New 2004 RX8 Owner
 

Hey everyone, I just bought a 04 rx8 manual, and i have been researching more and more about the roatery engines. I am not sure if its all true or false. Can you guys give me some feed back, or tips on how i should maintain the engine, to keep it running good, it has about 71xxx on it

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/

Read that whole thread. I hope you got a compression test done on the car before you bought it so that you didn't possibly buy another persons problem.

Well first off Congrats on your 8. Do some in dept searching on this site you'll find so much info it'll make your head explode lol. I'm still learning about the Rotary Engine but by far it's not your normal Piston Engine. Change your oil Every 3,000 Miles, make sure to check your oil every two fill ups, you may have to end up putting in about a quart of oil since the rotary does eat up oil as well as gas. Every 30,000 Miles you have to give a full tune up, coil, spark plugs etc. Look around the site especially under RX-Discussion you'll find some info on how to maintain your 8. Also if you have not done it, Compression Test, make sure you do that first thing at a true rotary engine specialist shop or a Mazda dealership. Also bro Make sure you post up some pics, like the motto says " pics or it didn't happen"

Yep what he says :)

I bought it from a used car dealer ship so i dont no if that makes a difference about the compression or anything. And thanks for the help

Yeah, that makes a BIG difference on the compression.
Since you didn't buy it from a Mazda dealer, or a private owner, then this means you know nothing about the car, except that the place you bought it from made a large profit off of you buying it.

You need to get your compression tested, right after you read that thread that was provided to you, so that you will know why you should get your compression tested.

BC.

Welcome,

When you get done with the other reading assignments, try the $100 link in my signature. It is what I learned with my 04 in the first year.
A Redline a day is a good idea, once you change the oil.

I would definitely start off with a compression test and then move on to replacing coils, plugs, and wires since you probably do not know when they were last changed.

What are sings that the compression is off? what are the means of fixing it if they are ?

Major signs of low compression include slow warm start and loss of power. If your compression is low you will need a new engine or rebuild the one you have.

As others already said...read the stickies and post pics will ya.

@ MastaJ1,
From what I have ready low compression shows up at loss of power and hard starting when warm. Most of the time this is the apex seals getting carboned up and not moving in and out. There was a youtube post about at guy working the seals loose through the exhaust port on 13B, you could likely do the same thing with a renesis, but through the spark plug hole. Not sure if anyone has tired it though. The Seafoam process tries to address this, but wiggling the seal manually, after it has soaked, looks like a good approach. But, if it runs hard, run it hard and smile.

Congrats on the new car. I had my rx8 for about 7 weeks and its the best car I had. I was very nervous about the rotary but as long as you follow the shutdown and startup procedure you will be fine. Mine starts every time hot or cold

Why did you sell it?

The rx8 is fun but be ready for things to break as you should be for all used cars. Do all the basic maintenance asap. This is a special car with special needs.. you should be actively thinking about your car and what its doing so if it changes you can trouble shoot and fix things before they get worse.. I count my starter time each time I start the car.. I even wait 6 seconds after i turn the key to on before i crank it.. so many myths and things.. pre mixing.. oil weights.. engine temperatures.. carbon buildup.. read up on everything you can... this website is the bible for RX8 care. You will need to know everything about the car because there is really no where else to gain the knowledge.. even mazda dealerships wont be able to help everytime. but this site will. Search everything before you ask questions too.. or people will flame you.

How bout sell! For such a cool car, great handling, its the car from hell, problem after problem, dollar after dollar, anyone want to buy?