I've had my RX8 for 2 days (I bought it as a used car) and I'm quite new to the rotary engine thing and this baby of a sports coupe/car... nice to drive.. and i'm afraid that i'll get a speeding ticket driving this baby anytime soon.

Anyhow, I have these newbie questions for an RX8:

1. What's to look out for specially that the car was a used car. Do I need to do a complete tune-up even if its just barely 30,000 miles? What are the small things I need to check to ensure the car is in good condition?

2. I was reading posts here and was wondering if anyone has a "routine" on how to start and stop the car; like when you start the car, do you wait for the engine to warm-up before driving away? how many minutes does it take? When you go home/or park your car, how many seconds or minutes to do let the engine run (idle) before you (decide) to turn it off. do you rev it up then turn it off?

3. What's flooding? and How do I prevent this?

4. When I start the car, specially in the first 10 seconds that its idle (to make the car warm before i go zoom-zoom), I hear a "liquid-mixing" kind of sound. It's kinda weird, like similar to shaking a water in a container or that sort of thing. Is this normal? It goes away when the engine is warm enough.

5. What kind of Oil do you guys suggest; or what's the best oil grade/type to use for the RX-8, and how often do you "add" oil (I have read in some of the posts here that the rotary engine takes a bit of oil so eventually, the user would need to add oil every now and then).

6. Anybody here from Houston? what's the best place or shop here that does a "detailing" of the interior. The car has scratches in the plastics inside and scratches at the "cloth" ceiling. Anybody has an idea on how much "repair" or "detailing" would cost me?

Thanks and I appreciate responses. Can't wait to drive this baby and hopefully, add some mods in the future.

 

1. Change tranny fluid, diff fluid.

2. If weather permits, warm car up for 30 seconds and drive keeping rpm below 3500 rpm. Watching your temperature goes up doesn't mean your engine oil, tranny fluid, diff fluid is also warmed up, driving it gently at first will get these warmed up.

3. Just like all normal cars except don't shut it off when its not fully warmed yet.

4. Its normal.

5. Using what oil is very subjective. Just don't wait for oil level to fall below half way of dipstick mark to refill.

Please use the search button next time.

 

thanks.. i will try to get that search button to work for me...

 

Figured I would respond since I have never scene another person on the forum with "brillo" as part of their handle. Please post your location in your profile.

1. The first thing I would do at 30K is replace the sparkplugs (if it hasn't been done yet with the updated ones) and replace the tranny and diff fluid with Royal purple. Take the car to the dealer and make sure all the recalls and computer updates are done. These things in combination with the sparkplugs and tranny fluid will make the car run smoother and flooding should be a non issue. The spark plugs do have to replaced every 30K, and yes its not cheap. Only use the factory NGK plugs.

2. You don't have to sit and wait to drive the car, fire it up and keep it below 4K until the engine warms up to a little below half on the temp guage. This is very important, as you can warp the housings by hamming the engine when its not fully warmed up.

3. Flooding can be prevented by the above measures. Flooding is where to much fuel is injected into the chamber to ignite properly. This is a result of most engines running rich when cold.

4. You probably hearing the A/C system.

5. Use a good 5W-20 grade 3 mineral oil or a good synthetic like royal purple or redline. there are a whole bunch of debates on the dyno vs. synthetic issue, I run synthetic. keep a quart of oil with you at all times for spot fillups. I check mine every other tank.

6. Houston has a big rx7/rx8 club. you can see the links to our meets in the gulf section of the forum. Come out and meet the group, we can answer any other questions you might have. I'm not sure on interior repairs, but someone at the club meet will know I'm sure.

 

#4 injectors? do u hear it with koeo?

 

brillo? the handle is actually my surname. my father has spanish descendants but im not originally from here. my family just moved here in the US. anyhow, thanks again for the responses. im new to this forum so i haven't actually browsed thru it. good to hear there's a houston rx 7/8 here so i could probably consult with you guys about the 8 since im still pretty new about this mazda sports coupe. im near memorial city mall in gessner and I-10.

1. If those are the things I need to do then probably I'll go with a tune-up then. I just got back at the dealer where I got the car and asked them to add oil. I checked the oil and found out that I need to add about 1/4/ of oil. I asked the mechanics at the dealer and they told me that they are not sure about what kind of oil to put in since that was the 1st time they have to look at a rotary engine. they rather not touch it. I got to another shop (not mazda) of the dealer (this dealer carries honda, mitsubishi & subaru) and I was told to go to the subaru shop. the mechanic asked for the manual and just put a plain 5w-20. i dunno what grade though. i'm not into the "mechanics" of car engines. personally, I just want to make sure that everything would work fine for this used rx-8. anybody has an idea where to get a good tune-up for the car? how much would it cost?

On the no. 4 question.. I think its not the airconditioning. I start the car and drive off without even turning on the a/c and I always here that 'weird' thing when i start the car (always). its like a sound when you shake a liquid ('water') in a container.

what's koeo? i dunno if that's the injectors? anybody hears this?

yup brillo, hopefully meet you guys soon.

thanks again.