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what are the best/reliable oils to use?

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Old 02-09-09, 03:50 AM
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what are the best/reliable oils to use?

i just picked up my rx7 a couple days ago. i was just wondering whats your guys opinions on the best/reliable engine oil, coolant, transmission, power steering, brake. etc etc. i have a tendency whenever i buy a car, i have to change the fluids right away.

my car is non-seq so i do pre-mix. as of right now the fluids are mobil 1 engine, and amsoil saber premix. thats all i know right now.

as for what i plan to use is...
engine: amsoil 20w-50
transmission: amsoil severe gear 75w-90
coolant:???
brake:???
power steering:???
premix: amsoil saber outboard

sorry for the dumb thread, if it is. but im new to this community and you guys can flame all you want. i just need some suggestions if i need to change or not. thanks for the help guys.
Old 02-09-09, 05:48 AM
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I think it's great that your doing some basic maintenance on your new car. But it seems that there are as many opinions on good oil as there are owners and the subject has been covered extensively....including debate of mineral vs. synthetic. If you get flamed, that will be why.
A search under terms of "oil" will reveal alot of good info. There's also some information in the stickys. https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/
Old 02-09-09, 06:35 AM
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did u disable the OMP before running premix?

running non-seq has nothing to do with premixing
Old 02-09-09, 08:13 AM
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Motor oil is an ongoing and neverending debate....good luck. Personally, here are my favorites:

Engine oil - 10W-30 or 20W-50 Castrol or Valvoline for winter and summer use in the FD. All other vehicles get either Mobil 1 or Castrol SynTech.
Transmission - all my auto trannies have synthetic Mobile 1, all manual trannies have REDLINE 75W-90
Coolant - Prestone
Brake fluid - Prestone or Valvoline synthetic DOT 4
Power steering - Prestone

I don't pre-mix but I do add about 4 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil to every tank along with 4 oz of any good two-stroke oil, I've used products from Pennzoil to Poulan.

And there ARE no "dumb questions" when trying to educate yourself. Rather you should be commended for wanting to learn.
Old 02-09-09, 09:03 AM
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Make sure to look in the FSM for the proper fluid specs.

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...01&postcount=7
Old 02-09-09, 04:50 PM
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Castrol 10w-30 for the FD.
Old 02-09-09, 05:52 PM
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I use Redline 5W-40

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Old 02-09-09, 08:48 PM
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Full synthetic Mobil 1 10W-30 in my old FC.

I run the same thing in my GTR too.
Old 02-09-09, 09:28 PM
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I feed my FD shell super helix 15w-40.
Old 02-09-09, 09:35 PM
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Originally Posted by feijai85
engine: amsoil 20w-50
excellent choice...extra dose of ZDDP and higher viscosity to offset the fuel dilution that tends to plague these engines (you may want to get a UOA to quantify how much fuel dilution you have after 2-3k miles, good chance it's as much as 5% or more)
Old 02-17-09, 02:06 AM
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my oil/lube list to buy. HELP RECOMMENDED

hello all i know this subject has been discussed for years but ive just wanted to share my thought on what im planning to get.

Motor: Amsoil SAE 20W-50 Synthetic Premium Protection Motor Oil
Transmission: Amsoil Manual Transmission & Transaxle Gear Lube 75W-90
Coolant: Amsoil Propylene Glycol Antifreeze and Engine Coolant & Redline water wetter
Differential: Amsoil Synthetic 80W-90 Gear Lube
Power Steering: Amsoil Synthetic Universal Transmission Fluid
Brake Fluid: Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid
Clutch Fluid: Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid
Premix: Amsoil Saber Outboard 100:1 ratio

motor: ive heard people using the dominator series but im more of a daily driver kinda guy. not much race...here and there ill punch it and thats it.

transmission: the research ive looked up are for the 75w-90 severe gear, i dont know whats the difference is please educate me.

differential: i really dont know what to choose but i came across the gl-4 and gl-5 differences. so im guessing the gl-4 is recommended? please help

power steering: ive read in the 1994 rx7 manual you can use ATF or Dexron III? so this would work?

brake and clutch use the same fluids but the amsoil guy i talked to told me use what they recommend. something about silicone if i heard wrong. i just thought DOT 4 would be better.

Premix: the guy i bought the car from used the professional series but ive searched around and its safer to have the TCW3 in it.

sorry for the unnecessary thread with the comments in it, i just want this car to be spoiled in every aspect. i think the rx7 deserves it. and plus i want this car to last as long as possible. thank you for the help guys!
Old 02-17-09, 04:57 AM
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Motor: Amsoil SAE 20W-50 Synthetic Premium Protection Motor Oil
dont use synthetic...you dont need it. 10w30 in the winter, 20w50 in the summer. change every 1k miles

Transmission: Amsoil Manual Transmission & Transaxle Gear Lube 75W-90
that will work well. severe gear works wonders. i prefer Redline's tranny lube over Amsoil though. i believe severe gear helps with syncro longevity.

Coolant: Amsoil Propylene Glycol Antifreeze and Engine Coolant & Redline water wetter
no antifreeze. use a mix of coolant/water depending on how cold it gets in your area. you might need a coolant to water(per degree) ratio chart. i personally go 40/60.

redline water wetter does work a little. its cheap and i think its well worth it. use the whole thing per coolant flush

Differential: Amsoil Synthetic 80W-90 Gear Lube
i would not go with that. redline LIGHTWEIGHT shockproof gear oil is the best imo. its something like 75w-135. i use it and highly recommend it

Power Steering: Amsoil Synthetic Universal Transmission Fluid
Brake Fluid: Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid
Clutch Fluid: Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid
i dont know a whole lot about these three

Premix: Amsoil Saber Outboard 100:1 ratio
i dont use premix's cause i feel they are a waste of money. unless you are trying to improve fuel economy. i know this is a touchy subject...but thats my opinion

and plus i want this car to last as long as possible.
dont we all...
Old 02-17-09, 05:25 AM
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Why NOT use synthetic?

I prefer Neo Synthetics for the Tranny and diff.

opinions on coolant and oil and lubes are a dime a dozen.

power steering and braking system and clutch system: really, not going to make a difference. Just use something decent. Your performance of any of these systems will come from removing all of the air from the system, not from what fluid you use.

Convert your OMP to inject 2 stroke, or premix any outboard oil and disable the omp. the whole point of pre-mixing is to eliminate the injection of 4 stroke engine oil into the combustion chamber. If you are unfamiliar with the reasoning behind this and unfamiliar with the OMP, then you should probably avoid modifying anything related until you become educated in this regard.

Of course we all want our cars to last as long as possible.
Old 02-17-09, 09:58 PM
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Originally Posted by 4CN A1R
dont use synthetic...you dont need it. 10w30 in the winter, 20w50 in the summer. change every 1k miles
I suppose you don't need it if you're going to change the oil every 1,000 miles, but not many people do that...Amsoil 20w-50 is what I'm running right now...great oil for fuel dilution, I change it every 2-3k

that will work well. severe gear works wonders. i prefer Redline's tranny lube over Amsoil though. i believe severe gear helps with syncro longevity.
careful using GL-5 oils in a transmission, they can corrode "yellow" metals
Old 02-18-09, 02:12 AM
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That's why I use the neo synthetic in the transmission and dif
Old 02-18-09, 02:24 AM
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Originally Posted by 4CN A1R
redline water wetter does work a little. its cheap and i think its well worth it. use the whole thing per coolant flush
Don't use redline water wetter. It slowly eats away at the coolant seals (OEM, not sure about aftermarket coolant seals)

Originally Posted by 4CN A1R
dont use synthetic...you dont need it. 10w30 in the winter, 20w50 in the summer. change every 1k miles
Changing oil every 1k miles is nice but not practical. If your car is making more power then stock or if it see's some heat like at the track, you should be using synthetics. Dino oil breaks down at extreme heats so even if you change every 1k miles but run it hard during that period, your dino oil isn't going to be protecting your motor as much as it should be. Dino oil is fine for most people but you shouldn't generalize like you have stated because its not that simple.

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Old 02-18-09, 05:00 AM
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oh yea i forgot to add my motor has like about 1500-2000 miles on the rebuild. so should i jump straight to 20w-50 or 10w-30? i talked to the amsoil dealer here and he called around and said i should use the 0w-30 signature series. im leaning more towards the 10w-30 just to be safe
Old 02-18-09, 05:11 AM
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Originally Posted by feijai85
oh yea i forgot to add my motor has like about 1500-2000 miles on the rebuild. so should i jump straight to 20w-50 or 10w-30? i talked to the amsoil dealer here and he called around and said i should use the 0w-30 signature series. im leaning more towards the 10w-30 just to be safe
Run 10W-40 if available in the brand your gonna use, otherwise 10W-30. 20W-50 is too much in my opinion.

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Old 02-18-09, 05:21 AM
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Originally Posted by thewird
Don't use redline water wetter. It slowly eats away at the coolant seals (OEM, not sure about aftermarket coolant seals)
seriously??

could you please explain why, im curious?
Old 02-18-09, 06:58 AM
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Originally Posted by 4CN A1R
seriously??

could you please explain why, im curious?
It's been said various times on this forum, I really dont know why. I'm gonna do an experiment at home to prove or disprove it since I'm not really sure.

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Old 02-18-09, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by thewird
20W-50 is too much in my opinion.
you lose a viscosity grade in these engines pretty quick due to viscosity shear and fuel dilution, that's well documented...heck, you can see it on your oil pressure gauge
Old 02-18-09, 11:35 PM
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Originally Posted by 2007 ZX-10
you lose a viscosity grade in these engines pretty quick due to viscosity shear and fuel dilution, that's well documented...heck, you can see it on your oil pressure gauge
I never noticed this in my oil even when I used to changed every 5,000 km (3,100 miles) with Castrol GTX 10W-40. Now I change my oil every 3,000 km (1,800 miles) because of my heavy tracking which degrades the oil faster due to heat and I use Redline 5W-40 synthetic now.

thewird
Old 02-19-09, 12:16 AM
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Mobil for me
Old 02-19-09, 07:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thewird
Don't use redline water wetter. It slowly eats away at the coolant seals (OEM, not sure about aftermarket coolant seals)

Originally Posted by 4CN A1R
seriously??

could you please explain why, im curious?
In my race cars, where you do not want to use standard antifreeze (both for lousy heat-transfer properties and slipperyness if it got on the track), I used to try to run Water Wetter. It did a lousy job of preventing corrosion, particularly in aluminum. I was getting pitting corrosion and stopped using it. Other types of coolant additives did much better. The best I ever found was the Valvoline #858 Super Coolant combined with distilled water. Unfortunately, they quit making that.

So, my guess is that the coolant-seal GROOVES were eaten away by corrosion with water-wetter, causing problems with coolant seal failure. If the seals themselves had problems, I have no idea why.
Old 02-19-09, 08:00 AM
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Originally Posted by 4CN A1R
dont use synthetic...you dont need it. 10w30 in the winter, 20w50 in the summer. change every 1k miles
I can't believe **** like this is still posted here. On anything more than a very hard driven vehicle (i.e. race or strip), this is a ridiculous guideline.


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