[silvrbreez]

This weekend, while performing my latest oil change, I pulled a bunch of dimensions to see which of four (4) different oil drain valves might work on my car. The oil pan has an indentation for the bolt to sit in, which creates a clearance issue for some of the options.

I purchased the following options to try out...
Fumoto with extension
EZ Oil Drain with extension
ValvoMax
Votex

I wanted the valve to sit as flush as possible so that my Turner aluminum underbody panel access pieces could still be installed. This depth alone ended up ruling out the options from Fumoto and EZ Oil Drain Valve.

Other options included one from ValvoMax and another from an American company named Votex. Ultimately, I was most comfortable with the clearance and fit of the Votex option. The solution from ValvoMax was high quality, but the maximum outside dimension of the valve was just too broad for me to be comfortable that it would sit right within the indentation.

The Votex solution was small enough to fit in the indentation once seated ahead of a washer and of very high quality. The valve attaches to a 1/2" diameter hose that can be put into a container for easy handling and transport for disposal. The steel washer that comes with the Votex valve is just as wide diameter as the max diameter of the hex on the valve. I was concerned about this seating properly and causing drips, so I instead opted to use the copper crush washer that came in my Mann oil change kit. My thinking is that since I won't be unbolting this valve with each oil change, the copper crush washer should be suitable for multiple changes with no issues.

https://votex-us.com/SMQDP010

After running the car for a while on jacks, no drips were observed anywhere. I'll continue to monitor over the next few weekends, but I think this may be a good solution for those looking to tidy up the oil change process a bit, although it will likely take a bit longer to drain the fluids than before.

[RAK92]

That is a really cool method to drain the oil. I had never heard of it until seeing your post. I guess some cars have a recessed drain plug so it might be a PITA to install this (the video link below shows that), but my cars don’t have that so it shouldn’t be an issue. I’m thinking of buying 3 of these for my different vehicles. Thanks for sharing! Below is a review of the Votex and it was a positive one!

[silvrbreez]

Votex also makes a super slim socket that fits into recessed plugs like that on the Porsche shown in the video. I bought one of those as well just in case, but ended up not needing it.

https://votex-us.com/SMQDPTOOLSM