Oil change questions

[diegosurfer5]

Ok so I am tiered of having shops change my oil so im going to do it myself. Whated to see what grade you guys suggest and an over the counter brand. I dont know alot about synthetic and non synthetic. When I start mycar cold I have some lifter knock untill I get oil pressure, which brings me to the second problem I have about a 10-30 second delay in oil pressure from start up. I know my sensor is a go or no go sensor so thought maybe thiker oil would work bettet.?

Please be kind to the oil noob

Josh

[psulja]

I usually get Mobil1 5W-30 and that seemed to stop my lifter tick, other then when I forgot to check the oil level and it got a bit low.

[Shifto]

I use mobil1 10w-30 and OEM filters. Also don't forget to get a crush washer for the oil pan bolt. They are a one use only part and need to be changed every time you do an oil change.

[xjdesertfox]

The only oils that touch any of my cars are:

Mobil 1 0w-40
Shell Rotella T6 5w-40
German Castrol 0w-30
or Pennzoil yellow bottle in 5w-30 + Marvel Mystery oil whenever I need to do a decent cleaning.

for filters Im running a wix 51334 which is the s2000 filter.

Thick oil hides lifter tick, Flow is more important than pressure (to an extent).

Also, If you want to learn about oil, check out bobistheoilguy.com

[Leeroy]

Mobil1 5W-30.

That and Castrol GTX(?), whatever their fully synthetic is.

[Kevin]

IIRC, from a local guy that drives a corolla, he claimed that synthetic's normally didn't do the job when trying to clear out that lifter noise. But I'm not too sure.

To clear the noise, I went thicker and ran Rotella T 15w-40 and its awesome and works wonders. At the track my oil pressure stays within 30-60, generally around the 45 area.

[miata5620]

Rotella T . If it can handle going 15k miles ( sometimes longer) in my rollback I know it will work great in my car.

[Adam]

http://www.miata.net/garage/oil_for_novices.html
Its not a big deal at all plus its fun fixing stuff yourself. When you go to the parts store for your oil and filter, ask for an oil filter cap wrench. I think it was only $5? The one I got for my 2000 1.8 car was size "F". Once you're home get your 3/8" drive ratchet and use it to turn the cap wrench; this was a lifesaver in the tight space.
Just follow the guide above and you and your car will be just fine.

P.S. Here are torque specifications easily charted, bookmark it for future reference with other repairs and maintenance:
http://www.miata.net/garage/torque.html

[The Platypus]

I use Mobil 1 5w30 and a Napa Gold filter to clear lifter tick.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Owned my Miata for over 10 years, owned three if you include the two my wife has had.

I have never been impressed with Mobil 1. I used Castrol synthetic.
I tried Shell Rotella T6 full-synthetic. It WORKS at quieting these engines. I'm not one to gush about oils either.
It is 5w40 so the pressure runs a *little* higher, but it's where I want it to be.
$20 for a gallon jug at Walmart. Do it.

For filters, Purolator premium or Wix. Bosch filters if either of the two aren't available.

[★ revlimiter ★]

Mobil 1 0w40.
Purolator PureONE.

[iamdallas]

Mobil 1 0w40.
Purolator PureONE.

Why 0w40?

[zoom]

Mobil1 5w-30 synthetic with a Fram filter. No tick here.

[Soledad]

The lifter tick you get upon start-up is common to all Miatas and there is pretty much no way to silence it permanently short of pulling the head off and changing the HLAs out for solid lifters. Even the Mazda 'fix' for the HLAs which was HLAs with larger oil holes in them were no more than a stopgap solution.

You can quiet the start-up tick by using an engine flush treatment. Many people use Rotella T6 and swear by it. Many also use the 2Twisty treatment. I have a friend/fellow club member that sells Amsoil products. I used their engine flush treatment and got some stuff in my used oil drain pan. It was not a lot of stuff, just some specs that I normally never see, but it was stuff nonetheless. The start-up HLA tick that lasts about two or three seconds normally has been reduced to roughly a second. I switched from Mobil 1 10W-40 which during the colder months exacerbates the cold start tick to Mobil 1 5W-30 all year round, then most recently to Amsoil's OE 5W-30 and a Mobil 1 or K&N filter. I like it. The HLA tick is not as prevalent as it was before, although it is still present just less audible.

My friend whom is very knowledgeable on the oil subject says that 5W-30 is pretty much the way to go for our cars since they are relatively easy on the oil. I can give you his information if you like, and he'd be happy to more accurately answer any questions you may have. PM me and I'll give you his info.

[jaredef]

Why 0w40?

easier startup than 5w and thicker when at operating temp, nice especially with a turbo making all that heat.