wcs

iTrader: (2)

@burn89 Seriously
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-major-horsepower-upgrades-93/

Plenty of night time reading. Your question is way to encompassing to answer in a single post

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes, the coolant sensor in the bottle is known to fail. It does require buying an entire new coolant bottle, since the sensor is embedded. Ignoring the light and watching the level is viable, but obviously, can get you into trouble if you forget.

First, expect at least $10,000 investment to go forced induction. If the parts are cheap, the labor, fabrication, and tuning isn't. If the parts are expensive, you might be able to get the labor and fabrication cheap, assuming it's actually a good quality kit with the correct parts. Go cheap on the parts, labor, fabrication and/or tuning, and the rest of the $10,000 will be to rebuild the engine.

And no, I'm not exagerating or joking. Go to the thread linked above and start reading. Get familiar with all the problems.

No turbo kit will work with the RX-8 out of the box. EVERY SINGLE ONE requires lots of customization minimum.

Once you accept that price tag, and have read up on stuff, THEN start looking for options.

Avoid ebay as much as possible. You might get lucky, there are a few legitimate sellers selling our parts that know what they are talking about and doing, but most are hands-off traders that know nothing, or are actively trying to scam you. It isn't worth swimming with the sharks just to pet the little bright fish. Your engine isn't worth the risk.

MAF cleaner is $5 from your local auto parts store.
Plugs are various places, including Amazon believe it or not. But Blackhaloracing.com is a vendor here, and sells them for just about the cheapest possible, so support a forum vendor rather than random companies.
Wires are available from BHR or Mazmart pretty cheap as well.
Coils are best from Mazmart, again a forum vendor, and pennies off the cheapest you can get elsewhere.

The are both great vendors with outstanding reputations, and won't steer you wrong or rip you off.

burn89

Lol my apologies.. Thought this was a thread to ask those type of questions.... From reading the previous posts i assumed that we were suppose to maybe ask a couple questions in here first, but apparently i was mistaken...

Mazurfer

^......one small edit RIWWP. If you unplug the sensor there at the left of the bottle, then you won't get a coolant level warning light.
But..........of course you are still on your own in making sure the level is okay, but you won't be staring at a light on the dash to remind yourself just how cheap and lazy you are for not getting a new bottle!

burn89

Yes, i do understand that it is going to be a nice chunk of change to go forced induction, but i have already taken that into perspective as well as the time. I did not know that there was that much customization involved though, so that is helpful information. I have plenty of time before i can even touch the 8 so i can explore all the options. Thanks for the tip RIWWP

Rtrhead

Is it necessary to replace the stock water temp and oil press/temp gauges? I've been reading about the options, are there any popular ones besides Racing Beat's? My 2004 RX-8 is stock with 65k miles, so not sure if this should be required or is just for those adding more power/higher temps. I'm in FL, but my needles don't move much, though I know they're not the most accurate from reading several threads on the matter.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Oil pressure gauge is a pure dummy gauge. If it is a bit past halfway, then it means "yes, you have oil pressure". If it is at either end of the gauge, it means something is critically wrong.

The water temp gauge is decently accurate, once it is straight up of warm, it won't move again until you pass the critical stage.


No requirement for replacing either, but many do for peace of mind.

Mazurfer

Captain Obvious says................let's not say "replacement", but rather "adding" additional gauges that actually tell us something before reaching critical mass.

Rtrhead

Point taken. Any other options besides Racing Beat's? Saw a couple of pics of different installations but no info.

callan

Awesome post. Just turned 20 and had my '05 8 for three weeks now. I thought I knew a lot but it never ends. appreciate everyone's input to make my rotary experience a good/successful one!

RX8Lovah

So i didnt want to post a new thread, for a question i know has already been answered, been using search for past 2 hours with no success on finding what i once saw back in May...
oKay, bought car in May 57/58k miles got a oil/ filter change... drove 1000 miles home exactly. checked dip stick says its full... put half a quart in anyways! Got the Catalytic converter replaced as it was failing.
its now 60200 miles and the dipstick still says its full. we havnt taken any trips just daily driving, 4-10 miles a day sometimes none. Not havnt any start problems or power problems.
Just figured i would be seeing a variation of high - low after driving 3 months lol.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

A few things could be happening here:

1) If the oil change place overfilled the oil, and it burned down to "full", then you added oil, and it burned down to "full", you aren't seeing a change, but it is actually burning oil.

2) Your OMP is either failing, or has failed, and you aren't injecting any, or enough, oil. In which case your seals aren't getting the needed lubrication, and you need to start premixing ASAP till you get it figured out at least. With no OMP, I'd premix at least 8oz per tank, but 12oz might be better. I wouldn't recommend going above that or you can start clogging your fuel filter.


Are you seeing any soot accumulation on the rear bumper and/or tail pipe tips?

cbaumy34

hey im thinking of picking up a rx8 when im done with school in 3 semesters, my question is the 4700 greddy kit offered by many vendors will still cost me another 3300 to finish the kit? I just sold my srt 4 neon with 300 whp and really want my next car to be forced induction. any help is appreciated.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

EASILY another 3,300. Probably more. I'd head over to the Major Horsepower Upgrades subforum and find some GReddy build threads and start reading them. It should give you a really good idea of what all is involved.

cbaumy34

Thanks for the really quick response and I'm really excited to finish school and pick one up. My first mod after maitnece will be full exhaust does that sound like a good plan of attack?

RX8Lovah

You know i saw stuff on the tail pipes and didnt think anything of it.. Is that bad? please god tell me its because it is burning oil! Lol

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

The tips should blacken up (without regular cleaning), along with the rear bumper and trunk with oil soot.

It's easier to see on light surfaces obviously, but should still be detectable regardless of your color by wiping a hand or white cloth across it.

Fuel also blackens the tips, but it's not quite the same thing, or in the same amounts.

This is the only thread I found with OMP failure discussion clearly.
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ht=OMP+failure

It sounds like it should throw a CEL if a part has actually failed, but not really if the nozzles are clogged, or what the fix might be. I'd suggest either bumping that thread or creating a new one to discuss it. Certainly want to get it addressed if you do have a clog or pump failure.

Mazurfer

^..................my bet is that it's like you first said................they(including she) keeps overfilling it, so it actually is using some oil. She needs to quit overfilling it or it's going to lead to ther issues(MAF etc. on down the line). "RX8Lovah"....use the diip stick, that's why it's there. Don't overfill it and if it's now at the full mark, then just add when 1/2 or 1 qt. low

WTBRotary!

iTrader: (6)

Just a question, if your CAT is clogged will you be able to tell by looking at your O2 sensor? I forget...

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

If you cat is clogged, the cat will be building up excess heat, so your EGTs will be climbing, you might get a red metal glow around the rear O2 sensor, if that is what you are referring to. The glow can spread elsewhere on the cat, but that is the thinnest point I believe, so generally shows first. You can get cat failure without that glow though. Tapping on the cat and hearing rattling is a better way. Removing the cat and looking inside is the best way.

Lane03

You might want to add the information from this thread on MIAC (marbles in a can) and how to fix it:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/please-help-potential-new-owner-question-miac-181950/

SpeeD_TeaSe

Hey guys, I just got off the phone with Mazda Performance because I brought my 04 there yesterday because the rpm's move from 1 to 0.5 during idle and seems to be sort of knocking but I never heard what knocking sounds like so I am not sure the sound is hard to explain like it sounds like a cycle that is noticeable and then not like vrrrrrrrr.......vrrrrrrrrr........vrrrrrrr lol not sure if anyone understood that but anyways so Mazda tells me before they can do a diagnostic they have to change the coils because of misfire issues...but i never had loss of power in any sort or have no problem reaching 9k rpm. They quoted me 750$ for only the coils... I find that ridiculous so I am thinking of ordering some up from mazdaparts or amazon or something and change them myself along with the plugs and wires from the DIY post then bringing it back, so I am wondering if this is a good idea or if anyone has any suggestions for me. Thanks for your time I am sorta freaking out because I just bought the car it has 117km on it so roughly 75k miles and I cannot afford repairs of 750 just to see what's wrong..

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yeah $750 for the coils is blatent theft of your wallet.

Mazmart for the coils, $35 each = $140 total
Mazmart, or BHR, or Amazon for the plugs, $20 each = $80 total
Mazmart, BHR, or Amazon for the wires, $60 or so for the set of 4.
(I'd support a vendor forum over Amazon though, help them stick around.)

So $280 for the parts for everything, and maybe an hour or so to swap them in yourself with simple tools. No complication or difficulty to it.

I would suspect that this will solve your idle problem. Unstable idle can be many things, but it is usually ignition related.

If this doesn't fix it, pick up a can of MAF cleaner from the autoparts store for $5 and hose the heck out of your MAF sensor, let it dry, and put back.

If it still isn't fixed, then yeah, you might want to consider bringing it to the dealer, but bring the receipts showing what you bought and replaced.

If the dealer insists that they have to do the change, give Mazda North America Operations a call, and show the dealer the receipts of purchase. Don't stand for that. They are just trying to collect your money.

My bet is that you won't get that far though. People underestimate how much is affected by a 100% healthy ignition vs an 80% healthy ignition.

SpeeD_TeaSe

Alright thanks a lot RIWWP, so il change that to see if it makes a difference, i went to Canadian Tire (I live in Canada) and to the Mazda Performance and both of them had no clue what a MAF cleaner was, Canadian Tire offered a spray Carb Cleaner or something and I didn't want to take a chance because the parts gentleman wasn't sure himself, is there a specific company that maybe they have in the states and not in Canada? I wouldn't think so I just found that it was strange the Mazda dealer had no clue what I was talking about. Also just a quick question, i bought some engine coolant because I beleive mine is running low, i cannot properly see the coolant level on the side box but when I open the cap it seems pretty low so do I only put it in with distilled water? Or do I absolutely need to perform a coolant flush?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

No idea what MAF cleaner is? Odd. It's labeled...."MAF Cleaner".

You can add 50/50 coolant to existing coolant. No need for a flush unless you believe you need it.

If you suspect that it has never been flushed, then you might want to consider flushing it anyway before winter. And flushing is just drain and replace, multiple times if you would like. Something you can do as well.