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Old 12-15-2004, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by alnielsen
Mine is a 9/03 build. I picked it up on 6/30/04 with 44 miles on the odo. 7/6/04 the car threw a cel and the dealer installed tsb's including the M flash. 9/04 with 2K miles on it, the cat was replaced after throwing a cel. Before and after cat replacement, I am getting 13 city/15 hwy mpg. The car has 7K miles today and this isn't getting any better.

So, the car wasn't driven (much) before the M flash. The cat was replaced and that didn't improve the performance or the mileage. There is a different problem here. The theory of the flooding causing the cat to go bad may be correct. But, at least in my case, there are other forces working that causing the milage problem.

what gear do you run in on the highway? 15 mpg on the highway is unbelievable. have you had your mpg confirmnd by an independant source?
Old 12-15-2004, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by dmp
I'm wondering if a smart user will check the voltage send by his/her Air Meter. I know on my previous Mazda (93 Probe GT), the voltage was changed by the air pushing back a cone, and the meter reading the distance the cone was moved. I'm wondering if we know the OEM Spec for Air Meter voltage? One could then see if the the measured voltage falls within whatever spec Mazda designed.

Make any sense?
that is something i am working on and with a little help from omi might have some info soon. the rx8 uses a hot wire mass air flow sensor.
Old 12-15-2004, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by SDB
So much for the cat theory. But this still confirms that the problem cars were built with pre M flashes. Is anyone having this type of problem with a car that came with the M flash from the factory?
one car does not trash the theory. it just means that he could and most likely does have a different/compounding problem.
Old 12-15-2004, 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted by SDB
So much for the cat theory. But this still confirms that the problem cars were built with pre M flashes. Is anyone having this type of problem with a car that came with the M flash from the factory?
These two theories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Indeed, we might be in the following turn of events :
- pre-M flashes tended to massively overfuel under cold conditions
- employees moving the RX8s during transport did not know about the rule of not turning off the engine when cold
- fuel remaining in the cat can actually damage and melt it down
Fabrice
Old 12-15-2004, 01:58 PM
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Originally Posted by SDB
So much for the cat theory. But this still confirms that the problem cars were built with pre M flashes. Is anyone having this type of problem with a car that came with the M flash from the factory?
Don't be so quick to throw out the cat theory. One car is not a defining factor. I have been smelling burning after shutting off the car sense I got it, The Service department is confirimng with Mazda to determine whether they will check my cat when I take the car in on Monday. I will keep you updated.
Old 12-15-2004, 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Rasputin
These two theories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Indeed, we might be in the following turn of events :
- pre-M flashes tended to massively overfuel under cold conditions
- employees moving the RX8s during transport did not know about the rule of not turning off the engine when cold
- fuel remaining in the cat can actually damage and melt it down
Fabrice

The service mananager did say today that a flooding condition could cause a damaged Cat.
Old 12-15-2004, 02:04 PM
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I did a search of all the forums and created a list of threads related to gas mileage issues. It was apparent that other then threads on praise and new owners, gas mileage was at the top of discussion. Maybe a sticky could be created or something. Anyway here is a link to the links so to say.

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Old 12-15-2004, 03:52 PM
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Originally Posted by zoom44
what gear do you run in on the highway? 15 mpg on the highway is unbelievable. have you had your mpg confirmnd by an independant source?
I don't get out on the open highway very offen. My daily commute is 70% suburban expressway driving. And at that time it is 5th & 6th gear. The last fillup was 14.7 gal with 150 mi on the trip/odo. You do the math. This was a little bit poorer mileage than I normally get.
I don't know how you would get the mpg confirmed by an independant source.
Old 12-15-2004, 06:48 PM
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after i was L flashed my gas needle responded differently than before.


and you can't figure mpg from what your gas gauge tells you....it is not linear. For me the last 1/4 is usually good for 30-40 miles and the first 1/4 for 75-90 miles. Higher numbers being highway where i can get 300-330 miles on the tank usually. If your were going by the gauge indication this would be ~20mpg, but since i only pump back in 12.5-13 gallons.... it's actually 24-26 mpg
Old 12-15-2004, 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by therm8
after i was L flashed my gas needle responded differently than before.


and you can't figure mpg from what your gas gauge tells you....it is not linear. For me the last 1/4 is usually good for 30-40 miles and the first 1/4 for 75-90 miles. Higher numbers being highway where i can get 300-330 miles on the tank usually. If your were going by the gauge indication this would be ~20mpg, but since i only pump back in 12.5-13 gallons.... it's actually 24-26 mpg
I'm estimating what my economy will be, based on what the gauge reads; I will report back hard data tomorrow morning, after I fill up.
Old 12-15-2004, 08:38 PM
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here are some pictures of a burned out RX-8 cat. this car had a set of plugs replaced because of previous flooding. this one did throw a cel.
Attached Thumbnails Cumulative Gas Mileage (Gas MPG) Thread-113_1333_1.jpg   Cumulative Gas Mileage (Gas MPG) Thread-113_1334_1.jpg   Cumulative Gas Mileage (Gas MPG) Thread-113_1335_1.jpg  
Old 12-15-2004, 08:43 PM
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I can see in the pics where the smaller residue is clogging the rear converter.

No air out/ no air in..

The hole halfway down is where the O2 sensor normally resides.
Old 12-15-2004, 09:02 PM
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Unhappy

Originally Posted by zoom44
Ben Franklin is scarey from the Philly side. take the wrong turn near it and you end up on it headed for Jersey then when you get to the other side even if you know where you are it can take an hour to get turned around to go back :D
The whole area is scary from all sides. It takes an hour to get turned around because people drive s o d a m n s l o w and you CAN'T MAKE A F'ING LEFT TURN!!! Not to mention the roads are worse than many third-world countries I've been in.



Originally Posted by zoom44
i miss cheeses steaks
I miss Atlanta. <sniff>
Old 12-15-2004, 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by zoom44
here are some pictures of a burned out RX-8 cat. this car had a set of plugs replaced because of previous flooding. this one did throw a cel.
You're dead wrong about the CEL... seems to me that finger lodged in there is not a suitable substitute for a WBO2 sensor :D
Old 12-15-2004, 09:16 PM
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Originally Posted by G8rboy
You're dead wrong about the CEL... seems to me that finger lodged in there is not a suitable substitute for a WBO2 sensor :D

How do you think fuel injection works?

Stick your finger in the hole and tune...
Old 12-15-2004, 09:40 PM
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I filled up on the way home tonight - with 1/8th tank remaining and 260.5 miles on the odometer. The tank held 12.7 gallons...end result, 20.4 mpg.

Not too shabby! Here's hoping those numbers continue!
Old 12-15-2004, 09:44 PM
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let me guess - to start it, pull your finger? :D
Old 12-15-2004, 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by G8rboy
let me guess - to start it, pull your finger? :D
You don't want to pull my finger...bad things happen...

In line with the thread I wonder how many pre-delivery/post flood cars are seeing poor mileage numbers?

This could get interesting.
Old 12-15-2004, 10:44 PM
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I've averaged 19-20 mpg for the last 30000 miles regardless of pcm flash, 50/50 city/hwy, 4AT. with my recent move however, I cut my commute distance in half, and my monthly fuel cost by about $130, so i could care less what my fuel economy is now.
Old 12-17-2004, 12:44 AM
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The fuel guage is very rarely accurate, it is just a guide. The RX8 has a sadllebag type fuel tank. There are two large compartments on either side of the center tunnel, and a connection between the two. When you turn, gas will move from one side to the other, and the fuel gauge mechanism is only in one side. So, as the gas settles from one side to the other the gauge will change. Hopefully you guys aren't assuming that 1/2 a tank by the gauge is equal to 8 gallons. Use your trip meter, and the number of gallons it takes to fill the tank. Computer your mileage that way. When the fuel light comes on, there should be 2-3 gallons in your tank....but do you know which? I have filled up when the fuel light came on on a few different occasions and there was about a 1.5 gallon difference in the fuel it took to fill it up. BTW, I have been getting 14.5 since July over 14000 miles.
Old 12-22-2004, 04:11 PM
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Fuel Mileage?

I live in South Carolina, so we do not experience extremely cold winters. This is the first winter I have had the car and on the days that the high temperature doesn't get out of the 40's or so I experience sightly worse gas mileage (Maybe 2-3 mpg's worse). It is no big deal but I was curious if anyone had any comments about the subject.

Thanks, Donald
Old 12-23-2004, 06:26 PM
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Agreed. Last week or so in the cold I've dropped from about 16 to 12 or so. Damn, how can such a small engine suck down more gas than I do water?
Old 12-23-2004, 07:17 PM
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are you on oygenated gas?
Old 12-24-2004, 04:36 AM
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Any suggestions on how one can imporve their MPG? Im getting about 18 mpg and im not even driving the car that hard...
Old 12-24-2004, 06:52 PM
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14 MPG? Is this normal?

So I just hit the 1000 mile mark on my RX-8. It's a 2004. I'm thinking it might have the J flash, since it has a sticker under the hood that says "Port Campaign" and has a date in February of 2004. No letters before the "Port Campaign" however.

The last 2 tanks, I got 13.872 MPG, and then 14.256. I'm not easy on the throttle, but I'm not hard all the time. I would expect something closer to 18 MPG...

Can anyone tell me if the "Port Campaign" thing mentioned in the Flash thread is supposed to have the letters in front of it?

I'll go down to the dealer when then open again after christmas and find out what flash I have - In the mean time, it's just speculation.


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