This thread is to accompany ongoing debate here (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=202154#post202154) and elsewhere. My belief is that flooding, while serious when it occurs, is not likely, and far less likely to strike the same person twice. This is because, once burned, you will take precautions not to get bit twice.

If this is true, that means flooding, or avoidance thereof, is largely within our control and to a great extent if you flood it means you did not understand the hazard of same in a rotary or got careless.

Let's see if my theory holds up. Please take the time to vote regardless of your personal experience. I predict we will see half a bell curve, esp if you add together the first two answers, tailing off sharply at one end. Thanks!

i have never flooded it and hope i never do. the only way it would happen to me is if i moved my 8 cold and somehow wasnt thinking and forgot to warm it up and turned it off. so in my case i make a concerted effort to warm it up everytime. if i did forget to warm it up and it didnt start obviously its a pain to get a tow truck and take it to the dealership not to mention the possible bad affect on the engine.

now i see early in the poll results that some people take no precautions and it hasnt flooded yet. interesting.

I live in Hawaii and the ambient even on a cold night doesn't get below mid 60s...the car is just about warmed up from the get go.

Originally posted by i3man
I live in Hawaii and the ambient even on a cold night doesn't get below mid 60s...the car is just about warmed up from the get go.

Interesting observation. Maybe another poll is warranted later. Who has flooded vs how cold it is where you live. I'm in the San Diego area, so far no problem. In fact, I don't know anyone here who has flooded.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
Interesting observation. Maybe another poll is warranted later. Who has flooded vs how cold it is where you live. I'm in the San Diego area, so far no problem. In fact, I don't know anyone here who has flooded.

i'm in NJ and on a cold day it can take 5 minutes or more just to warm it up.

Originally posted by RX-GR8
i'm in NJ and on a cold day it can take 5 minutes or more just to warm it up.

How do you know when it's warmed up? Or more specifically, how do you know it's warmed up enough not to flood after you shut down?

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
How do you know when it's warmed up? Or more specifically, how do you know it's warmed up enough not to flood after you shut down?

rightly or wrongly, i go by the temp gauge and wait for it to point to normal operating temp which is about halfway between cold and hot.

Edit: one time i forgot and moved it a few feet and turned it off when i tried to start it up again it cranked longer then started barely. does this prove it will flood if cold? not sure and i don't want to find out. :D

When I start up in the morning or after it's been sitting I just wait till the idle comes down to about 1200 RPM and I'm off. If I wait for it fall to 800 RPM that takes about 3 minutes. I usually give it about a minute to warm up and I go...but my engine oil and all liquids are at mid 60s at night and mid 70s in day when the car is just sitting.

Even when I had my 13B GSL-SE, it never flooded once and wasn't even aware that it was a problem back then. I used to move the RX-7 in and out of the driveway after running it for only 10-15 seconds so I was kind of surpised that flooding was such a big issue with the Renesis.

sdgsfd

quite a bell curve. Isn't there anyone out there who has flooded? Where have you all gone? I don't want to influence the poll, but I do want it to be representative.

Uh, hi. Um, I just added 1 more to the top bracket. I just don't shut it off cold. That's all. Sometimes you have to think about it though, maybe drive it around the block if you just want to get it out to wash it. No biggie though. That's just the way this engine requires me to be. No biggie.

i3man, uh, you're scaring me a little. :) I know you had a 7 some years ago, but, you're still scaring me. 60 .vs. 25 degrees ambient really isn't too big a difference in differential to the warmed-up engine operating temperature, is it? People have flooded it in the summertime too.

I keep reading about flooding problems and special precautions owners are taking not to flood the car, yet my turbo timer suggestion got dissed by a lot of people. This flooding the engine issue is a PITA.

Originally posted by Senseny
I keep reading about flooding problems and special precautions owners are taking not to flood the car, yet my turbo timer suggestion got dissed by a lot of people. This flooding the engine issue is a PITA.

I'm starting to wonder. 19 votes, and they're all zero. People disagreed with the need or effectiveness of your solution, but I kinda think the flooding issue is being vastly exagerated. BTW, i didn't diss it; I don't have the technical expertise to evaluate it. Likewise, I'm not downplaying the significance of flooding if/when it happens to you, I just don't think its as common as people are trying to say.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
I'm starting to wonder. 17 votes, and they're all zero. People disagreed with the need or effectiveness of your solution, but I kinda think the flooding issue is being vastly exagerated. BTW, i didn't diss it; I don't have the technical expertise to evaluate it. Likewise, I'm not downplaying the significance of flooding if/when it happens to you, I just don't think its as common as people are trying to say.

there have been several people that have mentioned they have flooded their 8 in other threads who have not responded to your poll. so we know right there it's not really 17-0 for no flooding and therefore we can't say that flooding is being exagerated yet. maybe someday but not now.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
I'm starting to wonder. 19 votes, and they're all zero. People disagreed with the need or effectiveness of your solution, but I kinda think the flooding issue is being vastly exagerated. BTW, i didn't diss it; I don't have the technical expertise to evaluate it. Likewise, I'm not downplaying the significance of flooding if/when it happens to you, I just don't think its as common as people are trying to say.

I agree.
In the past 18yrs I have owned three generations of 7's and none of them ever flooded. I believe the chances of my 8 flooding are minimal.

There are more than 20 RX-8 owners on these forums so I don't the sample is indicative of the problem. We know several owners have flooded their 8s so this cannot be a 100% no-flood zone.

Originally posted by i3man
There are more than 20 RX-8 owners on these forums so I don't the sample is indicative of the problem. We know several owners have flooded their 8s so this cannot be a 100% no-flood zone.

Of course there are floodees around; it just takes awhile till the statistics even out. they will show up and vote eventually. But my point is already starting to be made.

An earlier poll on flooding showed something like 13 percent had experienced flooding. Maybe that number is correct; maybe not. In my mind, 13 percent represents a huge problem. You can turn it around and say 87 percent of us haven't experienced flooding, but you can also say yeah, but our cars are still new. If it's 13 percent after a few months, where will we be after a year or two of ownership?

What I hoped to show in this poll, and probably still will, is that once you get burned by flooding, you take measures to ensure it won't happen again. the experience is too painful. And that naturally implies that flooding is, in general, a function of driver behavior. If it wasn't, then you couldn't take steps to avoid it again. So I will concede the number of floodees won't remain zero; sooner or later some "1" votes will come in. But the 2 & 3 votes may never show up, or if they do it will be an extremely tiny amount. And thus we will prove that those who think to abandon their '8 due to the "rampant" flooding problem are just badly overreacting to all the hype in earlier threads.

Or at least, that's what I hope to show. The poll is still young.

ok, who said 3 or more? Identify yourself and we will heap sympathy upon you. But otherwise I consider it a hoax; anyone who is online and voted thus would have/should have said something before in all the threads about flooding. Anyone know who it is?

Anyone else? So far only two say they have flooded more than once and I have trouble believing one of them. How much is this really NOT a problem? Please vote.

I replied that I took precautions, but that means I follow the manual and elt it run 5 minutes if it's cold. Since I dont usually start it to move it and shut down, it's not an issue for me. I just start it up, wait a minute or so, and go on my way and have not had any trouble so far.

I voted I take precautions, which is not as much as stringent as recommended. I warm up for at least 10 seconds before putting into gear. I drive a minimum of a few blocks before shutting down, even if I'm just moving into the driveway. Of course, I'm in sunny san diego and the oil never gets especially cold.

Ok, will people now accept that flooding is not the huge issue it's been made out to be? As of right now, 529 people have viewed this thread. Only two have said they flooded more than once. so, you're not likely to flood at all, and if you do the chances of doing it twice are tiny. Let it go, folks. Just take precautions and don't sweat it.

My 97 Honda Accord would do this every time in weather 50 or below. I f you backed it out of the garage and turned it off it would barely start. You had to floor it and grind it for 3 or 4 minutes before it would start. If you start it and leave it run for 2 0r 3 miutes it would be fine. You don't have to have it fully warmed up. I have had no problem with the 8 as long as I let it run a few minutes.

Here I am, the originator of this thread and I finally flooded. It was weird; there was a promonition of it but I didn't recognize it at the time. I was in Sunnyvale 500 miles north, and cranked the car after shutting down fully warmed up. The starter ground for like 2 seconds, then it caught with no problem. I didn't recognize at the time that's the sound of a flooded engine.

Two days later, I drove 500 miles back to San Diego, parked in the garage. Outside temps that night were like 40 degrees. Got in the next morning, tried to start, and bingo -- flooded engine. I did nothing wrong. Starter runs and runs, did the pedal in/pedal out thing to no avail. Called roadside service, but between them, AAA, and the towing company getting all confused, sending wrong truck, etc. I had no tow. After four freakin' hours I canceled the call, went to New Year's celebration in wife's car, and will take '8 in Friday to get unflooded. I'm due for my 10K mile check, so I'll also do that and address the oil pan & a/c TSBs so they will want the car overnight.

It's a big deal to me... I'm dead in the driveway and waiting for the tow truck to arrive tomorrow morning after wating two days for service. They tell me if they can't get to it tomorrow, I'll have to wait at least two more days...

Flooded... Emergency Start Procedure Let Me Down (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17608)

I have to say, it is unbeleivable that this problem occurs on a MY 2004 car. What does Mazda expect to do . . . tow in RX8's, replace their spark plugs, and do an oil change for every RX8 owner this happens to ?

Also is this going to be a once a year or twice a year thing for some owners ?

What if your away on vacation and this happens ?

I had a 85 RX7 GSL-SE (13b engine) & a 94 RX7 TT (for a short time) and never had this happen to me, from the sounds of it, it sounds like I was lucky.

8_wannabe
I'll be interested in what they find with your car. It doesn't sound like the normal flooding problem. It seems like you parked the car while it was warm.

To change the subject a little, I don't like the term "flooding". It makes it sound as if we sat there pumping on the gas pedal and flooded the engine. It just has the connotation of driver error and except for pulling the car in the garage after washing it there was no driver error.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
Here I am, the originator of this thread and I finally flooded. It was weird; there was a promonition of it but I didn't recognize it at the time. I was in Sunnyvale 500 miles north, and cranked the car after shutting down fully warmed up. The starter ground for like 2 seconds, then it caught with no problem. I didn't recognize at the time that's the sound of a flooded engine.

Two days later, I drove 500 miles back to San Diego, parked in the garage. Outside temps that night were like 40 degrees. Got in the next morning, tried to start, and bingo -- flooded engine. I did nothing wrong. Hey, big news. Turned out I didn't flood after all. This was puzzling, cuz I didn't shut down cold and I couldn't figure out why I should flood.

Dealer just called and said the flywheel got damaged somehow. It engages the starter, and being damaged the starter is spinning but not really engaging. They have a flywheel on order. I've been without my car since Weds, but as long as they treat me right and I can keep the loaner I'm not gonna rush them.

I see out of 80 votes only 3 say they've flooded more than once. I was wondering how to change my vote from zero to 1 but now I don't have to. Woohoo!

When I first got the car, not knowing how easy it is to flood, I moved my car from garage to driveway. Later, it started and I moved it back in the garage. Next morning, it wouldn't start, with just a whirring sound. Got towed and started at dealer with AT fluid, much cranking, a lot of smoke.

Since then, I always run it until temp gauge is up to warm, at least 5 minutes. I've sat in a carwash line, stopping and starting maybe 5 times, with no problems. Seems like with a warm engine, it won't flood. Slowly building up confidence that it will start dependably.

bump

I have flooded my RX-8 twice now and I have been taking good care of the car. So when this happened the second time, it concerned me greatly. I only have 4,600 miles on the car and it's been in the shop twice. Very disappointed with the flooding. Other than this I love the car!

Originally posted by clems
I have flooded my RX-8 twice now and I have been taking good care of the car. So when this happened the second time, it concerned me greatly. I only have 4,600 miles on the car and it's been in the shop twice. Very disappointed with the flooding. Other than this I love the car! Tell us more about this. What were the circumstances when you flooded (weather conditions, shutdown procedure, symptoms, etc.) And what has the dealer done about it. As far as I know, you are the first online to publicly 'fess up to flooding more than once.

Good luck and I hope this problem goes away for you.

YAY.. I GOT TO POST!!! :)
Once for me!!!

YAY.. I GOT TO POST!!! :)
Once for me!!!
Q:

"Location: 35.0460N, 85.3100W"

Are you in Tennessee?

Q:

"Location: 35.0460N, 85.3100W"

Are you in Tennessee?
Yup, Chatta-boogie :)