BlueRenesis82

Anyone using it? From what I've seen it has better wear ratings that Mobil 1. Any opinions or anything else?

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

just watch what you get because some of their oils do not meet API standards (required by your warranty) because their great wear ratings are a direct result of using more then the allowable amount of anti-friction additives which can clog your cat up over time

BlueRenesis82

ahhh, so maybe I would be better off sticking with Mobil 1 or Redline.

rotarygod

Here are my personal oil recommendations:

Standard dino oil:
Havoline
Castrol

Synthetic:
Royal Purple
Amsoil

Oil filter:
Wix

BlueRenesis82

If I may be so bold RG, why those? Personal experiance or recomendations from others?

Flop

Hmm...

Same question, why those ones? I use the Castrol dino 5w20 (and it seems to work fine, although how would I know either way!)

Someone else mentioned that Valvoline dino 5w20 was better than the Castrol b/c it doesn't burn as 'dirty' and therfor leaves less buildup on the tips.

Thought about switching... not sure though.

BlueRenesis82

Also, I do some minor track work, another reason I was thinking about going sythetic.

cowboyup75146

I called Prestige Mazda in Dallas and ask what oil they used on there oil changes ?
They use Ford Motorcraft oil ? [B]

Flop

Scary (hehe, j/k).

I'm sure Ford just rebadges their oil (probably Castrol)

Vizacar

My dealer used Mopar 5W-20 P/N 1081090 oil. Can't find it on the web. Their synthetic oil is made by Mobile 1 though.

BlueRenesis82

The Ford Motorcraft stuff I have heard very good things about as well, esp. their synthetic.

rotarygod

I like Castrol and Havoline for regular oils because their formulations are very close to each other. Aside from a slight color difference, they are nearly identical chemically. I forget which exactly but they each use a couple less additives in their oils than their competitors do. They burn cleaner and are more stable in the long run than many others out there. I'm not saying others are necessarily bad but I really just like the way they do oils. I used them only for a long time. I also have a problem using an oil named after a valve when we don't have any!

As far as synthetics go I like Royal Purple and Amsoil because they have proven themselves. I now use only Royal Purple in all of my cars, rotary and nonrotary. In my little Honda, gas mileage actually got better with RP. They are just very well formulated oils that resist breakdown far better than any conventional oil. They also both burn very clean with little carbon or ash leftover compared to standard oils. I don't care what people say about using them in rotaries. It's the best stuff out there. Rotary Performance used Amsoil for a long time in their street and heavily abused race cars until they started carrying the very expensive Idemitsu oil from Japan. That's the oil used in the 787B. I have no idea what makes it better. Racing Beat has also proven that Amsoil is a very good oil to use and they used it for years. They actually have found a slight power increase with Royal Purple and are currently recommending it. Yes even in rotaries! I have had nothing but good luck personally with these oils and the people that endorse them and have tested them and use them have a pretty strong vote of confidence to me.

As far as my oil filter choice of Wix, there are some other good ones out there but this one is easy for me to get. Here is some eye opening test results about different filters. It also shows how each one is built. This is a defininte must read.

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil_filter_study/

EyeBall Fixer...(o)(x)

What weight do you use?
Hows Royal P. AT Juice do in your opinion?

RX8world

i use Texaco HAVOLINE 5-30 semi synthetic energy conserving.It's the only one i found that satisfies all the needs:ACEA:A1-02 B1-02 API SL/energy conserving and ILSAC GF-3 FORD:WSS and jaguar API service SL

rotarygod

I use 5W20 even in my RX-7's which call for 10W30 or 20W50. I don't have any personal experience with their AT oil but everything that make that I have used has been wonderful. I like their gear oil for manual transmissions.

Cam

iTrader: (1)

Actually, I believe Ford Motorcraft oil is Valvoline, not Castrol.

Flop

Thats great - my belief was Castrol, and only was a guess...

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

there is no beating mobil 1

MOTORBONES

So how often do you change your oil.

bxb40

I use Kendall GT-1 synthetic blend, either 5W-20 or 5W-30 if really hot outside. It's about $1.50 a qt., so changing at 4000 miles will not break the bank or justify use of an expensive synthetic oil. It claims to outdo all requirements of Ford or Mazda for cleanliness and other test, plus it passes the Chrysler deposit tests (something most of the above mentioned oils do not, so the "burning clean" and "low deposits" are not proven). For the deposit issue alone I left the Castrol GTX 5W-20 camp :o)
Also, I agree with an earlier post, do not use racing oils in your RX-8 for normal driving conditions. They do have, however, detergents, but it will kill your catalyst with the amount of antiwear additives they have (race cars have no catalysts, so are immune to this).
Most 5W-20 are synthetic blends to qualify for API SM and GF-4. The others are highly refined / purified dino (Group II+), so almost as good as Group III (called "synthetics" in the US). Hence the differences in today's oils for the 5W-20 grade between dino, blends and synthetics are minimal in terms of base stock quality, while many of the active ingredients are actually the same anyway. So it all boils down to how often you change your oil; any modern dino oil from a good brand will take you easily to 7500 miles, while a full synthetic will take you to 15000 miles. But to do that, a full synthetic will need more detergent (so it can neutralize acids longer), hence have more ash content.
As the RX-8 crowd changes oil under 5000 miles anyway, there is no need to run synthetics for normal use (track is another story, run 15W-40 racing oil and change it after the event, not at 3000 miles).
For your reference, I attached the link to the pdf of the oil I use. Note the Chrysler tests in there - those are the only real deposit tests in industry, not required by API or ILSAC, and most oils in the market do not pass it. That is the reason why some of the more knowledgeable dealers use Mopar oils even at Mazda, as mentioned in a post above :o)

http://www.kendallmotoroil.com/NR/rd...1_HP_SynMO.pdf

crossbow

UOA's will show you the effectiveness of an oil in your car...do one, and contribute to the community.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com

devoid

I use Amsoil Severe Gear oil in my Tranny and my Rear Diff. I also add Militec.

Nubo

Ok, you convinced me; the free sample kit is on the way. Might be another couple of months before the next oil change though.

BlueRenesis82

So if someone that I know has a 8 that they run at the local road course, what oil should I tell him to run? He hit up about 5 track days this year and he says there are going to be more next year. What oil/weight?

scarroll

I don't know if anyone has heard of it, but I use LE lubrication engineers monolec motor and gear oil in my Miata, (190k on 1.6) and (40k on 1.8)
and Xterra (140k miles). It is supposed to be a "long drain" oil.

I discovered it 10 years ago, when looking for a high quality non synthetic oil for my rebuilt 12a RX-7

I really like the gear oil in the tranny and shifter of the miata. (major shifting improvement)


I change the Xterra Oil every 15k miles with a Wix or Nissan OEM filter.
I am going to tear that engine down when it dies, and see if I made the right choice

I change the turbo Miata every 7-10k miles with Wix or Mazda OEM filter

The 8 gets Motorcraft 5w20 semi syn I change it every 3k with Mazda OEM

Someday I might switch the 8 to it, I will definitely use the gear oil, in the tranny and rear end.