Sency

Hello Everyone

New R3 owner here wondering if I can get some thoughts on a few issues I'm experiencing.

1. The waterbottle light comes on only when I'm on the gas hard. Once I let off and cruise it goes away. I've checked the level and all is good. Temps are ok so I'm thinking its the sensor. It just seems weird that it only comes on when I'm on it.

2. Small amount of oil sweat around the upper plenum of the intake. It was overfilled a little when I picked it up from the dealer.

3. Slight stumble at idle when hot. Plugs and wires have been done but not the coils. I have cleaned the MAF and ESS but its still there. There's no misfire or CEL's and has lots of power. I'm at 44000Km/26kmiles and was wondering if its too early for the coils. I can't find anything in the manual about coils just the plugs which it says to do at 48000km.

4. Are the transmissions normally this noisy when at slow speeds? For example, if I'm in a parking lot crawling around looking for a spot it sounds like most manual cars in reverse. Also when cold theres a slight notch when shifting from 2nd-3rd and 3rd-4th. Once it warms up it goes away. Fluid is full and doesn't seem worn tho i'm not really sure. I ordered some MT-90 in hopes it might help.

Some of these may not be issues at all but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Any thoughts or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Steve Dallas

I'll try to answer what I can.

1. The sensor is a known problem. Unfortunately, you have to replace the whole bottle, which is around $120, to replace the sensor.

2. Oil change monkeys commonly overfill our cars. I gave up on the dealer a while back and started doing my own oil changes. Clean everything up, and if you are mechanically inclined at all, pull apart the intake and clean any oil that might be in the accordion tube and throttle body. Clean the MAF with contact cleaner while you are in there.

3. One of my coils only lasted 10K miles. If you are using OEM type coils that are less than the C revision, you can assume they are only good for 20K miles. The C revision is supposed to last a little longer, but I don't think we have good data on that. Many people just buy the BHR kit to be done with worrying about coils and wires.

4. Our trans is noisier than most, but what you are describing sounds abnormal. Changing the oil with MT90 is a good idea. When I did it at 10K miles, the feel went from shifting through molasses to shifting through something really slippery. The car also felt quicker, which I did not expect. The oil was pretty dirty already when I changed it. My My trans is a little notchy in 2nd when cold. That may just be the synchros needing to expand with heat. I don't worry about it anymore. I think it is normal. Change the diff oil with Redline 75W90 while you have it in the air. Trust me on that.

Khurram

Don't go by the manual, 48k for plugs and coils is pushing it..
to be on the safe side i change my plugs every 30K km..

I 2nd the suggestion for tranny and differential fluid change.

YOu mentioned it's an R3 so I assume the oil sweat is not there due to the design flaw like S1, someone must have overfilled it.

Inspect your entire intake system, basically go over everything Steve Dallas mentioned..

Better yet, I will be meeting a few rx8 owners on Friday (tomorrow evening) if you are free pm me your cell # I'll let you know the location and we can sort of go over your engine bay and see what's happening :-)

all the best!

Sency

Hello guys and thanks for the replies. I think I might hold off on the waterbottle for now and just monitor my temps with the Torque app. I have a OBDII dongle on the way from Amazon along with the tranny and diff oils. As for the coils I think I will just bite the bullet and get the BHR set. The Canadian Dollar is pretty low now and will probably be around $800CAD to my door lol. I might as well get the midpipe too but I want to hear one up close before I do.

If you guys are meeting up tomorrow I should be able to make it depending on time and location.

Thanks again guys, much appreciated.

Steve Dallas

The BHR midpipe sounds pretty close to stock. It is a little deeper and a hair louder, and there is a bit of a rushing or whooshing sound to it, but it is the closest to stock you can get, and it honestly sounds great. There is a reason it is the gold standard. It is the best of the bunch.