Let me preface...I have no grand point to make. I just wanted to share a moment I had today.

I have an 04 RX8 with 56k miles. I have gotten "used" to the car so it doesn't wow me often. Usually I'm noticing things like sluggish acceleration or the wearing shocks/struts (bottoming out!), or the skipping piece of crap CD player, or the coolant light that comes on when I have the gall to rev it over 3500rpm for more than a minute.

Heretical thoughts have entered my mind. I thought about selling. I thought about getting a 3-series, or an STI, or ...something.

As I pulled onto I-95 today, though, I gunned it out of second and it screamed up to 9k rpm and kept pulling through 3rd. At 85mph in the left lane I realize I had a huge smile on my face.

I can't get rid of this car. I don't know how.

 

"Zoom-zoom" is like crack.

 

Sell it, is that simple.

 

if your coolant light is coming on at 3500rpm then you have a problem

 

That's what I thought

 

If there were such a nomination, I would say OP's is thread (post) of the year.

 

I thought that this was a known issue, no? I've read a lot about the coolant level sensor in the tank going bad. My coolant light comes on sporadically as well, though I don't think it correlates with engine RPMs. I've owned an SI and SII and both had this issue as well as the OP.

 

The only s1 rx8 I ever test drove had the coolant light issue, but so far never seen it on my s2.

 

It is a known issue. It has happened to me a couple of times

However...I've been under the impression that it mostly happens under heavy load/acceleration, way up the 3500 RPM range. In my case - for example - it has happened only during hot days when I'm pushing 7-9K RPMs.

OP: your anecdote is actually pretty cool. The RX-8 is such a fun car to drive, pretty hard to give it up

 

yeah - it only happens to me after many minutes of high load, high rpm (6,000 +) driving. in other words, it only happens on the track (for me at least), never on the road.

Sounds like a problem. Love the post though!!

 

Mine just likes to come on randomly- it's gotten worse as the car has gotten older. After a few freakouts and frantic checking only to find everything looks good, I mostly ignore it now. My oil light does it too now, occasionally.

Raevik, I'm in the same place- when some of the annoyances start to get up there, all it takes is one tight on or off ramp at 75+ and I can't even begin to think of why I wanted to get rid of it in the first place.

 

The solution is to take those ramps more often, dissipate the annoyances before they ever build up.

As far as the "coolant" light goes, have you noticed that it looks like a merry-go-round? That makes it a pleasant feature, to be enjoyed.

Ken