The main advantage to ATF (it does have FAR more detergent than regular oil, BTW) is that it has a higher lubricity than those cleaners.

 

Sorry, Maniac, but Jax is right - there are no detergents in an ATF.

Just because it's repeated endlessly on teh internets don't make it a fact.....

S

 

I don't know about "teh internets" in this context. I just referred the MSDS for the Dexron that I used.

 

One of the functions of an ATF is to drop out any crap into the pan, so it doesn't keep circulating. A lot of detergency would be counterproductive. It may have a little, associated with its surfactant role.

S

 

You are right about the needed lubricity for "piston soak" cleaning (or rotor soak in our case) as you cannot use a normal gas add like Techron as it has no lubricity. LC20 is probably the best for piston soaks as it has excellent lubricity in addition to the excellent cleaning and is very concentrated.

Other favorites include Schaffer's Neutra (or Mola's brew, which is 3 parts LC20 to 1 part Neutra) and Marvel Mystery Oil as it is cheap, easy to find, and lubricates/cleans very well (and no it is not like ATF as another urban legend states just because of the color). While ATF can be used, there are just options that clean better.


For vacuum feed cleaning (during running), there are many better options than water - FP, Seafoam, and Berrymans B-21 Chemtool are all popular. MMO is also a favorite here as it is a very good lubricant/cleaner, but very low viscosity and easily sucked into the engine via the vacuum line.

Some food for thought.

 

I've heard of everything from 30k miles to 200k miles almost like any car engine. To be honest the RX-8 is in all the Promos, movies and magazine so more is written about it.

 

I am new to this, so please consider me a newbie.
I have a 2005 with 93k miles on the clock.
Only recently have I had an issue. Stalling at a stop.
I had the plugs replaced. It Got rid of the stalling.
But, the engine still lowers rpm when the air conditioner
comes on, runs a little rough when cycles on the
recovers. I still love the car, only one I have not gotten
tired of. What else should I replace? Unlike some people
on this site, I cannot afford to toss in a new engine
for 4k.

 

Sounds like ignition still. Ignition coils usually fail before plugs, and it doesn't sound like you knew to take care of them at the same time. Could be more than that though. You have 7,000 miles remaining before the warranty expires though (8yr 100,000m on the engine core), so if you think it might be the engine get a compression test done.


And read up on this thread, it has alot of the basics that may be useful: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/

 

I hate to break it to you buddy but 98 percent of the awnsers you are getting on this website are from people who have invested thousands of their own dollars in a rotary powered vehicle and are very BIASED toward the engine. The real answer lies with your own common sense. Mazda is undoubtedly a cheaper automaker and built the rx7 years ago for the sole purpose to be a cheaper alternitive to the z car... But back to the common sense idea. You have to say to yourself how many automakers implement the rotary engine in their automobiles... And then when you get that narrowed down you have to categorize that automaker in comparison to the rest of the big automakers by quality and prices of vehicles... And once you get those basic terms of thinking when considering to purchase a vehicle sorted out you realize that mazda is the only one that produces the rotary and they make cheap cars!!!! There is a very distinct reason that mercedes benz does not put a rotary in any of their cars. The rotary implements too many crutial seals in a very hit or miss unreliable fasion and concentrates an extreme amount of heat on the apex seals (basically serves the same purpose as a piston ring except in a rotary setup). And along with the heat issue the whole rotary concept is designed around extremely high rpm use. The end result is an engine that looks extremely attractive on paper (power output in comparison to the weight of the engine which in the rotary's case is at an extreme advantage over any piston engine with roughly the same output) and feels that way as well for the first 50000 miles but then blows a seal or requires a rebuild as a result of a cheap poor design... If the rotary was a bullet proof design every automaker would strive to implement it in the vehicles based soley on power output to weight ratio alone..

 

word, i've seen an FC reach 210,000 on it's original motor. As most everyone has been saying, it mostly depends on how well YOU take care of it.

 

RX7 was not exactly cheap.

Mazda makes rotary engines because they love rotaries. Pretty much a cult thing within the company. Look at their new TV ad, where they keep showing rotary parts and RX8s, even though they don't (or soon won't) have a rotary in current production.

Other companies (including General Motors with the Corvette) were set to jump on the rotary bandwagon, but that was during the first fuel crisis of the 70s and the Wankel's poor fuel mileage became an issue.

Mazda going it alone does mean that the rotary never got the depth of development that piston engines got. I'm not a rotary cultist like a number of good members of this site, but I'm willing to take the risk for the sake of having an engine with passion behind it.

Ken

 

^+1 most people don't know how many companies were actually trying to pick up the rotary back when it was getting big 60's and 70's? I think some of them were having a hard time developing it to meet emission standards of the time.....like Ken said lol

 

F1 teams are allowed 8 engines for the entire 20 race season. That includes 3 practices, 1 qualy and race per weekend. I think that they are revving up to 12,000 RPM these days and they rarely blow.

 

^^12,000?? maybe in the 1980's, try 19,000rpm

as for the reliability of the rotary, consider the 787b in 1991 Le Mans race. a little over 700 HP, it ran for 24 hrs straight and WON. granted i'm sure they had better quality parts, that's still very impressive