roter8, on the .com.au forum, was kind enough to get a copy and scan a recent TSB from MA stating that only mineral-based oils must be used with rotary ingines including the Renesis. I attach the TSB below. Ought to be good for a few pages of posts

 

well I got 2 things to say. The first is that I cannot believe that after 35 years Mazda cant fix this "problem". The other thing that gets me is that they say Synth oils caus carbon deposits in the ports! Isnt that a little back-to-front?
Andrew

 

Great! I'll take that along to my dealer at the next service. They've been using synthetic oil.

 

Wouldn't you think MA would write to all RX-8 owners advising of this change in direction, if they felt this was a serious issue??

 

Hmm, what if I tell my service manager that I blow out any carbon deposits on a regular basis.

Seriously, although I understand the rationale behind mineral oil for pre-Renesis rotaries, the reasoning for the Renesis sounds like crap to me.

I wonder if more and more RX8 owners were baulking at the price hike for the mineral stuff and were asking for synthetic to be used instead? I was certainly considering the idea for my next oil change. Makes it a lot easier to pick up top-up oil (i.e. you don't need to get the MRO, any servo has good quality synthetic).

Mazda would need to sell a minimum of MRO to make its continued availability commercial. The cynic in me wonders if the TSB has more to do with pushing a certain product than the communication of technical advice.

I suppose I'm happy enough to continue using MRO if that's necessary. The trouble is though, after all the problems that should have been the subject of recalls (instead of waiting for owners to get wise), I'm finding it hard to trust Mazda about anything to do with servicing and maintenance.

Would be really interested in the views of some of the gurus on this issue (e.g. Rotary God, etc).

 

Dave

Interesting to hear your thoughts on this issue , i was hoping of a legal type opinion , maybe i will contact a friend at Slater and Gordon solicitors, THEY SPECIALISE IN group action claims and try and get a legal opinion on our standing with this never ending issue , heres a post expressing my earlier thoughts .

For the first 6 months after launching the RX8 Mazda DID NOT have the Mineral oil available to use in our cars in Australia so we were forced to use synthetic .

Mazda would not comment on prefferd oil usage , releasing a car knowing it should only use a mineral oil and Not having it available for the first 6 months was totally neglegeable , and if i find any evidence of wear or engine problems due to this i will together with others be taking legal action against Mazda .

After this episode and others i lost faith in Mazda .

Michael

 

I agree the oil should come with the car.

Another synthetic and mineral debate is unavoidable....

I would just say - stick with what you are with and change it very regularly.

 

Mike,

I seriously doubt using synthetic would cause the kind of harm they're talking about, which was the point I was trying to get across.

I mean, think about all the non-enthusiast owners out there who probably use whatever and don't think about top-ups either. If synthetic really was poison for the Renesis, surely by now we would have heard about it?

I know carbon buildup is a recognised potential problem, but this is the first time I've heard it being related to non-mineral oil.

However, what would I know? I'm just a mug owner. That's why I'm keen to hear some of the gurus' opinions on the reasoning in the TSB.

As for a class action(!!) - I seriously doubt S&G would be interested. The damage, if any, that could be proved for each individual would be slight in the scheme of these kind of actions. However, go for it if you feel strongly enough about it. Some bottom feeders might see a buck or two of your money in it.

 

Colloquially, they are known as "Ambulance Chaser & Gordon"...... ;-)

 

HAAA good one !!!!