I am trying to decide between an RX-8 and a BMW 300 series. I went to the dealership the other day to look at the RX-8 and he says that after every three fillups you have to check the oil. Is this true? I love everything about this car but I drive about 70 miles a day so this can get rather old after a while. I wanted to know what other people think or if anyone else has any other opinions. Thanks in advance.

 

Don't you check your oil anyway? Granted it's never low for me (don't own a 8 yet) but I know so much can happen that looking at your dipstick can warn you early : Burned smell, Low oil, milky color, etc. It's like doing that pee in a cup thing at your check ups. Tells a lot.

 

FWIW, the GMC 2003 Yukon XL/Chevrolet Suburban owner's manual recommends checking the engine oil level at every fillup.

Granted, larger tanks, more miles between fillups, but...it's my opinion (since you asked) that checking the oil every few fillups for the RX-8 is no drama.

 

I will say that I have 7000 miles on mine, and you do need to check it pretty regularly. Mine hasn't been that bad at eating oil, but when I'm hard on the engine (I like the fact that the motor can chill at 7K and not break a sweat or throw a fit) it is a noticable phenomenon that it does use oil. I put one quart in at 2500 miles (right before my first oil change, but I didn't want to wait). Recently I also added anther quart. I'm sure if you did the math you could figure out when to check your oil, or even wait for the idiot light, but why not just check the oil every 2-3 fill-ups? It's not that hard, and it can save a motor.

 

Mine's eating about a quart every 2500 miles- so I check it about every 1000 miles and top it off. You should be checking your oil regularly anyway- pretty much every car maker will recommend that.

 

Basically the more you get on it, the more it will burn. My old car was less then a half quart low (if that) after 3k miles, so I am just getting used to this as well. Always a good idea to check oil every three/four fillups, but on this car you certainly need to check it more often then others. THis car isn't as idiot proof as others, so it does require more tlc then most. No big deal, you'll get used to it. Checking it every 1000 miles will be just fine.

 

If you drive 70 miles per day, I would be more worried about your gas bill every month. Love the car, but she sure is thirsty........

 

by the time i am done checking the oil the pump is done. I don't see why it would be an issue. At least you don't have to check the tire pressure at every fill up. (like you should without TMS)

 

yea 70 miles a day ouch i hope you don't live in california like me. anyway my 8 gets about 16 mpg at best on the freeway. But oil wise i have about 2000 miles on my 8 and have plenty of oil left. except i gotta get the mazda dealer to change it cause it's new. anyway good luck, you should import the R32 my old vw got wicked mileage.

 

I believe the recommendation is every second fillup. The fillups get old; checking the oil is the fun part since it costs less and you get to look at the go-bits

Though given the nature of the engine, a pre-start oil level indicator would have been a thoughtful addition.

 

I've got about 2200 miles on my 6MT and I needed to add about 3/4 of a quart at 2000 miles.

Curious- do you guys let your oil level go down closer to the low point on the dipstick before adding, or do you add small amounts more frequently to keep it "topped off" at the "full" mark?

 

I've got about 7k miles on mine. put about 2 quarts so far (other than teh 2 oil changes).. no biggie here.

 

I wish I was so lucky with my oil consumption. I have 5300 miles and have had to add about 8 quarts so far. At first I was having to add a quart about every 600 miles but it is getting better. The last miles between a quart was 980 miles. I had my oil changed last week so I'm curious to see how far I go before adding a quart this next time.

 

er, yikes- you need to talk to your dealer. Sounds like you have an oil pan leak or something- there's no way the car should use that much oil.

 

speaking of oil..which brand do you guys recommend?..i just got my 8 two days ago, so i wanna baby it from the start...any other suggestions on maintenance would be much appreciated =)

 

The Rx8 is also unusual in that it has an oil level sensor. Most cars will only put up an idiot light when the oil is so low, there's not enough left to keep the pressure up. The Rx8 has an extra idiot light to tell you that the level is down even though the pressure is still good.

That said, I check my oil at every fillup, as I have done with all my previous piston engined cars. Any car can suddenly develop an oil leak that will quite readily drain it in a couple of days. A big leak is no problem if your oil pressure sensor is working and you notice the pressure drop and stop immediatly no matter what part of town you're in. However....

--Dave.

 

I always top it off. I check it every 500 miles and generally need to add about 1/4th of a quart to hit the full line.

 

I drive 120 miles a day and average about 19-21 mpg.

 

I drive 110 miles a ady all highway, I get 16-17.

When was your built? I cdint have conclusive data, but it seems like poeple with cars built recently are claiming 20, older cars are claiming 15-18.

just checking it this is consistant.

 

I drive 92 miles a day, so 70 isn't that excessive.

Hey, I know you should check every car's oil level at every fillup, but not many people do that. Basically, when I first got my 8 for the first few months, I checked it every weekend. Then, I got the hang of how much oil it uses and realized that I could wait and do it every other weekend, and that's the schedule I'm on now.

It's reassuring that we have the oil level sensor in case a leak develops, but don't depend on it too much. Once you get your car, you'll be able to see how much oil it eats based on how you drive yours, and you'll grow accustomed to it and get into the routine. It's really not that big of a deal.

 

what oil do you guys use ?

 

Lots of people on here use Castrol.

When I first got the car, I got a case of Pennzoil so that's what I'm using, but I think I'm going to switch to Castrol for the next case.

 

I'm #108837, delivered 8/03 -- I just got my all-time best of 27.7mpg on a recent road trip, though I reverted to my standard 15/16mpg once back to city driving.

For comparison, I broke the car in with a 1200 mile road trip and set my previous best mpg at 22.58. Some of the differences were 7k miles, and PCM "L" vs. "K" calibration.

 

I drive 40 miles a day have figured that I need to check the oil every 2 weeks to be safe. Its not hard to do.

 

What oil does the dealership use when we bring our cars in for oil changes?

If not Castrol... then would it be bad that we use Castrol to top off ?