jungjiyungg

My friend drove my car yesterday

and he said my car's first response (I dont know what he really means...)

is much slower than he expected.

He said my car seems to have droven like a sedan instead of a sports car.

He said I can reset my ECU and that will result in faster first response

If it does make my car any faster, I would do it.

Any thoughts??

Also what are some things that I should be aware after I reset the ECU?

Thanks

dozer

iTrader: (3)

youre friend has no idea what hes talking about, hes just jealous you have an 8 and he doesnt...

sedan WTF? maybe your friend also needs driving lessons

do you even know how to reset it?

alfy28

when you pump the breaks 20 times really fast (in a 8 sec period), make sure to let out a OH YAH scream. so ppl can think you where jacking Oxx.

jungjiyungg

I am not that great with manual yet...it has been only 2 and a half months since I drove my 8. So I do agree that i drove like a sedan. Still learning though

My friend said I could reset it at the Mazda dealer and it will be very quick.
Should i do it?

dozer

iTrader: (3)

reset it at the dealership? never heard of that one...i honestly dont see how you think it drives like a sedan

^listen to alfy about reseting your ecu

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

OK, we'll take this seriously.

Our cars, as most modern vehicles, have an ECU that is controlled by software (firmware) that may be modified.

Mazda has put out several "flashes" to the ECU over the past few years, mainly dealing with oil metering to better augment/protect the rotor seals and also an emissions voluntary recall. There have been no real performance flashes per se.

The Cobb Accessport tuner however provides the medium for performance enhancements, but at a significant cost. http://www.cobbtuning.com/products/?id=3812

Racing Beat also provides a one-time flash at lower cost, but you must ship your ECU to them.

Now you know more than your friend.

ken-x8

Also adding to the serious response... If you friend has a car with a lot of low end torque (like a Mustang GT) he would not have been expecting the RX-8's low torque, high rpm characteristics. It's not a stump puller. Also, he may be aware of cars whose ECUs can easily be remapped to get more power. The 8 is not like that, other than the two vendors Huey cited.

With 2 1/2 months under your belt, you should have the hang of manual. Let the engine rev - it's made to do that. Try shifting at 5000 rpm in normal driving, and make sure you go up to red line when you can. (Usually in 2nd when getting onto a freeway, if you want to stay legal.) It might cost you a little in gas mileage, but you'll be getting your money's worth.

Ken

stevenmu

I think I know what your friend is talking about. Some cars have a learning ECU which learns the typical behavior patterns of the driver, and will then respond to throttle inputs accordingly. What your friend is suggesting is that because the car has been driven gently, it will learn that behavior, and then respond gently to your inputs, if you generally drove more aggressively it would in turn respond more aggressively.

I don't know if the 8 has this feature or not, and to be honest it doesn't really matter if it does or not. ECUs which have this feature continue learning, they don't just reach a cut off point and stop, so if you have been driving gently and then start driving more aggressively it will start to learn your new driving style, I believe it can take a couple of weeks to fully train it. If you reset the ECU it would be quicker, but since you say you are still getting used to driving MT then why not just let it learn with you.

I believe this feature exists to help balance fuel consumption and performance, so I would suspect the 8 doesn't have it.

Juansito

iTrader: (5)

Sometimes my car seems faster at other times.
I think has something to do with my car running lean at times.

Like i can turn it on 1 day and its running fast and throttle is responsive. I can shut it off and then the next day its not running like yesterday.

blamerobb

i get the same thing

could be weather as well

tubingchamp

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, I get the same.. Probably weather. Who knows.

Juansito

iTrader: (5)

Hmm,

I thought i was the only one!
This could be terms for a new ecu flash -- i want my rx8 running good ALL the time.

Its not the weather either cause -- if im running the car for like an 20 mins and then shut it off and go eat and come back its not running like before. Its like random at which it runs at optimum performance.

I'm hoping my accessport can solve the problem.

ou_joshua

reset it, placebo effect will shut your friend up

Juansito

iTrader: (5)

Yea if you dont know how to reset try this:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/ecu-clear-reset-27548/?pp=15

I'm going to try tonight.

EDIT: Didn't work