Signal 2

IMHO if the car is driven even a little on the street, use a street lite FW or comparable. Going too light, ala something like the Pro-lite, will be akin to using R compounds to drive to and from work. It'll get you there, but it will matter little what disc you "upgrade" too short of a carbon, because heat will significantly increase on the FW and disc wear will be seriously accelerated.
*Stick with OEM throw-out bearing.
*Parts...Since the stock FW has an integrated counterweight, you'll also need a counter-weight from an auto RX8 to go with the LWFW. If you purchase one used be careful. They are visually similar to other rotary CW's but the others will NOT be correct.
Be sure to use a quality synthetic gear old in the transmission for track use/abuse. Replacing the rear transmission seal (cheap) will take all of 5 minutes with the driveshaft pulled. And when the flywheel is off, re-torqueing the tension bolts according to the FSM is free.

reni04

Telling some one to use the search feature at rx8 club is a good thing, how could it be bad ., really?

Team Tora Productions

Which flywheel would you recommend then? I guess I'll stick with the OEM clutch via RIWWP's posts but I am getting more confused about the flywheel, now. I didn't know a lighter weight caused premature damage. I thought it did the exact opposite since it had less mass.

The two I've found I'm leaning towards:
https://www.mazdatrix.com/8flywheel.htm (the aluminum one)
or
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX8/Flywhe...ml?id=B4KzSj6o

Which is best for autocross?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

What he is referring to is that with the less mass, you inevitably end up with more slippage on clutch engagement, feathering the clutch, etc... More slippage = more wear.

It's not really something I'd ever bother worrying about. Even if it cuts your clutch lifespan in half, it's still 50,000+ miles, and I don't think it comes anywhere close to cutting the lifespan in half.

On my MSM, I went from a 21lb flywheel to a 10lb flywheel, and I went from an average lifespan of ~70k clutch to still having about 40% life left on it at 50,000, including plenty of daily, track, and some autocross.

I wouldn't worry about that factor.

Jmotors

So I've had my Rx8 for about 3 years now and it's been running perfectly but about a month ago I left the key in the ignition and the battery died. I noticed the same day, and the same day I got a jump. I left it running let it charge up then I drove it around for about an hour (pretty hard at times just to make sure she was ok ) I went home turned it off and the next day when I went to drive it. It started normally but it would struggle and I mean struggle to get to 2500 rpm even flooring it in neutral barely got me to 3k.. . . Any ideas on what happened? I turned it off and an hour later it worked fine except for the SES light that turned off after about a half hour. Now she seems to run just like she used to.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Well, I don't think I said it was bad necessarily, but imo, this particular thread affords members the opportunity to ask questions expecting an answer.
There should be more latitude, and if we can't give a specific answer, we should simply not respond.
That's been my understanding, anyway.
I think it's been on the honor system.
I have told people here to search, but in a tactful way.
For example, if someone says "My CEL is blinking, what's wrong?", it would be very easy to respond with "Search!"
But in this thread, I would say, "Flashing CEL is a misfire, try searching 'RX8Club, Misfires.'"
Easy Peasy.

Trancemission

Yeah literally right after I posted that I found it however I have been a member for more than a couple months and I just made my tenth post earlier and even passed it since I been just looking around at forums. it says to log out and come back later and its been over 7 hours cause I worked. I logged back in and still cant

RX8ualiv

iTrader: (7)

When I had my RX8, which was an 04 6 speed. I went with the Mazdaspeed Flywheel and Centerforce dual friction clutch, which worked great together. car was running good at 130K when I traded it in too. Also, when buying a new clutch and flywheel, use new flywheel to e shaft bolts as well as new clutch pressure plate to flywheel bolts and torque them to factory specifications. If you have a small oil leak from the rear main seal, replace that too. while you're at it, change the gear oil in the transmission too. just don't use any cheap crap.

DragonLord3688

Hey guys, I asked a couple questions several days ago, and wanted to thank Mr. Dallas about his input and to let him know he didn't seem to fly off at all, lol... Had another question, my 8 seems to have a slight miss at idle wanted to know if this is normal for a rotary? There's no lag or miss when accelerating, just at idle... this just hit 78 thousand miles. Was considering changing the plugs in this thing, saw the NGK Racing plugs from Racing Beat, man that price point though.. wanted to know what a GOOD plug would be, note, that anything i replace in this car needs to meet or preferably exceed OEM specs.

RX8Soldier

iTrader: (24)

Oem is fine

Signal 2

If you don't know when they were changed last, new plugs and wires might well be in order. I'd stick with NGK in stock heat ranges and OEM wires. Not certain about the 8, but in the 7 the higher priced platinum versions never really lasted a lot longer than the others. BUT, you may still have an occasional miss at idle. Not a big deal.

Steve Dallas

Many people on this board have tried the array of available plugs, and the overwhelming consensus is to stick with OEM. I buy mine from places like Autoparts Warehouse when they email out a 20% off coupon with free shipping. That puts them under $60 delivered.

If you do not know the history of the ignition system, it is a good idea to change the coils, plugs, and wires. They are wearable items on this car and tend to only last about 30K before problems develop.

gwilliams6

Yes Steve Dallas is right, change those coils, not just plugs and wires.

You have a number of options for coils:
- The Cheapest option: BWD/Intermotor coils from auto parts stores like Advance Auto. 4 coils, 4 plugs, and 4 wires can be had for around $190-220 total based on whatever promotion is running at the time, shipped to your door for free. They are considered to be the first coil revision and you should expect to need to replace them around 20,000 miles, 30,000 miles max. They often come with a "lifetime warranty" by the auto parts store, which could potentially be leveraged for perpetually new coils.

- The Best Upgrade: The BHR ignition coil upgrade can be had for around $500, which eliminates the need to continue replacing coils periodically, as well as deliverying a significantly stronger spark for minor mileage and power gains. It is a proven kit with top notch customer service supporting it. It includes the wires, you still need to add plugs ($80)

- The For-Sure OEM: Mazmart sells all 4 coils of the latest OEM coil revision (C) for around $250, (just the coils, you still need to add plugs and wires) Supported by top notch customer service. They will likely last longer than 30,000 miles, but we don't have much solid data on how long the latest coil revision will last.

- The Most Expensive option: Buying from a dealer will run you around $300+ for the coils, $500+ for coils, wires and plugs, and if you have them do the install, expect to get a bill for anywhere from $700 to $1,800. You may not get the latest coil revision. Yes, you are getting shafted if you take this option, so bring lube.

- The Highest Risk option: Ebay coils continue to pop up as counterfeit, mislabeled, dead on arrival, and have zero post-purchase support largely. They are the "cheapest" listed price, but when you add that $92 or whatever to the price of anything in the list above from having to do it over again, you can see that they are no longer the cheapest option. Do it right the first time. "Motor King" coils are popping up at an attractive price on Ebay, but are being proven as ineffective, to the point of being unable to get the engine fired. "Mazda" branded coils on ebay are almost always counterfeit. Check the seller's name though, since some of our vendors sell legitimate coils there. The price will be $200+ though. Anything sold as "Mazda OEM" under ~$26 per coil should really be considered as suspect and probably counterfeit.

Be wary of "LSx D585 coil upgrades", as not all D585 coils are created the same, and the standard generic D585 coil is not properly designed internally for the RX-8's ignition needs. They generally "work", but there are anomalies and performance issues that have to be solved, if they can be solved. Definitely NOT a plug and play option, even if it is advertised as "plug and play"

Keeping the Engine at an Idle
• Ignition Coils
• Spark Plugs
• Spark Plug Wires
• Engine Compression
• E-Shaft Sensor (ESS)
• Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF)
• Front O2 sensor
• Catalytic Converter (Cat)
• Intake Vaccum

Aston177

Urgent help! My passenger side fan stopped working. Relays checked out ok. Way back last year the damn rubber grommet got stuck and jammed the same fan. It worked until last week though. Could it be because of that? It's like, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I can tell from the temp spikes from my OBD2 scanner. When it's not working, the temp would climb up pretty fast. And then maybe 5 hours later when I take the car out, the temps stay fine, and the fan works. But for the past couple of days it stopped working.

What could be the issue?

My main question, is there a way to replace the motor only without pulling the radiator and fan assembly out?

Aston177

Well? Anyone?

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

idk if you can get just the motor or not but its not hard to pull the rad/fans. btw how many threads are ya gonna post this in

wankelbolt

iTrader: (21)

Check the electrical connections between the relay and the fan. Pull them apart and visually inspect for signs of burning or melting. If they check out then use jumper wires to (carefully!) connect the fan directly to a power source and see if it works. If it doesn't, problem found. If it does, then you may or may not have an intermittent fan motor. You didn't say how many miles are on it but they do fail.

I don't see how you could remove the motor without removing the fan assembly as the blades have to be removed from the radiator side.

Aston177

Sorry. Just needed aswers quick because I need to fix this ASAP It may not be hard, but I'm scared it'll break the radiator nipple off. The fan motor is expensive enough. I can't afford a new radiator too.

When I went fishing down there to get the grommet out, I noticed the fan connector had sort of melted. The relays look like new, checked them today. So it's not uncommon for these fans to work randomly? Couldn't it be a damaged fan brush? Is there any way of opening the motor?

How are the blades fixed to the motor? Are they just screwed in or is a nut holding them together? Trying real hard not to drop the radiator Don't want to break that nipple off.

wankelbolt

iTrader: (21)

If the connector is melted it may be the problem. If the junction gets hot enough to melt it then it is already bad and likely to be intermittent. Disconnect, visually inspect the insides.

The blades are attached to the fans with a nut. You have to pull the fan assembly to get at it. I think you can pull them from the top without pulling the rad if you remove the air cleaner assembly and battery box assembly.

The easy way to not break the nipple, if you do have to drop the radiator, is to use a razor blade to slit the hose and then spread it so it peels off the nipple. I did that on my 75k radiator with no damage. The little hose is cheap to replace.

P.S. If you add your location to your profile, then may be Rotards near you who can help.

erikcamacho15

Alright i am new to this forum and i hope I'm typing a question in the right place. If I'm not bare with me. Anyways i bought a 2004 mazda rx8 automatic the other day, it caught my interest because i got it for a good price. The reason i got it for a good price was because the seller informed me that the car doesn't want to start after turning it on once. The car will start again after the car has cooled down. After already purchasing this car and honestly i don't really need it but it caught my interest, anyways, after purchasing it i researched the hell out of this car and learned that is doesn't have a traditional motor. It has a rotary motor, and these type of cars with this type of motor require more attention and maintenance. Do i regret buying the car? No. I believe i can overcome this car situation. pls help any type of advice it allowed

Aston177

Thank you soooo much! I thought the fan connector was melted because the fan got jammed, coz of the grommet.

Brilliant! I'll cut off the hose. But how do you put the new hose back on? Wouldn't pushing the hose back on break it?

My car is a 2007 auto with 32,000 miles. That means it has a transmission cooler inside the radiator correct? If I'm pulling out the radiator (I'll have to, because everywhere I read, I see the fan assembly won't come off without the radiator), what am I gonna with the transmission fluid I've lost? I can top it off, but wouldn't that mess something up? From what I've heard, AT transmissions are pretty fragile. I hear they require special machines to change the fluid!

I live outside America so no luck

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Start here: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

Aston177

Anybody know which is cooling fan number 1? The fan on the left side of the car or the fan on the right?

DragonLord3688

gwilliams6, thanks for the amazing first start for the upgrade... So here's another one which apparently I rreally should've done more homework before getting this car..

I drive my car 7 miles to work and i let it sit for 4 hours in the heat... Started it up and kinda forgot to let it warm up before i screwed around and launched it since my coworker was goofing around in his pickup truck.. He said he noticed a puff of blue smoke come out of the exhaust... is this becuase it's cold?? I don't notice this any other time... Also unless I'm crazy I read something about we're SUPPOSED to put OIL in our GAS TANK?!?!? My boss laughed at me when I balked at that notion and he said "You really didn't do any research on that car before you got it did you?" and had a **** eatin' grin on his face.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Likely, yes. Don't worry about a bit of blue smoke unless it's constant, or a LOT of it.

You don't have to premix, but if you do, make sure you don't do it wrong: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...4/#post4533730 (jumps to premix section)