Hi guys,
i am sure this had been brought up b4 but i am fairly new here..

i read that the UK/Aus model has 228hp, which appraently had been 'detuned' to meet emission standards..

is it just that because our fuel has a lower octane that results in the lower hp? or is something mazda had done to detune the system (computer, exhaust changes?)

is there any way to 'reverse' the detuning?

 

I thought we had the same model as the US, not the UK.

Anyway, Japanese spec ECU would be a good start.

 

God zilla,

(yeh I know - but I had to do it...)

I received an email fom Mazda Australia stating...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Australian Specifications

The Australian RX-8 is powered by a version of the European-specification RENESIS rotary engine. Australian six-speed manual RX-8s develop 177kW
(ECE) at 8200rpm and 211Nm (ECE) at 5500rpm. Manual models will accelerate from rest to 100mh in 6.2 seconds.

And you may have heard about the upcoming Euro Stage III emissions standards, which come into law from January 2005 for new cars. The RENESIS engine has been designed to pass this stringent emission standard, so you can be rest assured that your RX-8 also has 'environmental' credentials.

Regards

Maria Ramirez
Customer Relations
Mazda Australia
---------------------------------------------------------------

Make of this what you will.

Kev.

 

Chip the car - THE POWER WILL BE WITH US .... EHHH (Takahashi is flexing his biceps) :D

 

Here is where I think it all stands:

Jap ECU = 184 kW, but will not meet EURO stage III emmission standards.

Aus ECU = 177 kW (238 hp) and meets EURO stage III emmision standards.

European ECU = 170 kW (228 hp) and meets EURO stage IV emmision standards.

 

On the subject of Octane...

Dont get confused between Octane and Power. Yes - higher Octane fuels will often deliver more power, but it NOT the ocatane rating that does it.

A higher Octane fuel will allow an engine to run at a higher compression ratio, which in turn is better themal efficiency, hence possible more power.

On the flip side - LPG has a higher equivalent Octane rating, but it delivers less power.

The octane rating is basically an measurement of the resitance to "knock" of the fuel. Put a gut full of water in your fuel and I bet it gets a pretty high anti-knock rating! But not much go

Have a look at the sticking in the TechGarage on Xylene/Toluene

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Hymee, adding some info to octane ratings

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq/part3/

 

AMG,

A very good link. You will do well here if you can keep that up!

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

I recently read offline [ in print hardcopy that is ] that in the USA, dealers were having to refund some sales in part for false advertising on the RX8, I'd prefer a free serivce or such..

Was there such a stuff up do you think with the figures that were quoted for the AU version of the RX8 and what actually got delivered?

--dez;

 

Dez,

I think the AU figures were always published lower than the US ones.

AFAIK, The early US buyers where offered:
1. Full buy back, or
2. $500 and free lifetime servicing
once the power figures were rated downwards.

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

Yep, all the guys in the states who drove their RX-8's off the lot thinking they had 184kW, only to later be told by Mazda that it was 177kW, were offered choice 1 or 2 above. It was certainly the cause of a lot of heated discussion on the forum at the time.

We didn't get that option because our power figures were revised to 177kW prior to the first delivery.