Maintaing your MP5

[Pete47]

Hi, I'm a new MP5 owner and I just purchased my car a month ago. I want to give my car the best lubricants and parts to make my even more reliable than what it is.
What are the maintenance things that you MP5 owners done to the car that wasn't recommended by the dealer or wasn't done by them that give the car better performace and reliability. (e.g. I put Z-max lubricant in my car and it runs so much more smoother).

What are the best oils, radiator fluids to make it run cooler, brake fluids, motor oils, tranny lubricants, ect for are vehicels other than the OEM?
What are good oil filters, air filters, spark plugs & wires, brake pads? Please feel free to make any recommendations to make the car run smootherand better.

My car has small vibes and is alittle under the 1000 RPMs at idle after 5 mins of warm up. Does anyone know why?
Also I have alittle over 36300 miles on my car. Should I have done any special tune up or maintenace check by now? (I'll be getting a manual soon.)

P.S. We are all HERE as Mazda P5 owners to get the best out of are cars for years to come why not shear it with each other. Thanks for the advice...

 

[sgryzko]

All I do is check the oil/fluids often. I'm not too worried about the specifics, but maybe I should be.
Anyways, I think I'm in the same boat as you. I got my P5 used a month and a half ago, and the dealer who sold it to me still hasnt given me a manual. I want to know when to get it tuned up and what not.

 

[BiGx5MurF]

my dealer swears Agip motor oil is the best for these cars, and thats what they always use. But the name itself just bothers me "A - Gip", you know like a rip off? But then again, my dealer gives free oil changes for life.

 

[TRexPro5]

The only thing I can offer is what I have from personal experince. My p5 has 50k+ miles on it, I bought it brand new.

I have since changed the oil, using ONLY mobil 1 10w30, every 3000 miles. Changed the spark plugs once at 25k miles and again at 50k miles. The BIGGEST improvment I have seen in doing regular maintence and a little performance modding, if you will, was when I put Mobil 1 75w90 gear oil in and tossed in the KartBoy shifter bushings. The car felt brand new again and this was at 50,000 miles! I might still be happy since the car felt so good afterwards but after 2k miles it still feels the same and Im getting ready to change the oil again .

The reason I prefer Mobil 1 synthetic products is the simple fact that Mobil 1 CONTROLS all aspects of its production materials. All their manufacturing(sp) is done in house, meaning companies like Amisoil, Redline, etc outsource some of the manufacturing(sp) process to other companies, so they can't control every aspect and tolerance. (Im just picky thats all, any motor oil changed within 3000 miles will do fine in a naturally asperated(sp) car.)

Oil Filters? Ive only used Puralotor, Ive heard some wierd stuff about Frame oil Filters, so Ive shyed away from them.

Spark Plugs, first time I used the stock NGK replacement, no complaints. 2nd time Advanced Auto didnt have them in stock so I went with Bosch Platnium. You aren't looking for colder or hotter plugs or some crazy iridium stuff, just a good plug that won't fail. NGK or Bosch will do just fine, just make sure they are gapped correctly and you will have no problems.

Radiator fluid... thats a tough question... depeding on where you live will decide what you should use. In Ohio I use, all year round, a mixture between 60% Peak (PURE Radiator fluid) and 40% Water. Now depending on where you live you can increase or decrease the water precentage. Just know that WATER, yes water, is better at disapating heat better than just about any other substance on the earth. You can add RedLine Water Wetter or Purple Ice? I can't remember what its called if you want but if your not doing any performance driving I wouldn't worry about it.

Brake Fluids just use the specific dot # listed in the manual when you get it, I can't remember what it is off the top of my head.

Brake Pads oem replacement is fine. I have the Hawk HPS pads on the front, AWESOME pad but you get CRAZY brake dust. I also think Its wearing down my rotors a bit faster (50k miles will do that though).

Plug Wires... DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT buy any plug wires for your car. You do not need them. The only way I would recommend a set of new wires for your car is if your others stopped working or you wanted another set for asthetics(sp). Things like MSD ignition etc are worthless on a car with Coil Packs (The black boxes on your valve cover), they will produce AMPLE amounts of spark to the plugs, no worries.

*deep breathe* well I think thats about all you where asking. Im 99.9% postive on that information I've given you. If I am wrong and someone shows you, please let me know.

Also remember if you are working on your car to make sure you have the proper tools, experince, and help there!

 

[msubullyfan]

All I do is check the oil/fluids often. I'm not too worried about the specifics, but maybe I should be.
Anyways, I think I'm in the same boat as you. I got my P5 used a month and a half ago, and the dealer who sold it to me still hasnt given me a manual. I want to know when to get it tuned up and what not.

http://protege5.ugly.net/00-00.PDF

Page 30 has the maintenance schedule.

 

[Pete47]

The only thing I can offer is what I have from personal experince. My p5 has 50k+ miles on it, I bought it brand new.

I have since changed the oil, using ONLY mobil 1 10w30, every 3000 miles. Changed the spark plugs once at 25k miles and again at 50k miles. The BIGGEST improvment I have seen in doing regular maintence and a little performance modding, if you will, was when I put Mobil 1 75w90 gear oil in and tossed in the KartBoy shifter bushings. The car felt brand new again and this was at 50,000 miles! I might still be happy since the car felt so good afterwards but after 2k miles it still feels the same and Im getting ready to change the oil again .

The reason I prefer Mobil 1 synthetic products is the simple fact that Mobil 1 CONTROLS all aspects of its production materials. All their manufacturing(sp) is done in house, meaning companies like Amisoil, Redline, etc outsource some of the manufacturing(sp) process to other companies, so they can't control every aspect and tolerance. (Im just picky thats all, any motor oil changed within 3000 miles will do fine in a naturally asperated(sp) car.)

Oil Filters? Ive only used Puralotor, Ive heard some wierd stuff about Frame oil Filters, so Ive shyed away from them.

Spark Plugs, first time I used the stock NGK replacement, no complaints. 2nd time Advanced Auto didnt have them in stock so I went with Bosch Platnium. You aren't looking for colder or hotter plugs or some crazy iridium stuff, just a good plug that won't fail. NGK or Bosch will do just fine, just make sure they are gapped correctly and you will have no problems.

Radiator fluid... thats a tough question... depeding on where you live will decide what you should use. In Ohio I use, all year round, a mixture between 60% Peak (PURE Radiator fluid) and 40% Water. Now depending on where you live you can increase or decrease the water precentage. Just know that WATER, yes water, is better at disapating heat better than just about any other substance on the earth. You can add RedLine Water Wetter or Purple Ice? I can't remember what its called if you want but if your not doing any performance driving I wouldn't worry about it.

Brake Fluids just use the specific dot # listed in the manual when you get it, I can't remember what it is off the top of my head.

Brake Pads oem replacement is fine. I have the Hawk HPS pads on the front, AWESOME pad but you get CRAZY brake dust. I also think Its wearing down my rotors a bit faster (50k miles will do that though).

Plug Wires... DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT buy any plug wires for your car. You do not need them. The only way I would recommend a set of new wires for your car is if your others stopped working or you wanted another set for asthetics(sp). Things like MSD ignition etc are worthless on a car with Coil Packs (The black boxes on your valve cover), they will produce AMPLE amounts of spark to the plugs, no worries.

*deep breathe* well I think thats about all you where asking. Im 99.9% postive on that information I've given you. If I am wrong and someone shows you, please let me know.

Also remember if you are working on your car to make sure you have the proper tools, experince, and help there!

TREXpro
Thanks a Lot. I was hoping I can get an answer like this. This is so much help for me. Today I will try to get the Regular ngk plugs and leave the same wires. I put Mobile 1 Synth too, just two days ago but the people who put the oil in put a fram filter. I think I'm going to start using the Puralator one for my car. s there better filters out there like K&N or Mobil 1 ect...
For the Plugs, I just posted a thread about them and was wondering how hard it is to do myself. I was wondering if its hard to get to the plugs with the black boxes over them? Is there anything I should look out for when changeing plugs?
Thanks.
P.S. please read the rest of my post I would appreciate you input thanks...

 

[TRexPro5]

TREXpro
Thanks a Lot. I was hoping I can get an answer like this. This is so much help for me. Today I will try to get the Regular ngk plugs and leave the same wires. I put Mobile 1 Synth too, just two days ago but the people who put the oil in put a fram filter. I think I'm going to start using the Puralator one for my car. s there better filters out there like K&N or Mobil 1 ect...
For the Plugs, I just posted a thread about them and was wondering how hard it is to do myself. I was wondering if its hard to get to the plugs with the black boxes over them? Is there anything I should look out for when changeing plugs?
Thanks.
P.S. please read the rest of my post I would appreciate you input thanks...

Naah, plugs are VERY straight forward. Just unscrew the screws holding the black boxes in place (I try to keep them in order IE: left and middle right then right then middle left, you'll see when you take the coil packs off). Its a very easy process. The only thing you need to make sure you do is torque the plugs in to the correct spec. Personally, I just give it a decent amount of tightening but I don't recommend that because if you don't tighten them enough they can blow out... thats not fun .

Edit: I forgot, make sure you have the proper spark plug socket and extension. It will make this job 100 times easier. The plugs sit REALLY deep in the hole and that special socket will basically "grab" onto the end of the plug so you can pull it out.

Fram oil filters are okay, I have no proof or solid information that states them as being foul. I would just make sure that I change it out @ 3000 miles. If there where problems with them, Fram wouldn't be in buisness anymore. Really when you get down to it an oil filter is an oil filter. None are going to increase horsepower or do anything magical to your car. Just keep them changed every 3000 miles and change the oil and you won't have any problems (in my opinion).

My car has small vibes and is alittle under the 1000 RPMs at idle after 5 mins of warm up. Does anyone know why?
Also I have alittle over 36300 miles on my car. Should I have done any special tune up or maintenace check by now?

If your plugs haven't been changed that could be one solution. The other thing, Im *not* real sure about this because I only use BP or Sunoco Gasoline (Im picky ), bad gas ie: Kroger Gas or Meijer Gas can cause wierd idle problems. If its under 1000rpm its not a HUGE problem.

 

[Brian MP5T]

As long as you don't get the cheapest crappy no-name oil for your changes and follow the maintenece plan, you should be alright unless you are doing some heavy modifications or drag racing pintos. Later...Brian