triangleztrianglez

i dont know why or how they made it pass but they eventually did. im not sure if they just wrote it off as passable but im curious to see the condition my cat is in.. the car REAKS when it idles. although not as much the past two weeks as it did the first two..lot of fumes come out of the exhaust as well.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes, gutting the cat is an option. I personally prefer going catless. It's more power and better reliability at the cost of fumes (can be tuned out) CELs (can be blocked) and dealing with swapping when you need to pass emissions.

Yeah, I suspect just a cheat cat element that was passing a lot of the 'unwanted' emissions through without actually cleaning it very well, until it started clogging up and now it's not passing much at all.

Mysterion

Parts Source in Oakville got mine in for me in 2 days at a price of about $35. per coil. They were pretty much the same price on NGK wires (in stock) and NGK plugs (also in stock) as other stores. If you can wait a couple of days, PM me and I will give you a phone number and the name of my contact there.

triangleztrianglez

I actually live in oakville! I called the part source yesterday and they said they only had the wires in..80$ I think. You think it would be cheaper to go through them than pay 340$ on eBay? If they could do a special order that is.
Sure I'd like to know the guy you spoke to cause the guy I talked to tried to basically say it's too hard to get the coils and plugs cause the car is rare..bs

Mysterion

The "guy's" name is Chantal. She ordered them from an alternate source rather than from their normal warehouse and the ones she got me were Intermotor brand and were about $20. cheaper than their normal stock (brand unknown). If Chantal isn't there, Mike is also pretty knowledgeable and can probably place the oder as well.

triangleztrianglez

are the intermotor brand better/equal in quality outcome than the stock coils or should i just go with the 35$ ones to stay safe?

Mysterion

Near as I can figure, Intermotor used to make the coils for Mazda (or their parent company did) but the newer coils Mazda sells are from a different manufacturer. While not Exactly the same, they are a reasonable facsimile and should do you nicely for the usual 20k to 30k miles.BTW, BWD (the other recommended low-cost coil) and Intermotor are made by the same company, Standard Motor Products and are most likely the same unit just boxed differently for different markets.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

The BWD/Intermotor coils are the original Mazda OE coils, the very first revision. They are just sold direct to the auto parts stores now.

They are inferior in quality to what you can pick up at the dealer counter, but in durability. Expect to replace BWD/Intermotor every 20,000 miles (or whatever kms that is), vs more like 30,000 for dealer sourced coils.

triangleztrianglez

so as for the ridiculous mileage, are the coils plugs and wires the culprit or is it the cat converter?

last night upon coming back the the grocery store to start my car warm, it took about 3 seconds to turn over, the longest ive ever seen. thought it wasnt going to start which i guess means i need to get on replacing those parts i guess..

khaira93

160KM, yikes.

Best I have ever seen is 400km and that is like, highway driving only.

EpikYummeh

How long did the car have that second cat? Bad coils will kill cats pretty fast because the spark is not hot enough to burn all of the fuel completely, sending partially burnt or unburnt fuel through your cat.

triangleztrianglez

The second cat was installed during emission about a month ago when I purchased the 8. Climbs Rpms fine and doesn't stop at 4k. Just some hiccuping and jolting while accelerating and decelerating in 1st and 2nd gear low Rpms which is quite annoying. There was a rattling noise coming from the exhaust when I got it and went away recently. I knew it was coming from the exhaust cause I put my foot against it and it would stop. Maybe a piece of the cat broke off and shot through my exhaust and out the tips? Or is lodged somewhere.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Could be a piece of cat in the exhaust. None of this is good for your engine by the way, you really should not drive much until you've confirmed the exhaust flows clear and the ignition is fresh.

triangleztrianglez

just ordered new coils from partsource and new ngk wires and plugs on ebay. will be getting the coils tomorrow morning and the plugs and wires in 7-13 days according to ebay. now my next question as my car is beginning to vibrate more at idle as of last night;

should i replace the coils immediately and drive the next two weeks with them and the old wires and plugs or should i wait and install them all at the same time? will new coils and old wires and plugs ruin them? or will it help my car survive in the mean time and cause less damage to it?

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

I didn't read the whole thread but, do you require your car daily?
If not, then wait for the parts to arrive and install all at the same time. You could do further damage to your engine by driving with an unhealthy intake/ ignition (inhale) and exhaust (exhale). It would be like trying to run a few miles with a sweater over your face.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

^^ +1

If you must drive it, replace the coils have the exhaust checked out ASAP, but if you can wait, don't drive until you have ALL of this taken care of.

poacherinthezoo

A compression test prior to buying any (more) parts would go a long way to (1) help sort out what the root issue(s) is/are, and (2) potentially saving you a lot of money and headache buying and installing new parts onto an engine that is already on its way out. The best course of action at this point, in my opinion, is to park the car and stop ordering parts until (A) it is compression tested, and (B) the catalytic converter is visually inspected.

This appears to be your daily driver, so parking the car for an extended duration is likely not feasible. In which case the safest course of action would be to immediately visually inspect the cat and gut if necessary, and then compression test ASAP (after which you should continue to replace the ignition system). In the mean time, I would avoid high RPMs. Since the car is already failing emissions testing the cat will almost certainly need to be replaced anyways, so gutting the current one won't cost you anything extra except an hour of your time. Not only will this alleviate the potential for any additional engine damage from localized heat build up, but it will also help safe guard you against the very real potential of the car catching fire (hot clogged cat + excess unburnt fuel from bad coils/etc = risk for car fire; it isn't common but it has happened).

That's my 2 cents. Best wishes in getting the car sorted out.

rraul83

hey I'm new to this so please bare with me..... i just bought a 2005 rx8 and it comes with fog lights but for some reason i can't see the wiring.. it has the fog lights but they are not connected..i try to look for the wires but i can't find them.. any help?? thanks

Mysterion

Are the fogs round units mounted into the fascia below the belt line? If so, they are OEM. If they don't match that description they are aftermarket add-ons and the switch and wires could take any number of configurations based on what whoever installed them felt like doing at the time. If they are, indeed, OEM, the wiring will be enclosed in the front clip wiring harness loom and the switch will be on the left stalk on the steering column right next to the headlamp switch.

Mysterion

Have you been getting CEL's indicating a misfire? If so, replace the coils and the wires and plugs as soon as you get them. Meanwhile, try to cut down on pleasure driving til all is done and use it sparingly for must-do stuff only.

As for the rattle in the exhaust, get out your tools and a floor jack and stands or a pair of ramps. The best bet is to crawl under the car and drop the midpipe and see if the Cat is damaged. It is about 5 bolts and nuts to undo it and, at the same time, you can have a look at heat shields to see if one is loose and rattling. If so, any good muffler shop can tack it back on tight with their MIG welder. If the shields are tight, check the Cat and while you are at it, try upending it in case something is floating loose inside.

triangleztrianglez

No check engine light before, ever. But the warm starting is getting ridiculous. I don't have the money to get a compression test right this second (150$) as I spent 350 on the plugs wires and coils. I'm all for gutting the cat to make things safer till I have to emission or sell the car. Im also PRAYING that the heat shield is the problem and not a chunk of the cat in my exhaust. If it is just the heat shield, is it safe to ignore for the next while? It's just bizzare cause the rattling stopped. I remember it would rattle quicker when I becan to rev the engine. Doesn't help much but maybe someone could shed more light on that. It is an everyday driving car. Just down the street to work fortunately but I have been redlining every so often for carbon buildup but won't do that anymore. I'll be doing the coils Saturday to see if that helps with anything. I'll keep you guys updated; thanks for all the help!

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Things you can do before parts get there are clean ESS, MAF and look at grounds. Check the congrats thread below. They need to be done anyway, and might help a little.

triangleztrianglez

Cleaned the MAF a couple weeks ago but couldn't reach the ESS. gunna clean it today when I replace the coils. Do I just use brake cleaner to clean it? What do you mean look at grounds?

logalinipoo

Pull your air box and the ess is very easy to get to. My heat shield use ti rattle but only at idle as soon as i reved the engine it went away.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

@ OP, look in the Congrats thread under grounding kit. But, as more and more have tired, I think the OEM wire is fine, it is just the connections that suck. Get some star washers from the hardware store. they will insure a good connection between the connector and the body of the car. that can make a huge difference.