I just bought a new 2005 rx8 two days ago and have put about 150 miles on it mostly highway ,the merrit parkway in CT. i have been keeping it under 100 no faster than 70 at this point and iam making sure not to stay at any steady speed and not open throttle , Is there anything i have to adhere to ., the dealership called me today and told me i can get the updated sparkplugs for my 05 at no cost ,they said the car will run better with less engine fouling.i really love the car and cant wait to open it up and enjoy it. how much oil does these cars use . the dealer said about a qt every 1000 miles more depending on high performance driving . i never had to break in any of my other cars how important is it for this version of engine., also the 05 has 238 hp and does the 06 have 232 or is it just a different rating my car was built dec.2005 ,do i have to worry about the tsbs i have read about thermal this and other problems ,anyway Iam happy to have joined the rx family
new owner of 2005 rx8 speed /
- Thread starter dug06824
- Start date
Here is what Racing Beat says to do (they are a leading parts maker for rotary and miata cars)
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX8 Break in.htm
Dont feel bad if you havent/wont do that. I did that on my '05 6speed, also i have seen other rotary mechanics in Japan says similar things to Racing Beat in terms of break-in.
If you follow the guidelines in the owners manual, then you are fine as far as warranty goes.
What break-in gives the car better performance and longer life? who knows.....?
As far as oil, my car uses about 1qt ever 1k miles. Give or take. So what the dealer told you is spot on. I check the oil everytime I get gas, but once or twice a month, or every other tank of gas is about right.
Keep the oil lvl as close to full as you can, cause its not just lubrication, its also 30% of the engine cooling.
There are 'hot' and 'cold' plugs for the car, it sounds kinda strange that the dealer wants to give you the plugs for free (they retail for around $150 + install) so they might be trying to get you back to the dealer for "Free Plugs" and then recomend some other services.
They wont make much of a difference in the performance of the car, or the gas miliage......maby 2-4 hp and maby 1mpg......so its not worth it if thats your goal, but the car does need new plugs (recomended at 30K miles, I do mine every 15 (once a year) on all my cars) so see if you can get the free plugs and save them for a change later on down the road.
The HP raiting of this car has been under debate for a long time. The 1/4 mile performance of the car, as well as dyno #'s suggest the rx8 has around ~220hp at the flywheel. The difference in the raiting of the 05 to 06 is cause of the new SAE power raiting system, there is no acutal difference in the cars engines.
http://www.racingbeat.com/RX8 Break in.htm
Dont feel bad if you havent/wont do that. I did that on my '05 6speed, also i have seen other rotary mechanics in Japan says similar things to Racing Beat in terms of break-in.
If you follow the guidelines in the owners manual, then you are fine as far as warranty goes.
What break-in gives the car better performance and longer life? who knows.....?
As far as oil, my car uses about 1qt ever 1k miles. Give or take. So what the dealer told you is spot on. I check the oil everytime I get gas, but once or twice a month, or every other tank of gas is about right.
Keep the oil lvl as close to full as you can, cause its not just lubrication, its also 30% of the engine cooling.
There are 'hot' and 'cold' plugs for the car, it sounds kinda strange that the dealer wants to give you the plugs for free (they retail for around $150 + install) so they might be trying to get you back to the dealer for "Free Plugs" and then recomend some other services.
They wont make much of a difference in the performance of the car, or the gas miliage......maby 2-4 hp and maby 1mpg......so its not worth it if thats your goal, but the car does need new plugs (recomended at 30K miles, I do mine every 15 (once a year) on all my cars) so see if you can get the free plugs and save them for a change later on down the road.
The HP raiting of this car has been under debate for a long time. The 1/4 mile performance of the car, as well as dyno #'s suggest the rx8 has around ~220hp at the flywheel. The difference in the raiting of the 05 to 06 is cause of the new SAE power raiting system, there is no acutal difference in the cars engines.
just got back from the dealer today, they installed the new plugs for free and said they were colder plugs than what i had and that it would help in starting when it gets colder. I have driven about 450 miles with out needing any oil, the mechanic said if it doesnt use oil then there would be a problem, i havent had any flooding problems and the only complaint i have is minor , I thought that since i have the bose upgraded six speaker that my cd player held 6 cds but nope it holds only one , i have been using only mobil prem gas even knowing I can run 87 octane, if prices go way out of site i might mix some 87 half with 91 but for know while Iam breaking it in it gets the best, the local station sells racing gas 104Plus i forgot to ask the mechanic today how it would run on itKYLiquid said:
the colder plugs are 'less agressive' so they will acutaly give you worse performace/power (but were talking like 1-3hp...so you cant even tell) but they will help the car run better and be less prone to flooding.
It will burn oil, the oil injection is based on RPM and load. So the more you push the car, the more oil it will use. If it doesnt use any oil, you will notice your motorblow up before you notice the oil level isnt droping. Dont worry about it, its using oil.
The Bose system is just the amp and speakers, the headunit is the same. The car comes stock with the single CD player head unit. You can upgrade to the 6 disk in dash, or the MP3CD player in dash, I belive the upgrade is about 300 bucks. Not to bad if you want to do it. The bose system isnt bad (I have the Touring model) but I found that adding a single 10" Infinity Baselink sub that the low end is much improved and it made the system sound quite a bit better.
I only use Shell and Chevron 93 octane, the are the only 'Top Tier Gas' retailers in the area. Honda, BMW and GM (as well as others) got together and decided that the 'detergents' and other adatives required by the government arent enough to keep the carbon buildup from happening in modern cars. They setup a new standard that only 'Top Tier Gas' retails follow. To be Top Tier they have to have all 3 grades of gas meet these new requirement set by the car makers. Independent lab tests have shown that Chevron and Shell are 2 cleanest burning gasolines on the market (that you can get at a pump and not via ordering drums). http://www.toptiergas.com/ Anyway thats besides the point.
93 octane will allow the motor to run the maximum ammount of timing advance and the motor will have better response and performance cause of it. If you run lower grades of gas, you wont/cant hurt the motor, but the car will reduce the timing, cause of that throtle response and performance/power will be reduced.
If you are planing on 'mixing' 91 (you must be in CA or somewhere, as we have 93 down here in FL) why not just run 89 octane? Most gas companys only carry a high-octane blend (91/93) and a low-octane blend (87) the 'mid-grade' is a mix that the distributor makes so your getting some high and some low already mixed.
As far as race gas goes, you need to make sure of 1 thing : DO NOT RUN LEADED RACE GAS, that goes for all OBDII cars (cars made after '96, and any car with a catalytic converter or oxygen (o2) sensors). The lead addative will DESTROY, not damage but DESTROY o2 sensors and catalytic converters.
Going back to what I said about running lower octane gas vs higher octane. The car (and most modern cars) will look at the octane raiting of the gas, they will run as much timing advance, ect that they can SAFELY run on whatever octane you put in. Some cars can take advantage of the higher octane 93+ (such as the 104 you saw, or the C16 (117 octane) we carry here at the shop). In the RX8 i wouldnt waste the money, the car will advance the timing a bit, but we are talking about MABEY 5hp MAX, for the price of few tank fulls, you can buy an intake or exhaust or something that will PERMANITY make the power.
104Plus, that sounds like a 76 station? They also have Top Tier Gas (i belive, check the site). Mobil's 91/93 octane is pretty good, but cause their lower grades of gas dont meet the Top Tier Standards, they dont make it on the list.
If you Have any other questions, let me know.
It will burn oil, the oil injection is based on RPM and load. So the more you push the car, the more oil it will use. If it doesnt use any oil, you will notice your motorblow up before you notice the oil level isnt droping. Dont worry about it, its using oil.
The Bose system is just the amp and speakers, the headunit is the same. The car comes stock with the single CD player head unit. You can upgrade to the 6 disk in dash, or the MP3CD player in dash, I belive the upgrade is about 300 bucks. Not to bad if you want to do it. The bose system isnt bad (I have the Touring model) but I found that adding a single 10" Infinity Baselink sub that the low end is much improved and it made the system sound quite a bit better.
I only use Shell and Chevron 93 octane, the are the only 'Top Tier Gas' retailers in the area. Honda, BMW and GM (as well as others) got together and decided that the 'detergents' and other adatives required by the government arent enough to keep the carbon buildup from happening in modern cars. They setup a new standard that only 'Top Tier Gas' retails follow. To be Top Tier they have to have all 3 grades of gas meet these new requirement set by the car makers. Independent lab tests have shown that Chevron and Shell are 2 cleanest burning gasolines on the market (that you can get at a pump and not via ordering drums). http://www.toptiergas.com/ Anyway thats besides the point.
93 octane will allow the motor to run the maximum ammount of timing advance and the motor will have better response and performance cause of it. If you run lower grades of gas, you wont/cant hurt the motor, but the car will reduce the timing, cause of that throtle response and performance/power will be reduced.
If you are planing on 'mixing' 91 (you must be in CA or somewhere, as we have 93 down here in FL) why not just run 89 octane? Most gas companys only carry a high-octane blend (91/93) and a low-octane blend (87) the 'mid-grade' is a mix that the distributor makes so your getting some high and some low already mixed.
As far as race gas goes, you need to make sure of 1 thing : DO NOT RUN LEADED RACE GAS, that goes for all OBDII cars (cars made after '96, and any car with a catalytic converter or oxygen (o2) sensors). The lead addative will DESTROY, not damage but DESTROY o2 sensors and catalytic converters.
Going back to what I said about running lower octane gas vs higher octane. The car (and most modern cars) will look at the octane raiting of the gas, they will run as much timing advance, ect that they can SAFELY run on whatever octane you put in. Some cars can take advantage of the higher octane 93+ (such as the 104 you saw, or the C16 (117 octane) we carry here at the shop). In the RX8 i wouldnt waste the money, the car will advance the timing a bit, but we are talking about MABEY 5hp MAX, for the price of few tank fulls, you can buy an intake or exhaust or something that will PERMANITY make the power.
104Plus, that sounds like a 76 station? They also have Top Tier Gas (i belive, check the site). Mobil's 91/93 octane is pretty good, but cause their lower grades of gas dont meet the Top Tier Standards, they dont make it on the list.
If you Have any other questions, let me know.
mazdaspeed/se-r
Member
- :
- Nissan, Sentra SE-R
the plugs they installed in there are a recall item like he said due to flooding they should also installed a stronger battery and faster spinning starter if the car wasnt equiped. some have it some dont. im a tech at a mazda dealership and we get soo many of the 04/05 rx8's in that were flooded. its a pain to do. you have to pull all the plugs and squirt oil into the plug holes to restore compression and crank it over till no fuel comes out the plug holes. put the updated plugs in and crank,crank,crank for about 5 minutes and then it smokes like crazy for about a minute after started then everything is fine. dont worry though its just a recall and its good that you took care of it before it happens to you
a little tip on how to not make your car flood even with the new plugs. before you shut the car off rev the car to 3500 or so and hold it there for a couple seconds and shut the key off. this will make sure all the fuel leaves the housing so it will never be a problem. this is in no way bad for the motor. it even says to do that on the delivery tag the dealerships get for moving, loading and unloading the car. hope this helps
a little tip on how to not make your car flood even with the new plugs. before you shut the car off rev the car to 3500 or so and hold it there for a couple seconds and shut the key off. this will make sure all the fuel leaves the housing so it will never be a problem. this is in no way bad for the motor. it even says to do that on the delivery tag the dealerships get for moving, loading and unloading the car. hope this helps
mazdaspeed/se-r said:
you only need to do this when the motor is cold. As Mazdaspeed/se-r said : shutting the motor off at around 3500 rpm means the rotors are still spining for a few RPMs after the fuel injection is turned off, so that it gets all the fuel out of the system, this also helps with vapor lock.
i saw a copy of the delivery slip with those instructions,it also said to destroy before delivering the car, i thought that was interesting as far as reving and shuuting off do you leave your foot on the gas as you shut it off or time the shut off as the tach needle falls to the 3500 or 3000rpm rangeKYLiquid said:
mazdaspeed/se-r
Member
- :
- Nissan, Sentra SE-R
no just hold the rpms at 3000 or so for a couple seconds and shut it off and let off the gas at the same time.
