Fall has arrived here in the NW and around other parts of the country. Soon It will catch up with the rest of you and Winter will be upon us as well.

With that in mind there are a few things everyone should remember about your RX-8 at this time of year. Many new owners may not have experienced these things yet. With the amount of new people owning Used 2004s and 2005s I thought this might help.


Flooding-

Because of the design of the Renesis it is possible to flood them when moving short distances when the engine is cold. Remember that warming your car up is the best way to avoid this. Instead of just moving the car cold from the garage to the driveway and shutting it off, take a turn around the block. Gives you a few minutes seat time and you will thank yourself later when the car starts.



Loss of power when cold-

Talking about warming up the car brings up another topic. High Revs on a cold engine is a bad thing. To help keep your engine safe the RX-8s PCM can and will lower the effective redline until the engine is properly warmed up. So when you feel a loss of power at @ 6000rpm just after you started driving that’s the PCM pulling timing to save the engine. Drive casually a little longer.

Update- For 2009 Mazda has added a a "moving redline" to the Tachometer so you can actually see what the limit is and how it raises as the car comes to proper operating temps



Frothy Dipstick-

When checking your oil you may notice a frothy, milky, yellowy substance on the dipstick. This is condensation and is quite normal. Especially this time of year as the dipstick tube can be very cold, giving the condensation a perfect place to form. If it disturbs you there is a redesigned and insulated dipstick tube available from Mazda.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...50-06-1664.pdf



TPMS-

The more the temperature drops the less pressure is in your tires. The TPMS light on the dash- looks like this (!)- will light to tell you the tires need to be inflated. Some folks will post to us that the light was on in their dash but they drove to the place with the air filling station and checked their tires only to find the pressures were fine. They surmise then that it must be a sensor/light malfunction.

That is incorrect.

That driving heated up the tires and the air inside thereby increasing the pressures and giving false gauge readings. Check your tires BEFORE driving. Note the amount of air needed for each tire, and then ADD that amount when you get to the place with the air filling station.

And please folks don’t pay for air! Remember you can always use that inflation kit in your trunk that came in the car.



Tires-

The OEM RE040 tires are NOT WINTER TIRES. They dont have the tread for snow and they turn into bricks when it gets cold. If you expect to travel much this winter on snowy roads or in consistently below 35F temps your downfall will be the RE040s. Please, please, please get a set of steel wheels with some dedicated snow tires. They will save you allot of hassle and us allot of “the rx-8 sucks in the snow” threads. Really the rx-8 drives fine. Just remember it’s a RWD car, which many of you might not be familiar with, and get those snows on!



Radiator-

Fall is a good time to check that your coolant/antifreeze is the right mixture. You can get the appropriate gauge at any automotive store. Make sure you have the right mix for the winter temperatures you will normally face in your area. If you haven't done one on your car and it’s a couple of years old it’s also a good time to do a radiator drain and refill.

Remember folks- if you see the Lincoln Memorial start to shine on your dash, that’s the low coolant sign. Put a little 50/50 coolant /water mix into the coolant reservoir to top it off.

Important Note(thanks delhi)- Before adding any coolant you need to determine if your car came filled with FL22 type coolant. To do so look at the coolant cap- If you have FL22 it will be printed there. Most '06 and newer Mazda's come with the FL22-type. If yours is one of them don't use/mix any other type coolant with the FL-22.



If you're in Snow prone or Ice prone areas its a good time to check that you have a ice scraper/ brush in your car. Also top off your Washer fluid and keep the extra in your car for those snowy days.



Thanks for Reading!Keep the Dirty Side down!

 

excellent PSA post zoom, thanks

 

awesome post Zoom!
You just ruined all my fun for the next few months.

 

i agree..

nice post zoom

 

thanks for the heads up!

 

Not Today! its 75 degrees in Stamford CT!

 

Thanks for the knowledge!

 

Very good, thank you so much.

 

Flooding - never happened to me
Loss power when cold - I always let my car idle at LEAST a minute before I move.
Frosty Dipstick - Does not bother me.
TPMS - I check my pressure every 2-3 weeks, just to be sure that I did not catch a nail by accident.
Tires - I have all season on, I know its not enough, looking to buy 2 OEM wheels back, and put 4 winter tires on (cuz 2 of my OEM were bent, NYC roads are WONDERFUL!)
Radiator - Flush my coolant twice 2 weeks ago, each time refill with 50/50 with water wetter. I will flush it again this week or next week, but this time with RP ICE, just to see what is the different.

Great Advise ! I guess I pass the check list

 

I don't drive in the snow. I just stay home.

 

lllluckyy

 

Good information. Although,I think Mazda did away with the plastic dipstick tube in favor of a ventilation kit. Then again that was a long time ago so I could be wrong.

 

Good advice. I only have one thing to add. Some rx-8 comes with FL22 coolant. DO NOT mix anything other than FL22-type liquid! This special blend lasts for 192,000km. Mixing it will severely degenerate its capabilities to the regular stuff. You can order FL22 coolant from Mazda.

 

does it work better than the normal antifreeze/coolant

 

I always thought that was the "You are now passing the Colosseum sign."

good post zoom. Let's hope all the new folks find it and read it! If not...

 

I don't drive in the snow either, I take my Jeep.

Excellent checklist however, especially the high performance OEM tires in the cold. I do run my '8 on sunny/warmer weekends during the Winter, but not in very cold temps.

 

thanks guys for reading and the kudos. delhi thanks for the reminder- i have added a note about fl22 in the op

 

where is it?

 

in the radiator section

 

updated the fl22 note for clarity

 

gee....... I hope people read this.

 

ok, i wll look, the only thing i added is water wetter

 

I have an '05, it doesn't say FL22, the coolant in there is the traditional green 'universal' color of low-silicate A/F. what color is FL22?
If mine is just universal low-silicate coolant and not FL22 or other Extended-Life variant, it's probably time for a complete flush 'n' fill!!

 

good thing mine's already at 66k and already has 2 full coolant flush done to it already lol.

 

I vote sticky!!