i've been reading a lot of posts about people reving to 3-4 K before turning off the engine. I understand this helps push out unburnt gas from the chambers, but are there any side effects on having the rotors spin while the engine is off? Does the oil pump still inject oil to lubricate the seals or...does that not matter?
Info pleaseeeee
thank you!

people used to do that when flooding was an issue with the RX-8. No longer an issue with the newer plugs, upgraded starter and battery.

you can turn your car off like normal. :)

wow thanks for the quick response! haha....but maybe i'm paranoid...I've recently purchased my 2008 rx8 and i had a time when it just took a little longer to start up the car( it didn't sound as smooth as normal) and after that time... i just started reving my car to 3K before turning off and I've never experienced the abnormal start up.....but now i'm worry that it might be bad for the engine because of my concern on rotor lubrication.

people used to do that when flooding was an issue with the RX-8. No longer an issue with the newer plugs, upgraded starter and battery.

you can turn your car off like normal. :)


Jedi54 has spoken! :rofl:

um.....okie....and done! haha.....

you can rev it if you want, you won't hurt the engine.

If not fully warmed, I do the 3k rpm rev, hold for ten seconds,and shut off while spooling down. May not still be necessary but I'm not taking any potenital flooding chances. Zero floods in three years and 20K miles for me.

I shut off normally and been fine however have had a few long starts lately but I"m not on the upgraded starter so before my warranty runs out in Feb i need to go to the dealer complaining of that and rough idle!

^^ get it done sooner then later. Those last few thousand miles of warranty really do go by quickly! You'll love the new starter! I forget how big of a difference the starter makes until I'm at a meet and I hear someone with the old version, that thing sounds SO SLOW and just seems to take forever to start.

^yeah well mileage is not a prob unless I put about 8,000 miles on in like a few weeks just runs out sometime in Feb so I just need to go this week...do u think going with the printed out TSB will help things move along easier?

I'd have it with me just in case.

that's what i figured i know it wouldnt hurt....i also want them to check outthe motor mounts they may b going or are bad!

Wait are you guys saying that we can now turn the car off when fully cold after a few seconds and not have to worry about potential flooding?

Wait are you guys saying that we can now turn the car off when fully cold after a few seconds and not have to worry about potential flooding?

I've been shutting off cold for years now... no problems here.
oddly enough, the only times i get the longer crank (which is pretty rare) is when the engine is warm.

like i said b4 Jedi always helping a brother out!

i've been reading a lot of posts about people reving to 3-4 K before turning off the engine. I understand this helps push out unburnt gas from the chambers, but are there any side effects on having the rotors spin while the engine is off? Does the oil pump still inject oil to lubricate the seals or...does that not matter?
Info pleaseeeee
thank you!

I use to do this till I flooded my 8 one night missed a day of work and spend all day at the dealer ship. I was pissed. Just turn it off.

Not to mention it looks pretty cool revvvving when you shut down the engine. It's a special unique thing. Funny is that I do the same when I shut down my girl's Ford Fiesta, just out of reflex !:lol:

Huh? Stronger starter/battery aside, it can't hurt to clear out excess fuel when cold, which is of course 'flooding.'

btw: don't rev and hold above 5k rpm as that would open up the add'l supply and be therefore somewhat self defeating.

I use to do this till I flooded my 8 one night missed a day of work and spend all day at the dealer ship. I was pissed. Just turn it off.

Just turn it off. Been doing that sence 2004 to my old AT and MT no issuse what so ever.

Yeah, but you live in Vegas and like playing the long odds. ;)

Just turn it off. Been doing that sence 2004 to my old AT and MT no issuse what so ever.

there is no sense in doing this other thab 4 fun.

as long as the motor's turning, the alternator is spinning and supplying power to drive the injectors... so more fuel is dumped in regardless. how is this more useful than just driving hard on your trip and shutting down normally?

this is an misunderstood myth. and its more useful for OLDer carburator type cars as they do so to build up fuel pressure in the lines for ease of the next start up.

expect to get weird looks and headscratch from older muscle car guys when they see u do this.

there is no sense in doing this other thab 4 fun.

as long as the motor's turning, the alternator is spinning and supplying power to drive the injectors... so more fuel is dumped in regardless. how is this more useful than just driving hard on your trip and shutting down normally?

No, the injectors are on the Ignition circuit they are not powered once you turn the key; that is the whole point of the procedure, to cut fuel while the rotors continue to spin down.

this is an misunderstood myth. and its more useful for OLDer carburator type cars as they do so to build up fuel pressure in the lines for ease of the next start up.

It's got nothing to do with carburator, the issue for RX8 is unburnt fuel diluting the oil film between seals and housing, which results in loss of compression and hard starts. The change from peripheral ports to side ports makes this problem more difficult on Renesis than previous rotaries.

To answer the OP, the internal oil film is plenty for the second or two it takes for the engine to spin down.

Yeah once in awhile I have a long turnover, I'm gonna milk the hell out of my warranty in a couple of weeks.

well...

so i guess i'll go ahead and rev as high as the sky when everything is shut off and see where that takes me, is what ur suggesting.

but aside from the injectors connected to the ignition.... what else?
how about the fuel pump?!

i simply saw absolutely NO point in this, and why not a single manufacturer makes this necessary on vehicle shut down.

noones motor will die on normal shut down. and i think this is a stupid thing to do... (the topic has been brought up before, and the answer was more or less for older cars with throttle plate issues or others, again.)
listen carefully, without the car running, turn the ignition off to accessory. do you hear a click?
if you don't believe me, take a closer look at your drive-by-wire TB. ever wonder why it never really is fully seated?

honestly, my opinion differs. no offense though... i simply cannot beat some peoples explanations when it comes to rotary cars. maybe i CAN learn:dunno:

but hey,thanks alot for keeping this "ricey" procedure going and getting more peopple to do it unnecessarily.

Redline a day keeps the mechanic away.........

No, the injectors are on the Ignition circuit they are not powered once you turn the key; that is the whole point of the procedure, to cut fuel while the rotors continue to spin down.



It's got nothing to do with carburator, the issue for RX8 is unburnt fuel diluting the oil film between seals and housing, which results in loss of compression and hard starts. The change from peripheral ports to side ports makes this problem more difficult on Renesis than previous rotaries.

To answer the OP, the internal oil film is plenty for the second or two it takes for the engine to spin down.

^^weird that you quoted me. funny that you didn't think that something is up by this statement that doesn't even makes sense.

if it did for a fuel injected car...lol!

but ok, seriously... spread the new urban myth. i'm with ya

Redline a day keeps the mechanic away.........

this procedure is... more believable, on the other hand.

sarcasm aside, what you say is actually a good exercise. and we don't need anything more than that on our 8.

thanks razz.

well...

so i guess i'll go ahead and rev as high as the sky when everything is shut off and see where that takes me, is what ur suggesting.

Who suggested that? The procedure under discussion is shutting down the engine at 3000 rpm. Where did you get "high as the sky"?

but aside from the injectors connected to the ignition.... what else?
how about the fuel pump?! How about it? Does your fuel pump stay on when you turn off the car? There may be residual pressure but if fuel continues to come from the injectors then you have leaky injectors, which is a separate issue.

i simply saw absolutely NO point in this, and why not a single manufacturer makes this necessary on vehicle shut down.

Rotaries are different than piston engines. Take a look at a "seal kit" for a rotary engine. The compression seal is more susceptible to flooding. And by the exhaust ports on the renesis being moved to the sides, unburnt fuel is that much more difficult to purge. Flooding was a MAJOR problem with early production run on this vehicle. That is undeniable, and that is when the shutdown procedure was advocated. The flooding problem has been greatly lessened. I didn't really bother much with the "3K shutdown" and had no floods either --- until one day I did because I'd moved the car cold about 4 times in one day. Lesson learned.

noones motor will die on normal shut down....

Cold shut-down increases the risk of flooding. The procedure lessens the risk. Will your engine die? Well, it *might* flood, though that's infrequent nowadays. It's up to you.

^^weird that you quoted me.

So that readers can see to whom and what point I am responding to. Yes it's weird. Don't worry about it.


funny that you didn't think that something is up by this statement that doesn't even makes sense.

if it did for a fuel injected car...lol!

Still hung up on the fuel injectors?

You don't believe that fuel injected engine uses an over-rich mixture on cold-start or that this engine can get unburnt fuel on the housings or diluting the oil film, reducing compression, or that 3000K shutoff turns off the fuel while the rotors continue to spin, which pumps additional air through the engine, which helps dissipate some unburned fuel? You don't believe any of that?


but ok, seriously... spread the new urban myth. i'm with ya

Thanks for your support.

Just out of curisoity is there a stamp or any markings to tell if you have the newer starter. I have an 05 and it always starts like a champ so just wondering.

New stuff is nice;)

The original "engine cranks but won't start" TSB listed the serial number for the old starter (and battery). However the updated TSB assumes the new starter is in place and therefore only discusses the de-carb procedure.

The battery is easy; old = Panasonic, new = Interstate.

I don't have the old TSB and my '8 is still snowbound or I'd look underneath. If memory serves the new starter has a suffix ("A" from below) that the old one does not.

Someone may have the old TSB. Hey... I just found it. Here's the verbiage: (btw: my late March '05 build came thru with the new starter; vehicle serial number higher than listed).

MANUAL TRANSMISSION VEHICLES:
1. Is the VIN at or below JM1FE173*** ** 150745?
- NO – Starter replacement is not necessary, go to STEP 11 in REPAIR PROCEDURE “A”.
- YES – Go to STEP 2.
2. Inspect vehicle’s starter label to determine starter type. Starter label can be seen with vehicle on hoist and
using a mirror.
- If label indicates “N3H1”, replace starter. See workshop manual section 01-19 STARTER REMOVAL /
INSTALLATION. After starter replacement, go to STEP 11 in REPAIR PROCEDURE “A”.
- If label indicates “N3H1 A”, “N3Z1” or later, do not replace starter, go to STEP 11 in REPAIR PROCEDURE
“A”.

Just out of curisoity is there a stamp or any markings to tell if you have the newer starter. I have an 05 and it always starts like a champ so just wondering.



New stuff is nice;)

Shouldn't be necessary to rev it when shutting down, but it wont hurt anything either. do it if you feel like it.

I'd never shut the engine off cold regardless though. Let it warm up till the temp needle starts to move.

i think this has been discussed before!

I've owned my MT since June 2003. I have never shut it off with the temp below the first mark, and I have always let the car idle for about 20-30 sec before shutting it down normally. I have never reved and shut down.

I have never had a flooding issue or starting problem of any kind.

News flash

Rev before shutdown, warmup before shutdown, warmup before redline, redline a day, redline under load, WOT on onramp, secret shift knob grips... none of those things will prevent gradual performance loss due to fouling and other stuff. In fact nothing along those lines improves performance for more than a day at best. Not even a "track day" tuneup works for long.

Just the nature of the thing. In addition to those above techniques, I stay in 2nd gear around 60 mph, for around a mile distance. This is known, in the high-performance rotary underground, as "cleaning the oven". There are many variations of the technique. For example, I believe in continuously modulating the throttle during that period, with repeated bursts bursts bursts. That's one thing that helps for a few days, short of replacing the spark plugs every week. The technique's only limitation is the point at which extreme powerloss occurs or other serious engine malfunction.

For 77K miles I have been revving the engine to 4,000 RPMs before shut down when the engine is not fully warmed up. I have wondered whether this has any positive effect for preventing flooding, but then I have always figured that it didn't matter. The engine isn't under load during the spin down since the transmission is not engaged, and as has been pointed out before, it sounds really cool at the gas station like I have a car that is far more sporty and car savvy than any of the losers around me. For that reason alone I recommend it. That and I have never had a flood, even on weak spark plugs.

The first time that I ever heard a guy do this was on an Alfa Romeo Typo 33 Stradale, which had a really short stroke racing engine that the carbs would flood if the engine wasn't hot. The fact that I have an engine with a similar problem only makes me think that I have just made it in the sports car world.

^or ppl look at you like you're trying to b a "ricer"

to the OP whatever u think is best I've shut mine off mine off when the needle has moved tothe first click onthe temp gauge and ti started just fine(and I have the original starter and coils at 41,000 miles)

all right the verdict says?

Rev b4 a cold shut down?
or
let the 8 warm up.. then its ok to shut her down?

cause this thread is all over the place lol :lol:

Both. Or rather, best to warmup (only takes 5 minutes). But if you can't for some reason than do the rev b4 shutdown.

- member of the zero flood club

all right the verdict says?

Rev b4 a cold shut down?
or
let the 8 warm up.. then its ok to shut her down?

cause this thread is all over the place lol :lol:

Yeah, but you live in Vegas and like playing the long odds. ;)

No the ladyz like playing with my long odds :rofl:

all right the verdict says?

Rev b4 a cold shut down?
or
let the 8 warm up.. then its ok to shut her down?

cause this thread is all over the place lol :lol:

How about; do what you want and report your findings here :)

all right the verdict says?

Rev b4 a cold shut down?
or
let the 8 warm up.. then its ok to shut her down?

cause this thread is all over the place lol :lol:

That's basically it. Just for reference, the procedure which was advocated by Mazda was to hold rpm at 3000 for 10 seconds then while still holding rpm, turn off the switch. Over time some folks have gotten into their heads to do 4000 rpm, 5000 rpm and I've even seen 6000 rpm. 3000 makes more sense as the secondary injectors don't come into play. I don't know if this procedure is advocated anymore by Mazda. I'd suspect not, as they probably want to declare the flooding problem fixed. Which it mostly is. The 3K shutdown is cheap insurance though, especially if you're doing something like moving the car 10 feet out of the garage, etc... It's a minor issue. But hey, any good sports car needs some type of ritual!