Rotary dos and don'ts
08-20-2003, 10:56 PM
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Rotary dos and don'ts
I've read a lot on this website about rotaries in general and the 8 in particular. A lot has been great factual stuff and others have been more like urban legend. I would greatly appreciate it if the "experts" would give a once-and-for-all run-down of everything a rotary newbie needs to know about his engine and this car, specifically how it differs from what we're used to. I'm sure others would appreciate it as well. Thanks!
08-20-2003, 11:45 PM
#3
Prodigal Wankler
FAQ update overdue
The FAQ certainly needs updating - it was last touched in early October last year!
I suggested this over a month ago, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
I suggested this over a month ago, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
08-21-2003, 08:15 AM
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Originally posted by B-Nez
Hmmm maybe we need to add this into the FAQ. Been getting this question a lot lately.
Hmmm maybe we need to add this into the FAQ. Been getting this question a lot lately.
I just want to make sure that I do whatever is required to take care of my investment. Thanks for the help.
08-22-2003, 01:53 AM
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Dos: Drive your car
Dont's: Crash, never change oil, fall asleep while driving your car and crash.
Just maintain it religiously and take good care of her is all you need to, naturally aspirated rotaries have proven themselves to be very reliable in the past.
Dont's: Crash, never change oil, fall asleep while driving your car and crash.
Just maintain it religiously and take good care of her is all you need to, naturally aspirated rotaries have proven themselves to be very reliable in the past.
08-22-2003, 03:07 AM
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Be very religious at changing your oil every 3000 miles. Unlike piston engine cars, the rotaries expell quite a bit of heat out through the oil. Almost as much heat is dissipated this way as it is through the antifreeze! Don't believe me? Why do you have 2 big oil coolers and no turbos? A turbo rotary is even harder on the oil.
Do not drive the car hard until the engine is fully warmed up. Wait a good 5 to 10 minutes, even in the summer but definitely until the temp gauge is at its average spot.
This next tip shouldn't be hard for any rotary owner. Hit redline at least once every time you drive it. Rotaries love to spin fast and this helps keep the internal surfaces from building up carbon deposits as fast.
Check your oil level every 500 miles. Since a small amount is injected into the engine for apex and side seal lubrication, the level slowly or sometimes quickly goes down even though there is no leak. The faster the engine turns, the faster the oil gets injected. You can determine your driving habits by how often you have to add a quart. Unfortunately Mazda hasn't been smart enough in the past several decades to have a seperate oil reservoir strickly for this purpose. An aftermarket company does though for all previous rotaries and lets you use 2 cycle oil in the reservoir. 2 cycle oil is designed to lubricate internal engine surfaces and mix well with gasoline and as such is designed to burn cleanly leaving no carbon buildup. Regular oil does leave carbon over time and this is what is flowing through your new state of the art engine.
This may not apply to the new Renesis engine but the best grade gas to use on all previous n/a rotaries is the lowest octane available. In other words, good old 87! Use what Mazda recommends in your sevice manual though. They also recommend 5W20 oil which is lighter than previous recommendations. They obviously know more than we do. Honda uses this grade oil in their 17000 rpm F1 engines so there must be something to it.
I can't think of anything else right now but these simple tips have helped at least one n/a rotary hit 233,000+ miles.
Do not drive the car hard until the engine is fully warmed up. Wait a good 5 to 10 minutes, even in the summer but definitely until the temp gauge is at its average spot.
This next tip shouldn't be hard for any rotary owner. Hit redline at least once every time you drive it. Rotaries love to spin fast and this helps keep the internal surfaces from building up carbon deposits as fast.
Check your oil level every 500 miles. Since a small amount is injected into the engine for apex and side seal lubrication, the level slowly or sometimes quickly goes down even though there is no leak. The faster the engine turns, the faster the oil gets injected. You can determine your driving habits by how often you have to add a quart. Unfortunately Mazda hasn't been smart enough in the past several decades to have a seperate oil reservoir strickly for this purpose. An aftermarket company does though for all previous rotaries and lets you use 2 cycle oil in the reservoir. 2 cycle oil is designed to lubricate internal engine surfaces and mix well with gasoline and as such is designed to burn cleanly leaving no carbon buildup. Regular oil does leave carbon over time and this is what is flowing through your new state of the art engine.
This may not apply to the new Renesis engine but the best grade gas to use on all previous n/a rotaries is the lowest octane available. In other words, good old 87! Use what Mazda recommends in your sevice manual though. They also recommend 5W20 oil which is lighter than previous recommendations. They obviously know more than we do. Honda uses this grade oil in their 17000 rpm F1 engines so there must be something to it.
I can't think of anything else right now but these simple tips have helped at least one n/a rotary hit 233,000+ miles.
08-22-2003, 08:50 AM
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I just parted out my old 2nd gen RX-7 and it had one. Best invention ever. It was a fitting that went between the oil metering pump and the front cover of the engine. It is something that the computer does not see since it is not electronic. All it does is change the pickup point for the metered oil from the front cover to an outside source. You then use any type of reservoir. I used a catch can from Summit Racing. Depending on which one you get they can hold up to several quarts.
08-22-2003, 09:16 AM
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Not only that Rotarygod, the reservoir pickup method only injects new, clean oil into the engine and not used up oil that the engine used for cooling. I also cannot believe Mazda never adopted this method. How much could a windshield washer fluid type container, an oil level float sensor and 2 feet of plastic hose cost? $10 tops?
08-22-2003, 09:18 AM
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Originally posted by rotarygod
Be very religious at changing your oil every 3000 miles. Unlike piston engine cars, the rotaries expell quite a bit of heat out through the oil. Almost as much heat is dissipated this way as it is through the antifreeze! Don't believe me? Why do you have 2 big oil coolers and no turbos? A turbo rotary is even harder on the oil.
Do not drive the car hard until the engine is fully warmed up. Wait a good 5 to 10 minutes, even in the summer but definitely until the temp gauge is at its average spot.
This next tip shouldn't be hard for any rotary owner. Hit redline at least once every time you drive it. Rotaries love to spin fast and this helps keep the internal surfaces from building up carbon deposits as fast.
Check your oil level every 500 miles. Since a small amount is injected into the engine for apex and side seal lubrication, the level slowly or sometimes quickly goes down even though there is no leak. The faster the engine turns, the faster the oil gets injected. You can determine your driving habits by how often you have to add a quart. Unfortunately Mazda hasn't been smart enough in the past several decades to have a seperate oil reservoir strickly for this purpose. An aftermarket company does though for all previous rotaries and lets you use 2 cycle oil in the reservoir. 2 cycle oil is designed to lubricate internal engine surfaces and mix well with gasoline and as such is designed to burn cleanly leaving no carbon buildup. Regular oil does leave carbon over time and this is what is flowing through your new state of the art engine.
This may not apply to the new Renesis engine but the best grade gas to use on all previous n/a rotaries is the lowest octane available. In other words, good old 87! Use what Mazda recommends in your sevice manual though. They also recommend 5W20 oil which is lighter than previous recommendations. They obviously know more than we do. Honda uses this grade oil in their 17000 rpm F1 engines so there must be something to it.
I can't think of anything else right now but these simple tips have helped at least one n/a rotary hit 233,000+ miles.
Be very religious at changing your oil every 3000 miles. Unlike piston engine cars, the rotaries expell quite a bit of heat out through the oil. Almost as much heat is dissipated this way as it is through the antifreeze! Don't believe me? Why do you have 2 big oil coolers and no turbos? A turbo rotary is even harder on the oil.
Do not drive the car hard until the engine is fully warmed up. Wait a good 5 to 10 minutes, even in the summer but definitely until the temp gauge is at its average spot.
This next tip shouldn't be hard for any rotary owner. Hit redline at least once every time you drive it. Rotaries love to spin fast and this helps keep the internal surfaces from building up carbon deposits as fast.
Check your oil level every 500 miles. Since a small amount is injected into the engine for apex and side seal lubrication, the level slowly or sometimes quickly goes down even though there is no leak. The faster the engine turns, the faster the oil gets injected. You can determine your driving habits by how often you have to add a quart. Unfortunately Mazda hasn't been smart enough in the past several decades to have a seperate oil reservoir strickly for this purpose. An aftermarket company does though for all previous rotaries and lets you use 2 cycle oil in the reservoir. 2 cycle oil is designed to lubricate internal engine surfaces and mix well with gasoline and as such is designed to burn cleanly leaving no carbon buildup. Regular oil does leave carbon over time and this is what is flowing through your new state of the art engine.
This may not apply to the new Renesis engine but the best grade gas to use on all previous n/a rotaries is the lowest octane available. In other words, good old 87! Use what Mazda recommends in your sevice manual though. They also recommend 5W20 oil which is lighter than previous recommendations. They obviously know more than we do. Honda uses this grade oil in their 17000 rpm F1 engines so there must be something to it.
I can't think of anything else right now but these simple tips have helped at least one n/a rotary hit 233,000+ miles.
Can anyone else back up the claim that you should hit redline at least once every time you drive the car?
Wouldn't this cause excessive wear to the engine???
08-22-2003, 09:36 AM
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Originally posted by rotarygod
Do not drive the car hard until the engine is fully warmed up. Wait a good 5 to 10 minutes, even in the summer but definitely until the temp gauge is at its average spot.
Do not drive the car hard until the engine is fully warmed up. Wait a good 5 to 10 minutes, even in the summer but definitely until the temp gauge is at its average spot.
Thanks a bunch for the tips! I will definitely have to be more diligent about maintenance than I've been in the past. Worth the effort, though.
08-22-2003, 09:38 AM
#13
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Redline is there for a reason. It is the maximum SAFE rpm that you should hit. Redlining isn't bad unless that is where you drive the car at everytime you are in it. I don't mean go floor it everywhere you go all day everyday. That would be bad for the engine.
A seperate reservoir for oil metering would also prevent many "green" rotary owners from running their engine oil dry since they didn't check their level that often. Not eveyone who buys these cars is going to be an all out fanatic. My girlfriend wants one but she is terrible when it comes to keeping her car maintained. I have to constantly remind her to get things checked on the car or just do them myself. She would run a rotary dry in no time flat. At the very least a larger reservoir would hold enough metering oil to tide the car over until the next scheduled oil change. If it didn't, a light would come on saying to check it. Simple enough. I guess too simple to be implemented by Mazda. The adapter for all previous rotary styles is about $80. A catch can can be had for as little as a few bucks and then you just need a short bulk length fuel line from the auto parts store. Just add 2 cycle oil and thats it. For about $100 or so you have a much better system. Then again $100 more at a factory would probably show up as $1000 upgrade to the sticker price at the dealership. It would only cost them a few extra dollars to make themselves though so who knows.
A seperate reservoir for oil metering would also prevent many "green" rotary owners from running their engine oil dry since they didn't check their level that often. Not eveyone who buys these cars is going to be an all out fanatic. My girlfriend wants one but she is terrible when it comes to keeping her car maintained. I have to constantly remind her to get things checked on the car or just do them myself. She would run a rotary dry in no time flat. At the very least a larger reservoir would hold enough metering oil to tide the car over until the next scheduled oil change. If it didn't, a light would come on saying to check it. Simple enough. I guess too simple to be implemented by Mazda. The adapter for all previous rotary styles is about $80. A catch can can be had for as little as a few bucks and then you just need a short bulk length fuel line from the auto parts store. Just add 2 cycle oil and thats it. For about $100 or so you have a much better system. Then again $100 more at a factory would probably show up as $1000 upgrade to the sticker price at the dealership. It would only cost them a few extra dollars to make themselves though so who knows.
08-22-2003, 09:44 AM
#14
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Basically when I said don't drive the car hard until warmed up I mean that you shouldn't go out and floor it and drive like speed racer when you first get in. This doesn't mean don't go out and drive normally like a commuter would. Just don't be hard on it for a few minutes. Wait that extra 5 min before you floor it and take it to redline.
Waiting a few minutes before turning the car off is a good idea too. Obviously we can't always do this based on different situations. The rotary is very hard on oil much like a turbocharger because there is so much heat that is expelled through it. If you let the car run for a few minutes after hard driving, you give the oil a little time to cool down. This reduces the possibility of oil coking anywhere in the system. Yes it can happen to non turbo cars too just not to the extent that it would kill a turbo. For regular driving it probably doesn't matter. Don't just turn the car off after you've come off the race track though.
Waiting a few minutes before turning the car off is a good idea too. Obviously we can't always do this based on different situations. The rotary is very hard on oil much like a turbocharger because there is so much heat that is expelled through it. If you let the car run for a few minutes after hard driving, you give the oil a little time to cool down. This reduces the possibility of oil coking anywhere in the system. Yes it can happen to non turbo cars too just not to the extent that it would kill a turbo. For regular driving it probably doesn't matter. Don't just turn the car off after you've come off the race track though.
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