Yes my TPMS light came on yesterday until i got some (80mph) heat in the tires then it shut off

I also got a nifty CEL light too! Code 0420 Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) so I think my cat finally gave up.

 

^yup, you should go catless

 

You have over 100k miles don't you? If you don't I would try and get the car to a dealer. There is an emissions warranty on the catalytic converter. It's like 5 or 6 years and 100k I believe. Government mandated bullcrap that says the cat has to last "X" number of miles/years.

Doc didnt' know about this and I told him, he got a free cat from the dealer.

Just make sure you dont' have anything on the car that will get them to flag your warranty if you do have any left. (ex: CAI)

I'm pretty sure you are over 100k if I remember reading correctly. So you may be screwed. If you can't find a used cat then either go catless, or get a HFC if you are worried about emissions testing. Stock cats are hella expensive, somewhere to the tune of $1,200 ish

 

My money is on the TPMS light as well...gotta love these warm winter days. :P

 

Yea I'm at 102k so no warrantee on anything. Mazda wants $1100 for an OEM cat (no thank you) so I'll be looking for a used one or a 'universal'. Won't the CEL com on with a cat delete pipe in there?

 

Yes, the CEL will illuminate with a catless midpipe installed. There is no way to get rid of the CEL unless you get a tune to turn off the rear O2 sensor. Sadly you cannot use an O2 cheater on these cars.

Although, some people have had luck with getting a spark plug defouler, reaming the hole out to I think 31/64" or something like that, and then threading that into the O2 bung on the pipe and putting the secondary sensor in the defouler.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MPE-59959/

Looks like this may do the trick - $95 and cut n clamp it in!

 

It may work. It depends on the length of the new cat. If it is shorter than the stock cat you will have to weld on a piece of pipe to make up fo rthe lost length. The stock cat portion of the stock midpipe is rather large.

 

Yea I may get under there tonight and measure it as best I can. To save $1000 over OEM I'll spend a few hours making it fit!

 

I sold a used off the donor a few months ago. The going rate for a used cat is around 200USD. . .

 

looks like the Magnaflow from Summit is 8" long so I think that is a bit smaller than the OEM so some extra pipe and a hack saw are in order.

 

Stig: I think you'll burn up an aftermarket cat that isn't designed for the extreme exhaust temps that a rotary produces. While I have no data to back this up, the overall mass and heat shielding of the stock cat are triple that of the size of other cars, and even they're prone to failure. Hi-flow cats have a short life span also.

In my opinion, I think this will be a band-aid fix and you'll be fixing your cat again sooner than you'd like.

 

What Steve said...

Plus, you are going to need more than a hacksaw and an extra piece of pipe. If you hack up the stock pipe and replace it with a HFC you are going to need to weld in the extra pieceto make up for the length of the new cat insert being shorter. And with a hacksaw, you'll be there forever. srsly.

More than likely too you will need an O2 bung that will need to be welded in place as the stock one "I believe" is on the cat portion that would get cut off.

Not quite a cut and paste job...

 

Good info as always, thanks guys. I didn't know our 8's cat was that specialized. A used OEM sounds like an easier way to go - or a pipe

 

I'd go with a pipe, more power, better for the environment. (Go outside today and tell me global warming doesn't sound like a nice idea)

You can borrow my stock cat for those pesky e-checks that you folks in more "civilized" counties have.

Brian and I will hang out in the boonies drinking PBR and goin' cow tipping!

 

LOL thanks! My other easiest and cheapest option is to pull the OEM cat, knock everything out of it, so I essentially what I have is a pipe that is OEM. Got to do an oil change so I'll be under the car some time soon. Any suggestions for knocking all the stuff out of an OEM cat? My IT guy at school did it on his old Audi with a piece of pipe and a long pry bar.

Maybe I should title it with my office address in Portage County, do they do e-checks? The insurance would probably be less too.

I lived in Iowa for a few years during grad school, I know all about cow tipping - count me in!

 

Yes... Portage County does e-checks.

 

Damn another plan foiled!

 

People who have busted out the cat have just used a hammer and long screw driver from what I have read. However, I would talk to Steve more about it before you do it.

 

LOL on the "temple of doom light". Great comparison, and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that gets that light. Is there any reason for concern getting it for 5 seconds on occasional start ups?

 

The sensor on the tank has been known to go bad. Its worth it to check and confirm you do in fact have enough coolant. If your overflow/coolant tank is full you're probably fine. A few extra moments at start up is nothing to worry about.

However, on that note, if you see your stock temp gauge even begin to move, chances are engine damage from overheating has already begun, so don't push it.

 

Agreed, after driving hard for a bit mine came on for a few seconds then shut off. I just topped off the coolant and it didn't happen again.

Also my CEL shut itself off but its still idling a little rough. The 0420 code just showed as pending in the scanner so I cleared it and it hasn't showed up again. Maybe when I was getting the misfire CEL last week, it fouled up an O2 sensor temporarily? I'm hoping thats the case at least because I'm hoping not to have to get under the car in an unheated garage this weekend.

 

Sold the 8 today. $8400 to Fred Martin superstore in Barberton. Time
to start saving for the next rotary.

I still have my enkeis and my track pads if anyones interested. I'm posting them in the for sale next weekend.

 

2-piece rotors price reduced to $399 for all 4 rotors. Fronts are 2-piece DBA 5000's and rears are 1-piece drilled and slotted. 5 track days and about 4-5k street miles. Perfect with little to no wear. I'll deliver within 60 miles for this price. Check out my FS thread...RX8 is gone for a different track car...any realistic offers will be considered.

James

 

What are you driving now? I'm curious what 8 owners settle for after they get rid of the their car. My wife wants a baby. The thought of me going back to an overweight sedan makes me sad. I figure I gotta go with the exact opposite, so I'm not constantly comparing the two.