Well, I finally got my 8. Can someone please explain in detail what needs to be done before startup, during startup and, during shutdown? When I start the 8 do I need to press the accelerator....how do I know when its warmed up enough? Should this take more than 5mins?
How about shutdown? Do I need to do something special here as well? Does it matter if I just drove it for 5 mins or 3 hours? Thanks for your help.

Tony

 

Heres my thoughs after a month of(*flood free) ownership.

I never press the accelerator when satrting.

Once I did have a little trouble after I stoped cranking to early. Crank until the engine catches - dont stop.

Dont switch off for 5 min.

That should do ya. And its not just a rotary problem either, V12 Jags etc have this problem even worse.

 

All you have to do to keep from flooding is to let the engine warm up before turning the car off. Even after reading all these post about flooding I still learned this the hard way...

I flooded my 8 over the Thanksgiving weekend as I moved it so another car could get out of the driveway. It was at night and the temp was about 44 degrees. The next morning I went out to start my 8 and.........nothing. After beating myself for not listening to everyone else's flooding stories, I finally got the car to start after repeating the steps in the manual several times. Once the white smoke cleared, I promised myself I would NEVER turn off my car without it warming up again.

My concern is for all those owners out there who don't visit any RX-8 forums and don't know about the flooding issue. I sure hope dealers are warning these people. Even after I read all about the flooding issue I was still stupid enough to flood mine. I guess it's kind of like when you are a kid and your mom tells you that the stove is hot and you still have to touch it for yourself to find out :D

 

Hi Tony... first, let me suggest that you read the owner's manual, or at least the little flip-chart booklet that came with your car. All the answers to your questions are in there. But I know you'd rather be driving than reading a manual, so here goes:

When you start the car, just depress the clutch (if you have one) and turn the key. Don't depress the accelerator. Keep cranking until the engine catches.



No.



There's a temperature gauge on your instrument pod. When the needle has moved about three notches, your car is warm. It normally takes about 3-5 minutes of idling to get it there. I don't have my manual handy, but I believe it says to rev the engine to 3000 rpm once or twice once operating temperature has been reached. Remember, you only have to do this when you're starting a cold engine. If you drove it half an hour ago and now you just want to start it up to move it into the garage or something, the several minutes of idling shouldn't be neccessary since the engine is probably still warm.



Nothing special for shutdown, but after years of driving turbo cars I've gotten into the habit of not shutting them down immediately after hard driving, but letting them cool down a bit with gentle driving before turning them off. It couldn't hurt to treat your 8 with the same consideration. So, don't skid into your parking place at redline and then immediately shut down the engine.

It shouldn't matter how long you've been driving as long as the engine has had time to reach operating temperature. That's the gist of the whole thing, really... don't turn off a rotary until it's warmed up.

Hope this helps!
Jeri

 

My concern is for all those owners out there who don't visit any RX-8 forums and don't know about the flooding issue. I sure hope dealers are warning these people. [/B][/QUOTE]

This is why a manual is provided w/every car.

 

I don't recall what thread I read this on, but a fairly knowledgable rotary guy suggested the following if you could not let the engine warm up....

He said to rev the engine to 5-6 K and shut off the key while it is revving. He suggested that this shuts off the fuel injectors, and that the reving engine would help remove the extra fuel mixture from the engine.

Can't confirm this idea, but it sounds plausable (sp?).

 

I can confirm that it DOES NOT WORK. I did that exact procedure before shutting my 8 down. It still flooded. Let the car warm up...period. That is the only effective way of keeping the engine from flooding. I learned my lesson.

 

How many floods will it take to render the CAT useless ?

 

I assume that folks who park on steep inclines might need to let them warm up completely before moving. In emergencies, if you do choose to move the vehicle before complete warm up, take extra, extra care not to stall that cold, rich mixture engine.

 

another note i'd like to add to this thread......do not idle your car for 5+ minutes until the oil temp gauge is at the center notch. if your car is totally cold, just let it idle for about 2-3 minutes that is more than enough to get the oil warnming up. after this you should begin driving very slowly, keeping the revs under 4k rpm, shifting work should be very slow. now your differential is warming up the appropriate way along with your oil, and after about 2-3 more minutes of driving your car should be in ready mode, ready to kill and attack!

 

Did not know we had an Oil Temp Gauge

 

I actually let my engine idle until it drops to 1500 rpms before I will move it. Normally when I start the car and its cold, the engine revs around 2k rpms until it warms up. That is what I have been using for a barometer.

 

Ditto that it's not an oil temperature gauge, it's a coolant temperature gauge. And 3 minutes idling and 3 minutes driving is NO WAY enough warmup for full throttle high load driving!!!!!!!!!!

Once the coolant temp gauge gets up to operating range, it probably takes at least 5 minutes more of driving gently before the oil is up to operating temperature. The engine isn't fully up to temp (ie "ready mode" for kill and attack operations) until the oil is up to temp, and as mentioned that will take at least a minimum 10 minutes of running.

Regards,
Gordon

 

After all these warnings I let my car run extra long to be safe

My concern is when the dealership or other shops may have my car in the future

 

My Rx8is in the shop right now being repaired for light damage to the bumper and fender and this is exactly what I am worried about. I have afeeling the mechanics have just been turning the car on and off after moving it around from inside to outside of shop instead of waiting 5min. Nothing muchyou can do about this you know guys b/c its a very impractical and annoying procedure for mechanics to haveto follow working on a bunch of other cars too. I told the owner twice when I wentdown there to make sure they wait for the temp guage to get to the middlebefore shutting off the Rx8 otherwise it willflood the engine but whats the point? You really think he givesa **** let alone the mechanics?

I just hope it isnt too close to flooded when I get it back next week.