My 09 RX8 GT is now approaching 30K service and I have some questions.
1. Is it really necessary to have a 30K full service or would I be better off asking specific things done to my car (no, I am too old to do stuff myself). It seems so costly.
2. Is it okay to use synthetic oil?
3. I read about pre-mix and such? Is it necessary?

I do not race, generally do not rev too high, and may at times hit 100 mph but it is fairly rare. I am a normal driver with about 70% city driving (between 10 and 50 mph) and occasional highway driving between 70 and 90 mph, occasionally hitting 100 or 105 max.

No flaming please, just sound advice.

 

1. depends
2. depends
3. depends

 

Only advice I can give is to do it right the first time.

Doing your maintenance now will save you down the road.

But in my opinion, if you don't want to be responsible for your car and performing scheduled maintenance, you should probably re-evaluate why you have it in the first place.

 

1. Don't ask for the "30K full service" (which most dealers offer as a package). Instead, look in the back of your RX-8 Owner's Manual and just list what is supposed to be done at 30K miles. It'll cost you less.

2. Probably not the end of the world if you use synthetic; many feel it's superior. I'm conservative - Mazda says no and I don't use it, even though I've used it in every other car I've owned. Besides, I change the oil every 3-4 months, so I don't think synthetic offers a significant improvement (if any) for drivers like me.

3. Personally, my gut feel is that pre-mix is not necessary. Probably only about 2 - 3% of all RX-8 owners worldwide do it, or have ever even heard the term "pre-mix". More important than pre-mix is regular oil changes, rev high often, check oil frequently, etc. That said, I suspect pre-mix probably doesn't hurt much if it makes you feel better.

 

If you are not reving high, you are killing the engine. It starves the apex seals of oil and carbon builds up on the rotors. You need to run hard to red line at least once a day. This engine is designed with high reving in mind.

 

^wtf are you talking about?

to the OP, read the sticky "New and potential owners". That will help guide you in your search for already overly discussed topics

 

1. Read the owner's manual
2. Read the owner's manual
3. Read the owner's manual

Anyway, it is not necessary to do it, but it really depends on the situation of your car.