I'm pretty much done researching engine oils for the new motor and I have made a decision on 0W-30 Castrol Syntec (GC). As usual I will change my oil every 3,000 miles. But in reading a lot lately I have read that the general consensus is that a good oil filter (K&N for me because of the nut on top) should last 10,000 miles at least. What are your thoughts? I have always changed the oil filter every 3k just because the cleaner the filter the better but i don'tthink it helped the Renesis any in terms of longevity. What are your thoughts? Sure would't hurt to save $12.00 here and there.

Today many car company's oil change intervals are between 3k and 10k miles. So your oil filter should be able to last, atleast 2-3 oil changes. I like to change my oil and oil filter together just to be safe. But there is no reason why your oil filter should not last longer than 3k. I also use K&N

I know this has been on the talk about before, but to make oil changes even easier, you should check this out: http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/v/vspfiles/images/valve2.jpg

I think you'd be good to change the filter every other time you change the oil.

How much per year do you spend on oil filters VS. double mocha lattes? It might be more economical to change the filter every time and cut down on ordering coffee from starbucks/ consumer vice of your choice instead of changing the filter less frequently.

I would change the oil a bit less often and change the filter every time.......

A good synthetic should last 5K miles....

Yeah the amount of money I spend on filters is nothing so I'll just freakin' replace it every time.

I know this has been on the talk about before, but to make oil changes even easier, you should check this out: http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/v/vspfiles/images/valve2.jpg

Do you need the valve and the adapter for the RX-8?

yes you do

3,000 miles on a PAO synthetic like GC? Give me your used oil and I will use it for another 3,000 miles.

I do 3,000 miles on the cheapest dino I can find and yes I do sleep ok at night.

as others have mentioned, the filter SHOULD EASILY be able to last the 3,000 miles but why take the chance.
I just change them both every time

Atkins Rotary has great prices on the filters

Filter is cheap, even stock filters are pretty good (I got mine for like 3-4 bux) I have a bunch of stock filters at home, cuz most my other cars uses the same size so why not ? :)

K&N is good too, I have a few left, oil change due soon ... hmm what should I use hmm ...

for those quick drain valve, I had one, but I took it out after 3 oil changes, its too FUXKING slow, plus the valve is a bit higher so some oil will stay in the pan ... I dont want that, plus oil drain plug gasket are cheap so I went back old school.

Filter is cheap, even stock filters are pretty good

The stock filter is not just pretty good, it is freakin' fantastic.

3,000 miles on a PAO synthetic like GC? Give me your used oil and I will use it for another 3,000 miles.

I do 3,000 miles on the cheapest dino I can find and yes I do sleep ok at night.


Good for you. You haven't had three engines and you don't live in San Antonio where we are almost at 50 straight days of 100F plus degree weather. My second motor ran Castrol GTX with OIC of 3,000 miles and it only lasted 72k.

Oil can last a long time and fllters can last a long time, in theory. But as the lifeblood of your vehicle there's almost nothing better you can do for it than regular oil/filter changes.

There's no point in continuing to use a dirty filter with newly changed oil. The filter was made to sacrifice its life for the good of the engine. ;)

Change the filter every oil change, which in my case (and many others), is 3k miles.

I use Castrol GTX. There's not much point in paying more for long duration synthetic oil when I don't go long duration between changes.

Oil can last a long time and fllters can last a long time, in theory. But as the lifeblood of your vehicle there's almost nothing better you can do for it than regular oil/filter changes.

There's no point in continuing to use a dirty filter with newly changed oil. The filter was made to sacrifice its life for the good of the engine. ;)

Change the filter every oil change, which in my case (and many others), is 3k miles.

I use Castrol GTX. There's not much point in paying more for long duration synthetic oil when I don't go long duration between changes.

I think his point is that he did use dino but his engine still died. so he is trying to see if Synthetic will make his engine last longer.

To me, this is really hard to tell, all engines are different especially a rebuild, they will have some used parts in there, this one could be a used e-shaft, the other one could be used rotor, etc.

so yeah, its hard to tell ...

If it's a proper rebuild, it does not matter whether any particular parts are new or used. Whatever goes into a rebuilt engine has to match new part tolerances. IMHO, any issues with a rebuilt or new engine would come from assembly, not parts.

The theme of this thread is very nostalgic. Back when oil was changed every thousand miles it was common to do the filter every other change. But it's been pretty standard to change the filter with the oil for quite some time.

Ken

I was taught once that your standard OEM replacement filter(for any vehicle) should last about 6k miles but I personally and everyone I know just change it everytime....you're puttin clean oil in there so just put a clean filter to keep that oil clean as long as possible

I think his point is that he did use dino but his engine still died. so he is trying to see if Synthetic will make his engine last longer.

To me, this is really hard to tell, all engines are different especially a rebuild, they will have some used parts in there, this one could be a used e-shaft, the other one could be used rotor, etc.

so yeah, its hard to tell ...

Exactly. Castrol GTX 10W30 with OIC's of 3k didn't really help me at all so I'm running GC 0W30 and premixing. I will be tracking my car more now so I wanna try and save money where I can since I will change my oil after each track day.

Castrol GTX 10W30 with OIC's of 3k didn't really help me at all

What didn't it help with?

Ken

^the longetivity of his motor!

Check out this oil filter
http://i312.photobucket.com/albums/ll336/michaeferguson/p1.jpg

What didn't it help with?

Ken

Religious oil changes every 3k (as usual) with heavier 10W30 didn't help and my motor lost compression after 72k. Other than premix or run synthetic I did everything by the book (yes that bitch was red lined everyday). The car is paid off so now I will see how long this one lasts. Recently I have decided unless something major aside from normal wear and tear happens, I am keeping this car and sometime next year it will retire from DD duty and become a weekend warrior.

Yeah the amount of money I spend on filters is nothing so I'll just freakin' replace it every time.

Good.

There is absolutely no reson to change the oil and not change the filter at the same time.

yeah

Religious oil changes every 3k (as usual) with heavier 10W30 didn't help and my motor lost compression after 72k.

I have no expertese in this, but I've read so many blown engine posts here that I'm convinced that oil weight has very little to do with engines dying.

Hope your new engine lasts longer.

Ken

^ Perhaps your motor would have lost compression even sooner without regular oil changes?

There are always exceptions of course, but regular oil/filter changes are still the most basic of preventive maintenance procedures you should perform on your vehicle.

I think all rx-8s run in the San Antonio heat need a bit of "extra" care to help them last. I also am on my third engine and will be trying out some new cooling mods to see if they help out.

^ Perhaps your motor would have lost compression even sooner without regular oil changes?

First motor only lasted 22k with regular oil changes. It's hard to say because both of my previous motors were treated the same. I love maintaining my car so I would never skimp. I'm even considering doing double oil changes each time but right now I'm stocked up on 0W30 but if I can't find it as cheap as I am getting it now it could be too expensive.

0W-30 in San Antonio? When do the temps ever get down to zero there and I would think you'd be running at least 40 [Summer] weight in that heat!

First motor only lasted 22k with regular oil changes. It's hard to say because both of my previous motors were treated the same. I love maintaining my car so I would never skimp. I'm even considering doing double oil changes each time but right now I'm stocked up on 0W30 but if I can't find it as cheap as I am getting it now it could be too expensive.

since I will change my oil after each track day.

Why would you change it every track day? I hope you wont have many track days...

Why would you change it every track day? I hope you wont have many track days...


Maybe a couple a month, no big deal. Small price to pay.



0W-30 in San Antonio? When do the temps ever get down to zero there and I would think you'd be running at least 40 [Summer] weight in that heat!

Yeah well if pressures are okay and temps are okay then there won't be a problem running a 30 weight. 0W30 Castrol Syntec holds up there with competitors heavier 40 weight. You are concentrating on the bottle numbers when in reality they don't mean a whole lot.

I still honestly don't understand why you would change oil after a track day. It wont really add to your protection.

During race season just change your oil more often.

For example when I tracked my older car, I would change oil every 5000km in winter and 3000km in summer during tracking season.

Both those numbers are pretty low considering I was using Synthetic oils. But during race season I did want extra protection since I was beating the crap out of my engine.

But changing it at every track day is beyond overkill.

i would change my oil and my filter at 3k. I just put in a new engine after 110k miles and part of it i feel was i would do what you guys are talking about... I would change my oil about 7500 miles and my filter every other time, using royal purple.. The thing with that is, do you want dirty gritty oil going into your apex seals? no, you want fresh clean oil so that way your engine lasts longer.. I have experienced this problem and don't want you to have to go through it also.. IMO, you should do the sohn omp adapter and always use fresh 2 stroke oil in a seperate container away from your oil pan.. It is quite easy to install and will save your engine.. check out this site for details... www.rotaryinsider.com

I change my oil every 5000 KM (3,000 miles), and Filter.

Filters today are a lot smaller than they used to be, do they have the capacity to "filter", if so why did Mazda increase the 09's filter by 25%?..

Remember, 09 filters are larger and have a different by-pass pressure, DO NOT INTERCHANGE.