First off Hey great site. On to my issue.

I have an 04 auto rx8 with 84k on it. The problem I am having is, I know the po put some kind of mod on the vehicle that is supposed to have the car run at lower rpms t. From what I have read here I am supposed to have the engines rpm @ a higher power band. Right now the car rarely gets above 2.5k rpms when Im getting on it. The only way to achieve rpms in the 5-7k range is if the car stays in 2nd gear.

The other problem I have with her, is that my shift points are all over the place. Some times she wont shift out of 2nd ( which is pretty crazy I get to 50mph in 2nd), and other time its shifted to 4th @ 30mph.

So what I am wanting to know is there a way to tell what the mods are that are causing these issues with the car and are the low rpms a cause for the shift points to be out of whack like they are?

Thanks in advance

 

Wow, I mean wow .... crazy problem.
I like it .... well I mean from the point of view that it's not my problem and it's not the same old crap the noobs post on the forums.

First off, the 04 Auto RX8 is gutless. Sorry not trying to be mean, that's just a fact.
However from what you are describing something still seems wrong.

Perhaps the PO changed the Transmission or the Final Drive. Both of those items would alter the shift points.

I'm not sure if the ECU can be altered to modify shift points? Mmmmm.
The shift points will change on a automatic depending on Load/Speed and RPM.

You may also have a engine that no longer has enough power to get to higher RPM in a lower gear like 4th ....
Transmission could be failing as well .....

If I was you this would be my check list:
- Validate correct transmission is installed
- Validate final drive
- Compression Test
- Get Dealer to reflash ECU with latest update

Maybe someone else can chime in with some better ideas.

(BUMP for HELP)

 

Something I thought of after reading your reply,

The po has the leather shift boot on instead of they standard auto shifter. Would the auto tranny still work if the original tranny was a manual and the ecu wasn't switched as well?