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Hello Everyone. I have always been fascinated by the RX-8 but know little about them. I have already read on here that I need to read a bunch of articles and they are on my TO DO list. I'm more of a visual learner so I've been watching a lot of YT videos. I'm amazed at how some people help these cars and how some people ruin these cars which leads me to this important question. I know a bought a 2005 RX-8 Shinka. I've read and watch CONFUSING articles on the "Shinka". Some say they made 2250 of them. Some say 1300 of them. Some say a Shinka is just a special color "black cherry". Some say it has a different type of leather. I also watched a video on whether my RX-8 is 192HP or 231HP. I have no idea! Sounds like the guy was saying the 6 speed manual has 231HP. Mine is a 6 speed manual. The car "appears" to be stock with maybe one questionable pic attached. My question is......is a Shinka something special that shouldn't be messed with? Like, modding a Mustang is fine but modding a GT350 or even a Cobra can hurt the value. I don't have much desire to mod it unless it benefits the car. About the car, I bought it from my credit union. It was a repo that was repossessed from a person who stopped paying most likely due to COVID. It has 94K on it. Cosmetically it is very nice inside and pretty nice outside. The headlights are foggy and the front bumper cover is hazed. The whole car needs buffed, but no rust or dents or anything. It has a check engine light on which reads "Cylinder 1 misfire". It starts kinda weird but maybe I'm not used to it. I can't tell if it's started unless I let go of my key. But now I know it only takes a couple seconds to start. It also had a dead battery when I got it. I'll read everything and try to figure out the misfire although I'm not a mechanic. I also noticed that for being 231 or even 192HP, it doesn't seem to get up and go but it may just be me or it's possible that it may have low compression. I'm debating on buying the rotary compression tester. I plan to keep it and own it for quite a long time. I understand it will frustrate me from time to time and it very well could need an engine rebuild in the future or even now. I will say that the car is very quiet. I watched a YT video of a stock exhaust VS aftermarket and mine sounds quieter than both. About myself, I just turned 41 and consider myself to be 21. I will try to post pictures soon but it is snowing and raining right now. Here is the one pic of an item that may be aftermarket and I have no idea what it is. Any answers? But most importantly, what exactly is a Shinka? Is it not advised to mod it or is it just another RX-8 with no special value? I paid $3400 for the car. I've driven it home and that's it. I've only spent two minutes looking around in it and that's all. I have no idea the HP, the engine model, and other basic things.
Yes 6 speed manual= 231hp, 6-port engine.
Shinka isn't really anything special. Minor cosmetic improvements over the GT model. Think of it as a special edition. I don't know how many were made but AFAIK 2006 Shinkas have alcantara seats and come in that cherry colour, while 2005 have fewer visually distinguishing features and can come in a variety of colours. Mechanically they're the same car and don't really carry extra value.
Get a compression test (either by buying a tester or going to a Mazda dealer). Usually you want to do that before purchase, but either way, this will give you an idea of whether the car is worth investing in.
Don't drive it too much until you fix that misfire and confirm that the catalytic converter isn't clogged. Read RX8help.com for more info. Weird startups and misfires are warning signs.
The thing you're pointing at is a catch can. Not uncommon, but may be evidence the previous owner was having issues with oil in the intake, which is a sign of poor compression.
Welcome.
8s don't have a lot of power from the factory, very low torque in 1st gear. They shine in handling and 'driveability'. They hold the road well and are a lot of fun to drive.
If you are having misfires, it will make it seem worse.
Misfires are usually from bad coils, but not always.
Misfires dump fuel into the exhaust which reignites and damages the catalytic converter, which in turn damages the engine.
Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.
It's very important to be sure the cat is good.
If you didn't get a P0420 code, that's a good sign, but not definitive.
It needs to be physically inspected.
Cats that can withstand the rotary's extreme heat are not cheap, if you need one for inspection they're about $1k minimum.
If it's bad & you don't need it, you can gut it or replace it with a midpipe.
DON'T drive it unless you know if it's good.
Plan on replacing your coils, plugs & wires.
Advance Auto sells lifetime warranty coils for about $35 each.
If you save the receipt you may never pay for another coil.
Laser iridium plugs are expensive, about $25 each.
Welcome.
8s don't have a lot of power from the factory, very low torque in 1st gear. They shine in handling and 'driveability'. They hold the road well and are a lot of fun to drive.
If you are having misfires, it will make it seem worse.
Misfires are usually from bad coils, but not always.
Misfires dump fuel into the exhaust which reignites and damages the catalytic converter, which in turn damages the engine.
Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.
It's very important to be sure the cat is good.
If you didn't get a P0420 code, that's a good sign, but not definitive.
It needs to be physically inspected.
Cats that can withstand the rotary's extreme heat are not cheap, if you need one for inspection they're about $1k minimum.
If it's bad & you don't need it, you can gut it or replace it with a midpipe.
DON'T drive it unless you know if it's good.
Plan on replacing your coils, plugs & wires.
Advance Auto sells lifetime warranty coils for about $35 each.
If you save the receipt you may never pay for another coil.
Laser iridium plugs are expensive, about $25 each.
I hooked up a Launch C129E Computer to it. No P0420. I get a cylinder 1 misfire and an error that says something about an angle sensor? My steering wheel is kinda crooked which probably is why my traction light is on. I know that wouldn't cause a misfire but could that put the car into a reduced power mode? The car is really quiet. So either that is normal or there is a problem but I'm probably not used to the car being quiet. I will definitely do the coils plugs and wires from Advance. I'm debating spending the big bucks for the rotary compression tester but I can't figure out the YT videos where people use a regular gauge. That means nothing to me after watching it multiple times. For now I am not running it and I am reading many articles and trying not to get confused.
11-21-2020, 09:22 PM
