I have a 2004 rx-8 and was wondering what the best kind and the best weight of oil to use in its rotary motor.

 

I would go with a little bit heavier weight being a rotory you don't have to worry about the oil lubing smaller engine parts like locks, keepers, retainers, rocker arms ext. maybe like a 10W30 synthetic blend and depending on the time of the year and temp. quacker state has A good one and price is very reasonable. But if you have the money go with moble 1. also if it is like your first or second oil change add some ZMAX stuff really works.

 

5W20 is what Mazda recommends per the owner's manual. If its very warm where you are then you might like to use a 5W30 at least, which will still give you the widest temp range for protection. Make sure you find oil with the newer GF-4 rating, I use Castrol GTX but my Mazda dealer uses Mobil. If you plan on going synthetic, a lot of people here swear by Royal Purple motor oil.

 

it's just motor oil for crying out loud, there is no magic elixir ...

 

Doesn't mean that their isn't a noticble difference.

Look at all the choices we have for sodas:

Pepsi
Dr. Pepper
Coke
etc...

Just because they are all brown and fizzy doesn't mean they taste the same.

 

I'd like to see you use a 50W oil in your car and then tell me "It's just motor oil..."

The guy asks for suggestions and suggestions are what he'll get.

 

Royal Purple is good(for a weekend racer), But I heard it was expencive. Is that true?

 

Wow I would like to see someone hard start a rotory with a W50 in the middle of winter. I say it runs for a good 2 min before you get some siurous engine knock and motor goes bye-bye.

 

never used it myself, like I said earlier some people here in this forum swears by it. The color is even purple!

I think if you really want it a few dollars extra per 2000-3000miles is not too bad.

 

5 - 30 W Mobile 1 Extended Performance Thats what I use......

 

Royal Purple is great, I have been running it for 14,000 miles. The first time I changed, I noticed the engine was quiter and reved a bit faster.

Usually you have to order it by the case. Just go on their website and you can see who carries it in your town.

http://www.royalpurple.com/dealers/dealers.html

a 12 quart case usually runs me about $65-70 dollars with tax. I usually can do 2 oil changes with this plus fill ups in between.

Which means its just as expensive as any other brand's full synthethic oil. I kno valvolines full synthetic usually runs in the $5.5-6.0 price range (per quart).

Of course, compared to dino oil or blend at about $1.30 a quart, any synthetic is expensive.

 

I use Royal Purple 5W20 in all of my cars, rotary and non rotary. You can buy it at O'Reilly's if you have them there. It is about $3.50 or so a quart as compared to say a regular bottle of oil at less than a buck. I also only use Wix oil filters. My cars always run smoother and get slightly better mileage than with conventional oils. $20 more is a small price to pay every few thousand miles for added protection.

 

ROFL...

 

So royal purple works as a full synthetic? Is that $70 for 12 quart's? if thats all true I am switching to Royal Purple. we sell the stuff in the shop but I kind of thought it was silly, you know being purple and all, I never looked at the price but we sell it by the quart. I might have to pick up a case.

 

That's actually pretty expensive compared to what I pay for it. A case of 12 should only be about $45-$50 or so. It's awesome stuff.

 

Just reading about it on there web site sounds like awsome stuff makes me wonder why I used anything else.

http://www.royalpurple.com/techa/whyrpa.html

 

My friend Jim has an '02 Z-28. He uses their gear oil in the tranny and the diff and also their motor oil. He swears by it.

 

Not to take away from anyone's thunder...but reading "data" from the manufacturer site does tend to carry a specific bias.

You can do the same thing with redline oils...
http://www.redlineoil.com/why_redline.asp

I use redline 5w-20 myself, due in part to the high HTHS # (3.3), but I also don't have the good fortune to own a rotary engine .

According to info on bobistheoilguy.com...the 5w-20 RP oil is closer to a 30 wt, then a 20wt...and stays in grade..much like the redline does. I don't know the RP's HTHS # offhand though. Basically the current tech 20 wt synthetics give you the sheer stability of 30-40 wt oils, with the flow characteristics of a 20 wt.

 

I use A product called Zmax in the engine, tranny, and gas tank, ever heard of it. works great, but it's not an oil it's just an added lubricant like slick 50. Works great but oil wise I am really considering this Royal Purple. Wonder what would happen if you combind these 2 products?
http://www.zmax.com/

 

Check out...

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com and search for

FP or LC

http://www.lubecontrol.com

Zmax btw is considered "snake oil" and has a variety of negative posts about its performance. (You can find the rest of the links yourself, I don't feel like posting 20+ more links )

http://www.lubereport.com/e_article0...ynqMH,a10YHrMT
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/...=003165#000006
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/...=000674#000000

 

Amsoil is also a really nice oil. My 2 personal favorites are Royal Purple and Amsoil. I've heard lots of nice things about Redline but have never used it. I believe these are probably the 3 oils to beat. It's a little harder to find Amsoil here but there is a small place at a private airport near me that carries it. You can actually set yourself up as a dealer and get discounts for it. It actually isn't that much oil to do so. If you can get 3 other friends to go in on the deal, you would all have enough oil for a years worth of changes.

 

This is probably why I use 5W20 RP in my rotaries with no issues whatsoever and love it while others use 5W20 conventional and swear it is too light and breaks down.

 

...it's not so expensive, if you buy in BULK!

S

 

Holy crap. The rest of us are buying it by the pack or case, he's buying it by the keg!!!

 

Amsoil does make some good oils as well. You just have to ignore alot of the marketing drivel on their sites...I wish they'd clean up their act some.

One of their better oils is the 0w-30 Series 2000, which a good deal of people seem to have good results with.

Also 0w-30 GC (German Castrol) is an excellent oil, but has been discontinued, and will no longer be available in the USA. Its commonly refered to as the "Green Elixer".




Has to say made in germany on the back, and have a "red" label. The oil also has a green tinge, to it. (Thus the term, green elixer).