Go48

IMO, it's unlikely that it would remove the burned-on carbon on the insulator, which is where the problem stuff collects. I have used sandpaper on it, in my dirt bike past, and had a difficult time grinding it off. Even carb cleaner won't touch the burned-on, hard, black carbon material.

SpacerX

This is a great thread -- lots of great info on gas, especially the links y'all posted to past threads.

Hats off to hac -- thanx for the advice. I've often wondered about the erstwhile "consumer advocate group" claims that "all gas is gas." From the discussion here, it's apparent that that statement is true to a point -- until it gets to the terminals, where, as you say, the differences start to occur when the "gas is gas" gets loaded onto the trucks along with the additive packages.

I've done a lot of research to feel more comfortable about my oil and filter choices. Now I feel more educated and comfortable about my fuel choices.

Ciao!
Darren

rx8cited

What'd you decide is best for your car after researching?

SpacerX

Oil -- Motorcraft 5W20 "Synthetic Blend" -- not really a PAO synthetic, though; just highly-refined mineral oil w/ a solid additive package. Conoco supplies it for Ford and they market the same oil under their label -- as a nonsynthetic. My last UOA from Blackstone labs confirmed it's a solid choice. It appears to be beating the skeptics -- a well-engineered, tough little "thin oil". Wally World used to carry it for $1.40/qt. The best I've been able to find lately, though, is $2.30/qt at Advance.

Filter -- Purolator PureOne PL14612 -- solid construction, superior filter material, highest filtration area, only about $6.00; performs as well or better than Mobil 1 filters, and costs half as much; BTW the Mazda OEM filter is also a good choice -- also around $6. Again, the PL14612 filter got kudos from the Blackstone lab guys. PL14610 is usable, and it's a larger filter -- may be a solid option for y'all who want to extend your miles between drains, but the fact that it's larger makes it harder to handle in the confined area near the firewall. The smaller size is much, much easier to handle.

Gas -- First, I'm sticking with the premium stuff. It's not that big of a deal to me to save a few cents a gallon and use mid- or low- octane gas. Plus, I tried it, and didn't notice ANY improvement in mileage. Power was definitely down, though. Also, I'm simply going to be more picky about going to one of the "majors" -- will probably stick consistently with the Shell 93 octane "V-Power" stuff just to establish some trends for now. Shell has an excellent "station locator" on their website, and it turns out there are SEVERAL stations within a couple miles of the house -- so plenty of access.

Bottom line, my experience with the 5W20 "thin oil that could" has been eye-opening WRT "additive packages" in petroleum products. I learned with oils the additives are the really proprietary bag. Based on that experience, the info hac provides makes a world of sense to me.

hac

Ok, I have spent almost a week researching and talking to engineers about OTC (over the counter as in purchase at a auto parts store) bottled additive. No major or independant has tested their additive on a rotary engine. Perhaps Rotary God can say if there is that much of a difference in how gas is delivered and combusted. It seems to my unknowing mind that fuel delivery and combustion would be the same, perhaps a different design in doing so but none the less the same principle. Right or wrong Rotary God? Anyone knowledgeable in this field?
Again, I just want everyone to know do whater YOU are happy doing. If you believe it boost performance, milage, idling or whatever and your happy, then do it. BUT..PLEASE...don't over additize, use the amount the bottle tells you. If you over additize you WILL damage sensors and drastically shorten your engine life, loose compression ect....
It's only human that no matter what facts are given, people will form their own opinion and judgements. Kinda like saying I can "FEEL" the 1 or 2 hp the aftermarket exhaust added to my car. True reality is NO YOU CAN"T. However in my mind I have convienced myself the extra HP is there. I read about it, bought it, installed it, heck I can even hear it so now I am convienced I "feel it". The real truth is more along the line of, "I bought it because the dam thing looked & sounded good to me and made me happy". It's human nature at it's best. Life would be real boring without disagreement.
"I would never ever waste my money on a OTC additive bottle of any kind".
"I would never add any OTC additive to a new vehicle". "All gasoline has additive in it designed to limit or minimize carbon build up". This is from several competitive (branded) chemical engineers I spoke to.
Again, I buy Shell V-Powe 93 and will continue to do so until I see a independant testing results of a better additive package.
The site you mentioned, it seem to be a concentrated form of regular OTC additive. Which by the way is better than what 95% are offering. For the sake of comparing what additive the terminals have v/s OTC additives. What terminals inject would be more in line with one thousandths to one ten thousanths of a cc per gallon of gas. Now this should give you a idea of what your are really purchasing at the auto parts store.
As far as carbon build up on the 8's engine...I want to know too. I know squat, zero, nothing about a rotary engine. We wanted another car so my wife drove the Infinity,350z,S-2000 and a 2004 vett. She, not me, decided on the RX8. She "liked the feel and how the car drove and handled", "it's like it's a part of me". Personally I think that speaks volumes for this car. I researched and read this forum for a long time and decided to buy the RX8. I am still uneasy of a rotary engine directly due to not knowing anything about it nor am I willing to learn it. I depend on lots of reading and information on this forum. However and despite all current and past issues I've had with lack of knowledge and other issues with the car, I think its an "exclusive" and dam fine car. It has 30,000+ miles and still never a dull moment in it. If anyone ever does tear apart the engine I would like to know about carbon build up within the engine. Pictures would be nice and a sample of the build up would be fantastic.

lmartinzr

I'm currently running a bottle of Lucas oil deep clean fuel system cleaner. I rev it pretty good on a daily basis to hopefully remove more carbon build-up. I've noticed that it takes less time to start when warm and it feels a lot smoother. I have a sohn adapter installed using royal purple HP 2C synthetic oil, under driven harmonic balancer, light weight water and alternator Pulleys.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

10 year bump. Nice

lmartinzr

Yup lol from what I read it was all assumption so I took a chance and poured one in.

Silverhorn

Sorry to revive an old thread, but it seems like its time for some people to chime in on how the injector cleaner works after all this time. I'm looking at putting injector cleaner in my Rotary as I'm chasing down an idle issue. When I put in the clutch in from high speeds, or even from lower speeds into idle it dies. Injectors is one of the causes I'm looking at. I use Lucas Injector Cleaner on all the of the rest of my vehicles, but it says "not for use on rotary engines". This has confused me for a long while, and based on the reading of this thread I'm wondering if that's just because Lucas never tested it on a rotary. can anyone verify that its safe or uses it on their car long-term with no issues. Thanks in advance for any help because I'm trying to get ready for the track on Monday.

UnknownJinX

Are you sure it's an injector issue to begin with? You have a K&N intake, which, if it's oiled, could deposit oil on the MAF sensor.

If your injector is broken enough to cause idle issues, I don't think any injector cleaner will be much help. You will need to take them out and send them to a place that does ultrasonic injector cleaning or just get new ones.

Silverhorn

Thanks for the input. I'm indeed not sure so I'm chasing all 3 problems simultaneously. I plan to clean the MAF and K&N, as well as check for vacuum leaks, but the injector cleaner needs time to work. If put the cleaner in at the same time will take many miles to make a difference. Looking for an opinion here as I plan to do all the work tomorrow. I don't have time to change or clean the injectors before Monday. As I've not ever used injector cleaner and now have 110k on them I'm thinking I should start cleaner if people have had good experience with them.

_JB_

While not Lucas brand, I've run Amsoil fuel system cleaner through my RX8 at every oil change. Never noticed any difference.

Silverhorn

Thanks man, I appreciate it. I'll take that as it's not doing dmg to your engine. I would say not noticing a difference is a good thing, any difference that failing to do it would cause would be negative. In my other vehicles I notice a minimal increase in fuel efficiency. I track my mileage and MPG very carefully and can verify this minimal difference. It's enough that I put Lucas in every tank.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

TBH, if they’re at the point of causing a problem then they need to be removed and cleaned through a machine with pure solvent. Those pour in the tank cleaners are only intended as preventative maintenance to keep it from getting that bad.
.

_JB_

Yeah it hasn't caused any damage to my engine but I don't have a cat, so I'm not sure if that matters. I record all fill-ups on my vehicles and have not seen an increase in performance or MPG. Amsoil recommends their cleaner every 4000 miles which is about what each vehicle gets a year, so maybe my technique is keeping everything as clean as it can?

Silverhorn

The lucas treatment I use on my other vehicles recommends to use every tank. 3oz per 10gal specifically. I doubt a treatment every 4000k miles would be noticeable. Every 200 miles would be soo much more impactful.