Kacy

Hi there! I just bought my 2006 Mazda rx8 at the end of November. I've done tons if research on this car and decided it was the one for me! I received the carfax with all of the work done at a Mazda dealership. It had been very well cared for. It has 82k miles. It runs amazing!

My main reason for posting is a week after I got the car, the oil light flickered on for a split second, I checked the oil and it was fine and the oil pressure was good. Then yesterday the oil light came on, so again I check the oil and it was fine and then the light went off. So later that day, I was driving at about 45mph yesterday, it was pretty cold 18F, and I was at about 4k RPM. The check engine light flashed 4 times and them stopped.

I've done some looking around on the forum, and saw when the engine light flashes, it typically means it needs new ignition coils, and plugs/wires.

So a little more history on my car, at 32,789 miles, ignition coils replaced, at 33,800 miles starter, ignition coils, spark plugs and wires all replaced. At 47,722 miles ignition coils replaced again along with the radiator.

I'm a little concerned as to why the ignition coils were replaced 3 times in a year and a half?

Either way, I know the ignition coils, plugs an wires should be done anyways, but what I'm wondering is do I need to do it right away or could I wait say a month? I drove it 10 miles today and no lights came on. It's also concerning that the oil light randomly comes on? It doesn't need an oil change for another 1,500 miles.

Any help/advice would be wonderful! Thanks!

ken-x8

Flashing CEL means misfire. That can be caused by things other than coils, but maybe that dealer figured it was always coils. Did the car feel like it was misfiring when the CEL flashed? It would help if you can get any codes that might be stored from the flashing CEL.

There was a problem with early oil pans that caused the oil light to come on, but as far as I know that was fixed by '06. Just a wild guess, but you might just have a loose or dirty connection.

Ken

Kacy

Thanks for the reply! The car did not feel like it was misfiring at all. I've never felt any misfiring at any rpm or speed I've driven her at. I will take it to oreileys tomorrow And get a code.

Would having a loose or dirty connection also affect the check engine light?

Since the car is running okay and the light only came on for a second, should I be okay to drive it, or should I be really worried?

It also was compression tested at Mazda at 32,000 miles when the ignition coils were first replaced and checked out fine.

I'm just very paranoid because my last car was nothing but problems and my 8 is my first nice car and I'm overly paranoid that something is going to go wrong lol.

Kacy

So I look at the misfire thread and it mentioned if your low in fuel that can cause misfire. For the first time since owning it, I filled the tank up all the way yesterday. And I hate to admit but I have not been using premium.

Could that possibly be a cause for the flashing CEL?

RotoryVirgin

Absolutely. Use premium. Always.
What you are getting is spark knock. The compression of the engine is too high for low octane. Lower octane fuel will actually combust early from the high pressure. This will cause all sorts of nightmares for you.

I'd recommend adding an octane booster to your current tank and from now on fill with premium.

Kacy

Okay I did not know that. I really appreciate the help! I will go get an octane booster in the morning and will for sure use premium from now on!

So is the misfire issue most likely from using bad gas since its never done it before?

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Hi, you REALLY need to read the new owner stickies. You'll find it at the top of the new owner section in big red letters. You can seriously ruin your engine if you haven't already.
Misfires are very common, usually coils, plugs & wires. Your catalytic converter could already be bad.
Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.

RotoryVirgin

The gas is likely the issue. Compression increases with rpm so the misfires would start at mid-high rpm and go away when you let off.

Others have run mid grade without CEL so you may want to replace the coils/leads/plugs as well. Spark knock isn't always noticeable and won't always throw the CEL but it could definitely contribute

gwilliams6

Do not run mid-range gas in a rotary (only in an emergency). Always use premium (min 91 octane with no more than max 10% ethanol) . Otherwise you will be needing a new engine. Detonation will kill a rotary engine very quickly, much faster than in a piston engine. You will need to replace the ignition coils/leads/plugs to be safe. Please do read the new owner stickies to understand that improper care and maintenance usually leads to expensive fixes in a rotary car.

Kacy

I appreciate everyone's help. I have looked through all the new owner stickys and have learned a lot of good information on my car. I got an octane booster and topped the tank off with premium gas. I have had no problems.

When I was in orielys today, I got quotes for ignition coils, and they were $50 a piece!!! I'm assuming there is a cheaper way to go. Where does this community typically suggest to go for rx8 ignition coils, plugs and wires?

Tweeked86

When you purchase a sports car you need to realize that maintenance and operation costs are going to be a little bit higher than lets say your average camry.

That said, I don't think $50.00 per coil is unreasonable. spark plugs are about $20.00 each and a wire set is about $40.00 I believe

You can beat that price on the coils if you go through rock auto, but you will have to wait for stuff to ship.

I'm debating buying oem or upgrading to aftermarket myself at this point.

gwilliams6

Check the forum here on "ignition" there are many posts where prices from many auto stores are quoted on coils, wires and plugs. You don't have to spend a fortune to get decent oem replacments. Or you can go the route I chose, which was to upgrade. I chose to upgrade to the BHR coils and wires, and Nippon Denso plugs (about $20 each). The main benefit to the BHR setup (which fits perfectly on the oem stock mountings) is that it is a lifetime system, meaning these high performance coils and wires should last the lifetime of your RX8. Normal oem coils and wires really need to be changed every 30,000 miles or so. The BHR kit has greater resistance to heat damage caused by the RX8 coil position atop the engine, and it performs better at high rpm over the life of the coils. I chose the Nippon Denso plugs over the oem NGks for greater performance and being less prone to fouling (recommended by many Mazda wrenches and racers and used by moderator ASH8 here on the forum). I love the plugs and they are no more expensive than the NGKs. The BHR coils and wires do cost more than oem coils, but since they should last you the lifetime of your car, they really are worth the money for me. i checked with both my dealer and my Mazda District Service Rep. They both told me there are no warranty problems with having the upgraded BHR coils installed. In fact my dealer installed them and just charged me one hour labor. You can save if you do it yourself, not hard to do.

Tweeked86

Thanks GWilliams, I hadn't seen that the bhr's were lifetime coils. I think it's only about a $150.00 difference from oem which isn't bad at all. Keep in mind my pricing is higher as I live in Canada. I guess that's the tax that I pay for not having to live in the states! :P

I can purchase most things at cost, and get a discount even from the dealer as I work at a certified shop here. and diy isn't a problem.

gwilliams6

Yes Tweeked86 , Charles of Black Halo Racing developed his BHR RX8 coils and wires to last the lifetime of your RX8. The plugs will still need to be changed every 15,000 miles or so, depending on how much heavy use you put them through. Certainly many RX8 owners are happy enough with oem replacement coils, but beware (as moderators here have pointed out) of some coils of suspect origin and quality being sold as Mazda coils on the internet , and ebay. I pretty sure BHR will ship to Canada. I don't know about any duty. Charles is a registered vendor on this forum as well as a member. You can look him up and personal message him, or just go the Black Halo Racing website for any info.

And no I don't get anything for saying good things about his stuff. His products speak for themselves. I have owned seven rotary Mazdas since 1973 and over the decades have used products from just about every Rotary tuner or supplier . BHR ignitions are just extremely well made, as are his other RX products.

Tweeked86

I'll be looking more into his stuff. Thanks!