My experience at Cummins showed that the oxidation rate of conventional

motor

oils really takes off right about at 250F. I would not recommend steady

state

operation at that sump temperature. Also, the viscosity of the oil will be
reduced with higher temperatures. In the RPI / Deere rotary engines,

bearing

oil film thicknesses got to be critical with oil temperatures below 250F.

The

Mazda bearings might be a bit better, but I wouldn't count on it. Your

call

if the trade off for a smaller cooler is worth the risks.

Jon Lauter
Rotary Power Marine Corporation
www.rotarymarine.com

I assumed one uses synthetic oil. I have never really got a definitive
answer on why Mazda seems dead set against synthetics. Perhaps it is the
wetting
properties compared to conventional oil. Also as I recall synthetic oil
seems to
run off surfaces after sitting for awhile. Tracy is running synthetics as
I recall.

Paul Lamar

Todd Carrico:
Maybe cuase they burn different, ie. higher temps to flash.

tc

Its a new game of course as we are using 2 cycle oil in the combustion
chamber.

Paul Lamar

 
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