Oil filter STP or OEM Mazda

People like me on the other hand are going for synthetic oil and Mazda OEM filters but still need to get an oil change at 5000 miles.

An oil change with decent full synthetic is 30-40$ for 5 quarts + OEM filter for another 5-10$. It's relatively cheap to do every 6-8 months to know it always has decent oil, and no problems should arise.

I'd go with the OEM Mazda Oil Filters but any high quality synthetic 0w20 will work fine.

I’ve always used the OEM filter and Kirkland 0W-20 oil on my 2013 Skyactiv because I remember reading on the forums that due to the high compression of the engine the Mazda filter is specialized to handle that. Not sure if it’s true but no problems yet on 7.5k OCI.

OEM for the engine oil filter.

Personally, I just use whatever is cheapest, as long as it is rated decently by the API. The way I see it, oil is really just oil. It's slick, it lubricates, it has whatever weight and viscosity it says on the bottle. The API makes sure it reaches those standards along with any claims on the bottle, so I'm comfortable saving money there. I've never had any issues in my many tens of thousands of miles of ownership and there's no sludge buildup or any worrying deposits inside the motor that I've seen when I've worked on it.

I do use Mazda filter rather than aftermarket.

I am running an STP filter on it.

The Miata is pretty easy to work on. But ironically, one of the simplest jobs is a major PITA, changing the oil filter The thing is buried underneath the intake manifold.

When I first purchased my VW, I could drive it how ever far in whatever temperature and wouldn't get any beeps or blinks. I brought it to a friend to do an oil change and he threw 5W30 in it with a STP oil filter. After that oil change, if the car was driven too long the light would blink and the ding would chime. If you revved to about 2300~ RPM, the noises and blinking would stop. I guess that is a temporary fix, but all I did was change the oil to 10W30 and haven't gotten any noises yet. I guess 5W30 is too thin and can't build up enough oil pressure? I'm not too sure.