I've heard enough bashing of synthetic oils with people talking about rumors and hearsay. I hate to enter into the fray of this discussion but couldn't help saying something--synthetic is OK!

First off, most agree the synthetic is better for the engine except for maybe the injection issue. That maybe it doesn't burn and leaves your chambers and exhaust full of soot or oil. This is not true!

Just about all these car oils, synthetic or regular, have a flash point of 400-500 deg f. The rotary engine develops combustion temperatures of 1600-2000 deg f, many times higher than the flash point. Piston engines are lower temps--and yes they get oil in the combustion chamber also, though not as much. Synthetic oils burn just as good as regular oil. Both oils leave combustion byproducts behind.

What you don't want is oil that breaks down when it sees 200-300 deg temps. Then it starts loosing its valuable lubrication properties--this is where synthetic excels over regular oil (neglect the cold temp issue for now).

I just sold my 85 12a and I used synthetic in it probably half the time, oh and it is still running strong at 215,000 miles. If you can afford the better oil, IMHO it will extend the life of your engine. If you drag and run the engine hard with a turbo--it probably won't matter for the engine--you'll kill it in other ways not related to wear. That's not to say the turbo wouldn't like the better oil--cause it will.

 

And he's outta Space Ctr in Houston, too....