First Oil Change... Purrrrs Like a Kitten!

[DaleNixon]

I did my first oil change at 3029 miles this weekend and the car feels and sounds way smoother. It might be the placebo effect, but I swear it revs, shifts, cruises, engine brakes, etc. way better than before.

I changed the factory fill for Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and used an OEM filter. The old oil came out black as night. My old filter came out looking like the last piece of gritty chocolate cake.

Bonus! Watch the video I made today and critique my shifting! I've been driving stick for about 4 months now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW3E0DGxFjo

 

[UHATEIT]

the forge sounds loud, is that recirc and with windows up? Sounds pretty bueno. definately swords clashing, prince of persia style!

 

[DaleNixon]

Yea the windows are up. And it's running recirc. Personally, I love the sound!

 

[UHATEIT]

it sounds very loud which is great! the louder the better

 

[DaleNixon]

Well when I mod for sound it's mostly so the car can more effectively tell me exactly what's going on with it. Stock airbox + stock bpv... no clue what's going on with the turbo.

I have my Dashhawk, but the audible cues are nice as well. Plus I'm slightly rice (ricer).

 

[SRTCE142]

try to do 5th in 1 motion. just push towards the glove box. Should feel much smoother than that looked.

 

[DaleNixon]

Yea that 5th gear change looks pretty awkward. I always shift to 5th like that now that I'm conscious of it from seeing the video. I guess I'm just horribly afraid I'll slip into 3rd by mistake.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Yeah you had quite the 5th gear change.

I always just turn my hand so that my thumb is pointing down and the top of my hand is facing me. One firm push in that direction and i'm golden.

 

[///M Compact]

Yea that 5th gear change looks pretty awkward. I always shift to 5th like that now that I'm conscious of it from seeing the video. I guess I'm just horribly afraid I'll slip into 3rd by mistake.

Check out this tutorial. It helped me smooth out my technique a little bit.

 

[Abilor]

Fear not Dale, it's not just you. I hit 3000 this morning, and will change my oil this week once I get my kwik-valve that Kain recommended. I changed at 1200 as well into PP5W30, and I noticed a difference right away. Much smoother. I want to get new transmission lube as well, the red line MT-90 stuff (anybody have a FAQ/Sticky on this process?)

That said, my shifter is still breaking in. All gears were stiff and notchy for a long time, but 1 - 4 loosened right up around 2500 miles, and are pretty greased now. I aim to get a TWM SS and bushings for Xmas which should help, along with a TRZ dog-bone mount. Forge BPV FTW in the spring time.

Fifth and sixth are still a b****. Notchy as all hell, and stiff still. 5 > 6 is easy because it's straight back, but 4 > 5 is still stiff, unnatural. RARELY am I able to slide it right in in one motion, usually it takes 2-parts, but it's loosening up and hopefully the right lube will help ( That's what *SHE* said!)

I also always used to shift overhand, but have noticed I started to use a monkey paw style, with my thumb on top of the shifter. This felt very natural all of a sudden, and the grip was better (hehe, 2 for 2). Helped with the 4 > 5 trick.

The great thing about manual is it's like Othello: a week or two to learn, a lifetime to master.

 

[DaleNixon]

The guide is here Abilor: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123692757. I followed it pretty much exactly, but I didn't jack the car up... I was skinny enough to get under there and loosen the drain bolt without it. I jacked up the passenger side of the car to help the fluid drain. Also, I removed the protective front cover from the bottom of the car. It just made more sense to avoid making a mess all over it.

MT-90 makes a really big difference. The motor mount inserts, MT-90, and shifter base bushings improved the shifting dramatically in the order listed.

 

[Abilor]

Beat me to at again... Thanks for the links!

 

[Snyeed]

So this the car you learned how to drive a stick on? If it is.. I'm sure that it wasn't easy. If you can drive this you could drive any car.

Eventually you should be able to shift and barley if not hear any sound from the Forge, Its pretty fun.

 

[DaleNixon]

Yea this is my first stick car. I probably knocked 50,000 miles off the clutch in the first 150 miles of ownership (hand)! I can shift without setting off the forge, but the intent of the video was to show it off.