Oil, yes rain me down with your thoughts
 

So I am planning on running either 10w-30 or 20w-50. I live in the southern part of Texas, pretty damn close to Houston.

I want to know which one would be better and I want to know what other people around the area run. The temperatures don't ever really drop below freezing and it can get over 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) during the summer.

If the temp never goes below freezing then 20w-50

Alright then what oil would be best. I wanted to go full synthetic Idemitsu but I know that others prefer to run mineral since it has less carbon deposit.

Lies, all of it. There are hundreds of pages in several threads discussing oil without any conclusion. Read through that and draw your own conclusions. There is no single right answer. I'm not even sure there are any wrong answers.

Well, castor oil is probably a wrong answer.

Whale oil.
It's expensive though, gotta go through a lotta whales to keep up with Renny oil changes.

Actually whales would yield quite a few hundred gallons of oil each, you'd likely reach the rebuild point of the engine before exhausting the oil supply from just one whale :D

I like where this is going. Perhaps we can harvest the oil in some renewable fashion. If we only need 8L every few months, surely having a pet whale and a lyposuction device would set you right up. Take that, big oil.
Technically, you would be removing oil from the ocean and thus qualify for environmental tax credits?

Just gonna say this: a common misconception is "thicker is better."

Technically, you want the thinnest oil that won't break down due to heat. It's easier for thinner oil to get between passages, and a low W rating would have a faster flow on cold crank.

I would think 10W30(or 5W30) would suffice if you are not tracking. If you track, then 10W40.

But how many whale species are suitable for producing those quantities, mainly Sperm Whales, and how much after refining, packaging, plus demand for all the 8s out there, adding the cost of time and Whaler crews' wages, expenses, etc.
Adds up pretty quick.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...353d8ddbcf.jpg

I wonder if you could 'harvest' oil from a whale like you would wool from a sheep, I was always of the mindset that they had to give their lives, that said I'm not sure I even have a pool big enough to keep one whale.
But on the topic of renewable, why not the oil from your local fry shop, if its good enough for a clean burning diesel VW, wait is there even such a thing has a clean burning VW diesel now?

@BigCajun good point, I hadn't considered a mass switch over by the entire RX8 community to sperm oil, maybe we should start funding for large rotor shaped pools to house all these whales.

Hey, That's outside the box thinking.
I like it.
:score:

Pretty sure that with enough genetic engineering you could have a whale that works like a sheep. This is going to take R&D. Technically we're saving the whales, so once again, tax credits.

Used vegetable oil would be pretty filthy.

And you also probably have to design your engine around the characteristics of vegetable oil, like different flow, etc.

If you strain it, it ends up being pretty clean, plenty of restaurants reuse the fry oil after straining out the particulate several times before dumping it for good.

You would probably want Crisco 10W30, if its gets cold where you are, don't want it turning into shortening and killing the engine.

ky
astro glide
anal ease

take your pick cause you are gonna get fucked with a rebuild at some point

btw fry oil isnt as clean as people think. my bro has a waste oil burner to heat his shop and oftern gets used fry oil (strained), mixed with used oil the furnace gets pretty filthy and need to be cleaned/filters pretty often

Dang, I have a whole gallon from my deep fryer from a batch of hot wings.
Marinated them in Louisiana Hot Sauce and Cayenne Pepper.
Maybe since it's injected into the combustion chamber it may add a little extra octane boost.

Or 5W if really gets cold.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Used fry oil still wouldn't be clean enough for a car engine even after being strained.

OP: just run an UOA if you are worried.

Lol, I fucking love this community. I've drawn out a couple of options I guess it's really up to the test now. Thanks guys.

This is actually the only good advice in this thread (including my own half-hearted attempt).

Do a VOA and then periodic UOA's and don't worry about it.

It's not the weight of brand new oil that matters.


It's the weight of the oil just before you change it.


If the oil is a 20w50 when you buy it, but has degraded to a 0w5 by 1,000 miles, and you change it at 3,000, it isn't doing anything for you. The Renesis breaks down oil viscosity FAST. It heat cycles faster that piston engines, with greater extremes, and rather than only a small fraction of the oil seeing the high pressure bearings in a piston engine, a relatively higher percentage of our oil passes through the bearings. So we have relatively higher highs, lower lows, shorter cycle frequency, and higher pressure than a gasoline engine. It beats the f*** out of the oil viscosity.

UOAs posted over the decade+ have showed that by 2,000-2,500 miles, most oils have lost appreciable viscosity. A few hold up longer. Mobil 1 0w40 holds up if you go for 3,000 mile changes, i forget the couple rare others.

But handily, there is a type of engine oil that is designed for high stress environments that holds up well that is cheaper. "Diesel engine" oil. It supposedly has some elements in it that damage cats faster, and since our oil definitely goes through our cats, it's recommended to be catless if you use diesel oil, but if you do, they hold up rather well. I do Shell Rotella. The viscosity holds.

^^

So based on that and 4 years of UOAs, I feel pretty good now about recommending LiquiMoly synthetic.
It consistently comes back with cSt viscosity at 100C corresponding to 30 to 40 weight (starting with a 10W/40) after 7,000km (4500mi) oil changes.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...6/#post4801917


The W stands for whale.