I have had my 8 since last july (alomst 10k miles) and have never had my oil level drop to near or below Low on the dipstick between oil changes.... it seems like my car barely comsumes any oil. Do any of you add a lot of oil between oil changes??? How often do you check the oil??? thanks.....

 

I check everytime i fill up on gas, althought you can check far less, this way I dont forget..... Ive had to add oil once and I have 3k on my car

 

I change oil every 5K miles. At 3K I add nearly a quart. It's about 3/4 the way down from hi to low at that time.

 

It's the same for me. A little under a quart is used every three thousand miles. I add oil evevery quarter of a quart though just to keep it as topped as possible without over filling.

 

I change my oil at 2500 mile intervals (soon to be the 5th oil change), and mine will go from full to about 3/4 of the way down to "L" between oil changes. I have never had to add any between changes, so I think the 1 qt / 3000 mile number sounds about right.

 

Nope.. I put in my first quart at 1500, and my second at 3000. Dipstick was at the "L" line each time, and a quart took it right to full.

Maybe I'm being too hard on her?

 

I am at 1600 miles and it has only slightly moved from full. Am I driving too easy???

 

The real point here seems to be that you have to get to know your individual car and how it reacts to your driving habits. I don't know if you need to check the oil at EVERY fill up, but you should check it every second or third and try to get an idea of how much oil YOUR car uses. People also change their oil at anywhere from 2500 miles to 7000 miles. Again, that too is largely personal preference. Check the poll on oil change intervals. The majority SAY they will change at 3000 miles or so. Personally, I'm comfortable changing my oil at 5000 mile intervals after the first 2 or 3 which I will do at 3500 miles. Hope this helps bring some clarity.

 

I got my 8 in july also and I will hit 10k probably tomorrow

I have only added oil twice and I change the oil every 3k

 

I check the oil every 500 miles, and change the oil every 5000. The oil has never been lower than 1/4 from full. When it is, I top it off.

Since I've done this only twice, I am using about 1 qt for every 5000 miles.

A couple of guys mentioned that their oil level has gotten down to 3/4 low. Does it burn oil that quickly, do you put a LOT of miles on your car? Just curious as to why you would let it get that low.

 

I have noticed now that I have 8500 miles on mine that it seems to consume less oil. I check my oil often when the engine is cool and change it about every 2500 miles.

 

On my 1st gen, the OMP is mechanically operated. The more throttle used, the more oil is injected into the engine, up to a ratio of around 150:1. I would imagine that the RX-8's electical OMP still operates on the same principle, though it should use less oil. Generally speaking, if I'm not hard on the throttle of my SA, my oil level moves very little, whereas if I'm on the throttle a lot, like two full days of autocrossing for example, I can burn a noticeable amount of oil.

What it comes down to is driving habits, the harder you're on the gas, the more oil your rotary will burn.

 

Ahh...memories of 12a simplicity............

 

I change my oil every 2500-3000 miles, and I usually have to add a quart or so in between, so my car uses about 1 quart every 1500 miles. A bit high compared to some people on here, but I drive my car HARD. There's some very nice high radius turns and an I-95 on ramp that seems to be designed by god himself, and they all just beg to be taken in second gear at about 50-60 mph. And by sheer coincidence, the're all on my way to work!! :D

 

It is true that you will burn more oil if you are on the gas more. The metering of oil has improved over the years to reduce the overall burn rate, but driving the car hard should still burn more oil.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some of the oil that gets burned can be replaced by fuel dilution of the oil. The 3rd gen RX-7 (FD) is known for having high fuel dilution. That means that unburned fuel gets into the oil. 10% dilution after 3000 miles is what some people's oil analysis has shown.

Fuel dilution isn't a good thing, but I also don't want to alarm anyone -- it may just be that you are easy on the gas, or that you do have some fuel dilution but that it isn't anything to get upset about. If you are truly concerned, you could always get an oil analysis to find out for sure.

I remember some time ago on the big RX-7 list that there were a few people who did not think they were burning any oil, and in fact one fellow seemed to be gaining oil as he drove! The 'net wisdom is that the oil these folks were burning was just being replaced by fuel.

-Max

 

After 2000 miles my level just went to about 3/4 from full. Added about 1/2 a quart.