a number of benefits, and could be regarded as better. I usually use Mazda,
unless I do my change on a Sunday... Repco is open and convenient. I have
one of each again now, so I'll cut them open again and take some photos as
soon as I get time. Repco seems to have changed the filter since I
originally did this anyway.
I use Mobil 1 5w50 @ 5kkms. There is a pdf datasheet on the mobil oils in
the document database I am working on for the site, I've put it on the ftp
server temporarily
ftp://www.mx5club.org.nz/pub/mobil1_0w-40_datasheet.pdf
ftp://www.mx5club.org.nz/pub/mobil1_5w-50_datasheet.pdf
It costs more, but it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling knowing that it is
really good oil...and they sponsor Team Mcclaren
YAY! (but what happenedto Mika this morning?!?!)
many US guys suggest using a cheaper oil and changing it more regularly. I
hate getting the filter off, so I don't really want that hasssle more often.
Also this might be useful - it came from the UK and is a Mazda recommended
service checksheet. I suspect it is the same as here for new MX5s.
ftp://www.mx5club.org.nz/pub/mazda_mx5_ ... ksheet.pdf
You can't clean a paper filter, but if you buy a K&N, it might work out
cheaper after a few replacements as you can clean that. I use a paper
filter and replace it every 10kkms. It is not very dirty really after this
time though. You get an air filter for $20 extra if you buy oil and oil
filter from Repco.
Plugs and leads were done once I got it (by a dealer), but nothing since
(20kkms later) Don't know what plugs are (never bothered looking), but
leads are NGK blue.
As for recommended place to do cam belt change... how about your garage?
FINALLY...
If you want to know about synthetics, I thought this was an interesting
article obtained via the US Power list:
_______________________
Synthetic Semantics
Now that the meaning of "is" has gotten so slippery you need to grab it with
both hands, we'd better keep an eye on longer words, too.
One's already gone squirmy on us - "synthetic," as in synthetic motor oil.
Most people know two things about synthetic oils. First, the price is three
to four times that of conventional oils. Second, they're not real oil, not
made from crude.
News flash: Scratch that second part. Now motor oils derived from crude may
be labeled "synthetic." But they still cost over four bucks a quart. Bait
and switch? That's the obvious conclusion. Except in this case the
advertising ethics people have given their approval.
Here's what happened, according to a detailed account published in the trade
magazine Lubricants World. Late in 1997, Castrol changed the formula of its
Syntec "full synthetic motor oil," eliminating the poly-alphaolefin (PAO)
base stock (that's the "synthetic" part, which makes up about 70% by volume
of what's in the bottle) and replacing it with a "hydroisomerized" petroleum
base stock.
Mobil Oil Corporation, maker of Mobil-1, "The World's Leading Synthetic
Motor Oil," said "No fair" and took its complaint to the National
Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. NAD
often arbitrates between feuding advertisers on their conflicting claims.
The notion behind synthetic motor oils as we've known them is an elegant
one. Instead of relying on the cocktail of hydrocarbons contained in crude
oil, why not go into the laboratory and build the perfect base stock from
scratch, molecule by molecule? The synthesizing of PAO starts with ethylene
gas, a simple two-carbon molecule, and builds till it gets 10-carbon
molecules, then combines three of those to form PAO. The result is a fluid
more stable than the usual base oils derived from crude. It keeps flowing
at low temperatures. It's more resistant to boiling off, and more resistant
to oxidation, which causes thickening with prolonged exposure to high
temperatures. Still, there's more than one road to the point B of improved
stability. Petroleum refiners in recent years have learned how to break
apart certain undesirable molecules - wax, for example, which causes
thickening at low temperatures - and transform them by chemical reaction
into helpful molecules. These new hydroisomerized base oils, in the view of
some industry participants, "provided properties similar to PAOs but cost
only half as much," Lubricants World reported.
The argument before NAD tiptoed around the obvious - does the consumer get
four bucks' worth of value from each quart of synthetic oil? - and plunged
straight into deep semantics. Mobil's experts said "synthetic""
traditionally meant big molecules built up from small ones. Castrol's side
held out for a looser description, defining "synthetic" as "the product of
an intended chemical reaction."
What do unbiased sources say? It turns out that the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) both have
technical standards covering motor oils, and both of these organizations in
the '90s backed away from their old definitions of "synthetic," leaving lots
of room for new interpretations.
In the end, NAD decided that the evidence "constitutes a reasonable basis
for the claim that Castrol Syntec, as currently formulated, is a synthetic
motor oil," said Lubricants World.
The obvious question now: Has the term "synthetic motor oil" been opened up
to the point that it no longer means anything? Maybe. But here's a better
question: Did synthetic ever mean what we thought it meant?
"Great oil" is what most guys think it means. "At that price, it's gotta be
great stuff!"
Okay, but how great? Your car's manual tells what motor oil you should use,
and with few exceptions, that description will consist of only two
specifications. One is for viscosity, such as 10W-30; and another is for
the API service grade, SJ being the current one for gasoline passenger cars.
The buck-a-quart multi-grades meet these standards, as do the synthetics.
The synthetics, on the back label, claim compliance with more standards, but
even if you know what they mean, they seem beside the point for passenger
cars. For example, should you care about diesels if you drive a gasoline
burner? API service CF is the oldest of the current specs for light-duty
diesels; some synthetics list that one. Synthetics may also list ACEA A1
and B1, which are European specs roughly equivalent to API gasoline and
diesel specs. The Europeans grade their oils by levels of performance, so
that A2 and A3 are tougher specs than A1. The same holds true for diesels.
Usually, the date of the spec is omitted, but A1-98 is newer than A1-96.
Completely absent is the one performance claim that would have real meaning
for all of us - some indication of longer oil life. But automakers hold
synthetics to the same change intervals as conventional oils. And the oil
companies, if anything, promise even less. "To give added protection and
life to your engine, change your oil every 3000 miles." This same language
appears on the back of both Pennzoil Synthetic and Pennzoil conventional
oils. Valvoline synthetic makes a similar recommendation. Synthetics do
get one unambiguous endorsement: Corvettes, Porsches, Vipers, and all AMG
models from Mercedes-Benz come with Mobil-1 as the factory fill.
Most synthetics mention GM 4718M in their list of claims; that's the unique
spec created by General Motors for Corvette oil. It's a high-temperature
require-ment that tolerates less oxidation (thickening) and volatility
(boil-off) on a standard engine test called Sequence IIIE, according to
engineer Bob Olree of GM Powertrain.
But don't expect to learn such details on any label. Mobil-1 at least uses
straightforward declarative sentences. Most of the others read as though
they were written by a lawyer looking for an escape clause. Why else would
the following claim be so rubbery? "Pennzoil Synthetic motor oil is
recommended for use in all engines requiring ILSAC GF-1, GF-2, API SJ, SH,
or SG, and in engines requiring oils meeting GM 4718M." Okay, but does it
actually pass those standards?
"Yes," says James Newsom, Pennzoil's motor-oil product manager.
Castrol Syntec, on its label, "exceeds" every standard it mentions. Hmm.now
that the meaning of "is" is in play, I have to wonder, does Syntec meet
those standards as well?
"It does," says Castrol's Juli Anne Oberg. While I have her on the phone, I
ask if there will be a Syntec price reduction now that a lower-cost base
stock has been substituted for the old synthetic. She says no.
) Patrick Bedard, Car & Driver
