06RX8

Like it says up there...I just bought my first rotary car and it happens to be an 06 rx8 with 20 miles on it. Can someone that knows a lot about these cars explain the whole engine warm up and turn of process as I do not want to flood the motor?

Also does the 06 have less bugs then the 04 version. I test drove a used 04 and it was seiroulsy shaking and had a hard time starting. The 06 was perfect.


Any advise is welcome...thanks guys!!

RotaryP7

Engine warm-up?! .. I wasn't aware of this..
I just got my 8 last month.

GTSimmo

You can flood your engine if you turn off the engine before giving it sufficient time to warm up, i.e. you turn on your car move it a little bit (say to change parking spaces) and turn off you car. The procedure to do if you flood your engine should of came with your car in a little booklet or in a short dvd.

I also suggest you read the faq thread https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-faq-9/faq-update-63747/

rglbegl

I gotta say it . . . I gotta say it . . !!!! This is my chance . . . Can't miss my chance . . .

SEARCH!!!!!!!!


There, I did it.


Welcome to the new guy. There is a ton of great info here. But trust me ; search before asking.

corners

Didn't your dealer give you a DVD? It explains everything you need to know about warmup and driving.

And yes, they've worked out a lot of bugs.

time4akshun

If your engine doesn't have sufficient time to heat up (eg small trip), you should accelerate while parked @ 3 on the tachometer for 10 seconds to wash through and built up gasoline. Then you can safely shut your car off.

Time

rglbegl

engine warm up is essential to save the apex seals. the inner and outer parts of the engine warm up at different rates. Until your thermo gauge moves, you should not rev at all. If the inner (triangle) expand before the outer (oval) you have an enlarged rotor banging against the housing until the housing heats up and expands to match the rotor. If the outer warms up quicker than the inner, you have a gap between the apex and the housing.
The hard time starting was fixed with a bigger (faster) starter motor.

I am not an expert, but that is the jist of it.

dmc27

Congrats on the new ride. Start surfing the forum - you'll find just about every Q has an A. Start w/the manual, then go from there.

Flooding is caused by operator error. Don't turn it off cold.

ken-x8

Not to be offensive, but rglbegl's explanation isn't on the mark.

Warmup for a rotary isn't really different from warmup for a piston engine. The parts do have to reach their hot sizes and clearances, and oil does need to be warm and flowing before you thrash it. With either kind of engine, it's the same deal: don't rev high or go full throttle until it's warm. FWIW, the best way to warm a cold engine is to drive at moderate throttle and low rpm.

The warmup issue with rotaries if that if you turn them off before warmed up all the way, they're prone to flooding. All engines are prone to flooding when turned off cold, but the rotary has special problems. There is more surface area involved than in a piston engine. The plugs are down low. And excess gas will flush the oil from the seals, causing loss of compression when you try to start it. As rglbegl says, the bigger starter in the newer RX-8s help that problem by spinning faster.

Anyway, there isn't anything special about warmup. Just don't turn it off cold and you'll be fine. Once you start it, though, why would you ever want to turn it off until they pry your fingers from the steering wheel?

But if you did, the rotary warms up quickly. Mine is usually up to temp in about a mile and a half of driving.

Ken

DaveCM203

If I am in a hurry on a cold morning, I don't rev it above 5K until it warms up a bit. It will be like it ran out of gas or something. I geuss that is a rotory's version of knocking. For the two years I had mine, I never had a problem starting it or it flooding. I had a job where I had to move it outside a gate at night before we closed and very rarely ran it long enough to warm it up any at all.

I also just completed a recal for a reflash of the ECU. From what I was reading, it is supposed to take care of some of the issues some people have been having.

DaveCM203

Oh, congrats on the 8. You are going to love it.

devildog1679

I think that my car is a freak of nature because in the last year(2005 6MT) that I have had it, I have had no issues what so ever. I just joined the forum about 3 months ago and before that I knew absolutely nothing about the engine flooding issue. I frequently turn on change parking spots and turn off (use to live in NYC) with no flooding issues. Now that I have opened my big mouth I better knock on wood.

ken-x8

I think they flood much more often in on-line forums than they do in real life.

But no product ever works properly in an on-line forum.

Ken

tmak26b

I agree with Ken. I had a 90 RX-7 with 170K miles and a RX-8 currently. They have never flooded.

Astral

FWIW, the 8 is revlimited to 6500 RPMs when it's cold. While I never hit that, it's yet more proof that revving high while cold is bad, such that Mazda put some protection against it, but revving some is OK.

I try not to go above 4-5K while cold. The stress increases exponentially with RPMs, so 4000K RPMs is cake compared to 7000K, for example.

06RX8

Thanks for all the posts guys. This car is awsome, i do have to say. I traded in my 06 mazdaspeed 6 and there is no comparison between the two. The 6 is faster but cant handle like the rx8.

encorez

Rev up to 3000 then turn off. That helps prevent floods.

Astral

congratulations btw on your purchase! here's to many happy miles in your 8!

06RX8

I have read a lot about reving up the car and then turning it off. Is this neccessary to do even if you drove the car for a while? Or is this somthing people do when the engine is cold and they need to turn the car off? Also how can you tell if the gas is out of the combustion chamber, does it make a noise?

tmak26b

I dont do it, my max RPM is 3000 RPM in the cold anyway

tiltmode43

iTrader: (15)

Lol, well, at least keep the revs at 3k for 10 seconds, you dont have to try to accelerate

Astral

You can't tell. You only should do this if the engine was cold. Check the manual for Mazda's cold start procedure: run for 5 minutes, then rev to 3k for 10 seconds (in neutral) and shut off.

I generally do rev it most times that I shut off the car just because it sounds good.

tiggerlee

Grats and enjoy!

06RX8

To top of the oil, do i need to pull of that platic cover on top of th engine?

rglbegl

yes. fill is underneath the cover.