Okay, I'm about to have the following done or do the following (tool availability and time dependent), since I've decided my car is going to be with me for a long time:

1) Manual Transmission Oil change

2) Rear Differential Fluid change

3) Brake Fluid change

4) Spark Plug change

5) Coolant flush and refill

6) Next oil and filter change



After reading the DIY threads, there is a lot of difference of opinion on what weight oil to use (never mind dino v synthetic, I'm using dino), because some have gone to 40 and even 50 weight, and I'm using 30 weight (plus the water pump controversy in Expo's engine teardown thread), what type/brand AND % mixture coolant to use and whether to bother doing a complete flush or just a partial, what type of spark plugs to use, and what kind of transmission oil and rear differential fluid to use (THIS is not that big of a deal as I think there's a strong consensus that redline is what works for both).

My head is spinning. Has anyone just gone with Mazda spec'd coolant in recommended proportion, Mazda spec'd spark plugs, and other Mazda spec'd items?

Has anyone else found the more research you do here and the more opinions you read, the more confused you get?

Signed,

Greenhorn

 

Pretty sure if check Expo's thread again , his car ran 60something thousand miles on Mazda spec'd everything? After that, he premixed and swapped the oil to 5W-30 and made it to over 100k miles.

I understand how you feel, especially with the oil weight. Spark plugs, the oems are pretty good already. As far as I'm concerned, I went through a ton of threads just on maintenance info, and basically I weigh the pros and cons. If there are no pros, but no cons, then I do it anyways. If the cons are cost, then I do it anyways. If the cons are reliability or damage, then I don't do it =p

 

just do what is in the owners manual.. you will be fine..

gl 4 in tranny, gl 5 in diff. the coolant from mazda is just fine unless you live at the north pole.

as to the motor oil.. i would run no less than 10 w 40.

that should be PC enough..

btw, if you added a location to you profile likely a local could help you. how hard is that?

beers

 

Just for my knowledge, and others, can you please clarify the whole "premixing" thing?

I know you are talking about adding 2 cycle oil, and it makes some good sense in our motors. But what is recomended, or neccisary, or advised... In other words, when you fill up, how much 2 cycle oil should be added, and are there any studies that show any detrimental or bennificial effects of adding the oil?

 

Read the premix thread .....

 

And since searching "premix thread" brings up a list of seemingly unrelated threads, inclucing this one... Why dont you simply link us to it?

Or does one not get to 6k+ posts by posting answers, but rather by posting dumbass off the cuff replies...

 

Here you go: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=rx8club+premix

It's the first link.

 

You should do what Brettus said: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/gas-oil-premix-thread-99636/

Suggested premixes are Idemitsu, FP+, and several others. The thread is a VERY long read, goes back and forth, and you should read it all the way through. It's pretty comprehensive over the years, and most people agree that premixing, while may not show beneficial effects immediately or over time, does not harm the engine if applied appropriately. Therefore, the logic is that if there are POSSIBLE benefits with no cons, you should try doing it.

However, it does help out with the idle, that much I can attest to. My idle used to make my door panel rattle a lot more often, now it's only at the start.

I believe a few people have their own numbers, ranging from 8oz for a full fillup (approximately 13 gallons, or so), to 3 oz. Some people mix premix, read the thread for more information. I went with 4oz Idemitsu (will change to 3oz Idemitsu and 1oz FP+ when FP+ group buy goes out) as it is the most common usage.

But honestly, everything I stated is based on what I read in that entire thread, and you can get more details there.

 

both..

and few get help with out trying..

your mom is not here.. btw, none of your questions have a thing to do with this thread..

beers

 

First of all, you don't want to just use any 2 cycle oil. I mean, you can, but don't. Use a proper premix, like Ideimitsu.

To make a long story short, the '04-'08 RX-8s had two oil injectors, and a history of engine failures that caused Mazda to offer the 8yr/100k mile warranties and cost them a lot of money. On the '09 they added another oil injector, guess why? It seems clear that lubrication is inadequate on the '04-'08 RX-8s, and premixing helps to correct that problem.

So, if you have an '04-'08, then you should seriously consider premixing. The few who have '09s probably don't need to worry about it as much.

 

this thread is not about premix. it is about a 30k service..

if you need to know about premix. search or start your own thread!

is that concise?

beers:

 

This thread is not about swoope and his personal panty-bunches. If you need to know about that, search or start your own thread!

Is that concise?

EDIT: Swoope, my point is, why are you posting unhelpful crap in this thread to complain about redundant but potentially useful crap in this thread? Are you offended so much? If an 8 can be saved by giving a straight answer instead of saying "search noob!!! and spend six hours reading mostly useless drivel!" then is that a bad thing? Who's interest are you serving, our community or your ego?

 

Generally speaking, 4 oz to a tankful is the bare minimum. Anything less, why bother ?

8oz to a tankful is pretty "standard." Its ok for street and those "I want to go fast" moments.

16oz to a tankful (meaning about 1 oz to 1 gallon, premix to fuel) is for the extremes (if u plan on redline the crap out of your motor on a track for a long time)

I've not seen Renesis pics thats premix since day 1. but I did my search(after teknics and other ppl said so) and when you compare the motor without premix vs premix all the way. the difference is night and day. Unless you're blind of course.

1. Anything Full Synthetic, 75w90 GL-4 ONLY, Redline or Neo preferred. Some people use NS stuff from Redline(Team?) and said it works well since it doesnt have any LS modifiers. IT should work, but I just stick with GL4

2. Anything Full synthetic, 75w90 or 75w140 GL-5 ONLY, Redline or Neo or Mobil1 or Royal Purple Preferred.

3. Anything DOT 4, Screw DOT 3. ATE Blue, Castrol, Prestone, all has DOT4 fluids. IF you HATE your car a lot and wants it to die, Go ahead and try DOT5. you wont be disappointed(but careful, your car might take you down to hell with it)

4. IMO, stick with stock, and change them every 15K or so.

5. I do complete drain (engine bolt removed), then I will add 2 gallons of 50/50, the rest is distilled. Prestone preferred. Mazda FL22 works too. FL22 is 55/45 mix. there is NOTHING magic about it.

6. Oil, use something heavier wont kill you, it is a fact that heavier oil protects better. if your area never drops below 60 degrees. you can just use 20w50 all year long. if your area might see 30 degrees. use 10w40. anything below that, 5w40. Change it often, 3K is a good number. We have a pretty "hot" engine, it wears down additives/cleaning agent in oil, fast.

 

nope.

the op. asked a somewhat useful and honest question..

i answered that.. as did others. now it is on this premix debate. and i can say i know more about premix than most..

so i think the tread would help those that have issues about the 30k service.

my panties are in a wad?

premix has nothing to do with this tread.. get off your lazy *** or start your own thread!

btw, if you need info. pm me. i have lots of it..

beers

 

Swoope, you may have a lot of useful info, and I don't doubt it, I'm sure you know more than I do.

But all I see you do in general discussion is tear down noobs for fun and jollies. It's entertaining but it gets old. I'm sure you have lots of great posts elsewhere, but in general discussion you're kind of an unhelpful ***, so let me offer you a nice cup of STFU in general discussion and suggest that you concentrate on other forums where you give enough of a **** to actually offer help.

In short, if you have nothing to offer here other than ego-stroking I-know-more-than-you-do but search because I can't bother to tell you, then just go away.

 

Please stop, it's beyond off topic at this point. It could have gone into PMs about a post ago...

RotoRocket brought up the question if anyone else felt more confused when they used the search button, and the answer is yes. But there's no reason to go at each other about it..

 

well there you go..

this is not a general discussion question. and the op never mentioned premix..

so you should know that you are thread crapping.. it is that simple..

i never said search newb. nor implied it. to the op..

the rest is not useful fluff..

so you think all the premix answers should be in this thread..

btw, search my theads and answers..

then **** off..

beers

 

correct,

30 k mile service?

i really think most of the answers are in the post before the crapping happened..

beers

 

Guys, I really never intend to start flamefests.

I know there's a difference of opinion on a few things here that can get touchy, like pre-mixing, and dino versus synthetic, and I rarely if ever bring them up to avoid starting any pissing contests.

I've been asking a lot of questions about the 30k service interval lately because it was just recently that I decided to keep the 8 after almost going the sedan route - I test drove a bunch and even negotiated some prices, but at the end of the day, they all bored me out of my mind - so I plan on keeping the 8 for at least 3 or 4 more years, and therefore want to make sure I increase the odds of as least a trouble free experience as possible.

Swoope - I'm in the northern suburbs of the metro Detroit area.

I am almost there on my education. On the last thread I started three days ago, about pricing, I learned to stay away from GL5 on the gear oil (GL4 instead), avoid using Royal Purple (go with Redline instead), how easy this stuff is to DYI (well, the coolant change is a little bit involved) as long as you have the basic tools, and to use a more diluted coolant mix if you're driving the 8 on the track or harder than normal - or a 50/50 recommended mix if not (I won't even get into the water wetter issue, because that's even more debate - lol).

I think that owners of this car are definitely way more knowledgeable about mechanical aspects of motors and automotive topics in general than the average vehicle. I'm not sure if that's because of the very unique motor or heritage or what.

That knowledge creates some very strong opinions that sometimes turn into debates that get ugly, but that's what happens often when there's real conviction about certain things.

I do know that this is the best car I've ever owned for reasons that aren't yet fully clear to me or easy to articulate - it's just unique in many ways (not perfect; mpg isn't great) - and it's the only car that I've ever owned that literally has people complimenting me every where I go on an almost daily basis, even though it's 4 years old already.

This RX-8 of mine - I can't quit it.

 

I think you're missing the point. Have you done a search about oil and premix on this board lately? Do you understand why the OP mentioned confusion? He may not have posted about premix, but general maintenance and oil. Try searching for that.

It's not that easy to find information or consensus here. It's the wild wild west. I think that's why the OP mentioned confusion. You may have answered his question in a superficial way, but why do we have to be so cryptic and insist that everyone search our board for needles in a haystack when a clear answer could be just given straight away?

It wasn't the OP that asked about premix, but is it such a bother to answer the damn question? Is this a club of fellow 8 owners who care about each other or not? But oh, I guess we have to stick to the topic of the OP and not answer important related questions...why exactly?

 

your had nothing to do with what happened in your thread.

i really think you answers have been answered..

nycgps knows his ****. as do i.. i would not tell you to use syn anything. but i will say use what is said in the owners manual..

i am PC now..

but i would use not use less that 10w 40 for engine oil..

i will say with almost no knowledge and a bit of common sense you can do it all your self.. and feel better about it and know it was done right..

and reach out to your local people.. they will teach you..

i often invite them over to tell them to search newb..

we help those that help themselves..

beers

 

no, i could answer the question, but it does not have a damn thing to do with this thread..

how hard is that? read the premix thread, read the links or start your own thread?

stop crapping this one..

beers

 

I think you're advocating a level of organization that doesn't seem to have ever existed here. Search and see for yourself.

 

was this hint not obvious? you have not been here long enough to know how this site really works..

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...6&postcount=11

and really i do answer pms. all the time, about stuff you would be surprised about..

beers

 

Fair enough. And if I needed help I might PM you because you really do know your stuff, but why get so pissy about dealing with a tangent on a thread? Do we really need a new thread every time someone goes slightly off topic?

And sorry for pissing so hard on you Swoope, I actually respect you even if I dislike how you tend to treat noobs. But I get tired of this attitude, we should be helping one another, even those who haven't read the stickies and whatnot. Rotary drivers are a dying breed.