I'm considering doing my own oil changes.
I have a set of Rhino Ramps. (very nice...installed my swaybars using them, no problem)
My question:

Does the car need to be perfectly flat (horizontal) for the oil to drain properly, or can I leave the front end of the car up on the Rhino Ramps while the oil drains?
Is there any issue with leaving it angled? Will more oil drain if its flat?
In doing a search, I thought I read that somebody said it needs to be flat?

Oh, and any oil and filter recommendations are welcome as well.

Thanx in advance.
S.

 

Good luck trying to change the oil on your car without using ramps.

Unless you have access to a lift of some sort, or something that you can drive all 4 wheels up onto without scraping the body of your car up.... you really don't have a choice.

I change mine on ramps all the time.. no problems. The only thing that might happen is that you may not get every last drop of oil out of the pan, because a little(maybe 1/16th of a quart worth might sit in the corner of the oil pan due to the cars incline... but it's not going to hurt anything once it mixes with the new oil.

You'll be fine if you do it on ramps... I guess you could make a makeshift rear ramp for the rear tires out of 2x4's and try to even off the car when you go up on the front ramps... but that be more hassle than what it's worth.

 

More used oil will drain if the car is level.

When I change my oil I put the front up on jack stands so that the front lift points are 11" from the ground. (This allows me to use a cordless drill to remove and install the underbody diffusers.)

The first time I changed my oil, I put the car back down to see how much more used oil would drain if the car were level. Judging by the thickness and duration of the flow, I would say less than half a cup more used oil drained from the pan. I no longer put the car back down to level to complete the drain.

For oil and filters I would recommend the Purolator Pure One filter and German Castrol Syntec 0W-30 or the conventional Castrol GTX 10W-30 for So. Cal. weather.

 

Yes, that is exactly what I was wondering about.
If its only such a little bit of oil that doesn't drain out, then no worries.

My other plan was to drive the front up on the ramps, and then jack the rear of the car up & put jack stands underneath.
Front on Rhino ramps + rear on jack stands = horizontal. (& safe?)

But as you say, I don't think I'll worry about the last tablespoon of dirty oil that remains.

Thanx for the info! (you too, eldy).
-- what a great forum! Answers in 5 minutes! awesome.

 

I use a hydralic jack and a jackstand. I move it up and down till it quits draining(a very slow drip) , then put in a 1/4 quart to flush any additional oil I can get out. I then reinstall the plug and fill to proper level. (filter is done while draining). Some people are more **** than others

Mark

PS That moving it up dawn statement is not a constant thing just once

 

With mine it drained better and more completely while up on my R-ramps.
C.

 

I also use a Purolator Pure One filter. They work pretty good.

 

Look at the configuration of your oil pan and drain.....you'll see how it lends itself to better draining while up on ramps. Mobil1 / K&N oil filter and a Blackstone oil analysis (w/tbn #) every 5,000 miles................04' G35X, Brilliant Silver,"Padded" (Metal Matrix) by Stillen" "Full 'X' Cat-Back" by Stillen, "Aloomie Pedals" by Inf., "Popped" by Wolf, "Pullied" by UR,"Tubed" by Z,"D-Badged" by me, "Clear Cornered" by JDM, 05' "Tails" by Inf., "Tall Boy Plenum" by APS, well "Grounded" by Gordgee., 35% Silver Reflective tint.

 

i just use the race jack that I have... take the plug out and then lower the car... I use those disposable oil change boxes so I dont care if the car crushes it...

 

Just a heads up to new car owners.... My G has 1700mi on it and I waited overnight to check the oil , well this morning the level was below L so I added a quart and now im halfway between L and H - taking the car in for an oil change today. The funny this is , I called infiniti yesterday and this chic was like "yeah, every 3750 mi" no wonder my f***ing engine has been making a ticking noise - good thing I realized it UPDATE - got my oil changed today and the ticking noise went away (for now atleast)

 

I just changed the oil in my Civic last night and I let it drain for an hour or more cause I went from dino to Mobil 1 full syn. I heard the two do not mix well.

 

That is not True.

The lighter of the two oils may possibly rise to the top a bit when mixed, but it won't cause any problems(particularly such a small amount). The only way it would be problematic would be if there was a negative chemical reaction between the 2 oils which damaged your vehicle or the integrity of the motor oil.... and this is not the case here.

Synthetic motor oils are fully compatible with non-synthetic. They actually sell oil that is half synthetic and half regular oil... it's called a "Synthetic Blend".

 

True....I ran Valvoline Durablend (synthetic blend) in the car I just sold, a '94 Acura Legend with 165K miles. The buyer wanted a compression test done, I told him it's a waste of time and his money since the Honda engine is bulletproof. Sure enough, even with all the mileage, compression was perfect.

The Synthetic Blend is a good compromise if you don't want to spend the dough on Mobil One.

I've got 2400 miles on my G, did the first oil change at 1200, I'm currently using Castrol GTX 5W30 conventional oil and a Mobil 1 filter. I don't plan on converting to Mobil 1 unti 8-10K miles.

Sean L.
'05 G35 Coupe 5AT
'94 Mustang Cobra
'97 Lexus LS400

 

When I change the oil in my FD I drive the front up on Rhino ramps and jack the rear end up to level it. I try to get as much of the old oil out.

K&N filter and Castrol 20W50.

 

Duh! I should have known that since I ran a blend in my bike. I always hear people saying the two don't mix.