I agree that 5w20 is too thin... but ...


Where are the many documented 200,000 mile RX-8's?



Most NA RX-8's lasted longer than 30k miles. We saw issues with them in hot dry areas like AZ and NV, but this was likely caused by insufficient amounts of oil being injected into the engine by the OMP during idle and cruising.


They lowered the bumper to bumper warranty, however the powertrain was increased to 8 years. So this is another invalid conclusion.


The cat issue is not related to the oil issue. For the cat, they have a cruise map where the car dumps fuel to cool it. This really isn't up for discussion as Mazda is required to make the cat last 100,000 miles, and with the heat output from the rotary (1,600 - 1,800 F) it can be difficult. If you're catless, you can get the AccessPort from MazdaManiac and he can tweak out the cruise map to give you another 2-5 mpg on the highway.



Too many inaccuracies. But going with 5w30 isn't such a bad idea. I use 10w40 with the sohn adapter.

 

You mean the engine warranty, powertrain is still 6yrs/60K miles.

 

Ok, if you post something with so many definitive statements such as what you quoted, you should really give the source. Looks to me like it was found here:

http://forums.automotive.com/70/6210...lem/index.html

or here:

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f11b97c/0

Which one can see, is not "an article on the internet", but really just one person's post on a message board. A user named "Old Timer" with a total of 1 post on that board. Which is fine to discuss, but we need to be clear that this isn't an article of any kind of formal publication.

There are kernels of truth in the quote, but a lot of exaggerations also. Nothing which is not commonly discussed on this forum (or this very thread!), in more depth and without the hyperbole.

 

Great thread Expo! and Paul, thanks.

Goes to prove what I said about 3 years ago that the recommended oil ain't good enough. We have heard this from too many sources and RENESIS rebuilds for this not to be true. Go for a 10/15W40 at least.

You guys in the US are now fortunate to have an 8 year engine warranty.
It is a pity "other" distributors around the world won't do the same.

Good to see Mazda have incorporated improvements in the 09 RENESIS with the 3rd injector to help Apex seal wear.

 

It's been an invaluable resource for n00bs like me!

 

why is that? Why almost all RX-8 rotor housings after a lot of miles seem to have those groove?

Is it the fact that apex seal spring is not appropriate ?

 

corner seals ...

 

This is funny. I'll have to go back and see of what on earth I was speaking.

Paul.

 

This was my response from post #130 regarding the scrapes on the rotor housings:

These rotor housings have that groove on both sides of each housing. The apex corner tip and the other side are scraping the chrome surface away. The apex seals were warped in the middle and have ridges along their sides where they'd been rocking in their grooves. The carbon patch on that housing pic is from the seal skipping over the sparkplug hole.

Paul.

 

I concluded quite some time ago and have wanted to mention it but haven't had the chance:

Expo's switch to a full synthetic at 70k+ miles was the contributing factor in the oil leaks that led to the dis-assembly. There were actuall signs of leaks from more than one place and this is typical of the result of buildup around seals that the synthetic comes in and dislodges causing a problem and general degredation of the seals from some dino oils . On an RX8 it is a catastrphe to have an front main oil seal leak since it is not easily accessible.

Paul.

 

So do you recommend running synthetic from the start so that build up does not occur?

 

For those of us that like synthetic: YES. Start it right off or early. Switching late will almost be guaranteed to cause some leaks.

Paul.

 

I'm just reading as much as I can right now, My last rebuild only lasted 73k on 10W30 Castrol GTX. I plan on running 20W40 Dino just because my first engine ran Mobil 1 synthetic and it only made it til' 22k.

 

Interesting . In hindsight - my front seal started leaking around about the tyime I switched to synth a couple of years ago .

 

Wow, very handy information to know. Thanks, Paul.

 

The message came home for me a few months ago when one of my employees switched to Red Line at my suggestion in his 91 turbocharged Miata. He developed leaks and smoke from everywhere afterward. He totally blames Red Line although none of his seals were ever checked or changed. Old crapped out seals may hide their deformity and crud with the 'same old' dino oil but syn will bring them to light (That almost sounds religious). I was puzzled with this young man's predicament and Rick explained it to me. I then saw an explanation from Amsoil saying the same thing. A proper modern synthetic will keep seals supple and sealing but they can cause problems with crappy nasty old seals that are on their way out already.

Paul.

 

This thread should become a sticky. My old engine continues to provide valuable information. I have not heard of the switching to Synth late issue before. By the way Paul the engine I purchased from you has 32,000 on it and it is running fine. It also looks like it will continue to run on Royal Purple

 

great note paul..

my first motor went 55k miles with rp.. never an issue with the oil..

the motor i have now has just over 55k miles on it with dino.. i changed because my source of royal purple dried up.. karlracing is gone..

was to lazy to buy it in anything but a 5 gal jug..

i guess this motor stays dino..

beers

 

Hmmmm, decisions, decisions.

 

Good info. I had heard that could be the case with older engines leaking due to the switch to the highly detergent properties of some synth oils. In piston engines, it just means a slow drip on the floor. Good to know about the dangers of it in our Renesis engines.

Mine has 113k miles on it, all dino. I switched to 20w40 back in January because of this thread. Still running strong. I'm sticking with my dino 20w40. (Havoline if you're wondering)

 

I love my Havoline. Too bad it's getting really scarce. Walmart seems to have stopped carrying the 5qt jugs. I've heard the Chevron oil is the same on Bob is the Oil Guy, can't find that either.

 

Ya. Thats what people the "local" people said about synthetic.

with Dino you gonna get a lot of build up. if one day you switch to synthetic, synthetic oil will "clean those" gunk away, but after all these years the seals got raped by the gunk already. so if u wash the gunk away, you will have a leak.

in the other words, synthetic oil cannot reverse damage.

So just start with Synthetic and you wont have a problem. <--------------------- me me me !

 

diesel oil anyone?
olddragger

 

how about "motorcycle" oil?

how many different ways can we find to brand and market something to someone who is willing to spend $2 extra dollars for "the best"?


Look at the specifications of the mfgr and of the oil. The Shell oil you are talking about even says "FOR GAS APPLICATIONS" right on it and the website.

 

awesome thread read every page of it