Hey guys, just wanted to introduce myself - my username is my old high school nickname and typically what my friends still call me. You'll note on the side there I'm 20 years old, so I suppose the nickname isn't all that old, but regardless...my old car was a 96 Toyota Celica (25th Anniversary Edition), and after a long winter of problems, the hood latch finally gave out two weeks ago on the thruway, doing 55, and planted my hood on my roof and windshield. Insurance totaled the car, but I had already bought this guy, so I wasn't too upset.

I picked up my '04 Winning Blue RX-8 two weeks ago Friday, and have been loving driving it - it's all I want to do, but living in WNY, gas prices are highest in the nation (Mobil 93 runs me 4.30/gal today) so I have to manage very very carefully...haha. Regardless.

The car runs and shifts like a dream, I got the base package 6MT, 77k miles on it (just about even) for 10,995. It was 76 miles away from me in Spencerport, NY, so it was a hell of a drive, but absolutely worth it on the way back. It's been raining here nonstop and I've noticed the back end gets a little squirelly if you step on it, so unfortunately I have to contain my enthusiasm for a little bit (or at least until I replace the winter tires with Ventus V12 Evos). I've also been lurking the forums here quite a bit, and so far, I just want to check to make sure I've learned a few things correctly:

• Oil changes shouldn't be performed with synthetic. I was going to do this to help cold starts in the winter, but if I shouldn't (and I've read somewhere not to) then I'll stick with regular 5W-20.
• I'll likely have to top off my oil every 1000 miles.
• The owner's manual says to check the oil every other fill-up (and yes, I read the entire owner's manual.)
• I read "Congratulations, you got an 8" and plan on taking most of the steps involved shortly. There are a few things I likely won't do as this is not a cheap car to me, and I'd like to avoid risking doing something incorrectly.
• I also read "New and potential owners start here", it seems if I have a question, my Mazda dealership would not be the first option, here would be the first place to ask.
• I should be rather safe from engine failure with my 6MT, even though it's an '04? I've always kept great care of my cars, and this will be no different.
• There are a few upgrades I should perform having an '04, including seeing if MSP-16 was performed (oil pressure one, I think), changing my plugs, coils and wires relatively soon, upgrading my ignition, and cleaning the MAF. I'd appreciate pointers on upgrading the ignition - I know I read it somewhere but don't recall exactly where, and I'm headed to bed after writing this.

I think that's about it - this is my 4th car, and I know my way around an engine bay fairly well from working on my Celica, but I have a feeling it's going to take me a while to learn the rotary setup. I'm almost afraid to, but I hate having to pay labor when I can do it myself.

I would also like to get more power out of this thing - I went to Innovative Tuning, which is the local shop of choice for most tuners out here, and they do turn out quality work - an $800 tune (dyno time, street testing, AccessPORT, etc.) they say will net me maybe 5-7% horsepower. How much do we know about turbocharged engine reliability? I'd love to go that route when I have the money - which I'm certain will be expensive, but I don't want to have my engine blow up 5,000 miles later. At what point would I have to upgrade internals?

Also, my 8 has the clutch petal warranty sticker, meaning the assembly was replaced, but my clutch pedal squeaks - should I be worried about this, or is this okay? I think I read somewhere that a squeaky pedal is a trouble sign.

Oh, and finally, my shifter shakes quite a bit at idle with the fans or AC on, is this a sign of my transmission or motor mounts going, or is this normal, since there's a differential underneath my shifter now? (At least I think it's a differential, RWD is new to me - it's either a diff or gear box correct?)

I appreciate all help in regards to my learning experience so far and questions asked - I know I've asked quite a lot and don't expect answers to all of it.

Thanks guys,
Cory

 

• Oil changes shouldn't be performed with synthetic. I was going to do this to help cold starts in the winter, but if I shouldn't (and I've read somewhere not to) then I'll stick with regular 5W-20.

There are people who say synthetic is bad and people who say it is fine. Read up on all the info in this forum and decide for yourself. I would go a little thicker than 5w20 but thats another thing you should read up on and decide for yourself. In the Japanese manual for the same car they recommend 5w30, its just 5w20 for EPA reasons as far as I know.

• I'll likely have to top off my oil every 1000 miles.

The next thing you said pretty much answered that.

• The owner's manual says to check the oil every other fill-up (and yes, I read the entire owner's manual.)

• I also read "New and potential owners start here", it seems if I have a question, my Mazda dealership would not be the first option, here would be the first place to ask.

Here would be the first place to search. This forum has been around a long time now, chances are any problem your having has been discussed many times over.

• I should be rather safe from engine failure with my 6MT, even though it's an '04? I've always kept great care of my cars, and this will be no different.

You bought it with 77k miles on it and you have no idea how it was treated before this, so you cannot really have a clue if your engine is going to last or not.

• There are a few upgrades I should perform having an '04, including seeing if MSP-16 was performed (oil pressure one, I think), changing my plugs, coils and wires relatively soon, upgrading my ignition, and cleaning the MAF. I'd appreciate pointers on upgrading the ignition - I know I read it somewhere but don't recall exactly where, and I'm headed to bed after writing this.

Yea I would start with changing your plugs asap, if you want the best coils and wires get the BHR coils they are much better than the OEM ones. When you clean the MAF be very careful when screwing it back in, the threads are plastic and you can strip it very easily.




As far as tuning goes you could buy the accessport from MazdaManiac with his tuning service for $600 and you would get a better service I would think. He is very experienced with rotary engines and that is something you should think about. Sqeuaky clutch could just be in need of some oil down there. Search on the forums about the clutch pedal so you know what to look for and squeeze down there and see if its breaking again or not.

 

Check the clutch pedal bracket for any cracks in the metal.

The shifter shake may or may not be a sign of the mounts going. You will have to take a closer look at the mounts itself (search on that). The differential is at the rear of the car. The transmission is under the dash and console. The shifter is a direct part of the transmission as opposed to FWD cars which is connected through long linkages which feel less responsive since the linkage mutes out any small physical movements.

If you haven't read about pre-mix, look into it as well along with the choice of oil. I premix and use 20w50 during the summer, 10W30 during the winter. Some food for though...

Look into regular maintenance that needs to be done around your mileage. Coils, spark plugs, wires, and all fluids. Whatever applies in your situation.

Oh, and welcome.

 

First of all, congrats and throw up some pics when ya can.

That's not bad at all. I drove 19 hours round-trip to pick up my 8.

 

^ Agreed . I drove about 220 miles round trip to the Hamptons for my RX-8 and I was glad that I didn't have to travel a far distance to get the exact RX-8 I wanted.

 

Just wanted to say in regards to this, I know it was very well taken care of - clean carfax, everything is aligned from the factory (meaning no accidents), and I drove three other '04 8s and they all ran terribly and were hard to shift. This one, I could have sworn it came out of the factory.

Do you happen to know how much shake is "normal" if you will? I know my buddy's STi does the same thing, only his is less noticeable than mine, but he's got a center locking diff and all that I believe.

Also, I forgot to mention that the shake is only really "bad" (it's not all that bad to begin with, but noticeable) at idle, once I start moving it quiets down quite a bit and it's as if there's no issue whatsoever. I think this might determine whether it's the mounts or not.

The two of you who drove ridiculous miles/time to get your 8s, congrats, but I wouldn't want to go that far.

 

I think I flew to Colorado and drove mine back.

 

Carfax is a good tool but is not always 100% accurate, you never know what someone may have got fixed at a buddys shop and just didn't report it. If it drives good then nothing happened I'm sure but you just never know, carfax also does not tell you how the engine was maintained. Even records showing proper oil changes are not the whole story.

I would say either pay for a compression test at the dealership or find someone local that has a tester, just to see where your at.

As far as the shifter shaking I saw one post that said shaking 5 or 8mm(forget exactly) to each side was normal. At 18k miles when I bought my car it had a shaky shifter but its not that bad, just noticeable.