DIY Oil Change (Tips? Recommendations?)

[RevLimitLaunch]

mazda wanted some ridiculous amount of money for the oil filter wrench when i wanted it originally last year. i went to autozone for the type b wrench and it was like $3 haha. definitely worth it and you'll never get that pos cartridge filter out until you have it. i just got the spin on filter conversion kit, of course just after doing my last oil change about 200 miles ago haha. so ill wait about 3k which puts me into spring to do it. can't wait.

 

[prs]

Hey fellas, new guy here but I thought I'd chime in on this one as well. Not sure how different the speed is from my regular 6s but I installed a fumoto drain valve which makes things easier. No more bitched up drain plugs. Takes a little longer for the oil to drain but I have access to a hydraulic lift but I rotate my tires every oil change so it's no biggie. Also, I use a K & N oil filter. It has a one inch nut and I have a telescopic driver I put the one inch socket on and attack it from the front. No need to burn my forearm dicking around with a regular filter wrench. To the OP, the more you change your oil, the easier it gets. Same for brake pads, coolant, etc.

 

[wannabe]

Place container under filter housing - Use oil filter wrench and just loosen the Filter Housing Cover a bit - Like 1/8 of a turn - Use 6mm hex key to drain oil from filter. The reason to open the housing cover a bit is cause it allows the oil to drain out of the drain plug easier.

i usually do more of a full turn. its not enough to start leaking out the sides, but it actually flows instead of pulsing out.

 

[Drover]

Quick Question if i change to Syntethic oil do i have to get my engined flushed or is that just to go back to conventional oil?

I know one thing my winter beater, 2.4L Grand Am (owned since new), got 333,xxx km on it and all that has been put in it is Quaker State 10w30, don't smoke, knock or tick and oil is only added every 5000km when its changed. So i'm sticking with quaker haha.

 

[RevLimitLaunch]

it really all depends, how long have you been running non synthetic in the car (miles wise)? you wouldn't need to flush the engine but if you've racked up a decent amount of miles i'd probably go with semi syn first then switch to full the next oil change just in case! i'm thinking of dropping from full down to semi because of the smoking habits of these cars.

 

[Drover]

I have around 14xxxkm on the car? whats best for me to do? semi? or full?

 

[RevLimitLaunch]

idk, there's a million different opinions i'm sure you'll get from everyone on the board. what have you been running? non synthetic? i'd prob switch to semi syn if that's the case for the next oil change. then go to full syn if you'd like to. just make sure to always and ONLY put 5w-30 in the car.

 

[Drover]

5w30? 5w20 in the car now, i'm pretty sure thats what they came with from the factory. Had my oil changed twice and thats what they put in.

idk, there's a million different opinions i'm sure you'll get from everyone on the board. what have you been running? non synthetic? i'd prob switch to semi syn if that's the case for the next oil change. then go to full syn if you'd like to. just make sure to always and ONLY put 5w-30 in the car.

 

[RevLimitLaunch]

uhhhh don't put 5w-20 in it anymore!!! all mazda dealerships were supposedly given notices not to put that in also fyi! 5w-30 is ALL you should put in it. my local dealerships said the warranty will be voided if they ever found out someone were to put 5w-20 in their car after that fact.

 

[Drover]

ahh good to know lol, well when i take it out of storage the next time i'm home i am gonna get it changed so i'll put 5w30 semi synthetic

 

[tunersteve]

I'm running Elf (Total) 5w-40 in mine, and have got about 3 mpg better driving the same way I did with the original oil.

As far as the oil comparo goes, I did a lot of research before settling on this oil. Mazda recommends 5w-30 in the MS6, and I had already bought Mobil 1 with the intentions of changing it. When someone said it isn't full synthetic I looked it up. Basically to sum it up, it barely meets the requirements to pass as a synthetic oil. Oils that can pass european standards are generally a higher quality oil, since their testing cycle is much much more rigorous than ours is. After this, I settled on only buying one of 3 oils: Redline, Royal Purple, or Elf. The 5w-40 is what they recommend for turbo and high rpm mazda engines. Others haver reported a higher oil pressure as well, which is a good thing.

 

[elieleb1303]

does anyone know what kind of oil the dealerships use for the ms6? ive had the dealership do it everytime and now i think im just gonna start doing it myself but i dont know what they use. i do know its 5w-30, but i dunno the brand or the type, whether its full synthetic or a blend.
if its a blend, can i just switch to full without a problem? ive got about 20,xxx miles on the car..

 

[tunersteve]

does anyone know what kind of oil the dealerships use for the ms6? ive had the dealership do it everytime and now i think im just gonna start doing it myself but i dont know what they use. i do know its 5w-30, but i dunno the brand or the type, whether its full synthetic or a blend.
if its a blend, can i just switch to full without a problem? ive got about 20,xxx miles on the car..

Is it up to the dealer personally, or does Mazda make them carry a particular oil?

 

[elieleb1303]

i dunno i guess thats what im tryin to find out

 

[Raynman]

Dealerships buy whatever bulk oil they wish to purchase.

 

[elieleb1303]

hmm interesting.
but they do use at least a synthetic blend in the ms6 right?

 

[tunersteve]

hmm interesting.
but they do use at least a synthetic blend in the ms6 right?

Again, kinda going with what Raynman said, it all depends on the dealer. Unless you're seriously strapped for time, get yourself some ramps and do the oil yourself. You can see everything first hand and make sure it's good.

Another thing I recommend is that you make an Excel spreadsheet with the dates, mileage, and intervals of your oil changes. That way if you have any issues, you have something to at least show for yourself.

If you want, PM me and I'll put together that oil change log for ya.

 

[tunersteve]

Ok, I'm gonna post the log I made for anyone to use freely. It didn't take much time, and the formulas are already copied down each column. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[chiefmg]

As far as dealers go, there have been numerous reports of them using 5w20 in Speed6s, despite the manual specifically stating to use 5w30. While I can understand using a dealer for an oil change to minimize possible warranty problems, in my eyes if you have to watch them like a hawk it is easier to do it on your own. I use Castrol's Syntec blend personally.

 

[elieleb1303]

Ok, I'm gonna post the log I made for anyone to use freely. It didn't take much time, and the formulas are already copied down each column. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

thank you sir!