Those one and two minute drives are bad for any engine- it won't usually result in flooding in conventional engines, but you end up with contaminants in your oil when you don't drive long enough to properly warm up the engine. Condensation combines with sulfur (as a by-product of the combustion process), producing acidic contaminants that break down your oil.. and cold weather just compounds this problem.

It's just a good habit to avoid short trips that aren't followed by longer, warming-up trips with any vehicle. Knowing that, the warm-up procedure for the RX8 has never bothered me. Even with my Miata, I would roll it out of the garage Flintstone's style to wash it, and then drive it spiritedly after the wash or push it back in.

Personally, I always warm up my RX8 as much as possible when on short trips, and regardless of length, I do the rev to 3-4k and kill the ignition while the revs are up (which I've always done with my FI cars).


Just my $ .02
-Sean

 

as noted you can say anything on the internet and it becomes fact...show me the email or I still am not convinced of this posting.

 

A dose of skepticism is a good thing. I think we all see the question mark at the end of the title of this thread... . Once it becomes official, we'll post one with an exclamation mark. Until then, we'll just wait for the next flood story to see what happens.

 

do you really need the catalytic converter?

 

I had similar flooding problem with my Xedos and have adopted the fix I used for that for the RX8 (which I've now owned for 4000 miles in cold weather).

If you have to move the car to let the Mrs out of the driveway, then make sure you let the engine idle for at least a minute after you've done it. I like to let the ECU drop the idle revs to around 1200 revs before turning it off.

Beyond that I've done nothing and have had no real problems.

Starting: Turn it over for 1 1/2 secs ... should start!

Sometimes doesn't, so turn it over for 5 secs (don't touch the pedal) ... almost always starts.

Now start panicking!!! So far I've left it for a minute and then floored the pedal and started it for up to 10 secs ... ends up starting and smelling of rotten eggs.

Haven't had a terminal flood yet.

 

Yes you do if you want to pass emissions tests and drive legal. I've heard of 40 hp gains with stage 2 kits that eliminatd the catalytic converter but then the car will not be street legal.

 

4k is where the car burns lean. you want to shut it off when its burning at it's leanest rpm. Low rmp and high rpm are where the car burns rich.

 

It would seem that revving to 4K would not be good for the COLD engine - cold is when this flooding thing happens so it seems.

I guess you need to weigh the advantages/disadvantages of a revving cold engine vs a flooded cold engine.
------------------------------
RrrRRrrrRRRRRRRR! *sputter* <clinkity-clank-plahhhh...poosh!>

Darn! One rotor revved and wore out while the other flooded. Anyone out there have a rotor or two they can spare? Heh heh

 

I called my dealer yesterday and asked the sevice manager about the E-mail covering egine flooding. He did not admit to any e-mail but confirmed the flooding problem was covered under warranty any time it happens. Strange since the salesman told me the day before 1/25/04 that flooding was not covered. So something has changed overnight regarding this matter.

 

I should reiterate that I spoke not with a dealer, but with Mazda. If you want to verify the existence of the email, you should call them, not your dealer.

 

Is the flooding issue with both transmissions or just AT or just MT?

 

That is as of yet unclear. Megareds, who has been on top of this issue it seems for a while now, has only noticed flooding posts from his fellow AT owners. However, as I'm sure he'd acknowledge, that is far from a complete survey, and further still noone has been able to come up with any theory as to why it should be that MTs are less prone to the problem.

I have one theory actually - AT RX-8's are more likely to be driven by a secondary driver , one who is not knowledgable of the precautions that need to be taken. I have seen a couple posts from people whose spouse has unwittingly caused the problem for them.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Positron
[B]So is it really "official" that we should be using the engine rev at shut down procedure? What EXACTLY is this procedure? I have heard lots of opinions and what people do, but is there an official position from MAZDA? Is it different for the MTs and the ATs?

The "short trip driving procedure" is in the quick reference manual that came with the owners manual.
1. Start engine
2. Move vehicle
3. Warm engine for 5 minutes at idle
4. Raise engine speed to 3000 RPM for 10 seconds
5. Return to idle
6. Turn off engine

 

Irish - Yup, we all understand what it says about in the quick ref about "short trip driving". The question here is about the rest of the time. Normal driving - still use or engine rev or not.

It would also be interesting to try to figure out if it is true more ATs flood than MTs. I agree with the possible link to ATs possibly being driven by more secondary or even less experienced drivers. But it is very hard to get a real read on this. All we can do is keep on talking about it. Thx.

mm

 

My gas station is across the street.... I pull out of the apartment complex slowly to warm up.. then I redline in first down the side street (im at the end of the street by the time i need to change to second). I take a left and redline it across the 6 lane road (diagonally) and pull into the gas station, shut my engine off , pump, and go home.. never any problems

 

[B]Does anybody else find this oxymoronic? If you had 5 minutes to spend in the car warming it up you'd have driven it somewhere instead of just sitting there!

The quick tips footnotes this valuable information by saying: "TIP: Warming up engine improves engine life"

They really should have said "WARNING: Failure to follow the above procedure may cause the engine to flood. Vehicles with flooded engines will need to be repaired at your local authorized Mazda service department."

This would have made the information consistent with the rest of the owner's manual. I happen to be one of those people that read the owners manual from cover to cover and I don't recall seeing a single warning about this reliability issue. Totally amazing considering the manual has three or more warnings on every single page!

BTW... I have not flooded and have not followed the procedure on the occasions that the car was just moved to the other end of the driveway. I am the primary driver, but my wife does drive it occasionally. Or should I say she used to drive it occasionally. Since telling her about this cold engine procedure she hasn't driven it

 

in florida we dont have emissions :D

 

What, you all drive electric cars?

 

lol we certainly dont have emission tests.

 

Your kidding,
Go for it then, stage 2 fast and furious. I have to go for emission tests every other year. It's a pain.

 

Mazda: Please restore our lost horsepower. You fixed one thing (emissions) to make a few things worse(poor mpg, flooding, loss of power)! Develop a Catlytic converter,seals and coil packs to handle the extra heat, or replace them on and as needed basis. I want more power, and better MPG as it was advertised....Damit!

 

I agree with JimW. I think Mazda should retrofit us, if only for marketing and PR purposes.

I also agree with CERAMICSEAL (earlier, above) that this business of flooding is not acceptable in a modern car - rotary or not. If the 8 goes to more customers, and more varied customers, annually than the 7 did, as Mazda undoubtedly hopes, flooding can become a more visible problem.

 

i kid you not my friend. im not gonna be all fast and furious but i will have the stage 2 lol. now if only i can understand this flooding thread id be fine, but the more i read the more i understand. i have soo many questions its not funny i need to p/m someone so i can get all the info i can

 

Just to be nitpicky, you are getting exactly the power and MPG advertised on the window sticker... (yes, I know many are getting below EPA mileage, but you would likely get what's on the sticker if you drove on the rollers comprising the EPA test loop...)

 

I don't understand all the talk about flooding. I 've had no such problem. 10 degrees below this morning and it fired right up. Short trips or turning the car on and off moving it around in drive I have no problem. The rx8 rocks. I think it is the most technologically advanced , refined ,sophisticated sportscar made today. I'm just so glad to have one. I only drive 7k/year so gas mileage makes no difference to me.

The 8 is so personalized it is not for everyone. Let the masses and comlainers buy Accords and the Camery. Thats what their made for. The rx is made for fun and me.