Mazdaspeed 6 Skid Tray. Its back!

Great work guys! I've seen a lot of requests for this all over the place. People always want what they can't have, hope they are not a bunch of empty promises.


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I only recently got one. This is a very nice piece! I really like it. There was one relatively minor issue. The oil filter cover plate isn't flat. In fact, I can't fathom why it isn't flat. But whatever reason, it isn't. This isn't a problem for most people. BUT, if you have a spin-on oil filter, and use the elongated style filter (CX-9 style filter) instead of the standard length (regular 3 style filter) then it won't fit. I simply got a piece of 1/16" flat aluminum cut to the right size and drilled the 6 mounting holes in it. Problem solved.
 
Speedie6 said:
I only recently got one. This is a very nice piece! I really like it. There was one relatively minor issue. The oil filter cover plate isn't flat. In fact, I can't fathom why it isn't flat. But whatever reason, it isn't. This isn't a problem for most people. BUT, if you have a spin-on oil filter, and use the elongated style filter (CX-9 style filter) instead of the standard length (regular 3 style filter) then it won't fit. I simply got a piece of 1/16" flat aluminum cut to the right size and drilled the 6 mounting holes in it. Problem solved.
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Have a picture?

-Derrick
 
I've got another complaint. Don't get me wrong, I think it is super sturdy and overall a really nice piece. But, still, a couple of issues. I noted earlier how I needed to replace the oil filter cover with a flat plate. No big deal. Done. This second issue is harder to fix. Basically, the smaller hole for the oil drain is too small. Unless there is some secret I'm not understanding. But, at least when I remove the drain plug, for the first few seconds while there is tons of oil to drain, the oil shoots for about 2 inches away from the plug before dropping much. This shoots a fair amount of oil onto the inside of the skid plate. Now, what I could do is, get a piece of cardboard curved into half circle put it in the hole where I can remove the plug and the oil shoot would hit the cardboard. But, this shouldn't be necessary. Is there anything obvious I'm missing?

What I'm thinking is, actually have a semicircle piece of aluminum 1" or 1.5" high and weld it to the inside of the skid tray, to act like my cardboard. The oil should shoot at this little shield then drain down. Then use a towel just to clean that little shield and be done. Should have come that way, or similar. Or a bigger hole and a cover plate like the filter.
 
jsmith said:
Speedie6. Get one of these and never have to worry about that drain bolt again.
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After posting the above, I started searching for something like that and indeed came across the Fumoto. On one hand, the chance that it might fail is probably very slim. On the other hand, on the off chance that it did fail, who would I sue? Slim chance I know, but honestly I would otherwise prefer to use the regular bolt.

But, when considering modifying the skid tray to make it work better, or get something like that, I decided okay, I will go ahead and get something like that. I found several competing brands, like the Fumoto and others. Honestly, I can't say for sure whose would be the best. Which brand rips which other brands off. But, just from looking at the pictures and online videos, I decided to get another brand, EZ Oil Drain Valve:

Featured Products (ezoilchangevalve.com)

They also have an option for a 90-degree nipple. So, I got the drain valve plus the nipple.

That said, I still think the skid tray should be designed to not need it. Well, oil changes will be super simple now. (Until it fails and destroys my car... LOL...)
 
Considering you are on a modified car forum, your lack of confidence in modifying...a bolt is sus. As is your searching for someone to sue if something goes south.

Fumo didn't rip off anyone. I've been using them for ~250k miles (~15 years) with no issues across multiple vehicles.

Speedie6 said:
After posting the above, I started searching for something like that and indeed came across the Fumoto. On one hand, the chance that it might fail is probably very slim. On the other hand, on the off chance that it did fail, who would I sue? Slim chance I know, but honestly I would otherwise prefer to use the regular bolt.

But, when considering modifying the skid tray to make it work better, or get something like that, I decided okay, I will go ahead and get something like that. I found several competing brands, like the Fumoto and others. Honestly, I can't say for sure whose would be the best. Which brand rips which other brands off. But, just from looking at the pictures and online videos, I decided to get another brand, EZ Oil Drain Valve:

Featured Products (ezoilchangevalve.com)

They also have an option for a 90-degree nipple. So, I got the drain valve plus the nipple.

That said, I still think the skid tray should be designed to not need it. Well, oil changes will be super simple now. (Until it fails and destroys my car... LOL...)
Click to expand...
 
jsmith said:
Fumo didn't rip off anyone. I've been using them for ~250k miles (~15 years) with no issues across multiple vehicles.
Click to expand...

I did not mean to imply Fumo ripped anyone off. Maybe the company I bought from stole the idea from Fumo. My point was mainly that I did not really know what brand is good and which isn’t. I was not specifically saying this or that was bad. I just said I didn’t know.

Also while I have heard of such products I did not know of anyone actually using one. Now I have, I now know you have used them. But I did not know that before. That just made me wonder if they were actually any good. If I knew they were common, I would not have been concerned.
 
So, my engine builder has what seems to me to be excessive oil change demands. 50 miles, 150 miles, 250 miles, 500 miles, 1000 miles. I hit 150 today and did my oil change. My EZ Oil Change Valve is due to arrive Friday. So, I just used the cardboard trick that I mentioned originally. I still think that the skid tray should be designed that you don't have to buy something else or use cardboard shield to change the oil. But, otherwise, it is a very nice product. I don't mean to be bitching too hard. Just a slight sigh...
 
So, I installed my EZ Oil Change Valve today. As you can see, the hole in the skid tray is off-center from the drain plug. I've got a 90 degree fitting on the valve. And with the hole on the skid as it comes, the 90 degree is right on the lip of the hole. After this picture was taken, I notched the skid tray to make the 90 degree fitting not hit the skid. The lever for the valve happened to land on the tight side. (Of course...) I found it difficult to operate it just because it is hard to get my finger in there. (That's what she said...) Anyway, I'll probably need to notch it more, over by the lever. The current notch I made was just to make room for the 90-degree drain.

If they had put the hole more on center with the actual drain plug, I probably would not have needed to hack the skid tray. It is surprising to me that CorkSport did such a poor job at engineering the oil drain feature. That said, it is otherwise a fantastic skid tray. And with the notching and the EZ Oil Change Valve, it will be a breeze to change the oil in the future.


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