Can I up and swith from my castrol 10w30 to a synthethetic such as mobil 1? Never had any problems but heard it was a lot better oil and was wondering if there is any problems with up and switching an oil, like that. Also, any opinions on oil additives such as X1-r, or dura-lube, things like that? Stabilizers? Thanks

 

I have heard it both ways and most likely that is what you will get from people. Some say synthetic is bad for rotories and some say it is good. It just depends on who you ask. I use castrol 10w 30 now and don't have problems so I am not switching till it gets warmer then Iwill go to 20w50.

 

I would like to know the answer to your question as well, but what I heard is that Mazda found out that all
synthethetic oils are not created equal. So some will work and while others just aren't recommended for rotary engines. From just what I can see in the Japanese Rx7 magazines many cars seem to run Redline synthethetic oil, but can't say for sure. Hopefully someone will help us out.

 

I've heard two reasons not to.
1. Synthetic may be incompable with seals
2. The more telling argument (to me) is that the rotary intentionally burns oil and synthetic does not combust as well as fossil oil.

I use a good quality oil and change it every 2000 miles.
I do use synthetic in the transmission and differential

93-Auto
Aluminum air separator
Efini Y-Pipe
K&N Filter
Pettit column mount boost gauge.

The G-tech says 5.2 s 0-60

 

Racing Beat has been using synthetic oils in rotary engines since the 80's. Seeing their track record as far as rotary engine work, I'd trust them.

Here is an excerpt from their performance book:

The Mazda factory does not recommend the use of synthetic oils in their rotary engines - specifically addressing this issue in the Owner's Manual.

In 1979, Racing Beat began testing synthetic lubrication products. Without a doubt, the best synthetic oils do perform well in extreme heat (over 300 F) and extreme cold (below 32 F), but by the nature of Mazda's rotary engine, the oil temperature never exceeds 250 F without severe engine damage due to other factors. In Souther California, we have difficulty seeing the low-temperature benefits: however, when we put synthetic lubricants in the engine, transmission, and differential in our IMSA GTU race car, we immediately saw what we later found to be a common result: The oil temperature in all three locations dropped 5 to 10 F for the same operating conditions. This is apparently due to two factors: reduced friction between sliding surfaces, and reduced foaming. As we continued to use synthetic oil products it became clear that they genuinely reduced wear. We also found benefits in street use. On two occassions, cars with "scratchy" transmissions synchronizers were completely cured by a change to synthetic gear lube. After many years of experience with these products we have observed only one problem: because of the reduced friction, the time necessary to break in an engine, transmission, or limted slip differential (standard differentials are no problem) is excessively long, so we recommend using mineral oil in all three for a time to ensure rapid break in."

 

I understand the arguement for not using synthetic oil on rotary engine's. However, even though Racing Beat does use synthetic oils on their race cars, we have to ask ourselves....Is racing beat using premix or are they running oil metering pumps?

 

This is an old debate, and I am surprised people still argue about it considering how many owners and racers have been using synthetic in their rotaries without problems for a long time. Synthetic works fine in rotaries! Mobil 1 is great oil and you can switch to it with no problems.

So synthetic is safe, but it is up to you to decide if it is worth the additional cost or not. You aren't likely to have an oil related problem kill your car (more likely an o-ring or apex seal) so you'll probably need a rebuild before wear becomes a problem. They may help your turbos last longer, though.

Additives like Dura-Lube should not be used. They are snake oil, and may not be compatible with the oil formulation you are using.

-Max

 

thanks max