3 sets of rims Brian? Seriously? LOL changing rims like a girl changes shoes...

 

Wheelz newb!!!

 

Jon - Ted is having some problems with his 8. He has no power over 5.5K. New coils, plugs, wires didn't help. He did seafoam it through the maint ports with no help. He has no CEL and Mazda says nothing is wrong. He says he can't get the car over 65MPH. Any ideas on things he can check?

 

Two things that come to mind is cat and intake leak.
Just helped rotareriot install a mid-pipe because he was having issues that sounded like a bad cat, but he didn't have a CEL for it.
After the mid-pipe, things appeared better for him (though I want to wait until he gets online to update us after his long drive home to be sure).
If he would like to rule out the cat, I have mine sitting in my basement that he can try out (not keep) to eliminate that if he wants.

 

yeah that sounds exactly like my problem. could barely move once i got to 65. now i got the new midpipe it completely took care of it so that could be it. plus midpipes are a nice excuse to make your car sound good

 

yea..Ted tried to get his cat replaced under warranty but without a CEL they wouldn't even look at it. However, with Ted just doing the coils and plugs I'll see if the issue was there before he did the work. That would point him towards the vacuum leak.

 

Could also be, blown engine, blockage in the intake system, maf sensor, bad gas, overheating, bad pcm, knock sensor going nuts from bad gas or the e shaft position sensor. Sadly many of these may not throw a CEL.

Don't suppose you have a vacuum gauge to put on to test eh?

 

Danc - I'll take them one at a time.

1) Blown Engine - While his compression being low could cause this...it would have been found by Mazda. Also his car would be in limp mode without a CEL which it isn't.

2) Intake Blockage - Not really understanding this one. If there was a blockage it would be constant. His car would also run super super rich and throw a CEL. Could be the SSV not opening which would cause some blockages so it is on the list.

3) MAF - This would make his car super rich and he would throw a CEL

4) Bad Gas - This could cause some chugging and general crappyness. But it would be across the board right...not just at high rpms/speed. Doesn't this also cause a knock which would throw a CEL?

5) Overheating - Wouldn't the coolant spraying on his feet be a sign? Also I doubt mazda would miss him being down coolant.

6) Bad PCM - ermm...could be...I guess. I mean...his fuel map could be totally fubar'd...maybe. But when Mazda reflashed it when he brought it in I would expect for it to have fixed that.

7) Knock - Throws a CEL right away.

8) eShaft Sensor - Doesn't this just make your car run like *** all the time?

9) Vacuum pump - He has one...what do you want him to test with it? VFAD? SSV? what?

Jon - I spoke with Ted today and he said that his car ran like *** before he swapped coils, plugs and wires. So if the leak was there it was before he bought the car. I told him to check the intake hoses and check that the SSV opens.

 

If he needs someone to give it a "once over" just let me know.
And don't forget to check that VFAD nipple behind the throttle body. That is a common place for intake leaks.

 

Lemme make sure I have this right. Ted's car has: No CEL, no power over 5.5k rpm, and runs like crap elsewhere.

No power over 5.5k rpm means either the car went into limp mode, or the sensor showing engine temp is dead. Easy test for the latter, just see if the temp gauge moved in the dash.

No CEL does not mean a whole lot, I blew a coupling off my throttle body today and got nothing. Secondly, that was a pretty bad vacuum leak and yet I still had power, just couldn't stay running worth a damn.

I also believe that knock will not throw a code, it just retards timing.

As Jon said, the Vfad nipple is a good place to find a leak. But I doubt that is the issue.

 

Ted's car will not go over 5500 RPM and will not go faster than 65. It has no CEL and has run like this since he bought it. He hasn't had an idle problem and it doesn't stall on him...it just sux ***** to drive. He replaced coils, plugs and wires and they did need to be done. Knowing Ted...he would have seen a vacuum leak from the MAF sensor on. Jon...I did say that the Cleveland gang would be happy to help him out...problem is he is a Columbus guy.

As for your car not having a CEL Dana...you probably didn't drive it long enough for it to display...but I bet the code was recorded as pending or whatever Mazda calls it.

 

Heh. This is like that game where kids get a sentence and then whisper it to the kid next to them until the final one speaks the sentence and gets it all wrong.

Teds car was fine when he bought it, runs fine under 5k, and isn't throwing any CELs. Brian has already talked to jon about this and brian has his cat if ted wants to test it but ted is down near Columbus so it's not quite an afternoon drive to help him out.

Anyway if people actually want to read about it firsthand just go to cleveland6club.com and read about it in the non6 tech forum.

 

OMG... I didn't know Brian called me about Ted's car, he just said a guy near Columbus!
Wish I would have known that... oh well.

 

I signed up for Cleveland6Club and posted about Ted's car.
I guess we'll move this discussion there so we aren't posting in various places.

 

According to Ted when I talked to him yesterday at the car show it hasn't been fine since he bought it. And I knew that Brian had talked to Jon about it...I also thought Jon knew it was the same car/issue...mah bad.

 

Eh. No biggie. I just found it amusing how things get lost in translation. Not sure why Ted isn't venturing over here for advice since really Brian is the only one over there that can help him and he's just as happy to hash it out over here. Then again I'm still not sure why it's still the Cleveland 6 Club and not just the Cleveland Mazda Club. There's like two people left driving 6s.

I'm still pretty sure it's his cat (I think if it was an SSV it would be inconsistent and the ZoomZoom cleaning would have helped) but we'll find out eventually. Just sucks he's not around here.

 

There are more than 2 6's over there but I agree. Ted is over here and is probably runnin with the Columbus boys and just doesn't feel like pokin his head in over here. *shrug*

I agree that the CAT would be most likely...but I was thinking this morning. Who put on the RB duct? Maybe when it was done the vacuum line was removed from the VFAD but not from the intake and capped. At 5500 RPM it would cause a vacuum leak every time. As for the ZoomZoom/SeaFoam cleaning...he did it via the maint. ports so the SSV wasn't touched. I told him to give the SSV a check anyway...should send him Jon's DIY on the vacuum pump as I think he used the SSV vacuum pump to demonstrate.

 

I just figured that Ted knows more people on the C6C site and was more comfortable there.
No biggie.

If you're referring to the video I made, that was the VFAD I demonstrated it on.
But the VFAD and SSV actuator looks and operates the same way, so he'll get the idea from it.

On that note, I do plan on making an "extension" to that video with Steve's intake manifold so I can actually show the SSV, VDI, and APV in operation instead of just the VFAD.
That *might* be next weekend.

 

That's cool Jon

 

Hey everyone, new owner here in Streetsboro. Picked up my VR '8 at Cascade Auto last Thursday! 04 with only 16,000 miles. Perhaps the previous owner was a member here?

Unfortunately after putting about 100 miles on it the rear brakes started screeching something fierce, so I'm taking it back to the dealer in hopes they will take care of it for me.

Anyways, I look forward to seeing some of you on the road!

 

Welcome to the club! We have a meet on the 24th, try to make it if you can!

Believe it or not the brakes screeching is normal. The stock pads do that for some reason, there is a TSB for it, but the only long term solution is to put aftermarket pads on.

 

Welcome to the club streetsrx8

The long term solution isn't aftermarket pads, has nothing to do with why you squeak (though aftermarket pads CAN induce squeaking).
You can squeak even with aftermarket pads.
The amount of grease with the OEM setup is limited.
Not only are you supposed to grease the metal shim, but also the area on the caliper where the clips rest and on the caliper surface that makes contact with the pads.
But if its covered under warranty, the dealer *should* do this for you.

Oh... and I'm sorry you live in Streetshole
No hard feelings, I grew-up and graduated there.

 

I'm just going from personal experience, my stock pads squeaked like no other. The TSB helped, but started again after a couple thousand miles. My hawk pads have never had an issue.

 

I have hawk ceramic pads and they lasted all last year without squeaking, but started doing it a month ago.
I remember not having enough grease to coat the required areas and focused mainly on the shims.
I didn't coat the area the clips rest and this is probably what is squeaking now.
I'll probably take a look at this tomorrow.

 

oooh, been a while since I posted heh. Been a bit busy with school and such. Missed out on 16 pages of stuff lol.

Anyways though, I'm at (100% being the deal is finished and good to go) 50% on buying buniques RX-8. Have to get back to the bank tomorrow morning to see if the loan is approved and what not. Wish me luck! xD