Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Are you referring to the Park Mazda on S. Arlington St?
They might be good sales people, but you need to ask how their mechanical knowledge is on rotary engines/vehicles. I personally have trusted Cascade Mazda (and they've done a lot of work to my car during an accident). They are also a dealer for Porsches, so I'm sure that they are strict on taking great care of customer's vehicles.

DeViLbOi... I would be surprised if you go to this Park Mazda (given where you live), are you mistaken this for another Park Mazda.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

That's funny... I think Cascade Mazda mentioned that they had the only Rotary Certified Tech
Who knows.. maybe this guy (if its the same one) works between multiple dealers.
Or maybe dealers like to say that to keep you as a customer.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

This is the Park Mazda I have an appointment with. It is a long haul for me...but if I get good/great service out of it I don't care. As stated previously in this thread...the last time I went to Classic Mazda they attempted to put Synthetic oil in my car. Driving to Wooster is well worth it if I don't have to go through that again. As for him being the only certified tech...I'll ask him. *shrug* I need to hit him up for something else anyway.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

^^Ok... there is a Park Mazda in Wooster and one in Akron.
Damn... that is a long drive for you DeViLbOi... but I agree that if you find a dealer you trust, its worth going that extra (and extra) mile.

Shinka_MJR

the one i refer to is in Akron on S. Arlington but Cascade is only 12mi or so... either way it works for me!

Gopherage

Ironically enough I went to Cascade for my last oil change and they put Semi-Synthetic in my car at least thats what they checked off on the little window sticker.....

Also I stopped by Shinkarex's house and picked up some pictures that he had taken of our car during a previous week so i figure i'll post them, hope you guys like them, he took all the pictures i had nothing to do with the photography just supplied one of the two cars.

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

I have heard nothing but great words for Cascade. When I started looking at cars it was one of the places I had called. They were very nice and polite on the phone and answered every stupid question I had on the two cars in question. They are recommended highly for service...but I haven't heard anything about sales that I can remember. Good luck with your shopping either way and personally I would take big advantage of Friday. You are probably going to have 10 or 15 8's in different modification steps and can probably get all of your questions answered honestly from big fans of the car.

tony_673

Actually, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it. Today and tomorrow's rain is going to put me behind schedule, and with the heat I might just die. I was up there for 13 hours yesterday and about 10 hours the day before. My back is sunburned so incredibly bad. By the end of the day I could barely move due to my sore and overworked muscles. It even hurt to breathe. I was begining to worry that I had worked myself close to death. As a paramedic I've seen dozens of people fighting for each breath that they take and I was getting there. For the first time in my life a tiny thought popped into the back of my brain that there was a small possibility that I could go to sleep that night and never wake up.

On that note, I'll see how I feel. I suppose I could always have my wife drop me off there. You guys could prop me up in a corner with some dark sunglasses on. It could be just like "Weekend at Bernie's"!

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Tony: If you want you can have your wife drop you off at the office around 7 and I can drive you out there. That way she won't have to drive all the way out there to return home. Lemmie know

tony_673

I was joking about the dropping me off thing, but thanks for the offer. I'll either come a little tuckered out but happy, or I won't go at all. After long hours in the scorching sun though I tend to get crabby. I don't want to spoil the mood for you guys. We'll see how it goes.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Its different when you step out of the medical shoes and into the patient's.
As you know, when you start feeling extreme fatigue, you need to consider other signs/symptoms like decrease sweating and extremities going dumb/tingling.
I was joking about you falling off the roof, but take care of yourself... I would feel bad if that came back to bite me in the ***!
That roof isn't worth your health (not meaning to sound like your parent )
Glad to hear nothing severe happened and I'll see you tomorrow at Summit Racing!

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

yea...really...no death and dismemberment...please.

Shinka_MJR

Here's something i have been wondering... figure the ohio thread would be best place to ask:

Do you guys drive your cars year-round or do you store them and drive a beater in the winter? Does the car do ok in the snow for a RWD?

I noticed also the apprehensive comment about synthetic oil and the car. I take it the 8's like non-synth better? I've read that the RX-8 tends to go through oil naturally so owners should simply keep an eye on levels more so than other cars.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

The car will do OK with winter tires like the Blizzaks, just don't drive in deep snow (like more than 3").
I was foolish to drive one winter with by BFGoodrich g-Force KDW 2 tires and it wasn't fun (even in mild accumulation).
I went out and bought an '01 F150 4x4 supercab for $8000 as my "winter beater" (not to mention hauling supplies from Home Depot).
So if you look around, you can find a decent 4x4 winter beater for cheap.

Correct! Every 3-5K miles is good. Some people check it every other gas fill-up, but I've never had to worry about it that soon.

This is a HUGE debate on this forum. Synthetic will NOT harm your engine.
This was an issue 30+ years ago when Mazda used cheap apex seals, but they've changed the seal material.
MANY people use synthetic (including myself) and have no issues.
What can decrease the engine longevity (from what I've read on many threads) is using 5w20 (yes I know, that is what the manual says).
Every other country recommends 5w30 for the RX8. US says to use 5w20 for emissions, but I've never heard of an issue using 5w30 and emissions in the US.
So I would recommend sticking with at least 5w30.
Many people here like Royal Purple 5w30... but feel free to do a search and read the MANY threads on this topic (and be prepared to spend SEVERAL hours reading).

RK

iTrader: (1)

What Jon said mostly.

Your choices for winter driving are either getting winter tires and staying out of huge snowstorms or getting a winter car. Don't expect all-year tires to cut it. I actually bought my beater 9 months before my eight to make sure I could afford both.

FWIW I hear you can buy a SUV for spare change these days...

As far as the oil changes this is always a giant question mark. And what Jon said is mostly correct (especially the part about there being a constant, huge debate on oil). I'd note my 2004 needs to get oil added around 2k miles. There have been times when I haven't checked prior to 3k and it's been way too low. I think the only thing that the oil people have figured out are that 0w30 or 0w40 is the way to go and if you can't find a good 0w then go with a 5w. But for the most part it seems like Mazda has worked out the kinks and you shouldn't be too worried about it. You won't ever get a dealer to give you anything but 5w20 but I'd change it to 5w30 or better your first oilchange.

There is one pretty tried and true solution for making sure your seals are healthy and that's premixing. Essentially by putting 4oz of a premix solution in your gas tank whenever you fill up you assist in the oil injection process and almost guarantee your going to be ok. There are people (who I believe are crazy, FWIW) who swear that premix + 87 octaine is fine for you car. I didn't start premixing (tho with 93 octaine) until recently but it is something that rotary owners have been doing since long before the 8 came about.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Good to know that I'm mostly correct It all depends on who you ask.
I converted to 5w30 when I read multiple threads from MazdaManiac (who is very known and knowledgeable on rotary engines) and others like him and they seem to favor 5w30 with a K&N filter. I've always trusted their judgment.
Listen... we don't need another oil debate, especially in our own regional forum.
Best thing I can say is, do what I've done, spend countless hours reading every thread on this topic, and decide for yourself.
I know that reading sucks and it would be nice to have one definite answer, but you won't get it.

NEXT TOPIC: Still don't know who is all coming this Friday (and what time), so I'll start the list:

1. Jon316G (Jonathan)
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

RK

iTrader: (1)

I don't know about that... We don't want to be the only thread >10 pages that doesn't have an oil debate on this site, do we?

5w30 = Consensus best choice, more info found in stickies in Tech Garage.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

DeViLbOi

iTrader: (1)

Im just going to weigh in quickly here on the oil and then let it go. My car is a new 07 and I am very early in the warranty. According to someone somewhere they had an issue with their engine in their 8 going and had their warranty voided because of the build-up of burnt synthetic oil on the seals. While it may or may not have been true...Im not pushing it.

1. Jon316G (Jonathan)
2. Ryan
3. DeViLbOi (John) - Should get there 730 or so.
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

RK

iTrader: (1)

Yeah that's theoretically possible since Mazda could void your warranty for almost anything but it's still a myth. There's no way to detect synth vs. dino without sending it to a chem lab. So either someone got some crappy service and should have gone to another dealership or it was just made up. EDIT: Or the guy put in something like 30w40 and it become sludge in the winter. But that wouldn't have much to do with synthetic vs. dino - just the viscosity.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...+synthetic+oil

Fair warning that's an old thread so don't post in it but it should stop the discussion in here especially if you just read the last couple posts...

I'll be there between 5 and 7 depending on whether I'm coming from work (later) or C-Bus (earlier).

I also played the Office Space™ Rush Hour Commute game with a yellow 8 all the way from rt 82 to past 480 this morning. He had a rear rotary accent so he's probably been on here before. I refuse to wave or anything to people in rx8s unless I actually know the people but I think we were side-by-side at least 3 times. Awkwardly entertaining break from the normal commute.

Shinka_MJR

lol thanks for the input on the oil issue. 5w30 dino it is.

Here's another lube question: tranny gear lube (i'll be buying std): I am running Redline in my tibby right now and love it. great stuff. Not a fan of RP. sorry. Thoughts? (going to search and read for general concensus but again, like to hear what the "locals" think)

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Redline 75w90 and RP Max Gear 75w90 seem to be the popular choice.
From what I've read, some notice a differance between the two, while others don't (another oil debate).
I'm about to change out to the RP within the next couple weeks, but you're doing the right thing by searching.
I've read stories on both brands... I guess I'll just try one and if that doesn't satisfy me, then I'll go with the other!

Gopherage

1. Jon316G (Jonathan)
2. Ryan
3. DeViLbOi (John) - Should get there 730 or so.
4. Gopherage (Josh)
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?

Ben (ShinkaRex) helped me change out my transmission fluid about a week ago and I love the results. We changed it from the factory fluid to RP (sorry to hear you dislike it but i'm very happy with the results.) I'm sure whatever you change it to from the factory fluid you will probably be much happier.

Oh and in response to the "no dealership will ever put 5w30 in" the oil change before they put semi-synthetic in my car they put 5w30 in. I'm glad to see though that synthetic fear was from an old apex flaw. I figured that those guys at Cascade knew what they were doing thats why I keep going back even when they deviate from the manual haha

Machiavelli

I don't drive my car in the winter because I don't want it exposed to the salt we like to dump all over our roads, but with a good set of dedicated snow/ice tires - not all weathers or performance oriented winters - I wouldn't hesitate to drive the RX 8. My old E36 M3 was pretty comparable to the RX 8 in terms of curb weight and front/rear weight ratio, and once I threw a set of Blizzaks on that car it functioned very capably in even fairly deep snow. I used that thing as a daily driver for three winters with no issues at all. I have a vivid memory of taking a wrong turn in Columbus and finding myself on a completely unplowed side street with about six inches of snow on the ground. The Blizzaks just tore through it. I really think that it's all about tire selection. I wouldn't limit myself to 3" with true snow tires like Blizzaks, but that's certainly a good rule of thumb for performance oriented winter tires.

I know it's pretty obvious, but a word of caution: even in good weather you'll notice a huge drop off in road holding ability with snow/ice tires, and could find yourself in a world of hurt if you expect the car to grip anywhere near like it does with its summer tires.

I'm not going to chime in on the "synthetic oil is potentially bad for your car" debate, because it makes my head hurt and you could spend hours looking over the posts debating the issue without coming to any real conclusion. I just take a conservative approach and use the factory recommended 5w30 semi-synth.

Machiavelli

1. Jon316G (Jonathan)
2. Ryan
3. DeViLbOi (John) - Should get there 730 or so.
4. Gopherage (Josh)
5. Machiavelli (Tom)
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?