The Lotus Cars Community banner
  • Hi there! Why not register as a user to enjoy all of the benefits of the site? You may register here. When you register, please pick a username that is non-commercial. If you use a name that appears on any search engine commercially, you must pick another name, whether it applies to you or not. Commercial usernames are for supporting vendor use only. If you want to become a supporting vendor and grow your business, please follow this link. Thanks!

Complete Oil Change Guide

58K views 47 replies 35 participants last post by  cole_b_runs 
#1 ·
It was time to change the oil again (110,000 miles!) so I took a few pictures and put together this little how-to article.

Change the Oil on a Lotus Elise & Exige | HowTune.com

I tried to make it as simple and encompassing as possible. Thoughts? Did I miss anything?
 
#6 ·
Thanks! I plan on making many more. I've taken pictures of everything I've worked on... Now that HowTune is up and running its a lot faster for me to publish new articles.

Time to stock up on oil! Lol, spend $70 on my recent oil change for turbo diesel oil and a filter. Smh
Yea, I picked up 10 quarts and convinced my office car buds to do the same.

Nice job. Makes the whole process look so simple (as it is) that many who've never done it will.

I like what you said about only failing to remove the old filter gasket once. AMHIK. And that time I'd put the access panel (belly pan) back on before starting the engine to check for leaks.

Nothing under there will ever rust after all that mess!
Double wammy, that sucks. I did it once on a CRX, not a pleasant way to celebrate competion of your diy project for the weekend. For some reason every single Fram filter I used on that car left the rubber gasket stuck to the car.
 
#5 ·
Nice job. Makes the whole process look so simple (as it is) that many who've never done it will.

I like what you said about only failing to remove the old filter gasket once. AMHIK. And that time I'd put the access panel (belly pan) back on before starting the engine to check for leaks.

Nothing under there will ever rust after all that mess!
 
#7 ·
Very nice - curious what the difference between the Mobil 1 - 209 and 103 filters is, is it just size? Does it make a difference? Have you always used the 209 filter?.....one last question...you have over 100k miles on your Elise...are you burning oil?
 
#18 ·
you forgot to include "carefully remove the undertray or you will get a eyeful of little pebbles". Might want to add a tip to check some stuff since you're down there - check any u-bends for chaffing and any loose bolts (like the toelinks)...otherwise great post!
 
#22 ·
Very nicely written - I hope you don't mind me doing 3 things:

- Moved it to the maintenance forums (and left a redirection)

- Change the title to simply "Complete Oil Change Guide"

- Made sticky

Hope you take that as a compliment, very well done. If you write any others to this level PM me and I'll sticky them too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mai Mai
#24 ·
Might also be worth mentioning in the How-Tune the correct torque for the oil sump drain plug. Based on other threads, I believe it is 27 ft-lb, but I can find no reference in the factory service notes (someone please point me to the relevant section if I missed it).

On a related note, does anyone know the correct torque for the oil filter? I've heard "hand tight then 3/4 of a turn".
 
#28 ·
Intervals are a product of oil quality, filter quality, oil quantity, and driving conditions (and a few million other variables).

Most of the newer car oil change intervals are a product of them using better oil, filters, and larger capacity oil systems. I go by the manufacturer's suggestions with slight variances for changes in oil, filter, and driving habits.
 
#29 ·
Hi
How do people make records of their oil change that means something to a future buyer?
I bought my oil filter via ebay a couple of months ago ad my oil in a sale a few weeks before that so the dates on the receipts don't really mean anything.

Do i just keep the receipts anyway and then record the mileage at oil change, clip it altogether and keep that as a record?

Does anyone have an accepted process?

thanks
chris
 
#33 ·
Not sure if you found a solution but I use the Fuelio app on my Android phone. Fills, mileage, purchases, and servicing with reminders all on the one app. Saves to the cloud in spreadsheet format.

Sent from my Elephone P7000 using Tapatalk
 
Top