Hasanyone else noticed that the oil in the Mazdaspeed 3 gets really dark very quickly? I pulled the dipstick today and it was black after less than 3,000 miles (Mobil 1). It was dark enough at the 5,000 mile change that the dealer said that if it looked the same at the 10,000 mile change they would recommend shorter intervals. I'm positive that the problem is fuel dilution that darkens and thins the oil and I'm not really happy about either. Have you noticed this same thing?

 

try castrol Syntec

 

Same thing with me and Mobile1, Im changing it tomorrow night. Got about 3500 miles on it (second time with Mobile1 inthe Speed).

 

I've always been told that oil getting dark really is not a prolem. It doesn't mean that its life is over.

 

do you let your car run for a minute before you turn it off? the turbo needs to cool off and stop spinning or else it will burn upthe oil that is still in it,which will turn the oil black and, ultimately, lead to the early death of your turbo. with turbochargedcars, i recommend synthetics on a 3k mile rotation and a turbo timer so that the tubo can properly cool before the car turns off with no guess work.

 

HKS turbo timer and boost controller. Have never had an issue with shut down. I do have a 45 miles commute one way to work every day. I've run Mobile1 in 3 other cars, and it hasnt turned this dark that fast, but you;re right Drac, it doesn mean the life is over. I have to lift the car for a rear engine mount Tuesday night anyway, so I fingered, why not an oil change?

 

The darker color is most likely a sign of fuel dilution that has been documented in this engine and also other direct injection motors.

I am going to get a UOA done after 5,000 miles and see how the oils really doing. I won't be running Mobil 1 again afteransome information that I got from someone in the know. I wasn't told anything specific, but based on the commentcoming fromsomeone I have no reason not to respect I will go with something else in the future.

Why the recommendation for Castrol Syntec?

 

I agree completely with the last three posts. A turbo timer shouldnot be an option, nor should a boost gaugeand even though my 3 is not turboed, I never turn it off w/o letting it run for at least20 secs. With a turbo, that time is even more critical.
Oil does not go bad simply because it darkens. In fact, I've read something recently that said the worst time for synthetics are the FIRST 3K miles and that most will do @ least 14K w/o a problem. Mobil1 is said to go up to 18K before it begins to break down.

 

castrol syntec 20w-50 is what i use. i only use that high of a weight of oil because of how hard the 100 degree temperature is on motors in my city. i have always used castrol and it has never let me down. i have used every grade of oil that they make too.

 

I don't think that "cool down" is the source of my problem, but since my wife drives the car I doubt the status quo will change. As I said before, I think the issue is fuel dilution and in a couple thousand miles I will be getting a UOA by Terry Dyson (BITOG)to find out what's really happening.

Mobil 1 has been shown to last up to 18,000 miles, but the people that did that test (LS1 Camaro) actually said outside of the test they would have changed it closer to 8,000 miles. Also, fuel dilution both thins oil and can create deposits when it mixes with the add packs.

Is nobody else with a Speed 3 finding a similar thing?