Hey guys, first off, I didn't know there was a 55K or 57K service where the spark plugs (if needed) had to be replaced, and most importantly, my dealer quoted me $250 for the spark plugs? To me that's expensive, but I'm a new RX-8 owner, so does that sound right to you guys? Also, what are the symptoms of bad spark plugs? I was told starting issues; now I've had to crank longer sometimes, and that's rarely, and the dealer told me, it's because the weather was cold, so any other symptoms of going spark plugs? Well, I asked the dealer to check out my spark plugs at the 48K service, and God-willingly I don't have to replace them. Thanks for your help and God Bless you guys.

Ben.

 

Change your own and see SparkPlugs.com

 

I presume labor is included in that price.

Plugs are $20 - $35 each and there are four required (two leading and two trailing).

Here is a good site to compare prices: http://www.sparkplugs.com/results_ap...1&AAIA=1416844

Four of the best plugs run $140 total, so seems excessive at $250 even if including the dealership labor. Then again, dealership costs are always excessive!

 

Welcome to the world of dealerships. They jack the prices of everything sky high because most consumers aren't intelligent enough to go elsewhere for their car parts. They will however, fight line ups and BO to save 0.30 cents on a pack of tissue paper at Walmart.

Acura recently quoted me a little over $400 for a O2 sensor. I found an OEM identical sensor direct from the OEM manufacturer (Denso) for 60 dollars. Quite the little profit margin Acura has.

 

Ben, I bought my plugs and coils at www.finishlineperformance.com and had them shipped up. The plugs and coils are much more expensive at Canadian dealerships.
If you want a shop familiar with Rotary engines to do the work for you then I recommend RPM in Breslau

 

my dealer said they were 178 dollars plus tax and install for them......I laughed and walked out......not before asking if they think up imaginary prices for things when they come in in the morning or do they just wing it and hope they will sucker someone in.

 

Are the plugs slightly different for the 8 than RX-7's??
$20-35 a plug is still pricey!
They must have something different than RX-7 plugs because I pay $40 for a whole set!
These dealers are always crooks.
I think I'm going to start doing my own oil changes on the 3. The last oil change was $44 out the door. Those bastards!

 

As the tagline says, "not all sparkplugs are created equal."

As we know, due to the length and rotational timing of the rotary's combustion chambers both a leading and a trailing plug are required per rotor and they must fire with more precision than a piston engine's plugs. Our rotors rotate literally faster than the speed of heat. Therefore higher quality, and more expensive, plugs.

Changing your own plugs is a fairly easy DIY. Access to the sockets is the biggest hurdle.

 

Well, on finish line performance they are approx. $124 with tax plus the shipping could come to more, so it would prolly come to $140, which is not bad since Mazda charges approx. $57 for each plug. So, I called the service manager up and asked how much labour would be if I purchased it from outside, and he said approx. $45, which isn't too bad. Also, at 55K, both him and the parts manager said that the plugs shouldn't need replacing, if no flooding has occurred (which God-willingly hasn't on my car before I owned it, as I'm the second owner), and it should be good for approx. 100K, so I'm not gonna change it right now. So, thanks guys. Also, if any of you have changed it, at what kms did you change it? Was it because of flooding?

 

I changed mine because of the recall...and that was free...

 

haven't changed mine yet and I have 70000km, they said they were fine at that service interval. I am going to change them before this summer and possibly the coils as a profilactic treatment before I start into racing / lapping days again.

 

I changed plugs, wires and coils just before 80,000km as preventive maintenance. No floods so far.
The coils have limited life and may fail by 80000km (50k miles) or may last to 160000 km (100k miles). By the time you feel the symptoms of the trailing plug / coil / wire failing your cat may be damaged. Leading plug / coil / wire may show up as a CEL or as power loss. Don't say we didn't warn you

 

Sure dude, but at 55K, I really shouldn't be having these problems correct? I mean all you guys replaced these parts at higher kms. But, I will have the service guys check out my plugs and coils at the service this week. Thanks again and God Bless!

Ben.

 

None of us should be having these problems
Just something to be aware of for now.

 

You guys are lucky you're able to replace plugs so soon.
I basically have to change them whenever I have to do an oil change... a small price to pay when you have this much power..

 

Your RX-7 looks very cool in your avatar image. What are the specs on it? Forgive me if this has already been asked in a thread, as I'm new on here. If so, point me to the thread! lol Do you have any pics? I was really considering one before my RX-8, cuz I wanted boost, and also considering an EVO X, but we won't see those on a dealership lot till end of this year or sometime next. Also, the RX-7 is older, I'm guessing less reliable, I wouldn't know as I never owned one (I would be using it as a daily driver, not a track vehicle), but the RX-8 looks awesome, seats four, quick, and reliable (if you take care of it). So yeah, I thank God for my RX-8! I love it very much and it's a very fun car to own and drive! Also, how is the gas mileage on your RX-7 compared to our RX-8's?

 

ChristInBen,

Thanks for the compliments.
Follow this link for pics: http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.ph...eo#post6987445
Be warned, my pics are rather big. They're about mid way down the page.

I've always wanted this car since I was 16. I was fortunate enough to acquire it 3yrs later. She's been with me for 10yrs now.

It's a no compromise vehicle. It can be used as a daily driver, except when winter comes around. I think the RX-8 is better suited to daily driver abuse.
I had to use the FD as my daily driver for the 1st 2yrs I owned her. I was then able to afford a "winter beater". She doesn't see any rain now and only comes out to play when it's sunny.

She's got plenty of power to get myself into trouble. So I have to make sure I don't apply too much pressure to the gas pedal.

One thing I really hated about the RX-8 is the gear ratios. I understand why they had to do it, but they could've used taller gears so you wouldn't have to downshift so much. With my 7 I just squeeze the throttle a bit more to get by people. I hardly have to downshift.

Gas mileage is significantly better than the 8. Which is surprising. Probably because of the smaller gas tank the 8 has.
I usually get about 400-425km to 57lts. I rarely go down below the quarter mark. I still have about 15-18ltrs left in the tank when I go to fill it. This is with mixed driving. I get significantly more milage if it's strictly highway driving.
The highest I've ever recorded was 570km's to 62lts. That was awhile ago. I doubt I'll be able to get that nowadays.

 

I just did a spark plug change.

Check out my blog for more detials. http://www.turborx8.ca

 

Pretty cool car dude!

 

Were you looking for a turboed RX-8 to begin with, or just came across one?

 

I had plans to install a turbo on a stock 8 but then found a turbo 8 about 7hrs away and figured it was worth the trouble.

Best decision I ever made yet!

 

That's really cool. I initially wanted boost, that's why I was looking at the EVO X, and perhaps even the last RX-7, however, I'm very paranoid about installing a turbo on an N/A engine. I guess I need to do more research, but my take is this, if the manufacturer wanted the engine to have a turbo, they would have built the engine around the basis of a turbocharger. Our cars are tuned for N/A, now I'm sure with a lot of internals to re-inforce a turbo (including upgrading other aspects such as tranny/clutch and brakes), you're looking at a lot of money. Plus, nothing is guaranteed as the engine was never designed to handle a turbo. A supercharger, maybe a safer route, but if I was gonna go FI, I would go for a the real deal lol, which is a turbo. So I figure, my next car, like 10 years down the road (cuz I plan to God-willingly keep this car for about 10 years or longer) will be an EVO, or who knows RX-8 with stock boost by that time? lol But if I'm wrong about this, then I'm open up to suggestions....now I know turbo owners will say it's safe, but I'm speaking for the average RX-8 owner. Plus, wouldn't warranty be a concern as well?

 

If you take the time to make sure everything is setup properly and you have a very safe conservative tune, there is nothing to worry about.

My warranty is still ok but the drive train portion of it has been void. The kit was installed at the St. Catherine’s Mazda dealership so they have it on file.

If anything goes wrong with the engine, I have some money in savings to take care of the problem. I would be nervous otherwise.

 

So Mazda will install it for you, just they will void the warranty. That sucks. How much are our engines anyway? Well, see to me that defeats the purpose, a car is supposed to serve you and not the other way around, my RX-8 is my daily driver and I can't purchase another engine if I turboed my car and something went wrong as I have other financial priorities. I guess the only way I would turbo my RX-8 is if I had both the money and Mazda would offer it, so they would cover it under warranty, cuz to me peace of mind is more. Then again, my next car will be stock turboed so that will be under warranty! Anyway, I respect your opinion though and you have a really nice car man, God Bless you.

Ben.