Where's the oil filter in the M3?
 

Do any of you folks know ho to locate the oil filter in the M3 sedan? I just has a service done at the Mazda dealership (7500km) and off course I think they used a Mazda oil filter and Shell 10W30 Synthetic Oil. I myself like to use Mobi1 or Redline, with a K&N Oil FIlter, so I'm gonna wait a 3 months and then cange them.

What size engine to you have? On my 2.3L, the oil filter is right at the bottom of the engine in a black plastic casing. I have to remove the plastic under-car guard to get at it. The oil filter is literally just the paper filter. You remove the old one from the plastic casing, clean it up, and pop in the new one. You also replace two o-rings on the casing and you should add a little grease so they don't break. When I bought my car in 2004, the only place that carried the filter was the Mazda dealer, but it has been a few years. Did you find a K&N filter?

I use Mobil 1 5W-20 and change every 7000 miles.

only ever 7,000 damn i would kill myself if i let mine go that long even on the 10,000 rated oil i wouldnt even go all the way to 3,000 this next oil change im swithching to full synthetic.. and still gonna hit it up ever 2,000-2,500 miles...wow your brave

Well, the manual says change the oil every 7500 mi and that is assuming regular oil. The dealer I go to recommends 3750, but that is basically because they want my money. With Mobil 1, the oil won't break down and the filter will filter all the metal shavings and any small amounts of carbon that might build up. I also live in Northern California, the majority of my driving is on the freeway, and I don't speed or drive hard on a regular basis. I'm sure many people on this forum will say how nuts I am and that the manual is completely wrong. However, Mazda has no reason to recommend 7500 mile changes unless that is all the car requires. Think about this, if you lease a BMW or Audi with an all inclusive scheduled maintenance plan, the dealer only changes the oil every 10K miles or even later. New cars just don't need their oil changed as frequently. 3000 miles is an old school train of thought. Ok, I said it. Let the beating begin.

I think it may also have something to do with the planned obsolescence. :laugh:
Although material technology has improved dramatically for low end vehicles its possible to calculate pretty much when things are going to fail (BMW, Mercedes, etc, have always had better build/material quality and longer design life)
Motor industry cannot survive if cars last too long, they rely on steady turnover.
Its not a new concept, they have been doing it for at least 70+ yrs.
150,000miles is acceptable to just about everyone ( used to be 100,000) so thats when cost of repairs vs cost of replacement kicks in.
I do oil and filter change every 3,000 for first 30,000 miles then between 3,500~6,000 miles (using Mobil 1)
I do first oil change on new vehicle at about 600 miles (you would be amazed at the crap that comes out, so much for filter picking up all the metal bits)
When I re-build engines I put cheapest oil possible for start up, warm up engine and drain oil, then fill with a running in oil (non-synthetic) which will probably stay in for about 5~600 miles. Another change at 1,500~2,000 then your good to go for 100,000 with 'normal' operation and servicing.
When engine is first started the pressure relief valve opens and dumps oil back to sump, usually the bypass valve in filter opens as well so unfiltered oil goes through engine until it warms up, oil thins out and pressure stabilises. People who start with foot down for fast warm up creat a lot more wear.
PJ

[When I bought my car in 2004, the only place that carried the filter was the Mazda dealer, but it has been a few years. Did you find a K&N filter?

I use Mobil 1 5W-20 and change every 7000 miles.[/QUOTE]

Fram makes the oil filter - #CH9641. I use Quaker State 5W20 and change every 5,000kM. I have a 2006 Mazda 3 GT 2.3ltr

A lot of sense being spoken here.

Coming originally from a European habitat, where regular oil changes are normally at 6000miles across the board, I found it unusual when I first came to the US to find most changing at 3000.

However, with the oil being one of the most important components of the engine, I could see the sense in this, and so I adopted it. But I'm not too fastidious about it.

I use Mobil 1, and change every 3-4K miles. The paper filters are something you normally find on the shelf at your local car parts store, so I normally have to order them.