Engine oil recommended for US and Canada is 0w-20 and for international it is 5w-30. Anybody know if the engines are different?

 

Oil viscosity differences in regions is generally due to temperature variations. Hotter climates use thicker viscosity oils. Colder climates uses thinner viscosity oils. The engines/transmissions/differentials use different viscosity oils depending on the average temp of the region even though they are the same exact parts. Use your best judgment.

 

I see the 8th place in the VIN is the engine code. USA and Canada codes are different than Mexico. Y=USA/Canada 2.5 liter, E=USA/Canada 2.0 liter. Mexico codes are numbers. So, USA/Canada engines are different. I don't know how different though. I'm thinking they may have design differences for the 0w-20 oil so I guess I'll stick with that unless someone can tell me different.

 

Oil viscosity is based on bearing/piston to cylinder wall clearances/etc. Any noted difference in engines would only relate to fuel/air ratio's which are different from country to country.

 

For NZ & OZ the chassis numbers,

JM0 = Built in Japan,
BK = The model ( 1st Gen Mazda 3 ) - BL = 2nd gen M3, BM = 3rd Gen.
10F = Engine, (2.0 ltr engine ) 103 = 2.3, or 10L = 2.5,
100 = Pre facelift, or 200 = facelift,
123456 = Unique ID number

JM0-BK-10F-100-123456 17 DIGIT CHASSIS NUMBER.

 

So you think there's no difference in the blocks, oil pumps, lifters, bearings, etc. between a USA/Canada Mazda CX-5 engine and those sent to other countries and a USA/Canada engine can safely use 5w-30 motor oil? Ours is using about a half quart of oil in 2,200 miles. I have some Amsoil 0w-30 I want to try in it to see if that would reduce the oil burning some.

 

No difference in the engines other than emission standards of the countries they are bound for. It would be mind bogglingly expensive to change the internals of every engine for each country and no reason that i can fathom to do so to begin with.

 

It's the "0" in 0w-30 that will burn. 0 is zero weight. If your engine rquires "0" weight oil you could go to a 5.
1/2 a quart loss isn't bad, read: https://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/gen...ls-0w__-32291/

 

Thanks but I don't know why the 0w_ would be the problem with oil use. That's supposed to be an indication of the oil's viscosity at below operating temperatures. At 100 degrees C, the Amsoil 0w-30 viscosity has about a 20% higher viscosity than the Castrol Edge 0w-20 recommended by Mazda.

 

Not really comparing apples to apples.
2 different oil weights.
Amsoil is a premium oil, no doubt. 0 is definitely thinner than a 5
If your engine requires 0w20, you definitely could go with 5w20 synthetic.
You also may be able to mix half of 5w20 and 1/2 of 5w30 using Amsoil.

A good article on synthetic oils with some charts etc: Synthetic Oil Advantages - Mazda Forum - Mazda Enthusiast Forums/