Autoexpress - Oil's not well for innovative RX-8
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 32
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Oil Use
Fact - Rotaries use oil - why is anyone surprised??
FTR I read that the 8 is supposed to go through around a litre of oil every couple of thousand miles...time will tell.
Fact - all manufacturers recommend regular checks.
Partially tested fact - most modern mass production piston engines dont use oil if they've been properly put together. e.g my last beamer had two services in 45000 miles over a four year period and the level was never low....
BK
FTR I read that the 8 is supposed to go through around a litre of oil every couple of thousand miles...time will tell.
Fact - all manufacturers recommend regular checks.
Partially tested fact - most modern mass production piston engines dont use oil if they've been properly put together. e.g my last beamer had two services in 45000 miles over a four year period and the level was never low....
BK
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Kent UK
Auto Express quote a Mazda spokesman as saying "We've never denied teh rotary engine uses quite a lot of oil".
I have a Toyota Celica which does 500 miles a week commuting. I check it regularly, and it has never needed anything other than air in the tyres.
So, how much is "Quite a lot"? Is it a storm in a tea cup or is it something more.
If anyone has any figures... that would be great.
I have a Toyota Celica which does 500 miles a week commuting. I check it regularly, and it has never needed anything other than air in the tyres.
So, how much is "Quite a lot"? Is it a storm in a tea cup or is it something more.
If anyone has any figures... that would be great.
Pure Gold
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 763
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From: Bucks County, PA
I can (almost) sympathize with the guy in the article. Before getting my RX-8 my last 115,000 driving miles (over 4 years) has been in new cars - specifically two Lexii and an Acura. I have not checked or topped up any fluids in that time at all. In fact when I got my first Lexus (RX330) the dealership told me to never open the bonnet unless I wanted to show somebody the engine or unless a warning light came on - they would take care of everything during scheduled servicing (and charge me accordingly 
). I did not have one single problem of any kind in 52000 miles in the RX300 or 45000 miles in the IS300, and my Acura MDX at 18,000 has had some door rattles and an askew steering wheel but no engine issues.
When I got the RX-8 about 6 weeks ago I was shocked when my dealership told me to check the oil every two fill-ups, but they went on to say I only needed to do this until I got a feel for how much oil the car consumed with my driving style. I checked at 500 miles (full) and 1000 miles (had not moved at all) and changed the oil at 1100 miles, having revved the nuts off it after the 600 mile break-in. I will be checking every 1000 miles, hoping that one day I will have a chance to top it up as I bought 12 quarts (liters) of Castrol GTX 5W-20 with the car and have not used any yet. I will be getting the oil changed every 3750 miles at no cost from my dealership (even without the free servicing/buyback offer).
BTW I always check tire pressures every 1-2 weeks on all my cars and I used to check the oil on any second-hand cars I've owned every week (usually because they leaked on occasion).
). I did not have one single problem of any kind in 52000 miles in the RX300 or 45000 miles in the IS300, and my Acura MDX at 18,000 has had some door rattles and an askew steering wheel but no engine issues.When I got the RX-8 about 6 weeks ago I was shocked when my dealership told me to check the oil every two fill-ups, but they went on to say I only needed to do this until I got a feel for how much oil the car consumed with my driving style. I checked at 500 miles (full) and 1000 miles (had not moved at all) and changed the oil at 1100 miles, having revved the nuts off it after the 600 mile break-in. I will be checking every 1000 miles, hoping that one day I will have a chance to top it up as I bought 12 quarts (liters) of Castrol GTX 5W-20 with the car and have not used any yet. I will be getting the oil changed every 3750 miles at no cost from my dealership (even without the free servicing/buyback offer).
BTW I always check tire pressures every 1-2 weeks on all my cars and I used to check the oil on any second-hand cars I've owned every week (usually because they leaked on occasion).
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 21,958
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From: portland oregon
Originally posted by rx8.org.uk
So, how much is "Quite a lot"? Is it a storm in a tea cup or is it something more.
If anyone has any figures... that would be great.
So, how much is "Quite a lot"? Is it a storm in a tea cup or is it something more.
If anyone has any figures... that would be great.
Originally posted by zoom44
actually with this oil level light and sensor it comes on before you are a quart low, not counting the ones in the sumps with the wrong baffling. so waiting until the lights comes on is not terribly bad as long as you took care of it soon after it comes on.
and on the oil consumption: i watched the level thru the first few fill ups and it didn't drop much at all. i then lengthened period between checks and didn't add any until the light came on at @2800 miles at which point i added almost a quart. if someone wants to do the conversions it might be helpful to the rest of you. i'd do the conversion myself but being a lazy american.....
:p
actually with this oil level light and sensor it comes on before you are a quart low, not counting the ones in the sumps with the wrong baffling. so waiting until the lights comes on is not terribly bad as long as you took care of it soon after it comes on.
and on the oil consumption: i watched the level thru the first few fill ups and it didn't drop much at all. i then lengthened period between checks and didn't add any until the light came on at @2800 miles at which point i added almost a quart. if someone wants to do the conversions it might be helpful to the rest of you. i'd do the conversion myself but being a lazy american.....
:p
Originally posted by zoom44
1 quart [US, liquid] = 0.946353 liter from http://www.onlineconversion.com/
1 quart [US, liquid] = 0.946353 liter from http://www.onlineconversion.com/
Originally posted by zoom44
no problem. i should also have mentioned that the distance between the "full" line and the "add" line is @1.75 of those US quarts. so according to the stick i still could have not added any for awhile but i wanted the light to go away. and there has been some mention that if you let the light go for too long(i don't know how long is "too long") that the engine will go into a sort of "limp home" mode not allowing you to go WOT or rev above a certain lower limit until you correct the situation.
no problem. i should also have mentioned that the distance between the "full" line and the "add" line is @1.75 of those US quarts. so according to the stick i still could have not added any for awhile but i wanted the light to go away. and there has been some mention that if you let the light go for too long(i don't know how long is "too long") that the engine will go into a sort of "limp home" mode not allowing you to go WOT or rev above a certain lower limit until you correct the situation.
EDIT: Pelucidor has it down. follow the recommendation until you have a feel for the consumption and then adjust.
Last edited by zoom44; Sep 17, 2003 at 05:48 PM.
Greek Power
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 439
Likes: 0
From: Greece
Originally posted by rx8.org.uk
Auto Express quote a Mazda spokesman as saying "We've never denied teh rotary engine uses quite a lot of oil".
I have a Toyota Celica which does 500 miles a week commuting. I check it regularly, and it has never needed anything other than air in the tyres.
So, how much is "Quite a lot"? Is it a storm in a tea cup or is it something more.
If anyone has any figures... that would be great.
Auto Express quote a Mazda spokesman as saying "We've never denied teh rotary engine uses quite a lot of oil".
I have a Toyota Celica which does 500 miles a week commuting. I check it regularly, and it has never needed anything other than air in the tyres.
So, how much is "Quite a lot"? Is it a storm in a tea cup or is it something more.
If anyone has any figures... that would be great.
I hate to repeat myself SO OFTEN.........:p
UK Owners Club
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 402
Likes: 0
From: Gloucester, England
My MX3 V6 after never needing topping up has started to get through a bit of oil since around 110,000 miles, and I check it at least once a month (~1200 miles). However if I've left it longer or done more miles you can tell its at the bottom of the dipstick from the increased valve noise after starting.
I'll have to be a bit more careful with the RX8 as there are no valves to make any noise!
---Dave
I'll have to be a bit more careful with the RX8 as there are no valves to make any noise!
---Dave
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