I've done quite a bit of research on this as I've always done my own oil changes. You do NOT have to take the entire shroud off, there is a smaller oil filter "port" in the shroud below the filter and drain plug that can be removed with a Philips #2 screwdriver (I actually looked at this before purchasing my 6, dealer put it up on the lift for me to inspect). The oil filter itself is the very common Fram 6607 or equivalent (I usually use Wix, Mobil 1, Purolater or Bosch) and can be removed with a 65-67 mm oil filter cap. The oil drain plug requires either a 8mm or 10mm Allen head socket (I don't have enough miles on my 6 to have done the first change yet). The port is big enough to allow the oil to drain out without spilling all over the rest of the inside of the larger shroud. The one issue I might have is the front of the car is so low (with that low aerodynamic "lower lip") that I was curious whether I could get the vehicle up my ramps without scraping that up? In my case the dealer threw in free oil changes for the first 3 years or 45,000 miles (every 4 months or 5,000 miles) which I think I'm going to take advantage of given the excellent reviews I've seen of the Mazda 0W-20 with moly synthetic oil (assuming the dealer uses that - it has to be some kind of 0W-20 synthetic as dino oil is not offered in that viscosity range).