Please Help the Noob

[firefightingdj]

I just purchased a 2004 RX-8 yesterday. Its silver, grand touring ed with the MT This is my first Mazda and my first rotary engine. I have read all the stickies and have searched here for a few hours, however I still have some questions.

My car has a turbo badge on the rear of the car, did the RX-8 come with a factory turbo? (I cannot hear a turbo spooling up nor any blow off valve)

Is this car not fuel injected?

My car seems to be sluggish in lower RPM's is that normal?

What RPM range do you normally shift at to conserve fuel in every day driving?

Thanks in advance, I am looking forward to learning more about my car and knowing how I am being a regular here on the forum. I am sure I will get the mod bug and start modding as soon as I understand the car more.

 

[DocBeech]

You have a lot of learning to do in the sense of how a rotary engine works and what you need to look for. First you need to start reading and researching all the old threads. I will make a short list and answer these questions for you.

No the RX8 did not come with a turbo, pop you hood if you don't see a turbo you don't have one.

Yes the car has fuel injectors but no its not direct injection. You have 6 fuel injectors just FYI.

The rotary engine has rotary lag. Your best option if you want to stay in performance range is to keep above 4K rpm. But thats only after the motor is warmed up. While the engine is still cold you need to be below 4K rpm to prevent damage.

You wont save much fuel but you can keep the engine inside of 2K - 3K RPM if it worries you that much. Keep in mind though our engines need to be redlined out to 9K at least once a day. If not twice.

You have a lot of learning to do so I will keep the curve short at first. Check your oil every 2 - 3 fill ups. Run 10-30W castrol GTX until you learn more. Your best power curve is in the 6K-9500K range.

 

[solidtrance]

Welcome. I hope you got a compression test prior to your purchase. If not, you should do that now. The RX8's engine does not get through the lower RPM's quickly, however I wouldn't say it is "sluggish" either. I guess it depends on what you are comparing it with. The engines on the '04 model year had more problems than the other years, and the ignition system in the RX8's is notoriously weak and should be changed every 30-45K. Once you have ruled out the compression and the ignition system, I would be concerned with the bogus "turbo" badge and your observation of a "slugglish" engine. I would suggest you do a little investigation and maintenance to see if you can clear this up and to ensure that the engine is working properly. We could give you more specific recomendations if you provide more information and a picture of your engine bay would allow us to tell you pretty quickly if there is anything aftermarket there. For a start I would think the following jobs are in order:

Cois, Plugs, Plug Wires
Oil Change
Diff/Trans Fluid Change
Brake Fluid Flush (check pad wear while you are at it)

The only one that may relate to your observations is the Plug/Wire/Coils, and the rest are a good idea if you don't know for sure what the cars maintenance scedule has been.