Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

Ok well as you guys know i just bought a used 05 rx-8 with 35k miles on it. Well i took it in yesterday to get the tailight warrenty work done on it (condensation) and while i was there i got a warrenty service history report. Well as soon as the dealer got it in from the lease they put a brand new engine and battery in it. Meaning i have a brand new engine and i have been doing city driving and not maintaining speeds but i have still driven the **** out of it with probably 200 miles on the new engine. Im not worried because it pulls strong and after my first fill up i got 17 mpg city with a little highway and alot of redlining so im very pleased. I guess the question is when should i do the first oil and filter change since its a new engine? I was also going to put Castrol non synthetic GTX 5w-30 in since im in Texas and i will keep receipts of everything so i can later down the road prove i have taken care of it but if the dealer see's 5w-30 will they basically try and screw me?

Thanks

04RX8man

yeah i would change oil at about 1k miles then as normally scheduled....but i personlly would take it a little easy on redlines now that u know it's new....and 5w30 will be ok..most dealers are ok with 5w30 oil....

Old Rotor

I would agree change it between one and two thousand. Then again every three thousand miles. Here is what my manual says about what oil weight to use. Your living in Texas so you will need a thicker oil in summer but 5W30 or 10W30 durring winter will work fine.

"Engine oil viscosity, or thickness, has an
effect on fuel economy and cold-weather
operation (starting and oil flow).
Low-viscosity engine oils can provide
improved fuel economy and cold-weather
performance.
But high-temperature weather conditions
require higher-viscosity engine oils for
satisfactory lubrication."

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

drive the **** out of it.

change the oil at 500 miles, 1000 miles and 3000 miles. (so thats 3 oil changes in 3000 miles)

best way to break in an engine.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Kersh, you keep recommending people to 'drive the ****' outta their new cars. Do you have any evidence that is better than standard break in procedures?

No offense but I really dont think its good for a brand new engine to be abused its first 3000 miles lol.

max5roadster

There are 2 schools of thought on engine break-in and some believe in a redline it approach, others easy 1-4k... Both recommend frequent oil changes, so do as you like as long as you do early oil changes for a while.

thewildblue

I rag the **** outta of new engines, I know for a fact that it was proven on early fireblade engines that the ones that were run in were up to 10bhp down on the ones that werent run in. Now 10bhp when you only have 125 to play is quite alot.

The rex loves revs and who wants carbon buildup.

I picked up a brand spanking new 08 ZX10R, my run in process consisted of 5 miles getting it out of the town, that was it, it was run in, gave it death after that. Nice 600mile oil change and Im good to go.

Earlier this year I test drove a 40th aniversary Rex, it had 15miles on it, the dealer said just drive it as you would your own, so it was beeped for the whole test drive. It felt fine. :-)

j67345

That's whyI only buy brand new cars off the trailer. I don't want a car that has 15 miles on it that has already had the crap beaten out of it

04RX8man

yeah i'm not sure about really running it hard but truthfully(learned this in school) when car manufacturer's make cars they make them ready to go because they know ppl are not going to break them in properly.....personally i would take it easy but ppl do say by making it work hard is the besst....either way if someting breaks again it's still under warranty......

Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

I know for a fact on piston engines that "driving the **** is the best" I have a friend over on the Spec V forum i am on that took two brand new QR25 (4cycl 2.5 liter) piston engines and drove each for 1k miles. One using the the slow break in recommended and the other hard driving. They tore down the engine after 1k mile and noticed the piston rings in the hard driven motor had seal much better and compression was higher. This was only confirmed more as the engines were put back together and driven till 50k miles as anyone normally would with redlining on both. They were torn back down and the beat to **** engine still had amazing compression and the rings were it much better shape were as the slow break it showed signs of wear and slight leakage.

However this is irrelevant to us because we drive rotaries. So it sounds like the good gas mileage is from the use of 5w-20 thats currently in there. So im going to go get some gas today and i was going to grab 5w-30 GTX non-syn. I figured that would be good for the summer too, but it sounds like i should switch to 10w-30 once it heats back up?

bose

iTrader: (5)

I've heard from a bunch of people say to break in the engine in the fashion it's going to be used. Just cause the dealer recommends easy driving doesn't mean much. Dealers tell you a lot of stupid things but they aren't aiming for your driving pleasure, they are aiming for good statistics and higher numbers for themselves.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

yes i do.

and no offense, but you dont know what you're talking about.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

No not really, I just followed my owners manual and was curious what the reasoning was.

Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

ok well walmart had a deal on oil and i just bought 10 quarts of Castrol GTX 5w-30 for 25 bucks. I had one more question, i noticed that at 6k rpms the engine noise changes and i can hear what sounds like the apex seal really running on the iron. I know the engine has like an extra port so im not sure if some vacuum manifold is opening up and thats the change in sound or if i wore in the engine wrong and its the rotor rubbing against the housing at the higher rpm. either way it feels fine but as soon as i hit around 6k i feel like this extra little pull and the sound changes. For all i know it could be perfectly normal but i just want to make sure being this is my first rotary.

Thanks

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

its cool. i was just giving you a hard time.

it really is the best way to break in an engine. its how teamrx8 broke his in, and he currently has the highest n/a dyno. if that says anyting.

Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

ive still been redlining once a day and she still pulls hard and gets a good solid gas mileage. I live in Plano 3 minutes away from the new Cobb Tuning so i will probably stop by and get a compl stock N/A dyno done before i hit the mods.

Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

ok well from what i have researched the sound around 6k rpm's is the alternate intake ports opening up to allow more air, so the last sound i need to figure out is when the car is idling in neutral with the clutch out (so the car is on and im not touching anything) it makes a repetitive noise that i cannot describe but as soon as i push the clutch in (while in neutral) everything is quit and all i hear is the beautiful whir of the engine. Normal or not?

wmb_8

Normal

Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

thank you for the quick answer, i can now rest peacefully tonight lol. The dealer told me the noise im getting around 6k and above is since its a new engine the apex and all the seals are breaking in and basically rubbing to create the proper seal. I plan on doing a oil change to 5w-30 here within the next two weeks and will begin running a premix so this should be a pretty stout engine.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

correct,

gear rollover.

beers

always.anthony

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how do i break it in then??? i was gonna use the racing beat procedure and now im confused again

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/breaking-question-need-answer-asap-49356/

Spoolin8

iTrader: (2)

like i said when i get time and after my entire break in i plan to hit the dyno.

ken-x8

Do you know how other parts in those engines (bearings and cams in particular) compared?

Hard break in is good for rings in a piston engine. Been quite a while since I've replaced rings, but the last time I did Perfect Circle's instructions were to accelerate from 20 mph to 50 mph at full throttle, then let it slow on compression back to 20, doing this cycle 10 times.

I wonder how the slow on compression part would apply to a rotary.

The two torn-down engines whose innards we've recently seen had wear on the eccentric shaft bearings, so there's more to an engine than just the rings or seals.

Ken

04RX8man

yeah the noise is only the extra intake port opening.....but i will tell u what this "how to break in a new car" is getting to b just as bad as the "what type of oil should I use thread" haha