Rotary noob here

Very nice, if you ever have to do just a quick drive just leave a little earlyer and take a ride around the block before you shut down.

Wonkothesane wrote: I'm assuming you're running a rather big bridgeport? I've always ran the 10w30 on mine, I'm curious what your thoughts are on 0w40 and 0w50? Do you drive yours in colder weather at all?

I drive in colder weather and use 20W50 year round, but generally don't drive it when there's snow on the ground and prefer not to drive in the rain. I did get caught out at work with it the other day when it got to 20f and wet snow, which was fun with no heater or defogger or weather stripping. The engine somehow ran better than at 60f which makes me think I need to tweak the air temp curve values in the Mega Squirt.

I just make sure the (mechanical) oil pressure gauge is reading no more than 60psi at 1200 before I let the engine over 4000rpm.

0W60 is kind of a neat concept, it's the same viscosity at 40c as 100c. You can pull those sort of shenanigans with synthetic. Great for M-series engines, I wouldn't want to put it in a rotary. Some racers I talk to swear by straight weight oil because it aerates less.

ok so don't shut it off before it warms up or i should do the 'shut down ritual', use 10w30 and up non sythetic oil, change oil every 3000 miles or less, put a bit of 2 stroke oil in the fuel when i gas up (half ounce per gallon), and check the oil when i gas up. Then given i don't drive like an angry chimp it should last me a good few years before the engine has a problem big enough for me to justify doing an awesome rebuild. Anything I miss?

I think I'm gonna print this thread and keep it in the glove box...

Rotaries is fun. Had quite a few and got one in the fleet now, just not in its original home.

I wasa Mazda service advisor when these first hit the market. RX8's will definitely flood if started and shut back off several times. It's called 'garage mode'; start it, back it into the driveway to wash it and shut it off. Crank it back up, stick it back in the garage. Do this once or twice without warming it up completely and you will experience the dreaded flooding.

A quick way to start a not too badly flooded one: squirt windshield washer fluid into the air intake. Yes, I said washer fluid (it contains methanol). If it floods bad, pull the plugs, disconnect the coils (you don't really want a fire in the engine compartment do you?), spin it over for 5-10 seconds with the throttle on the floor, clean and dry the plugs thoroughly ( a shot of brake cleaner works well), stick 'em back in, reconnect the coils and bust it off.

Mazda recommends good ol' dino oil (ducks flying bricks and rocks), a small amount of SMOKELESS!!! two stroke oil (100:1 ratio) is a good thing.

Wind the snot out of it, that's what it's best at.