I'm picking up my RX in a few weeks time. Based on members' experience, what are the ten top things to bear in mind to keep the RX running right and looking good from day one?

While we're at it, what are the things to avoid at all costs!

Thanks.

 

Get the grille kit on the A/C condensor and oil cooler before it leaves the dealership!!! Avoid low flying stone on the way home, if you don't get one

 

These covers will keep your seats looking like new.






But they're to be avoided at all costs. :D

 

Keep revs below 3000 for at least the first 1000 miles. After 1000 miles, go get an oil change.

Be very **** about NOT doing cold shutdowns. Try to at least make sure the temperature needle hits 1/4th before shutting down. If you must do a cold shutdown, rev to 3000, then shut off immediately. When in doubt, I always go out of my way to drive a longer route to ensure the engine gets warmed up.

If you got the cloth seats, I would highly recommend splurging on the official seat covers for the RX-8. Not cheap, but with the suede/velour type material the RX-8 cloth seats use, it WILL look like absolute crap over a few years if you do not cover them. My friend's Celica that he bought in 2000 has seats with the same type of material and it looks nasty now. And he doesn't mistreat his car or anything. That material just ages badly.

Get a bottle of 5w-20 oil and keep it belted in the trunk with the tire inflation kit. This car does eat oil over the course of 1000 miles, and you WILL need to add oil in between oil changes.

If you don't want a huge bundle of keys scratching your console, I would recommend leaving your valet key inside the small little compartment that's next to the interior light brightness adjustment ****. I can't believe I didn't do this the day I got the car. Nowdays all I have to do is just use my remote to open the door while leaving the bundle of keys in my pocket, climb in, pop that compartment, grab the key, and zoom off. I find myself missing the procedure when I drive any other car.

 

Let's see. You live in Hilo, drive a silver RX-8 and you keep an ignition key in the car. I'll keep that in mind the next time I need transportation in Hilo. :D

 

werd, not needing a rental car if i visit hawaii will save me a chunk of change

 

Snow tires.

 

I would be careful about doing this. I don't believe most insurance companies will cover loss or damage due to theft if they can prove you left your keys in the vehicle. That programmed key is a security feature. Also, I am fairly certain that in Texas, if your car is stolen, and is used to commit a crime, and they can prove that the theives were able to steal it because you left a key in the vehicle, they can prosecute you.

 

1 - check the oil regularly; the engine is designed to consume oil.
2 - Don't push the car hard until it's warmed up (wait 5 minutes after temp needle stabilizes).
3 - wash, clay and wax your car when you get it. Clay helps remove contaminants that may be on the paint from shipping (e.g. 'rail dust').
4 - Check tire pressures frequently, and use an accurate gauge.
5 - Careful around curbs. The rims protrude further than the tire sidewall - rims will rub the curb and scratch.
6 - purchase or make grilles for the AC and oil cooler openings
7 - See what kind of battery you have. If it's the "original" low-capacity battery, replace it. (I recommend Optima yellow-top D35).
8 - If manual transmission, replace the transmission and differential fluids with the Red Line products mentioned in this site (do a search)
9 - Depending on the build date, you may need a more recent "flash"
10 - have fun

 

Get the OEM "all-weather" (rubber) floormats from the dealer. Rubber floormats are great because you can just hose them off when you wash the car and they will hold up great for years, unlike cloth mats which usually look like crap after a few months. Then, when you go to sell the car, put the cloth ones back in and it will make the car look very clean and well-maintained.

 

Good advice Vertigo, except for this part- while under 3000 is great for cruising, you're also running the risk of lugging your engine this way if you're not careful. Doesn't the manual say under 6k revs? That's all I did. I would have been VERY hard pressed to keep it anywhere near under 3k revs. And it was only for 600 miles. Also, why oil change after 1,000? I just went for 2500, and everything's fine (I'm at 34k).

 

Read the manual - cover to cover. Maybe more than once. It will tell you about things like flooding and the parking lights not flashing when the trunk or hood is ajar.

 

I don't quite remember what the manual said...I have an AT, and after 3k things start getting hairy so I figured over 3k is probably playing rough with the engine. It's probably higher for the MT. I personally kept it all under 3k before 1000 miles. And even after 1000, I gradually increased the RPMs I went up to.

The oil change at 1000 miles advice is something I've read around...basically it's to flush out any metal particles that get shaved off during break in/seating in of components.

As for the car stealing problem...in my puny little town where 10 miles in any direction takes you to the edge of town, I don't think it'd be a problem tracking down my specific RX-8 if somebody decided to steal it anyways. :p

 

Not to mention they can't exactly get too far away, you are on an island after all.

 

Plenty of places to go on the big island. Ah, Hilo is still retaining the small town feel. Wouldn't try the key trick in any of the big cities on the mainland though. 2005 key is the way to go.

 

What issues have you had with the stock battery?
No problem so far on my side.

 

Along with the oil and AC screens, you might also want to consider a clear bra to protect the hood and fenders.

 

I have the same thing for the Australians hope this helps

https://www.rx8club.com/australia-new-zealand-forum-37/10-things-new-rx-8-owners-should-know-day-1-a-35405/

 

There was more than 1 version of the battery shipped oem. Cold areas such as Canada got a more powerful version. The weaker version is marginal, and appears to have been at least a contributing factor in the flooding difficulties that some owners experienced. Mazda itself has recognized the problem and is now shipping a considerably more powerful battery with its newer production.

A larger capacity battery is important in this application because of the increased tendency of the renesis engine towards flooding. One aspect of this is that the more RPM you can develop with the starter, the better. A higher capacity battery is going to be better at this. ESPECIALLY if there's a problem on the first start. The deflooding procedure calls for second attempt to be made with full throttle (which cuts off the gas). And then again without. Repeat... Each of these attempts is supposed to be 7 or 8 seconds in duration. By the time you get into the deflood procedure with the original battery, it may already be considerably drained. So then you're trying to recover from a flood and the cranking RPM is dropping right when you need high cranking rpm the most!. This argues for a more powerful battery.

The Optima yellow-top is ideally suited to this situation, imo. Not only does it have a generous capacity, it is unlike conventional car batteries in that it can withstand deep discharge without harm. Most car batteries will lose a significant portion of their capacity (ability to hold a charge) after even one or two deep discharges. The Yellow-top is designed to withstand somewhere around 500 deep discharges while still retaining 80 percent of its capacity to hold a charge. So, if you ever do have to call upon it to get out of a flood situation, you don't have to worry about it being permanently weakened. With the original battery being marginal to begin with, you really don't want to go deeply draining it.

Another advantage to withstanding deep-discharge applies to most newer vehicles and not just the RX-8. Vehicles today have a constant current drain on the battery even when parked, due to the electronics in the car. If you don't always drive the car frequently, this can be an issue.

The other desirable property of the yellow-top is that it maintains a higher voltage much further along the discharge curve. So, it can take a large demand and still deliver good power. Thus, in a deflood situation you'll be getting good cranking RPM even though you might have gone through a few attempts. This will definitely increase your chance of a successful recovery from the flooding compared to a conventional battery which may be getting sluggish just when you need it to be peppy!

The third advantage is that it is a non-spillable battery. There's no need to add water and nothing to leak or spill to cause corrosion.

I'm not saying the original is guaranteed to cause you a problem. But it is marginal.