So I live in the south bay of California, a place not known for our terrible and unbearable weather. That being said I have recently begun to find foam on the dipstick when I check the oil, looks white to tan in color. I have not had the car for that long, and I am not familiar with it as much as I would like, but I have been reading that this is not generally a problem.

When I take the car up to high temperature and then let it sit with the oil filler cap and the dipstick off it goes away and clears right up. Furthermore when I wipe off the dipstick and put it back in one or two times I don't find any on foam where the stick indicates oil level, only near the top. So I guess my question is really is this something that would concern me? It started happening a few days after I stopped driving it a lot every day, and about 3 weeks after an oil change from a Mazda dealership.

Thanks, anything helps.

 

It's normal. Read the new and potential owners sticky found at the top of the new members forum for all your basic rx8 answers

 

I get this too on my 04' GT with 11k miles. Just did an oil change and noticed it was exceptionally gross after the short drives I typically do to work. Like yeast infection gross. Anyway they say it's normal and that if you drive real hard for an extended period of time it will evaporate the condensation out of the oil. I now try to get a longer drive in every now and then and wipe the excess **** off my dipstick and cap when I can.

 

Water and oil don't mix so they form an emulsion. That is what you're seeing on the stick and under the cap. If it goes away when you get it nice and warm, that's good because that means that it's just condensation that needs to be burnt off.

In piston engine cars it can be a sign of coolant getting into the oil. On a rotary, that's pretty tough to manage without pouring coolant into the oil filler neck.

 

So yes, it looks serious, but it's not. Really, it's nothing to worry about.

 

Thanks guys! Now I shall not stress so much.

 

Just to add more background, the gunk accumulates in the oil filler neck itself. I pulled mine recently for some unrelated work and used the opportunity to clean it out (with long cotton swabs and swishing fresh oil around in it).

 

That's unnecessary but if it makes you feel better, go for it.

 

Normal, your cleaning is fine, not to worry.