[RalphVa]

Just did the 1st oil change and tire rotation at 9500 miles and about 9 months.

This is pretty good for the oil change: https://syonyk.blogspot.com/2016/08/201420152016-skyactiv-mazda3-oil.html EXCEPT there are 2 Mazda fasteners on our 2016 panel instead of 1 that he mentions.

My oil extractor DID NOT remove all the oil. About a quart and a half, maybe 2, came out of the drain plug. Perhaps the oil extractor line looped upwards after hitting the bottom of the pan? Need a length dimension to stick it in, maybe a couple inches beyond the dipstick length? Using the oil extractor eliminates messing with hot oil on one's hands and with having to perhaps need a new drain plug gasket.

I put M1 0w20 oil in it and used M1-108A extended life filter, which is smaller than the stock one.

My VW jack slots that VW requires in place of the standard floor jack lift pad with its slots on a round top DID NOT work. The VW slot is about 1-2 mm too skinny. I put the old round jack top back onto my floor jack. Might be able to grind a little off the slot sides to widen it for the 3. Probably not worth it.

Did the recommended cross rotation of the tires. Haven't done that since having a 1983 240D with a real spare tire. I used the spare tire in the rotation on it. For the 3, I just used the donut tire on the right rear tire as I went across and around the car and came back with the left front to put where the donut was.

Ralph

 

[g60_corrado_91]

Damn, 9500 miles? I guess I don't follow manufacturer procedures. I did my first oil change around 3000 miles. Now every 5k. Granted, I drive my car harder than most lol.

 

[RalphVa]

Doesn't matter how hard you drive. It's the oil you use.

Synthetic will go 10-15k miles. Even our VW diesel changes were 10k. Changes on Benz gas engines I hear are 15k.

Mazda recommends 10k unless you drive in very dusty, dirty conditions.

Ralph

 

[g60_corrado_91]

Well part of it is the driving style. Highway driving is easier on oil where as driving city miles means more heat. I use the Mazda GF-5 0W-20 Synthetic oil with an OEM filter.

 

[ElNino77]

As an FYI I just open the drain plug and let it drain for 5 minutes and still end up putting in the entire 5qt jug....no much issue with oil that doesn't want to drain on the 3rd gen 3.

 

[xep]

I'm rather partial to LiquiMoly. It's very good stuff. They didn't have an appropriate 0W20 when I bought my Mazda 3 in 2014, so I ran Mazda's 0W20 GF-5 w/Moly, until LiquiMoly released a 0W20 GF-5 with Mazda's approval on the bottle. Even with good oil, I don't go past 5k miles personally. If you're going to run an oil with extended OCI, LiquiMoly is highly recommended. I do drive hard. I think "highway miles" are BS though.

As for tires, I rotate every 5k miles as well. I used to rotate less frequently, but it's nicer getting even wear. It's particularly important if you're running low treadwear tires for performance reasons.

 

[RalphVa]

I ran our VW Jetta TDI with 10k oil changes until we sold it back to VW with around 70k miles on it. Think it was nearly due for its 70k oil change. VW says they've NEVER had an engine problem due to lubrication with this kind of interval.

With gasoline engines, you should be able to go much longer because there is considerably less carbon buildup in the oil.

You guys are just wasting effort and oil changing less than 10k miles, and I don't think there's any additive needed.

I worked in the lube oil industry for 31 years as a chemical engineer.

Our research told us that Mobil 1 was the best. We bought the company.

Ralph

 

[g60_corrado_91]

Well my own VW (Mk5 GTI with the FSI) wouldn't have any oil in it after their 10k interval lmao. It's always used some oil (bought it new, has 152k of VERY hard, not to mention around 280-290whp).

 

[RalphVa]

Just keep adding some oil. Our 1983 240D used about a 1/2 quart between changes.

The 3 used about a quart. I added 1/2 about 5,000 mile point, and it was a 1/2 low at 9500.

If it really uses more, you could probably easily extend the change interval to maybe 12-15k. That's what it is for gas Benzes.

The Mazda owners manual says 7.5k for short trips and 10k for longer trip driving.

Ralph

 

[decimalsanddollars]

I do oil changes every 10k miles (a little sooner if I've been doing a lot of canyon bombing) with Redline Synthetic 0W20 and tire rotations every ~5k miles

 

[zero_gravity]

Since I do my own oil changes, I stick to the maintenance schedule tight. That means 8k kms. I still put synthetic in it though. Castrol just because it's what is recommended in the manual.

 

[dradernh]

Mazda recommends 10k unless you drive in very dusty, dirty conditions.

We live 1/3 mile up a dusty dirt road, which is why we change the oil every 5K. We'd love to double that interval, but after decades of BMWs and Volvos, we're not complaining when a basic 5K service interval costs us U.S. $55 and change.

Heck, we paid U.S. $66.10 for the 20,000 mile service in Fairfax, Virginia, a fairly high-buck neighborhood in which my wife's niece lives. That same service on a BMW or Volvo would have been hundreds of US dollars.

I worked in the lube oil industry for 31 years as a chemical engineer.

Our research told us that Mobil 1 was the best. We bought the company.

Ralph

That's great stuff, Ralph - thanks for the information!

 

[RalphVa]

I think I've figured out why my oil extractor didn't remove all the oil on the 3 (2.5 GT).

Just changed the oil in the Miata today and was careful in how far I pushed the extractor tube in. I pushed it in the length of the dip stick and then about another inch or so before I felt it hit the bottom of the pan. Then pulled it back about 1 mm and started the suction. When it started sucking air, I pushed the tube down that last 1 mm.

Got about a 2/3 to 3/4 level in the extractor tank vs. less than 1/2 full when doing the 3. Didn't bother with the drain plug on the Miata. Figure I got it all. Both take about 4.5 qts for an oil change.

I'd just pushed the extractor tube in too far on the 3 such that it curled back up and was sucking at a point up from the bottom of the pan.

Using the oil extractor avoids having contact with hot oil. Can let the engine cool down before removing the oil filter.

Ralph

 

[oscargamer]

Why do manufacturers of cars put in drain plugs, if it's just as good to use an extractor tube?

It can't be cheaper to add a plug than to not add it?

So, question..........why do people use extractor tubes? I ask, because Mrs Ordinary would pay a mechanic to do it, so it's only the fairly competent DIY service person that changes their own oil. I understand that it's easier and cleaner to use a tube, but I ask, surely the person doing the change would want to get out as much old oil as possible?

 

[RalphVa]

Why do they put drain plugs on generators that are too low to the ground to get a pan under?

Just because they've always done it.

There aren't going to be gobs of stuff down there like in a transmission or differential, because all the oil has been through a fine mesh filter thousands of times. Nothing to come out of a drain plug that won't be sucked up by an extractor tube.

Ralph

 

[oscargamer]

what about the tiny bits of metal on the plug magnet?

they are just left to build up? (being a bit picky here, just that i reckon if you're going to do a job, do it right)

 

[Must Turbo This 3]

If you're not able to suck out all of the fluid, the oil change ends up leaving behind quite a bit of old, worn out fluid. Why would you do this?

All the heavy stuff is sitting on the bottom and more comes out with the flow of a standard oil change thru the bottom, esp if the engine is tilted slightly at an angle to aid in natural flow.

Oil changes naturally can't get all the old oil out and you're just adding to the percent of old fluid contaminating the new juice right after it's poured in. Lol.

 

[Road Trip]

I worked in the lube oil industry for 31 years as a chemical engineer. Our research told us that Mobil 1 was the best. We bought the company.

Ralph

Here is a partial list of high performance cars that come filled at the factory with Mobil 1 oil.

For those who do not want to open up the thumbnails, it includes, Aston Martin, Bentley, Corvette, McLaran, Mercedes AMG, Nissan GTR and all Porsches.

Good enough for me.

 

[RalphVa]

The race car drivers converted to M1 when they found that they could go farther on a tank of fuel.

In my conversions, I've gotten about 3% increased fuel mileage with M1.

Won't occur on many new cars now because they come with synthetic. Some of it may be hydrotreated, but that's not too bad.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

If you're not able to suck out all of the fluid, the oil change ends up leaving behind quite a bit of old, worn out fluid. Why would you do this?

All the heavy stuff is sitting on the bottom and more comes out with the flow of a standard oil change thru the bottom, esp if the engine is tilted slightly at an angle to aid in natural flow.

Oil changes naturally can't get all the old oil out and you're just adding to the percent of old fluid contaminating the new juice right after it's poured in. Lol.

I did a check on all my engines (except the generator's) when I started using the extractor. Used the extractor and then opened up the drain plug. In most cases, maybe a few drips came out. On my tractor: NOTHING. The extractor did a better job than the drain plug on it.

I've never ever had stuff on the magnetic drain plug on the engine. Have on the drain plug to transmissions. One time, it was the bolt for the 1st and 2nd shift fork on our Alfa Duetto.

Ralph