Hey all I am new to the forum. I live in Houston Tx. I recently got a 2009 RX-8 with 69k miles on it. A buddy of mine has one and he got his rotory engine certification from one of his previous jobs and he loves his RX-8 amd is always talking about it. So I started to do some research on them. Needless to say after looking into them I found one that was in good shape. I have always enjoyed tinkering with car. I used to own a 1966 mustang and working on it was one of my favorite things to do. I am glad to have a sports car again and out of the Toyota Prius I traded in on it. Not saying a prius is a bad car but the only reason i got it was cause of the gas mileage. Fuel mileage is not much of a concern for me now i am an outside sales rep for an oil company and have a company vehicle now. So the RX-8 will be a weekend car for me. If anyone has any wisdom they would like to impart on me about RX-8 it would be greatly appreciated. I have read up on a lot about the RX-8 but I believe first hand knowledge is always the best.

And if anyone can tell me how to add a profile picture. Its stupid I know but I can't figure it out.

 

Welcome to the club. How's compression look?

 

I have an appointment tomorrow morning to get it check out. I know that *** backwards should have got it done before I bought it. all the places I called wanted to charge me to much for the test. one dealership said it would take 3 hours and cost $425.00. I finally found another dealership that was half the price. The cold and warm start on the car is very good, if I am not mistaken the car taking along time to crank is not a good sign if I read the forums right. So I am crossing my fingers that the compression test will come out pretty decent. I will post the results as soon as I get them bad or good.

 

Got the compression test results

Back rpms 302 7.4, 7.5, 7.5
Front rpms 297 7.4, 7.5, 7.5

 

Here is the club's chart for compression test

According to this chart at 300rpm (don't know if your test result numbers were automatically adjusted for sea-level) You rank in the yellow range. Still a usable engine with proper care. The good news is your numbers don't vary much between rotor faces, and from front to back rotors. A very good sign of balanced compression.

 

RX8 Club’s recommended maintenance schedule, more comprehensive and proactive than Mazda’s schedule.
30,000 miles:
- Replace Ignition coils
- Replace Plug wires
- Replace Spark plugs
- Clean MAF (mass air flow sensor)
- Clean ESS (e-shaft sensor)
- Reset ESS profile
- Clean power steering connections
- Clean battery terminals and clamps
- Replace transmission fluid
- Replace coolant (Mazda FL-22 is highly recommended)
- Replace air filter
- Replace brake fluid (fluid in the brake lines AND the clutch line)
~$300 USD in parts if you shop smartly.


every 60,000:
...all 30,000, plus...
- Clean all chassis electrical grounding points
- Replace accessory belts
- Clean OMP lines
- Replace rear differential fluid
- Replace thermostat
- Clean / Straighten AC condenser fins
- Clean / Straighten oil cooler fins
- Inspect catalytic converter
- Clean / Inspect intake valving
- Consider / inspect all points in 90,000+ as well, many items fail early
~$130 USD in parts if you shop smartly.

90,000:
...all 30,000, plus any 60,000 not yet done, plus...
- Replace coolant bottle
- Replace radiator hoses
- Replace radiator
- Replace front O2 sensor
- Replace motor mounts
- Inspect clutch pedal assembly for flex / weld breaks
~$900 USD in parts if you shop smartly.
At 100k, anything original in the cooling system is really suspect and failure prone. It represents the biggest threat to your engine.
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