Panzer Plate vs ECS Tuning Aluminum Street Shield Skid Plate

jmarvin said:

Only complaint I have is that you still have to remove the whole skid plate to change the oil, even if you order the one with the hole cut out to access the oil drain plug.

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Have you considered installing a Fumoto drain valve? you can make your own drain hose with a 90 and you won't have any messes.

BTW the oil drain issue is a non-issue. BY FAR the easiest and best way to change oil on a MkIV is through the top with an oil sucker since the filter is a cartridge and is done from the top anyway. Zero mess, takes 5 minutes and you never have to deal with potentially stripping the pan or similar problems.

On my Mazda I have a Fumoto valve because there the filter is on the bottom and there's no way around getting under the car. My MkIV has *literally* never had the plug out of the oil pan since I bought it new!

Genesis said:

BTW the oil drain issue is a non-issue. BY FAR the easiest and best way to change oil on a MkIV is through the top with an oil sucker since the filter is a cartridge and is done from the top anyway. Zero mess, takes 5 minutes and you never have to deal with potentially stripping the pan or similar problems.
On my Mazda I have a Fumoto valve because there the filter is on the bottom and there's no way around getting under the car. My MkIV has *literally* never had the plug out of the oil pan since I bought it new!

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What oil sucker do you recommend?
When using the oil sucker, how do you know you removed every last drop of oil?
When draining, you can wait until it stops dripping. I’m just wondering how you achieve the same thoroughness with the sucker, because I’ve been wanting to use one.

sriracha said:

What oil sucker do you recommend?
When using the oil sucker, how do you know you removed every last drop of oil?
When draining, you can wait until it stops dripping. I’m just wondering how you achieve the same thoroughness with the sucker, because I’ve been wanting to use one.

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I have a Pela which works nicely.

How do you know you got every last drop? You don't. You never do get every last drop on an oil change. But in fact you'll get more with the sucker than the plug because there is a fairly decent amount in the oil cooler/filter canister that you will NOT drain using the plug (it doesn't drain by gravity) but you CAN suck out with the sucker by sticking the straw down the hole in the filter housing at the bottom. That STILL doesn't get it all (the cooler core is in the way) but there's a fair bit in there you CAN get with the sucker. Maybe a few ounces worth? The amount in the oil cooler you'll never drain using the plug (or any other means short of disassembling the oil cooler for that matter) is far more than you'll ever leave in the pan by sucking it out.

I have an air powered suction tool, holds 6 quarts or so. Its works fine pulling oil out thru dipstick tube, so no skid plate removal is required. I get about 4 to 4 1/2 qts out of oil pan and filter assembly using it. If I drop the skid plate and use drain plug, then suction out the filter housing I get 5 quarts. I rarely drop the skid plate and I have 501,600 miles on my BEW Jetta. It does make oil changes easy.