tmak26b

After a long wait and a long day, the 04 8 is finally in the driveway. The car works and runs fine, but I still have questions that are left unanswered. I also have a few minor problems (oh boy)

Questions
#1 How come Mazda uses such thin oil? 5W20? Could that be the reason why there are all these problems with cars in the hot weather?
#2 HOT HOT HOT, what the hell, it's 60F out, the car is so warm inside. My FC was never like this. Why is the cup holder, seat, transmission tunnel, trunk and under the engine so hot? We didn't even rev it, but we did get stuck in a lot of traffic lights. How do you guys deal with it? I guess you guys fixed it by installing insulation?
#3 I know many people don't have the AT here, but if you do, does yours shift butter smooth or a little notchy under hard driving? I didn't play with it too much, but I did notice slight roughness. I will change it with Mobil 1 ATF this weekend.
#4 Does the rear cup holder get hot too like the front ones?
#5 Is it normal for the cup holder to slide close under hard braking? For some reason, I thought it is locked open.
#6 I know this is in the manual, but how do you display what disc you are on on the display and what track you are on constantly rather than showing the time of the CD running.
#7 Do the lights turn off automatically after 15 or 20 min? My last car did that.

Problems
#1 I do notice when I first turn the wheel and get going, there is a slight rubbing sound? Any ideas?
#2 BRAKES, they squeek worse than my race pads for crying out loud. Do you guys juyst install shims and lube on it?
#3 Here is one that **** me off. The TPMS light had been flashing slowly. I checked the tires at first, they were at 30psi warm. I then got them up to 35psi warm. The light is still flashing slowly. Any idea? Maybe I need to recalibrate it or is something broken ?

The car is under warranty, but I don't want to keep going back to teh dealer. Thanks for the help

My gf/soon to be fiance will be driving it, just want to clear everything up for her.

Thoughts
Car looks and runs great, I hope it can run like my FC.

drmrw

Mine is an 07, but there are similarities (just got mine as well, so congrats!). Yes the beverage "warmers" do get hot and so the the sides of the console in the front. The rear holder seem fairly cool. I'm in S. Florida and its still freaking hot here and thankfully the A/C seems great. I don't know why, but the trunk was like an oven....Don't know about the thin oil, I don't think its a MAZDA thing per se but a rotary engine thing (i'm just guessing). My cup holder cover does not slide closed with hard braking (maybe a latch adjustment) It does however close by sliding it without releasing any latch. Don't know about the flashing tire pressure light. I do know that they filled my tired with Nitrogen and they said it avoids the temperature fluctations with plain ole compressed air. Sounds good to me, but crap, who wants to hunt for a place with nitrogen just to top off your tires, right? Don't know the rest of the answers to your questions, but hope you enjoy the car as much as I'm enjoying mine. Incidentally, my wife's eclipse spyder has heat pouring out from the handbrake lever gasket all the time....

tmak26b

I used 10W30 and 20W50 in my last FC that did 90K miles in 2 years.

We went from a Mercedes to this Mazda, it's hard to get used to.

Renesis_8

You can listen to the rotary hum again!

As for the hot cup holders, cabin, there is a TSB that installs a heatshield. The reason why its so hot is because you're literally sitting on top of the cat converter, and rotaries run hot, RX-8 runs even hotter. As for your other problems, i wont answer them all, but do some searching, its all over the forum, i gurantee you'll find answers to it.
________
SweetAdelline live

tmak26b

Gosh, dont even get me started. I was in motherf-ing Boston, didnt even get a chance to go over 50mph even at 9PM! All the roads were crap or they require a toll, I was so mad to not be able to push it and burn some carbon off.

So the RX-8 does run hotter than the 7 huh? The thing is really really warm, I need to get that TSB done then.

Renesis_8

Exhaust temp is higher than the RX-7, it probably does not produce as much heat as the twin turbos. But the cat converter is causing the heat, and it is part of the exhaust system=d
________
RoyalSex live

Eddie13

Renesis 8, is that TSB for the 04-05 models or does it apply to all including the '07's? I'm not a big fan of these techs messing with the car.....I've learned that the more they take off and put back together, the more rattles you get over time.

BreakYoSelf13b

as for the brakes:
if they sqeek, that probably means you need new brake pads. get good brake pads. (if your brake peddle rattles under hard breaking, that means your rotor is warped)

if you hear a deep deep rubbing sound, check the power steering fluid.

these are all basic. just hypothesis but o well.

tmak26b

Go figures, she is getting used to the car. She was driving slow around the city, got pulled over for it on the first full day!!! Geez, hope it isnt a bad start. The bodykit do attract a lot of pigs

cleoent

great chick car, sorry about the auto though

CarAndDriver

Enjoy. I use 5W-30 dino.

tmak26b

It's her car, she wants to drive auto, so it doesnt matter.

CarAndDriver

At least you have your Z.

tmak26b

It's not as good as you think to drive over rough roads, you think the 8 is bad, try driving a Z, you will need a kidney transplant after.

Smileynh

You could have a bad TPMS sensor. My TPMS blinks all winter. I didn't spend the cash to get sensors for my winter tires yet.

NH

Romeo

I too have an 04, and mine has insulation for the cup holders :D
Anything can be done with the right money. get your cup holder latch looked at, im sure they would replace the whole thing for you. double check that your oil is full, when i got mine out of the dealer, i realized i was already low on oil, haha. um.... some other pointers: If you ever go HID or replace bulbs and your gonna do it yourself, make sure you seal everything back up nice and tight, because any little opening that you leave will cause condensation in the headlight. um, as for the trunk getting hot, I dont know, I like to sit in the drivers seat. your car looks hot. real sweet color and all. FYI: The black Rx8s are faster so dont worrie, your GF is in a safe car jp. Anyway, Congrats on your new car. Enjoy is, and tell her to slow down and not get anymore tickets. The "body kit" doesent attract THAT much attention. and last but not least, I last pointer: Dont Do Drugs.

haha, welcome to the family.

-RoMeO

tmak26b

haha she needs a safe car, she got into 4 accidents this past year, she took out some paint off the lip today, just great

puch96

What power steering fluid?

CarAndDriver

That's what every review has said about the Z suspension, esp. the optional sport ones. The 8 rides like a luxury car in comparison.

The new Z is supposed to be more gentle.

tmak26b

Unless they change something in 06, all 03-05 have the SAME suspension. (NISMO doesnt count because they are port installed). The only thing they modify is some of the suspension component, everything else is the same.