My car is at 6,600 miles which is shy of the 10K required oil change interval and there are a lot of people who say that oil change requirements are there for a reason. The manufacturer has done extensive testing and determined 10,000 miles are perfectly acceptable for an oil change. That’s fine but my car isn’t stock. Instead of 292 horsepower at the crank, I’m putting down 350 horsepower to the wheels and driving a bit more aggressively than most cars. This means more wear and tear and I wanted to start the car with a clean oil change as we enter winter-time.
Believe it or not, this car is the first I’ve ever modified and the first I’ve ever done any self-maintenance on. Perhaps one day I’ll regret doing all maintenance myself but for now, I’d like to learn as much as possible and thus am doing things myself.
I ordered the Oil Change Service Kit from ECS Tuning because it’ll include exactly 6-liters of oil that has the 505.01 / 502.00 oil (VW Spec) as well as the oil filter, O-Ring and plastic oil-pan plug that is required to be replaced each oil change. Also, yes the oil pan is plastic. I’m as disappointed as you.
Kit Includes:
- Oil Filter
- Drain Plug
- Motul Specific 505.01 / 502.00 5w-40 Synthetic Oil – 6 Liters
I used the hydraulic lift again owned by Heather’s dad because it allows me to get under the car easily without having to strain my neck. Everything went fine without a hitch. The car was around 140F Oil-Temp when we started the drain for about 20 minutes. I put all 6 liters of oil in the car and the dip stick was perfectly at the max fill line. It went very well. The car immediately felt better on the drive home and oil temp hasn’t exceeded the normal amount of around 227F at highway speeds.
Next time, I’ll have to be a bit more careful when taking the oil filter housing off as I spilled a bit of oil on the engine but that’s just a learning experience for me. I think the next oil change, I’ll spend the extra money and buy ECS’ Oil Filter Aluminum housing. The plastic OEM housing is prone to crack and I can do for a few more shiny things in the engine bay. Next summer, I’ll be taking the car to a few shows and the more special elements in the engine bay will look fantastic when the hood is popped. I also plan on doing the Billet dipstick and a few other shiny elements but these things will probably come after my savings toward light-weight forged Summer wheels.
