My G/F is getting ready to buy an 2004 RX8 (auto). I already paid a (non refundable) transfer fee of $399.00 to get the car to a local Carmax dealership. After reading all this info I'm now kind of skeptical about her getting this car.

1.) I did a search about flooding. My qusetion is that all she has to do to prevent this is to make sure the car is at normal operating temp's?

2.) I also read that it is a good idea to redline it once a day. Is that true?

3.) Someone told me that before she turns the car off she should rev it up & then turn it off. Is that correct?

4.) Should she use a premix or not?

5.) Is it o.k. to use a regular dino oil or should she use a synthetic oil cuz I read that it burns alot of oil?

Is there anything else she should know before becoming a new RX8 owner besides the recall check???

 

how about you first stop starting threads with the word "Noob" in it, ok?

 

Hey Mugatu, is that better?

 

i'll throw you a bone b/c i'm bored but you really need to hit the sticky threads and search button. they'll answer most/all of these questions for you:

1 - flooding usually occurs when someone pulls their car out of the garage to move another car or wash theirs. they turn it on then shut it off cold. prevent it by making sure you get the latest flashes, the newest battery, starter, and plugs, and especially in winter, don't start the car and just shut it off.

2 - redlining is what is supposed to prevent carbon lock so yes. i used to just bring it up to redline but most folks that are much more educated on this matter have said to keep it at high RPMs to burn the 'junk' out so i have started to do that as well.

3 - this goes to Q1 and many agree but a lot say it's not needed. i do it b/c it doesn't hurt. it is supposed to burn off excess fuel to prevent flooding. bring it to 3K-3.5K RPMs for about 10 seconds and then turn it off.

4 - don't even ask that question. it's highly debated, i don't believe you need it, a lot of die hards here do so search, learn, and make the decision yourself.

5 - just like Q4, don't ask before you've searched. another highly debated question.

 

1. Assuming the car has all the recall work done, I'm fairly confident to say the potential flooding issue is a thing of the past. I've had an early 2005 and never had a problem with flooding, it's an issue that was blown out of proportion. With newer flashes the engine dry cranks when starting(firing sparks with no gas injection) which should also help.

2. Redlining is good to clear the carbon buildup from the engine. You don't really have to redline it but really just get it in the upper 3/4ths of the tach to burn the stuff off. "being good for the engine" is really just an excuse to redline our rotary but don't tell anybody :x

3. The rev and cutoff when shutting down is a personal preference thing. It used to be the idea that it would help to possibly prevent flooding, but again is probably unneeded. I still do it out of habit and to hear it

4. Premix is overrated IMO.

5. https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/cumulative-synthetic-oil-discussion-52856/

All the information to your questions and more are tucked away in different areas of this forum. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase welcome to the community. Does your girl drive a stick? (mandatory push for an MT here)

 

I have searched & read the stickys but I was still a little confused. Thanks for the help guys!!!

 

How can I find out if it has had the latest flashes, newest battery, starter & plugs??? Are there part #'s for any of these parts or can the dealer tell me if I give them the Vin #?

 

a Mazda Dealer should be able to tell you -

 

The problem of flooding is not overrated. If you live in colder climates and you try the start/stops it will flood big time.I know this because it has happened to me twice and trust me it will never happen again. Mazda treated me excellent though, they paid for the flat bed to come out and bring my car in. All the work that they did was all warranty covered, thank god because it took them all day the first time to get it going. Even though you will not lose any money out of your pocket when this happens to you its just a huge inconvience. If you have to do start/stops bring rpms to 4800-5000 (you do not need to hold it there for any length of time) then shut off immediately. Your rx8 will never flood if this advice is adhered to.

 

Thanks guys!!!! Calling the dealership right now.

 

was that before or after the recall/reflashs? People who had their car flood before the reflash have pretty much tried to get it to flood and have not been able to.

As for question 3, I think that procedure is only if you havnt been driving around (started it up, moved it in the garage or something, let it warm a bit then need to shut off). It's a precaution to burn off in case the engine wasnt warmed enough. As far as I know, it isnt something that needs to be done every time the car is shut down though.

 

Called Mazda & all the recalls have been done. Thanks for all the help!!!

 

if you read what i posted correctly at no point did i say that you need to do that everytime. recall or not when it gets cold in canada it will flood trust me! When you are just doing immediate start/stops for example pulling out of driveway to let someone out and then pulling back in if you look at your rpms and your vehicle is still on fast idle then proceed with my advice earlier posted!

 

I live in a cold climate and drive the car all winter. I have never flooded it...mind you I have repalced the engine twice.

 

bringing the RPMs up that high negates the effect from what has been posted quite a bit. and you do need to hold it there for a few seconds. of course the whole idea of whether or not you need to do the procedure is also debated but do what you feel works for you i guess.

 

I wasnt really saying that you said that. Only reason I quoted you was to ask about if it was before or after recalls. The way he asked the question made it sound like he was under the idea of doing it every time, so I wanted to make it a bit more clear that it wasnt a procedure to do all the time

 

I think it's a very bad idea to buy an 04 auto without a compression test, even if it's had the recalls.

 

So should I ask the dealership to do a compression test???

 

I don't know Nothing about rotary RX8's & I have read the stickys & used the search button time after time. The only problem is that the only real time I have to use the net is when I am at work & i'm not soposed to be on the computer at all. If I could I would search all day long but I can't. So please bear with me when I ask any questions cuz I don't have alot of time to deciede if I want to go through with deal on buying this RX8 for my G/F. I came to this forum to try and get some info & I have gotten alot of it but somethings are still confusing me. So Again Please bear with me if I ask a question that has been asked too many times before cuz all i'm trying to do is learn the in's/out's of this RX8.

Thanks,
Mike

 

https://www.rx8club.com/search.php?searchid=2899717


Yah.... ABout that.

 

Hey Mike -

Stop creating threads about the same subject.

Don't make a thread just to talk to one particular member, that's what pm's are for - see the rules.....

This will be your warning.

S

 

Replaced the engine twice? You had worse luck then me rotten. What happened?

 

Like I said before, I don't have Alot of time to read all the rules, regulations & stickys. I am limited to the time I can get on the net & I am SORRY for asking questions that have been asked way too many times. I only have a couple of days to deciede if I want to get this RX8 for my G/F. If this is such a big problem to where I have to get a warning for trying to learn as much as I can in the amount of time that I have then I just won't post up anymore. I thought this was a forum to learn many things about these cars. Thanks for everyone that has helped me out!!! I have decieded to go ahead & purchase this car.

 

Well, if you would have at least tried reading the damn stickies, you would have gotten your answer by now.

 

we are dooooooommmmmmmeeeeddd.

beers