TrAsHeR

well, they were out of 5w20 and I thought, well, why the hell not 5w30, just to see what kind of difference it would make.

It's human nature to try things out, ... right? Well, "Drive Hard". I thought that would imply how I would drive my car. Guess not.

One experience smarter
At 1900-2300 RPM the engine starts to stodder. Major performance loss at 5000+ RPM. I hope I didn't ruin anything on ~ 50 miles test drive..

I'm a project in the makings, sorry for doing my experiments on the 8
Looking forward to do my first oil change tomorrow

robertdot

Yeah. Mazda techs at Trussville Mazda told me it'd be fine in Alabama conditions. I used it for the first 6 months (up until my last oil change that I had done at the dealership... I can only assume they used 5w20). It's easier to get 5w30 in Alabama, anyway. I reckon it will only really matter in colder climates. Hawaii should be nice enough year round that it wouldn't hurt you at all.

TrAsHeR

with "Drive Hard" I meant that I went for "5w30 Drive Hard" which doesn't seem to be the best for a rotary engine. Regular 5w30 might be alright but I'm not going to use this **** anymore.

Altho, thanks for acknowledging that 5w30 is usually alright. Still gonna stick to 5w20 for the future tho...

TrAsHeR

I don't have it anymore but as far as I know, it was not synthetic. (looked out for that).....

But if it was, it doesn't do any long-term damage, does it?

edit: I used Castrol GTX SAE 5W-30 which should not be synthetic

NavyDood

So your saying just because you put 5w-30 in your car, it started freaking out and not running right?

Changing the weight of the oil is not going to affect your car like that. Something else happened.

RotorMotor04

what is wrong with synthetic???

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Nothing wrong with synthetic.

Nothing.

90% of all 5w20 SL grades are synthetic blends anyway, they have stringent tests to pass, and it's difficult to meet the specs without using some good synthetic base stocks.

A change from 5w20 to 5w30 would be absolutely undetectable, (except by a lab analysis, and even then it would be iffy!)

That is definitely not the cause of any 'performance' hiccups......

Relax, chill, enjoy your car! :p
S

TrAsHeR

yea, that's what I'm saying. I also have to say that I don't have these hicups while the engine is cold. If I go for a run, 10 miles+, then I'm almost killing the engine at 2000 RPM. At longer runs, 20 miles+, I can notice the performance loss above 5000+ RPM. I just don't know how to desribe it any better.

The entire engine feels different. Really rough on ignition. Even while shifting down (and it runs through the 2000 RPM) the entire car starts shaking.


Ah, crap. I don't have any tools here, not even an oil pan. Cant' do the oil change today...
Mixed it up with another 5w20 and gonna make another test drive soon.


PS: The day I put the oil in, I also heard some metal grinding noise. It wasn't loud but I did notice it. I seriously hope there is nothing wrong with the car but I mean... I don't even readline and I'm running on US freeways, how can I possibly destroy an renesis around here? Would be different if I was in germany :P

RX-8 friend

1. Many rotary owners have used synthetic oil for years with no problems. Mazda are/were over reacting.
2. Check to see if you overfilled the oil. That's about the only thing -you- could do to cause what you're experiencing. Unless you dropped a bolt into the filler tube or something. If you didn't overfill, then you may have another problem, unrelated to the oil.

TrAsHeR

Overfill? Highly likely.... Solution? Given my limited tools here....

sferrett

Could you have disturbed a plug lead when you were changing the filter perhaps? Might want to make sure all the plug leads are on nice and snug just in case...

TrAsHeR

well, I just did my first oil change myself. It got a bit messy, lol but is ok

Everything is back to normal now, thank god! It was definatly an overfill. Thanks for the help everyone

ezrider55

I would sugest a search on overfill to see if it may have caused some damage.

TiRX8

5w30 is all good. Mazda suggests using this oil in some different countries. I think something else is wrong with your car.

red_rx8_red_int

You didn't hurt your car. Don't worry.

RobDickinson

The 8 comes with 5w-30 as standard everywhere apart from the US I think, least it does in Europe.

And theres no problem with synthetic either (tho we all tend to use semi).

MTLbroker

5-30 oil is just fine. I think outside of North America, Mazda specified 5-30. You shouldn't be able to detect a difference.