2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

Oil change every 3000 miles or 3 months?

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Old 09-30-02 | 09:34 PM
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Oil change every 3000 miles or 3 months?

Is it nessisary to change the oil every 3000 miles OR 3 months in a rotary engine? I say this because I drove mine all last summer on the same oil change, only putting less than 1500 miles, then storing it for 5 months over the winter. There was no problems starting it up this past April, and I made sure to change the oil and spark plugs soon after I took it out of storage.

Would doing this cause any damage? Leaving the same oil in an RX7 the whole year?
Old 09-30-02 | 09:34 PM
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i like to change mine every 2000-2500
Old 09-30-02 | 09:46 PM
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same here, I change oil every 2k on my rex
Old 09-30-02 | 10:14 PM
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But what about timewise? I change mine every thousand miles but it takes me like a month to drive that much.
Old 09-30-02 | 10:21 PM
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1500 200 miles or 1.5 mo but ive got a t2
Old 09-30-02 | 10:31 PM
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Depends on a lot of factors. Where you live, what conditions you drive under, how you drive the car, etc.

If you did nothing but long stretches of highway driving, you could probably let the oil go for 15,000 miles. If you live where it's dusty (this includes living within 20-30 miles of any major city), do any short trip driving, drive the car hard, etc then it'll go down. I'd also change oil more frequently if you have a K&N air filter, those things don't filter very much but they keep the birds and insects out at least

3 months regardless of mileage is a good rule of thumb. If you do a lot of highway driving, you'll pile on more miles in that time. If you do lots of short-trip driving where the engine stays fairly cold, then you'll rack up less miles in that time.

Myself, I tend to do every 3,000 miles which is every four weeks, and change the filter every other oil change. Oil's cheap.
Old 09-30-02 | 11:25 PM
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i change my every 2000 kms
Old 10-01-02 | 02:12 AM
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I change my oil every 3k religiously. I need to though since I drive 35 miles to work and 35 back 5 days a week.
Last Oil change my oil came out pretty clean.
I also add some Marvel Mystery Oil every change to help keep it that way.

MMO 0WnZ J00!!

The Sure Drain system is an incredible timesaver.remember to get the one that fits our car though.
Old 10-01-02 | 02:40 AM
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every 1000 change the oil, every 3000 i change the filter + oil.
Old 10-01-02 | 09:05 AM
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Oh my, sounds expensive to change ever 1kmiles
Old 10-01-02 | 09:48 AM
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I like to change my oil every 2500miles, and I use a new filter every change. I like to change spark plugs every like 5000 miles too, probably pointless but hey, whatever.....
Old 10-01-02 | 10:04 AM
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i'm kinda new to the RX-7 world, but since i run premix, i decided i only really need an oil change about as often as my old car, which was every 2500-3000 miles.
Old 10-01-02 | 10:28 AM
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Originally posted by CrackHeadMel
Oh my, sounds expensive to change ever 1kmiles
not really if super wal-mart is about 0.2miles away from your house and they sell the 5 gallon container of 10-40 penzoil for six bucks
Old 10-01-02 | 03:13 PM
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It's which ever comes first 3000 miles or 3 months.
Old 10-01-02 | 04:43 PM
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i don't even watch the miles i change mine every 2 weeks (about 1.5k)but i also drive over 120 miles a day, at speeds of 70+, and in the city when i go to school i drive it pretty hard

-Shawn
Old 01-04-09 | 05:48 PM
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I am a daily driver(lots of city and frequent long distance). I change mine twice a year. Sometimes In between oil changes I just put on a new oil filter. These engines are intended to burn the oil off anyway so I don't see any reason to change it since I have to add a quart every so often just to keep it level. I know it can't be good for the engine, but so far it still runs smooth and I could care less.
Old 01-05-09 | 11:22 PM
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Doin a rebuild.

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Cool cheap insurance.

For all engines, that is a pretty good gameplan, you don't really need to change the oil before or during storing it, but should change it before you start driving it again. Boat owners tend to do this every year, finish the season, winterize, and then do a tune up in the spring.

As to duration, 3000 miles and 3 months are a fine duration; most of the time old oil (in months or time) will be fine, but an oil change is cheap insurance to help your car live a longer life.

Originally Posted by RX7Foxx
Is it nessisary to change the oil every 3000 miles OR 3 months in a rotary engine? I say this because I drove mine all last summer on the same oil change, only putting less than 1500 miles, then storing it for 5 months over the winter. There was no problems starting it up this past April, and I made sure to change the oil and spark plugs soon after I took it out of storage.

Would doing this cause any damage? Leaving the same oil in an RX7 the whole year?
Old 01-06-09 | 12:40 AM
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10,000 since I run Total/Elf Synthetic
Old 01-06-09 | 12:45 AM
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FYI you guys who change the oil more often than 3 months / 3,000 miles are completely wasting your time and money unless you drive on the race track.

Originally Posted by RX7Foxx
Is it nessisary to change the oil every 3000 miles OR 3 months in a rotary engine?
No, the maintenance schedule for your non-turbo engine specifies 7,500 miles / 7.5 months for normal driving conditions or 5,000 miles / 5 months for unique driving conditions (high engine loading like towing or racing, hot weather, or short trips in cold weather). The reason for the monthly criteria is because old oil is more prone to being acidic to your engine components.

Originally Posted by RX7Foxx
Would doing this cause any damage? Leaving the same oil in an RX7 the whole year?
You should change the oil and run the engine for a few minutes prior to storing the car. You don't want old acidic oil eating away at your engine all winter.

Originally Posted by peejay
I'd also change oil more frequently if you have a K&N air filter, those things don't filter very much but they keep the birds and insects out at least
The K&N filters work just fine. As with any filter, the engine oil should be changed more often if the car is driven in a dirty environment.

Originally Posted by MaczPayne
10,000 since I run Total/Elf Synthetic
The oil may hold its viscosity for that long or even longer, but the additives will still break down and the oil will still become contaminated with water, acid, dirt, etc., just like any other oil. Have you performed an oil analysis on your 10,000 mile oil? It may work with a non-turbo engine driven very lightly, but I wouldn't try it with a turbocharged engine unless the oil analysis shows otherwise.
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