Daekhorse290

Hello again everyone.
It has been almost a year since I purchased my RX8 and I LOVE the car.
At the moment, I am looking for a mechanic in my area (but willing to drive a bit out of my area to find one) who can tune up my 8.
I have used the search function here, but I did not find anything. It kept giving information I was not looking for, so if this is already covered I do apologize for yet another waste of thread space.
I did call a mazda dealer nearby and they say they charge 300 for a tune up.

But I want to check here first to see if anyone can recommend a location or person.
I live in the Southfield Michigan area.

I would LOVE to find a place or person capable of performing a full tune up, coils, plugs, wires, checking certain parts, and so on.

With that I do have a question, I have searched and I get various answers.
For an 8... or any car really, what does a true full tune up consist of?
And what is the average cost or any grade of tune up?

Recently I have experienced one or two misfires, though I believe those to be from me reving a bit hard on my way to work once, and over a 3 mile drive to Grand Rapids for an emergency... those are the only times my CEL blinked.

I also have the P0442 code, but that's been since day 1 and goes away, I admit I do refuel my 8 while its running... I still have a bad starter so starting it after filling it with gas is a major pain & embarrassment.

So all in all, I'd love to find a place or person who is able to perform a full tune up (even though depending on the cost i may just have the main parts changed.), and sooner or later, my starter replaced.

Holyman007

iTrader: (1)

Not a mechanic but willing to shed some advice since I've had the same problems.

Blinking Cel at high rpm usually means failing or loose plugs, coils, or wires. Most likely your plugs need changing or a good temporary cleaning.

Your hard starting could also be the above mentioned parts but depending on if its hard starting during warmed up engine, its likely a bad engine. If you're not sure you have old starter, go listen to upgraded rx8 starters on YouTube and see if yours sound familiar.

Daekhorse290

Thanks for the info my fellow 8 appreciator =3
Lets see, from the video's I watched, it is most likely a bad starter and the battery may not be preferred for optimal RX8 performance.
The main video I watched:


My starting was NOT as bad as his though. It does start fine in the morning, and when it is warm. It just doesnt like starting within minutes after being turned off.
After he installed the new starter... yeahhh mine does NOT sound like that, lol.

But I would like to add, my engine pulls very nicely so I doubt it is an engine issue / compression loss. It only pulls soft when I drive like a casual driver or rather, to timid.
But when I drive it like an RX8, come to a stop, then pull off from green, it pulls great.
Lately I have not been having the misfire issue, it was only last month (mid Feb).

But yes, I do think I am just long overdue for a good tune up.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

If you put off fixing the misfire, you'll destroy the cat, followed by the engine.

A bit of overkill, but the "rotary guy" for SE Michigan is here:

chipsmotorsports

He's also on the RX8club sometimes too.

Holyman007

iTrader: (1)

Yeah misfires are never a good thing leave ignored. Definitely change those plugs and coils and check they are on properly (DIY's are on this sight), or get someone else to do it but be prepared to pay a ton more.
You wouldn't necessary need a rotary specific mechanic but I would suggest to have a reputable mazda dealership work on it at least.

If it doesn't like starting within minutes of turning off, that seems like a bigger problem that could be linked to low compression.
Battery can be easily checked for voltage and CCA.

From my personal experience, having a bad starter/bad battery means that the starter will crank (usually many times) but the rpm will stay at or close to 0 rpm until it finally catches (sometimes it wont) and then the rpms will quickly shoot up to whatever idle should be.

With a bad engine, it will crank but the rpm will gradually creep from 200-400rpm (you can hear it struggling), and then finally catch (also sometimes won't usually during hot, depending on how bad the engine is.