When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
i just want to add that I bought an 04 6-speed with 150,000 miles on it that has always been florida driven with 5w-20 conventional oil and has never has a single engine problem. take care of the car, check oil frequently and change when needed and your car will go a long way. its all about maintenance
i just want to add that I bought an 04 6-speed with 150,000 miles on it that has always been florida driven with 5w-20 conventional oil and has never has a single engine problem. take care of the car, check oil frequently and change when needed and your car will go a long way. its all about maintenance
That type of mileage has been obtained a handful of times but is far from the norm. Are you the original owner?
For those who worry about oil quality/engine life, oil weight or dino/synth doesn't really make any difference IMO except for cold winter start. The use of good 2 strokes oil premix in a rotary (2004-2008) will outmatch by far any 4 strokes you will ever put in your engine. So let's help those little engines lubricate themselves!
That type of mileage has been obtained a handful of times but is far from the norm. Are you the original owner?
It is probably more accurate to say it has been obtained and reported here a handful of times. The vast majority of current and former RX-8 owners are not likely members of this board. Most of them go on about their lives without giving a second thought to any of this stuff and do just fine with their cars. I run into them all the time.
Case in point, the Mazda tech that works on my car at the dealership has an '06 RX-8 with over 125,000 miles. He has done nothing to it beyond changing the oil every 5,000 miles with 5W20 from the bulk drum. He has never heard of an "8-club" and thinks I'm crazy for bringing mine in every 3,000 miles.
I take it to them for the paper trail of service records since my engine is still under warranty.
What I actually do is take it to them every 3,000 miles for their $20-25 oil and OEM filter special. From there, I drain and fill it myself after every track day. So, my oil ends up being "changed" about once per month.
I finally got around to reading the last 15 pages of the used oil analysis thread and have tentatively decided to start using Mobil 1 0W40 when I do my own drain and fill, which will give me the limited benefits of running semi-synthetic and a viscosity rating of about 30.
For the premix, I don't use it regularly is because I still worry about the possibilities that it would damage fuel line in long term, and I went 5w30 syn, reason is I love driving a bit aggressively with my paddle shifter, sometime 7500rpm, if I drive on D all the time I would just go with 5w20 Dino as manufacture suggested.
I guess it's a good thing that fuel lines are designed to handle petroleum products?
A good way to test fuel lines and injectors for petroleum compatability would be to fill them with warm, pressurized gasoline and measure the time it takes for them to dissolve.
A good way to test fuel lines and injectors for petroleum compatability would be to fill them with warm, pressurized gasoline and measure the time it takes for them to dissolve.
Hey Waylon Chen, what RIWWP, Legot and BigCajun are trying to slyly say to you is there is NO risk or problem with premix in fuel lines. Premix is just another petroleum product like gasoline and won't ever hurt or degrade fuel lines which are made to carry petroleum products. You have an auto and like to drive it aggressively, so I recommend you continue to premix, at the dilution rate recommended for your premix. LOL
Alright guys, I'm pretty new to this Rotary game. Just picked up a 04' Base - in my previous cars, I've always used Mobil 1 oil/filters. From my reading of this debate, it doesn't really matter if you use synthetic or not. However, I am wondering if changing oil weight mid life of a motor will do anything negative to the motor. I've done this in LS1s, L98s, with no issues or leaks. The previous owner ran 10w30, I'd prefer 5w20, per what Mazda recommends. Anyone care to set me straight?
The short version is heavier weight oils fare better in the rotary, as do synthetics. Mineral 5W20 shows signs of viscosity breakdown at only 2,000 miles. At least a 30W synthetic seems to be the way to go, considering that even after some viscosity breakdown, it likely will not fall below 20W, and synthetic oil is more resistant to viscosity breakdown in the first place.
Also, I do not recall ever reading anything empirical that suggests changing weights is harmful to the Renesis, But there is this argument from Racing Beat. And more information from Royal Purple for your perusal.
Last edited by Steve Dallas; 04-10-2015 at 06:25 PM.
The factory oil is genuine Mazda SyntheRenesis 0W30 synthetic oil and Mazda claims reduces engine wear and apex seal deposits. In my opinion if inferior oils such as petroleum 5W20 oils are used a rotary engine will never have the reliability
The 1991 Lemans victory proved to the world that at high rpms a synthetic lubricated rotary engine gets better fuel economy and is more reliable than a piston engine.
So why are we still using piston engines?.
Poor fuel economy can be avoided simply by shutting off the fuel supply to.one of the rotors when high power output is not required.
Oil choice is one of the least important factors in rotary reliability. Changing weights and types around doesn't do anything but change what the e-shaft bearings are seeing, and a failure due to e-shaft bearing wear is very rare.
Instead, rotaries fail because of neglected cooling systems, clogged OMP lines, improper driving habits, neglected ignition, etc... Oil has nothing to do with these.
And this isn't the thread to talk about fuel economy. There are other threads for that.
My car's previous owner has used 'Mazda Golden SM (5W-30)' for the car. That is the oil which is in the car right now. After the last oil change the car has done 500kms. It has done 19k in total. When he sold me the car he gave me a can of this oil to top up too.
Now I have few questions in my mind.
1) Should I be using the same 'Mazda Golden SM' oil?
2) If not then what should be the preferred oil and weight I should use?
3) If Changing the oil type how can i do a complete drain (just draining from the plug wont be enough na, the oil in the coolers will be left na) In that case won't it be an issue if two types of oil mix?
Note: I live in Sri Lanka the normal temprature here is around 30*C - 35*C
Any good quality 5W-30 would be fine. In your temps don't go any thinner weight. Even a 5W-40 might be ok for really high temps. Don't worry about the oils mixing, that is no issue, they are compatible and will mix fine. . Just change your oil frequently, roughly every 3000 miles (convert to kilometers). It is troublesome and difficult to drain the oil from the oil coolers. Regular oil changes will cycle through the oil in the oil coolers fast enough for it not to be a concern. The car was designed this way.
I have done a lot of reading and are finding various threads..most say that oil mixing is fine, but since i`m not so good at this i find it safe to ask one more time.
I`m currently using Dexteria 5w30 (mazda recomandation oil) for my rx-8
Can i change this to a Castrol 5w30 wich is ALOT cheaper in norway?
Currently 1 liter of dexteria cost me 270 NOK. A can of Castrol is nearly half the price.
I can see that the guy above me is asking nearly the same.. but yeh, i just want a confirmation from someone good at this stuff