what kind of synthetic oil should i use in my 93s motor, it has 20K miles, and i live in miami FL.

 

don't use synthetic.

 

Yea NEVER use syn. in the rotary engine. I use the Valvoline Racing Oil VR1. Pettit reccomended that for and even the redline or something at Pettit.

 

How about Royal Purple?

 

I don't think it matters a whole hell of a lot which synthetic you use. Amsoil supposedly leaves the least amount of ash, so that *may* be best. You can do a google seach on "ash content motor oil" or something like that to get the comparison of ashing of various synthetic and mineral oils - they are virtually all identical. I have it (the comparison) on my computer at home, but I won't be there until Tuesday.

...and synthetic made these days is ok to run in rotary engines.

 

is red line bad?

 

Mobil 1.. and synthetic is fine maybe even better!

 

You can find the ash content and other data here:
http://www.repairfaq.org/filipg/AUTO/F_oil_facts.html

 

Nice link, G-Dogg.

 

From what I was told, don't run synthetics unless they can burn. That is because they are mixed with the gas to lubricate the apex seals.

I was told Royal Purple 2 Cycle TCWIII Racing Oil is a burnable sythetic, and told to run 1 quart with the rest Castrol GTX.
That is what I put in last weekend.

 

Coming from the mouth of the head tech at Royal Purple (who races a rotary btw..), it's more than fine for ANY rotary and will far surpass the protection provided by natural "dino" oils. He basically said that Redline and Mobil 1 are also good brands using different base stocks. To further the point, purchase or borrow a Racing Beat catalog. They actually recommend running synthetic and specifically Royal Purple. I've had RP in the car since about 10K and it's doing great with no problems. Additionally, I had been using the Racing 41 which at $7.99qt. (www.jegs.com), is pretty expensive. Their head tech actually said I'd be fine running their "regular" SAE grade full synths, specifically 10W-40 which is about $2-3qt. cheaper than Racing 41. So here we have a RP chemist who is actually telling me I'd be ok with the less expensive stuff....If you run a pre-cat, I can see issues if the synth doesn't burn cleanly. I also now use a bit of pre-mix, Pennzoil's synthetic two-stroke which is readily available at any Walmart (per a tip from N-Tech Engineering). Both the RP and the 2-stroke synth burn cleanly.

If you're not using synth, especially in very hot climates, I believe you're asking for trouble. If you change your oil every 2K, then you should be just fine. I'm sure there will undoubtedly be lots of coking on the turbo bearings (which synth is less prone to create) and may lead to premature failure. What's the slogan? Pay a litle now or a lot later. Something like that.

 

I've been told by numerous rotary builders, racers, and techs alike to keep synthetic oil out of the engine. A premix is really only necessary if you get rid of your oil metering device. Also, here in Florida a lot of people put 20W-50 in their rotaries or 5W-30, or 10W-30. Just depends.

 

BTW, pettit recommends 20/50 and says that synthetic is onlly for those who desire to pay more for it. royal purple *is supposedly* the best product on the market....you all know how prefrences go though...

 

I can list a few big ones right off the top of my head...Racing Beat. They'd be the biggest and probably have more engine building experience than just about any shop out there. M2 recommends it. So does SR Motorsports. N-Tech Engineering too. The new synths are NOTHING like the Mobil 1 used in the late70's early 80's. It's a completely different beast. Pettit is about the only shop I've ever heard (first hand) that does not recommend synthetic although they do use synthetic premix. Things that make you go hrm....
Michel

 

Just went to a performance seminar, and we were told the same thing. Synthetics have come a long way, and ashing is by far less than ever before. The instructor also mentioned that he recently started using RP and that it significantly reduced his engine temperature, and in his mind out weighs the possibilities of some ash. My opinion, he's not a chemist, but his experience is nontheless well backed and depending on your needs, it's up to you in the end.

 

I live in South Fla and have run nothing but 20-50GTX in my R2 without problems.The twinn oil coolers keep temps down so there is very little oil break down plus if you change youre oil 2k or less youre motor only sees fresh oil in this case synthetics are not worth the added cost.

 

I've been using Mobil1 15w50 for almost a year now. I was using Valvoline VR1 20w50, and noticed (via the power fc commander) that my temps at idle,cruise, wot, etc all decreased by a solid 5 degrees C (9 degrees F) which is a quantifiable amount in my book.

Also, Dave at KD Rotary recommends synthetics; that's all the testimonial I need

 

Ahh... the hotly debated dyno versus synthetic argument.

Synthetics have come a long way indeed. Guess what Mazda uses in their Formula Mazda engines? Dyno oil? Bzzzzzt! Nope- synthetics. These engines are sealed from the factory and most claim that they last more than a season without a rebuild.

Roger Mandeville (no introduction necessary) says that synthetics are fine, but for someone that changes their oil every 3K miles or less, dyno is fine.

I wonder what Mazda will recommend for the RX-8?

 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S FLAME TIME!

[flame]
I'm tired of ******* bullshit opinions. Here's a fact: I'm switching to synthetic because those who use it will swear by it. Those who have never even tried it will tell you to stay away from it, which is basically rumor-based speculation.

|\/|eh f[_4m0|2z j00!!!!!!11
[/flame]

 

There is a theory that there were a lot of failures early on and Mazda blamed them on the synthetic oil. Those who support the theory say that is was the design and not the oil. It is obvious that there are a lot of different opinions about this.

One question I have is it ok to go from one to the other?I have heard from many sources that switching to synthetic, or from it for that matter, is bad. They say you should only run the same kind the engine started with. Coments?

 

I heard you should still break the engines in with dino then you can switch to syn.. I used syn in mine and I plan on doing it with the new engine as well.. after I break it in. and no my engine did not blow from any oil related problems, they said my pettit ecu had to agressive timing or something

 

It all depends on weather. If it gets really hot where you live, you need to use a thick substance in the summer, I use Redline 20w-50. Other than that, in less extreme weather you can go with a basic 10w-30 or so.

Synthetic being bad for rotary is just a rumor, just be weary of the weather as being the biggest factor when selecting your oil.

 

I use dyno oil because using full synthentic for oil changes every 2500-3k can be expensive. I'll stick with my 10w-30 mobil1, although I have thought of switching to 20w-50 for the summer.

 

All the new Rotary engine oil in Japan are synthentic.

 

I've also heard this, but I've never heard, seen, or read of any evidence supporting these statements. To me, they are old wive's tales left over from when synthetic oils had downsides.


A coincidental (perhaps) fact:
"dino" means "terrible"

On the same note, it's "D-I-N-O" and not "D-Y-N-O". "DYNO" is short for "dynamometer".