard from my mechanic that once you go all synth you have to stick with that. because if you switch it will increase your chance of engine leakin oil. But yea synth is good.

There is some truth to what was said by the above mechanic, it actually can lead to leaks to some degree when you switch back. Has to do with the expansion rates on the gaskets/seals if I remember correctly, but that doesn't mean you can't do it or will have the issue.....just know that there is that possibility.

I definitely believe that full synthetic is the way to go. I've used Mobil 1 Synthetic for years and have never had a problem. Even built a high performance Ford 302 and after 120,000 hard miles the inside of the engine still looked as new as the day I assembled it. Also, I've heard the theory many times about not being able to switch back to regular oil once you go synthetic but I don't believe it. I work in auto parts and as a mechanic for over 10 years and have never seen a problem. First off, once you went full synthetic why would you ever want to switch back? But if you did, the only reason I could foresee a problem is if there was quite a bit of wear and tear on the engine already, in which case you've probably waited too long to make the switch to synthetic anyway.

this is the only issue I think, no matter what you are not following the manufacturers schedule - so if there are any engine issues you're stuck with no warranty.

As long as you have your maintenance done regularly according to the schedule in the manual, there should be no problems, synthetic oil or not. And I'm sure that if they tried to void your warranty because you used synthetic oil then you could legally fight that issue under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. As a matter of fact, under this law, if they require you to use a specific oil for your warranty, they must provide it free of charge for the life of the warranty. In all the years I've been in the automotive industry, I've heard of a few dealers try to force customers to only use their products and services but always backed down when the customer came back with the Magnuson-Moss information.

As a matter of fact, my Mazda dealer recommends the Castrol Syntec oil, which is an excellent synthetic oil. They will always offer the customer their choice of regular Castrol, Castrol Syntec Blend, or the full synthetic Castrol Syntec, but you are also allowed to specify any type of oil you choose. There is a label on every oil container with the federal requirements it meets, and it merely has to meet or exceed the specification of the oil that Mazda uses, which in this case is Castrol.

Synthetic oil
 

I just bought a 2011 Mazda 3 grand touring S like 4 months ago! I have 3400 miles now and I'm about to get my first oil change.... And while signing the papers when purchasing the car the dealer told me to get the maintainence package because the car requires synthetic oil????? Is that true???? I want synthetic oil but I don't wanna get a surprise when I get there and they try to put regular oil in?? Help please!

Thanks, Greg

Greg,
The owner's manual doesn't state anywhere that the vehicle requires synthetic oil. When I took my car in for its first oil change, which is the same year and model as yours, I had to tell them I wanted the synthetic oil otherwise they would have put the regular oil in it that came in it from the factory. They did say it showed it as an "option." Sounds like your salesperson used a poor way of getting you to buy the maintenance package. He should have just sold you on what a great value it is rather than making a false statement like that. It is a good value and I definitely recommend the maintenance package and would have purchased it myself had it been available when I purchased my car, but unfortunately they didn't come out with that package til a months later.

So, bottom line is if you bought the maintenance package then thats good, but either way just to be safe be sure to specify you want the synthetic oil when you take it in if it is in fact what you want, which I personally recommend. Also, be aware that they may still try to schedule your oil changes for every 3,000 miles when actually that's a waste, as 5,000 miles will do you just fine and still is probably overkill. The owner's manual calls for 5,000 miles in extreme environments and 7,500 in normal conditions with regular oil. Just to be safe I recommend sticking with every 5,000 miles regardless of conditions. The 3,000 mile mark is a hold over from the old days when engine tolerances weren't near as precise as today and the technology of oil production and its properties involving thermal breakdown, etc. weren't near as advanced as today. So if you want ultimate protection, 5,000 miles with synthetic oil will keep your engine lubricated and clean for decades to come.