100xxx km

 

'04 in Iowa. 60,000 miles on original engine.

 

I just reached 24,000 Miles on mine this week, I must be one of the 04 with the least :D

 

I can't find the exact post in this thread but I read where a guy never changed his oil & filter out just added. What probably happend was the bypass valve opened when the filter portion got clogged and thus let oil flow better.

 

That guys is Squidward who didn't change out his filter but just kept adding oil.

 

04 original everything except CAT burned out around 100K and the normal - plugs coils wires - just hit 150k this month. Still love it - still runs like a charm!!

 

04 6spd 130K on original motor, no cat, still running great (most of the time), regular maint, and i drive it daily, love my car

 

04 with 71k

 

60K then new motor!

 

You may have a unique experience but new oil filters are very very important. I understand your reasoning for just adding oil to the rotary and it staying fairly clean but to leave an oil filter on their for a little over 3yrs? Yes the oil may be somewhat clean but there's no way you can keep going on this way not knowing when the internal filter element structure is gonna fail (and trust it will in spectacular fashion). The internal structure isn't going to hold up forever. What filter are you running anyways? Whatever it is I may start using it!

 

107k Miles and no pre-mix, always 93 octane. Mobil 1 Full Synthetic Oil, all original, only had to change the spark plugs once, Still on the Stock Cluth (no joke)...

 

04 RX8 with 140K+ miles on her original engine :o)
I use Pro Tek K premix from Pettit racing. Royal purple synthetic oil. 93 Octane. Never had any major issues at all really, she still runs great.

 

I bought mine with 65k a year ago and now have 72k. Never had any issues at all. I premix for a month and then I run out and go a month without (lazy). And I just took the cat off. 17.5 mpg atm.

 

Sorry guys, I had a typo on my post. I use Protek R from Pettit racing, it comes already measured out in little bottles so I add one every other fill up or so, I dont really keep track of it. Also, I use Royal Purple 5/30.
The things I can think of that I have replaced since I got my car are the starter, alternator, coils (those where my fault), clutch and then basics like plugs, wires and stuff. I have flooded it like 5 times, the first time was before I knew NOTHING about cars, the A-hole rotary specialist took me for $450 to fix it, since then I know better and have been able to unflood it myself for free!
She still runs great at 140K+ miles!!

 

bump

 

I made a request for someone in another thread to post here about having 180,000 miles on his/her car. I believe it is an original engine. We'll see if anything happens.

 

yea, original engine. I bought it with 55,000 in 2007. I worked in tally and lived in tampa, drove home on the weekends and added about 1,000 miles a week. Now I work in orlando and still live in tampa and commute daily until last week when my engine died just before 180,000. I think it is about 178,000 to be a little more exact. I would change my oil every 3000 which equaled to about once every three weeks. always mobil one 5,000. Started with the suggested 5/30 or whatever, then changed up to the 10/30 or 40. Only changed maintenance parts, clutch was around 120,000. Started pre mix around 140,000 seemed to run smoother with the premix, so I continued use. Had the starter issue, never buy a starter from advanced or autozone, they carry the crap starter. Had to spend the big bucks for the dealer starter, but well worth it. Changed coils around 130,000 but dont think I needed to, because I was trying to fix the warm start issue, that the mazda starter helped drastically. Any other questions, I will be happy to answer if I missed something.

 

99,000km (62,000 mi) on my original engine. Compression isn't as good as it could be anymore though.

 

already losing compression that early? something doesnt sound right. You running that thing like its a rotary or a diesel? I think you need to let that neglected baby breath at about 9 g's or so and blow out all that sht you have been collecting on your seals!

 

My first engine died at 22,000. At that time I autox'd once a month. The redline a day is BS in terms of making this engine survive longer. It is fun though. Many a renny have died before 60,000 miles though. Our local tech has had a few low mileage 06' in for replacements lately at around 60,000 miles or so. My second engine lasted 74,000 before it began stalling. Kind of disappointing considering my OCD maintenance habits but oh well, I got a new motor at 96,000 miles.

 

Remember to let the engine warm up, everyone…

2005 Mazda RX-8 Quick Tips Reference Guide:
"Tip: Warming up engine improves engine life"

I would love to know what percentage of 8 owners drive off moments after starting their engine in the morning. Bet it's a lot.

 

So let me get this straight...warming up the engine improves engine life.

So since we know the rotary is an incredibly cold running engine that barely generates any heat, I guess we need to start figuring out some mods to get the engine warm. We are at nearly a million 8s on the road from the last figures I saw, and my bet that this is the core of the problems. Almost none of them are warm at all!

Well, I guess that is the real trick, only run the engine when warm. I stick my engine in my oven every morning until it's warm, and only then drive it. Sometimes the cold winters up here are so cold, that I have to heat it until glowing just so it stays warm the whole way to work.

I guess that is why there are generally more engine failures in the colder climates.





Please don't take that seriously.... the manual or my post above. What they mean is not to stomp on the throttle and rev high until the engine fluids are warm. It's impossible to NOT warm up the engine, regardless of how you do it. There is quite a bit of evidence of excessive carbon buildup if the engine just sits and idles too long though, so light load driving immediately after starting doesn't have any inherent problem with it. After all, there isn't any real difference in the engine between driving at very light load and parked at very light load. The wheels, axles, transmission, diff, etc... are the parts that warm up as you drive...

 

Where's that from originally out of curiosity? I've never red a single bit of evidence that would suggest that letting a newer car idle itself to it's normal operating temperature is better for it than driving it up to it's normal operating temperature. If anything, it's usually the exact opposite. All it does is waste gas, break your oil down quicker, and now allow both the engine and transmission to be warmed up (through use) together. Even newer vehicle owner manuals say to drive the car around even when it's cold.

Could that be suggesting to let the engine warm up before flogging on it? If so, I completely agree with the statement.

Edit - This is from the owners manual itself:

When starting mine in temperatures above freezing I let the car idle until the air pump kicks off and then drive it. When starting mine in temperatures below freezing I let the car idle until the air pump kicks off and then for another 30 seconds to a minute. In both cases the car sees no higher than 3000rpm until the temperature gauge starts moving. It doesn't see redline until the temperature gauge has been at normal operating temperature for a few minutes (I don't trust the gauge enough to redline it the second it says the car is warm).

 

Aaaaand also from the owners manual:

 

Weird, I lost a post.


Anyway, I bet a lot of people do not wait because they do not really know what the temps are because they are going by the factory water temp gauge. I have a oil temp gauge (amongst others) and personally I go out, back the car out of the garage, and then I let her idle while I play a match of Call of Duty (yes I'm a kid at heart). Usually then my oil temp is about 150F or so depending on the ambient temps. Then I drive around, not exceeding 4,000RPMs until oil temp is 175F or higher.

Expo1 has a video posted of just how long it takes for the 8 to get up to temp. My office is only two miles from work so I am very diligent about this routine. unless of course I am running late which is very, very, very, rare. And even then I do not exceed 4,000RPMS.