Cant seem to get a straight answer from anyone so here goes.

Whats your thoughts on synthetic oils; iwould like to use it if it is safe, but cant really figure out if i should or not.

 

Why use it if you aren't sure whether its safe or not? I was under the inmpression that Mazda does not recommend it.

 

There are posts all over the place on this one. I use synthetic in my Miata, I do not use it in my Rx8 because Mazda recommends against it. The bottom line is Mazda knows more about rotory engines than anyone and if they say don't use it, that is good enough for me.

 

Mazda do not recommend that you use it......they specified on earlier rotaries that it should not be used as some synthetics caused o'ring deterioration. The o'rings in the Renesis have been manufactured from a material with improved durability, and synthetics can be used......however Mazda recommend a mineral oil.

The Mobil1 website FAQ also states that Mazda recommend a mineral oil be used......

(Bring on the flames, I'll supply the marshmallows.....)

Gomez.

 

It's been a while since I dusted these copies off, but here ya go.....

 

Hey Gomez, any idea why that service bulletin says 5W-30 and our manual (and every other source) says 5W-20????

 

What my Mazda dealer told me: "Oh yea, Synthetics. That bad."
Thats all I know.

 

Yeah man, I do....Sorry I should have pointed this out. This is a Mazda Australia document that I had given to me by the Tech at my local dealer. We in Australia operate our cars in different climactic conditions and service our cars to a different schedule. We can use about 20 different weights of oil and Mazda Australia plucked one out and said we'll use this one. You are stuck with 5W20.......

Gomez.

 

There are several threads dealing with the dilemma of whether to use natural or synthetic oil. I use Castrol GTX dino oil for the time being, however, I believe you can use Redline synthetic. Personally, I wouldn't risk changing even brands. But, that's me :o.

 

No....there are several HUNDRED threads..............

 

Damn right :D!

 

My dealer uses synthetic

 

Just for your viewing pleasure.....here is a pic of the oil page from the Oz manual. Where it says "Except Europe", read Australia, New Zealand, and maybe some Asian markets.....

Gomez.

 

I hear once you use synthetic you cant go back to reg oil?

 

That's a pretty common myth. As long as you use the correct weight oil it doesn't matter if you use synthetic or mineral oil or switch back and forth. The rotary engine is an obvious exception, as it is strongly reccomended that you avoid synthetic oils all together.

 

The reply I got from Mazda in reference to synthetics, was very plain and easy to understand.

"Do not use synthetic oil"

Not... "We don't recommend using synthetic.."

The initial email I got did say "Mazda does not recommend using synthetics..." but after I wrote back again and asked for a plain and simple yes or no.. because I felt their answer was slightly ambiguous, I got that very clear negative answer in reply!

To me, that's the final answer to this re-occuring question.

Why risk any possible damage by using synthetic oil (no matter how small or large the risk) when Mazda say to use Mineral Oil?

Cheers..

 

I have been told by two Mazda specialist shops that the rotary engine does better with grimier (is that a word?) oil, so they don't recommend using synthetic. I bought a twin turbo from Pettit Racing in Ft Lauderdale and they had a fuel additive that they recommended that put a bit of oil back into the fuel.

For what it's worth, that's what I've heard.

Go to PettitRacing.com, and give them a call. See what they say. They're one of the top Mazda shops in the country.

 

The owners manual does not reference synthetics one way or another. That's the document that governs the owner's responsibility in terms of maintenance. I therefore deduce that use of synthetic is ok and fully expect my warranty is unaffected. If use of synthetic posed any danger to the engine you can bet it would be prohibited in the manual.

As has been pointed out numerous times, most 5w20 oils have a significant synthetic component anyway which pretty much removes argument.

As far as using only 5w20 you can see from earlier in the thread that other countries have a "conventional" weight-spec regimen, in which various weight grades can be used dependent on temperature. This should be enough to convince you that the 5w20 spec for North America is not based on engine mechanical requirements. It's due to U.S. CAFE regulations. The idea that other countries climates are the root of the difference doesn't hold water when you consider that the continental US has weather at the severe extremes of both hot and cold as you'd find anywhere. Australia is no hotter than Death Valley and Europe doesn't get colder than North Dakota.

 

True. But Reg gas is not prohibited?.

 

http://www.royalpurple.com/techa/faqsa.html#re1

 

rx22, that "additive" they gave you is pretty much just 2 stroke oil. in fact that is all it was. some of us 7 owners use it in our gas for better lubrication, although I don't because your oilers should do the job on their own. some people block the oilers for some ungodly reason and just put the 2 stroke in their gas. Most of them have been through a 13B or 2 since they started doing that. Which I would warn 8 owners against trying.

 

I posted this in another thread, but....

I had my oil changed at the dealership 2 weeks ago, and I asked the service manager about using synthetic oil. His response was sythetic was fine but was a waste of money. He suggested changing to synthetic when the engine was a lot older, though he didn't say how much older.

This is just info I received from one service manager at one dealer here in Vegas.

 

I just took delivery of my car yesterday, and they gave me this little tri-fold booklet about the engine. It talks about the flooding issue, etc.... In the book it says "Add only non-synthetic 5w-20 engine oil with SL or ILSAC on the container label".

So don't use synthetic!!!

 

Yes, don't use synthetic! If you do, you run the risk of getting at least 160K miles out of your engine (like I have with my 2nd gen RX-7, which has seen nothing but synthetic). How about we just leave it at, "to each his/her own", since the owners manual (which is gospel) doesn't specify one way or the other.

 

Congrats on your purchase, RX22. I know you've been thinking about it for a long while. Did you end up at North Park?