I'm just curious about this subject especially because of the synthetic vs regular oil, 5W 20 vs 10W 40 arguments that I've read about. I just purchased a 2004 Lightning Yellow rx8 6 speed with 72,000 miles (for 9,500....) and the owner said that the dealership has been putting synthetic oil in it whenever they had the car serviced. I need some valid information because this is going to be my college car and I cannot constantly be stranded in the middle of nowhere. BTW I just registered with this forum and I DO know about the maintenence practices. And if this thread belongs in a different place then forgive me. So. What kind of oil is the right type to use? And is Lucas Oil Stabilizer a good idea? I know the manual says 5W 20 but I want to hear what you guys think

 

EDIT: Check the poll. I will understand what you mean if you say 5W 10. I typoed that. It's supposed to be 5W 20

 

Usually you would be "forgiven" about not knowing some hard to find information, but 10 minutes of searching would do wonders, especially about a subject(s) that have been talked about a thousand times before. I am not a seasoned member of this site, and in a way i can relate to you, but you need to search for your answer, and it may turn out you will come up with many answers. The best you can do is research, and make your own decsion about what oil to use. Everybody has an argument to use one oil wieght/brand or another. That is why i have given up and just went with the 5w20 mazda suggests in the states. A slightly higher wieght wouldnt hurt, and you should look into premix. The higher weight will prevent bearing wear (failure is extreamly rare so i dont bother) and will help if you live somewhere where it is hot all the time.

** READ THIS. It helps ALOT https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/ in fact, it is a sticky in this section, you should have already looked through it.

 

Thanks man, it was very informative

 

I'd recommend reading up a bit on basic oil information... Just for the sake of having a better understanding. You can get synthetic 5W20 and 10W40. Whether you chose Dino or synthetic oil, you'll still have to consider oil weight.

 

A friend at Mazda told me that 5W20 was selected to help improve the fuel economy by a tiny amount, and that 10W30 is best for the engine. Also that the 2009 and later engines especially should have no problems with synthetic or need to use special low-ash oil. I am personally planning to go with Redline 5W30 for my 2010 because it is very similar to their 10W30 and it's what I am already using in our other two cars. I would probably go with a 10W30 non-synthetic if I had a pre-2009 RX-8.

 

there has been alot of discussions on this, but have we ever had an actual poll?

i'm in the 5w20 boat (still debating the switch), but i also change my oil ever 3000km or 3 months, and top up with Royal purple 5w20/5w30/5w40, whatever is in stock at the local partsource.

And ya, premix is big, i do 5-6oz of Idemitsu, i use the Lucas 5.75oz containers (cleaned out first of course, i put the Lucas in my wife's Mazda 3).

 

'What oil to use' is the basis of holy wars since the birth of the rotary. It will not be answered by a simple poll. There is no consensus to find because one has never been reached. There have been polls, surveys, etc... and none of them form a conclusion because everyone has different environments, different beliefs, different goals, etc.

Read up on the pros and cons (usually made in the heat of e-battles) and make your own decision.

I am locking the thread because they usually degrade into flame wars.

 

you havent told us anything pertinent to give you any advice about oil. lets start with where home is and where the school is

edit- oh ahah its locked. well op determining what oil to use consider WHERE the car will be used and for what. then adjust the weight and change frequency to accommodate those conditions