'95 Miata 1.8 Liter Oil

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I just bought a 95 Miata with the 1.8 Liter DOHC engine. Does anyone know if this is a roller cam design? I'm wondering if it needs an oil with extra ZPPD or not. The car only has 68K miles on it, so it should have a long life remaining. Any oil suggestions?
 
A Miata will run for ever on any 5w-30 or 10w-30. No need to worry about ZDDP. Engines that might need extra ZDDP would be from the 60s, 70s, and 80s with cheap stock cast camshafts or with performance modifications such as double valve springs.

I had a '91 Miata, I bought it with 95,000 miles on it, sold it with 190,000 miles running perfectly, maybe a quarter of a quart of oil use between oil changes. I used 99 cent on sale Napa, Carquest or Master Mechanic 10w-30, changed every 3,000 miles.
 
Not roller cams...HLAs

I'm running M1 0w/30 in my '90 1.6 at 7500 mile intervals. I've tried lots of synthetics in the three miatas I've had and like this oil the best...quiet lifters and good mpg.

They'll do fine on about anything though...haven't had the guts to go 20w though even though i consider it sometimes.

Check here sometime... http://forum.miata.net/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=75
 
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The BP engine is a tank. Most of the over a 500K+ of them out there run on normal 5/30 whatever. Biggest issue can be a stuck or noisy HLA. Many miatae when low on oil will make lots of ticking. Top it off, no more tick. Its a very talkative car.
smile.gif


Myself I ran M1 5/30 for most of the 100K that I had my '92 (from 50K to 150K before I sold it in fine working order).

The last 60K of that was with 12 PSI of FM turbo goodness, UOA of M1 always came back just fine at 7500mi OCI. 200 whp in a 2200 lb miata == good time to be had, but in all honestly stock is my preference: you can beat on it and its always rewarding without ever biting you in the arse.

Happy top down motoring,

- b
 
Thanks for the advice. Next weekend it will get Valvoline NextGen Max Life 10-30, a NAPA Silver filter, and Peak GL5 synthetic gear oil in the transmission (On sale at Pepboys if you buy online you get a 20% discount). I think I'll put in a new clutch slave cylinder, too.
 
+1 to HLA noise.

BP's really aren't all that picky on oil, the noisy HLA issue nonwithstanding.

I've had the best luck in my 92k mile 96 with Mobil 1 0W-40. It keeps the HLAs quiet during track days and on the street. Works great here in WI. The car also liked Mobil 1 0W-30 AFE in the winter, though it made the lifter noise more noticeable when hot in the summer. I've never run a dino in it so I can't comment on that. PP 5W-30 was a happy medium.
 
That car does not need high ZDDP oil. It's not a 1960s muscle car engine.

I'd run whichever 5w30 is on sale and call it a day. It's not a picky motor.
 
Originally Posted By: redbone3
Thanks for the advice. Next weekend I'll get... Peak GL5 synthetic gear oil in the transmission
You want GL 4 fluid for that transmission, not GL5. Motorcraft fully synthetic transmission fluid is the hot ticket for your Miata, but it is expensive at about $20 a quart.
 
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Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
Originally Posted By: redbone3
Thanks for the advice. Next weekend I'll get... Peak GL5 synthetic gear oil in the transmission
You want GL 4 fluid for that transmission, not GL5. Motorcraft fully synthetic transmission fluid is the hot ticket for your Miata, but it is expensive at about $20 a quart.


^^^ This!

I put red line manual tranny oil in our 99 (I forget whatthe name is, plenty of advice on miata.net).

As for oil, as has been said, any 5w-30 in winter and if you feel like it, 10w-30 in summer. I've been running Defy for between 6-7k OCI's, never had to top off.
 
I think the correct Red Line is MT90. Good idea. The only place here that has it is Summit Racing.
 
The Redline will work fine, but it will probably shift better with the Motorcraft, which is available through any Ford dealer. The Miata.net oils forum linked by suspiousmind and harbor has the details.
 
Originally Posted By: MaxZX
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
Originally Posted By: redbone3
Thanks for the advice. Next weekend I'll get... Peak GL5 synthetic gear oil in the transmission
You want GL 4 fluid for that transmission, not GL5. Motorcraft fully synthetic transmission fluid is the hot ticket for your Miata, but it is expensive at about $20 a quart.


^^^ This!

I put red line manual tranny oil in our 99 (I forget whatthe name is, plenty of advice on miata.net).

As for oil, as has been said, any 5w-30 in winter and if you feel like it, 10w-30 in summer. I've been running Defy for between 6-7k OCI's, never had to top off.



There's no need to run thicker in the summer. It's not an air-cooled car.
 
I use 5w-30 in my '93, Redline MT 90 in the transmission and Redline 75w-90 gear oil (non-friction modified) in the differential. Don't forget to check the turret oil when you change out the trans fluid. Mine was low when I got it in 2007 @ 95,000 miles. I replaced the boots as well. As others have suggested, a great resource is http://miata.net/. Replacing the clutch slave is a great idea, as well.

Great car. Happy motoring.
 
Originally Posted By: k24a4
I use 5w-30 in my '93, Redline MT 90 in the transmission and Redline 75w-90 gear oil (non-friction modified) in the differential. Don't forget to check the turret oil when you change out the trans fluid. Mine was low when I got it in 2007 @ 95,000 miles. I replaced the boots as well. As others have suggested, a great resource is http://miata.net/. Replacing the clutch slave is a great idea, as well.

Great car. Happy motoring.


MT 90, that's the stuff! Works great, very smooth shifting unless it's very cold out, then it can be a bit notchy at first. Also put in the same tranny oil, which I had forgotten about until I looked back in my little maintenance notebook. I also had to change out the slave when we first got it. It's a cheap thing to do and worth it if the shifting isn't as it should be all the time.

+1 on the turret oil. Many folks don't even know it exists.

As for running 10w-30 in the summer, of course it isn't necessary. But if you're like me and had some already on my shelf, it is perfectly fine and spec'd in the manual for "hot" temps.
 
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