i'm getting my oil changed son, and i need opinions.

i can get it done all at my dealer for 19.99 +tax

or

my self for 15 (oil) 5 (oil filter) 5(oil pan) 5 (oil filter remover) and who knows what other expenses im leaving out

so 30 dollars my first time, and 20 other times.


but i want to use 5w-30 and dealer won't put that in so what do i do. cost the same to have someone do it for you.

and what's the difference between high mileage oil and regular

i've decided to use castrol gtx 5w-30 and premix with 1.3 fp+ and 6.7 idemitsu. i'm certain.

 

While an oil change is one of the most simple things you can do to your car it's probably one of the most important. I stopped paying to have my oil changed when I had friends drive away with no oil in their motor, oil filler caps missing, filters not being replaced and rare instances where cars were damaged/wrecked while being worked on.

I honestly hate changing oil, but I always suggest doing it yourself so you know it's done right.

My oil changes ranged from about $30 to $90 depending on what I used. I ran Royal Purple for 40,000 miles and it's spendy but it worked well.

Lots of people here are happy with the performance of GTX. Oil is a personal choice. Everyone has had a postitive/negative experience with every brand.

Bottom line, change it youself and use stuff you want.

 

Preparing myself for the inevitable flames... IMHO, there's no difference between 'hi mileage oil' and 'regular oil'. I know about leaky valve seals and stuck piston rings, etc., but we are talking about changing the oil every 3,000 miles on a relatively new engine, right....

Now, oil not withstanding;

If you are comfortable changing your own oil, and you have a place to do it, I'd highly recommend doing it yourself. In addition to many other reasons (for example, someone else spilling oil all over the place, or worse, overfilling it because their 'book' said 6 quarts ) , it gives you a chance to have a good look close and personal with, and under, your engine & car - over time, you will likely notice things that are easily repaired before they cause you a lot of time and aggravation...

The only catch is to find a place to dispose of the old oil and filter.

 

Silver06 makes some VERY good points. Changing your oil gives you an opportunity to be under the hood and inspect various parts of the car which sometimes turns up problems before they occur.

As for high mileage and regular oil, I would say there's probably a difference but if anything it's going to be an additive package difference. There's no reason to use high mileage oil on the RX8 and even if you did have high mileage I'd stick with whatever regular stuff you use.

Finally, stick to a 3,000 mile oil change schedule or as close to it as you can.

 

i would agree with all of this. but if the dealer is going to do it for 20 bucks..

wow, that covers a lot of stuff!

beers

 

$20 - go for it.

I've changed my own oil for decades, but now am content to let the dealer do it for $30. I wouldn't go to a Jiffy Goober place, but IMHO the dealer is fine.

High mileage oil is for older cars, and would contain whatever additives are in various old car snake oils. (STP, etc.) I wouldn't even use it in an old car, unless I was trying to stretch some life out of a leaky oil burner.

Ken

 

I just take it to the dealership . 30 buck,move on . Im to damn lazy ...................

 

well, if its 20 bux and you're kinda lazy to do it yourself. then sure. Just remember to tell them that you only need about 4 quarts of oil. and Check your oil level right after you leave the dealership, if they overfilled it(happens A LOT to dealerships), bring it back and say u better fix it fast and NOW.

I do my own oil change, in fact I just did it last week, I mean everything, including brake(Valvoline Synthetic) , engine oil(Mobil1 0w40), oil Filter (Mazda OEM), tranny oil(Red Line MT-90), and rear diff(Mobil1 75w90 Synthetic LS). took me about 2 hours(taking my time) cost about hmm not even 100.

 

Ya, the bad stories usually come from Jiffy Lube or other places like that. A dealer should be on the up and up and when you have your 8 in any factory updates, flashes and such can be performed as well. For the cost you quoted, that is not bad, plus the dealer has a record of regular oil changes/maint records on your car.

I have changed oil for years, any auto parts place will take the used oil. The oil filter on a 7 or 8 does not require a removal tool, just clean hands..........

Benefits depend on you, if you premix, the light weight oil is not a factor. I would change your oil every 3k and keep receipts. When your car goes in for any scheduled maintenance, say at 30k or 75k, the oil will be changed anyway.

Doing minor maint like an oil change, air filter replacements... just brings you closer to your car

 

say that to the stationary gears/bearings and eccentric shaft.

 

You've chosen wisely.

A bit more effort to do it yourself, but you get what you want and with all DIY jobs a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that it was done right.

 

Unless, of course, YOU screw it up!

 

People get screwed and ripped of from dealers all the time.

I agree about the oil filter tool, if it was installed properly then it shoud be just fine to get off with your hand. Unless it was overtightened or put on with a dry gasket.

For the op, the only difference in oil and high mileage oil is the aditives that they put in it. Unless you want to get real technical. Shell lubricants only produces enough base oil for there penzoil products so their quaker state base oil is outsourced and not as pure, also quaker state high mileage oil contains slick 50 already in it, but penzoil does not.

 

so regular oil that is...if i decide to change it myself

yeah i pay like 2 dollars not even for labor

yeah just fyi for all, don't go to jiffy lube, un experienced people change oil all the time there

wait wait i don't get it though. don't we hold like 6 quarts of oil, why do we only get 4 out, should we flush it out? i.e. engine flush? is it bad to let the remainder mix with the new?

yeah i was always a fan of using 5w-30...but dealership won't do that for me or i think they wont

yeah it took me a while to figure out what i wanted to do, and it does feel nice doin something right!

results: regular oil it is, still don't know whether to go dealer or not for the 5w-20 concern (not thick enough) but premix compensating for it was suggested.

meant for it to be titled not your typical oil thread....but i screwed up i guess :D

and waxing and doing mods yourself is very satisfying, changing oil could be added to that list!

 

You can get significantly more oil out of the coolers if you jack up one side of the car and then the other. Or if you use a pump oil extractor. But you'll still be leaving some older oil in there. That's why people like to change their oil more frequently.

 

I don't remember where I read this but I found a tip that if you don't have a jack you can roll up one side of the car onto the curb (via a driveway ramp thing) and get under it that way.

 

I don't know, I always get a sense of satisfaction when I walk away from my car all greasy/oily. I just like working on my cars. *Thinks that's the reason I've had so many FC's...*

 

But then the curb itself would be in your way. You wouldn't have gained the 'slide under' access you might need for an overtightened oil pan nut.

Ramps are another option, provided the vehicle's front dam clears them.

Best is a jack and jack stand (our cars came with a jack).

 

Is it me, or are the jacks that came with the 7's and 8's a bitch to work with? I just went to Autozone and bought me a jack/2 jack stands set for $40. Best purchase I've ever made.

 

40 bux for 2 jack stands and a jack at autozone ?

I got a 2 ton set like that for 20 bux at pepboys about 2 yrs ago.

but then I dont like that small pumping jack, it made me pump 50 times before I can work on my car.

so I went again and got myself a Garage jack. 100 bux. about 5-6 pumps Im ready to work

 

at home doing it by myself it is folks.

i'm not getting a full oil change when i got to dealership, which i want (5w-20) i have mad ocd so i can't have this weird mix. they would just ride it up an even ramp and drain out like 3 quarts....not good enough for me!

thanks for all of that!

and i already have my self a good jack, how many jack stands would i need? (i feel weird having only 1 side up) couldn't i just work under the jack?

and i'm gonna get that oil extractor, can you recommend any?

 

Uhh... any oil changing shops ie Walmart, Canadian Tire etc... accepts old oil and filter.

I won't mind having the dealership perform the oil change, but they charge around $40 after all said and done. But what kills me is that eventhough an oil change takes no more than 10-15min, the elapsed wait time at the dealership can be up to an hour! I suppose one can always go test drive their cars.

 

I can understand the concern about 5w20 oil but Mazda can't / won't stay in business with a 100k warranty by using to thin of an oil.

Motor oil for Rx-8 ? 5w20 is just not enough.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/renesis-removal-rebuild-146186/

That shaft was ruined because of a coolant leak! Water is not a good lubricant, is not compresable and WILL DISPLACE THE OIL, not the other way around, And water has a different heat displacement ratio than oil.......it will boil at a lower temp than oil. Water ruined that shaft, not 5w20 oil. Basic Physics

 

my 8 has 77xxx miles and i'm using 15:50 Motul oil, running strong

 

Uh oh ...