First oil change & observations
#1
Mmmmm... Rotary Donut
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Lake in the Hills, IL (NW Chicago Burbs)
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
2 Posts
First oil change & observations
I just finished with my RX-8's first oil change, and would like to thank everyone that has contributed tips on this forum for making it a smooth one, including:
1. Monster-tightened factory oil filter: The sandpaper inside the filter wrench cap ('F' size) worked great to get a grip on the filter- it loosened with no problem.
2. The use of the universal joint in between two 6" extensions made it easy to work to use a wrench with a filter at that awkward angle.
3. Putting a diaper around the base of the filter mount- something I learned from the Miata guys worked great to contain the oil that spilled from removing the old filter, although there wasn't much to catch.
4. I'm trying the Mobil1 110 filter (instead of the smaller 108) to get a little more filtering protection. It's closer to the size of the factory installed filter than the tiny replacement filter that Mazda recommends. Seeing that it's vertically mounted, it's tough to do my usual oil pre-fill, but I still managed to get several ounces of oil absorbed into the filter by leaving it set long enough.
Now for an interesting observation. I always floor-jacked my Miata up on both sides, but higher on the side opposite the drain to increase drainage. The RX-8 is just high enough that I could have slipped the drain pan under there and manipulated the wrench to get the drain plug out, but the front splash guards would have made it pretty tough. So I decided to jack it up on just the drivers side, just enough to get a jackstand under it, and see if I could get some extra oil to drain from the driver's side oil cooler, not to mention making it much easier to crawl under the car and look around a bit.
I was surprised how much that helped - since the official oil change capacity was supposed to be around 3.7Qts, I anticipated adding 4 quarts or so with the gravity enhancement. By the time I was done with my post-change test drive allowing the oil to fill the filter and other passages that might have emptied out, I have now added a total of 5.25 quarts to get it to the full line. That is a huge improvement over the 3.7 quarts I would have had without the jacking, so I highly recommend it.
1. Monster-tightened factory oil filter: The sandpaper inside the filter wrench cap ('F' size) worked great to get a grip on the filter- it loosened with no problem.
2. The use of the universal joint in between two 6" extensions made it easy to work to use a wrench with a filter at that awkward angle.
3. Putting a diaper around the base of the filter mount- something I learned from the Miata guys worked great to contain the oil that spilled from removing the old filter, although there wasn't much to catch.
4. I'm trying the Mobil1 110 filter (instead of the smaller 108) to get a little more filtering protection. It's closer to the size of the factory installed filter than the tiny replacement filter that Mazda recommends. Seeing that it's vertically mounted, it's tough to do my usual oil pre-fill, but I still managed to get several ounces of oil absorbed into the filter by leaving it set long enough.
Now for an interesting observation. I always floor-jacked my Miata up on both sides, but higher on the side opposite the drain to increase drainage. The RX-8 is just high enough that I could have slipped the drain pan under there and manipulated the wrench to get the drain plug out, but the front splash guards would have made it pretty tough. So I decided to jack it up on just the drivers side, just enough to get a jackstand under it, and see if I could get some extra oil to drain from the driver's side oil cooler, not to mention making it much easier to crawl under the car and look around a bit.
I was surprised how much that helped - since the official oil change capacity was supposed to be around 3.7Qts, I anticipated adding 4 quarts or so with the gravity enhancement. By the time I was done with my post-change test drive allowing the oil to fill the filter and other passages that might have emptied out, I have now added a total of 5.25 quarts to get it to the full line. That is a huge improvement over the 3.7 quarts I would have had without the jacking, so I highly recommend it.
#3
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Indiana
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Similar to my first change at 2500 miles - but used Rhino ramps with great success. Quick and not dirty. Refill was just a t 4 quarts to the full line.
John
PS This year with my cars under warranty - I've started to document any 'home' work by a dated digital picture of the odometer - simply note the work in a notebook and on the back of the photo with the oil information. I even staple part of the filter box to it. Plan on buying 10 year warranty - via dealer - before the 47 month or 20000 mile limit.
John
PS This year with my cars under warranty - I've started to document any 'home' work by a dated digital picture of the odometer - simply note the work in a notebook and on the back of the photo with the oil information. I even staple part of the filter box to it. Plan on buying 10 year warranty - via dealer - before the 47 month or 20000 mile limit.
#5
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Maysville, Colorado -- Beyond here be dragons!
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
G8r':
Thanks for the post. What you describe is pretty much as I've been doing it on My Dear Wife's 8, and I get 5.0 qt changes that way. I may get a bit more aggressive with the "tilt to drain" at the 10k change (skyhook maybe?), as that's when it's getting full synthetic.
{{{{
Thanks for the post. What you describe is pretty much as I've been doing it on My Dear Wife's 8, and I get 5.0 qt changes that way. I may get a bit more aggressive with the "tilt to drain" at the 10k change (skyhook maybe?), as that's when it's getting full synthetic.
{{{{
#8
Humpin legs and takin nam
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Clearwater, Fl
Posts: 2,433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There is always a danger, but in this case, they are draining 5.5 qts because of the tilting, instead of having the car flat. So they would not overfill. You should probably add 3 qts, then check your level before adding anymore.
Originally posted by starbucks
Interesting.
So no danger of "overfilling" at 5.5 qts when official cap is 3.7?
Interesting.
So no danger of "overfilling" at 5.5 qts when official cap is 3.7?
#9
Mmmmm... Rotary Donut
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Lake in the Hills, IL (NW Chicago Burbs)
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally posted by guy321
There is always a danger, but in this case, they are draining 5.5 qts because of the tilting, instead of having the car flat. So they would not overfill. You should probably add 3 qts, then check your level before adding anymore.
There is always a danger, but in this case, they are draining 5.5 qts because of the tilting, instead of having the car flat. So they would not overfill. You should probably add 3 qts, then check your level before adding anymore.
Anyway, the official capacity is more on the order of 7 quarts (if you have both oil coolers, i.e. US Spec 6 speed MT). The 3.7 quarts is actually a 'replacement capacity' since that's about all that will drain if the car is level. This is really scary to me- you're effectively changing half of the oil (or more realistically diluting half of your dirty oil with clean oil) if you do it on a level surface. On Mazda's recommended oil change interval of 5k or 7k miles, you're really running a long time on, at best, half-clean oil.
#10
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Indiana
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wonder if jacking up driver's side - draining - then lowering that side and then jacking up passenger side would get even more oil out.
Think I'll try that.
John
Think I'll try that.
John
#11
Mmmmm... Rotary Donut
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Lake in the Hills, IL (NW Chicago Burbs)
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally posted by RX8_GT
I wonder if jacking up driver's side - draining - then lowering that side and then jacking up passenger side would get even more oil out.
Think I'll try that.
John
I wonder if jacking up driver's side - draining - then lowering that side and then jacking up passenger side would get even more oil out.
Think I'll try that.
John
Post how much you get out doing that- we can have a contest for most oiled drained during a change : )
#13
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Indiana
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just finished - got just over a quart by jacking up driver's side - but nothing of note by then jacking up passenger's side only. Even after leveling car.
At end - measured about 5 quarts total. Your results may vary - as they say.
John
At end - measured about 5 quarts total. Your results may vary - as they say.
John
#14
Mmmmm... Rotary Donut
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Lake in the Hills, IL (NW Chicago Burbs)
Posts: 2,376
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
2 Posts
Originally posted by Foureagles
G8r':
Thanks for the post. What you describe is pretty much as I've been doing it on My Dear Wife's 8, and I get 5.0 qt changes that way. I may get a bit more aggressive with the "tilt to drain" at the 10k change (skyhook maybe?), as that's when it's getting full synthetic.
{{{{
G8r':
Thanks for the post. What you describe is pretty much as I've been doing it on My Dear Wife's 8, and I get 5.0 qt changes that way. I may get a bit more aggressive with the "tilt to drain" at the 10k change (skyhook maybe?), as that's when it's getting full synthetic.
{{{{
Hey Ted- good to see you on the '8 list. Have you started "adding lightness" to your wife's new car? That ignition key is pretty solid
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
akagc
RX-8's For Sale/Wanted
7
08-11-2015 07:07 PM
RotaryRider
New Member Forum
11
07-20-2015 07:05 AM