New to Forum a few questions/commments!
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New to Forum a few questions/commments!
Hi, my name is Mike and I'm new to this forum. I purchased an 04 RX8, 87,000 miles with the engine replaced at about 32,000 miles(I've also read this was fairly common among 04 models). I've stalked this site a bit to get some basic information but I do have a few questions/comments etc. I had an RX7 briefly in the 80's but had to sell it for school funds and only drove it for a summer, this new RX is a completely different car obviously. This is more of a recreational car for me as I have a daily commuter, which is in the shop right now, so I'm alternating between the RX and my Cherokee for now but the gas mileage is killing me!
What is the optimum freeway cruising RPM's? Any tips for improving gas mileage? Don't laugh! I know the rotary engines aren't great on mileage, they're more tuned for a racing engine like my Rotax. My 800 cc ATV only get about 20 mpg.
Other then an oil change is there anything specifically I should do before taking it in to be smogged? I'm thinking spark plugs?
I've read a few threads that suggest opening up to around 6,000 RPM's when freeway driving at least for a bit.
Synthetic oil? I read like a 100+ thread topic with the consensus seeming to be a toss up! The people who really seem to be educated and experienced with this engine don't seem to think it's a problem, some newer members seem to think it is. When I bought the car the prior owner stated "don't use synthetic, it even says so in the owners manual", after reading the manual three times there is no mention of synthetic oil. I know there are a million opinions on oil, I'm an avid ATV rider and researched synthetics for my atv's and came across similar opinions. I even had a certified ATV mechanic tell me "do not mix synthetic with standard oil or it will muck it up, make it really thick and ruin your motor"....needless to say I never took my ATV back to that shop.
Oil capacity? I changed my oil and put in exactly 3.7 quarts but the dip stick still showed oil only halfway between the marks even after sitting, so I added the other .3 quarts and it still doesn't show to the top mark. Manual states 3.7 quarts so I'm a bit confused. Could the replacement engine have a bit more capacity?
Brands of gas? What are most people using? I have a Valero right down the street and made the mistake of running about half a tank of it, car idled like crap after driving it a bit so I filled the rest up with Chevron. Chevron and Shell are about .26 a gallon more then ARCO, I've never had a problem with ARCO gas but I'm open to opinions. I don't mind spending extra for 91 octane and better quality gas but ARCO claims their fuel burns clean.
What type of batteries are most people using? I've had really, really good luck with Interstate batteries on the quad, sat through Oregon winters without even needing a charge. It currently has a Redline battery which has ran down on me a couple of times, I did notice a connection to the alternator was loose and I snapped it back on so I'm hoping that may have been part of the problem. Prior owner said if I let it sit for more then a week or so to keep it in a float charger, I didn't do this the first week I had the car and it was pretty chilly every morning and sure enough it needed a charge, after weather warmed up I let it sit for a week and it fired up fine. A few days ago while changing the oil and doing some other cosmetic detailing I ran the radio fairly loud for a while probably over an hour and the battery ran low.
I plan on flushing the cooling system out, is there anything particular I should do or add to the new coolant? I have found Royal Purple coolant additive to reduce temps. significantly in my commuter car. Pro's/Con's?
How do I go about updating the GPS? I'm missing the original DVD.
Are there any suspension upgrades to help with the rough ride over rough roads or is this just the nature of the beast with the low profile tires? It has aftermarket wheels/tires but owners swears they are OEM spec's.
It took me a few tries to get reverse gear down, but the first couple of times I didn't think it would go into reverse, finally read in the manual you have to push the shifter down a bit and now shifts easily, when I got it home I initially couldn't get it out of the garage!
Handling is amazing, I can get on/off the freeway on one of those clover leaf exits without even having to brake!
Shifting is awesome, when I switch from my commuter it takes me a minute or two to adjust then when I go back to my commuter I wanna rev the engine! This is the tightest shifting car I've driven since my friends Z.
As a secondary vehicle full coverage insurance was amazingly affordable, I was pleasantly surprised.
Why is resale of these cars so low compared to other cars of similar age? I mean a Honda Accord of the same year/mileage goes for considerably more money then these cars. I think Honda's in generally carry a much higher resale then they are really worth. I paid $8,000 for my 04 RX. It was driven by a middle aged woman and in pretty much pristine condition other then the drivers side seat heater not working.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
What is the optimum freeway cruising RPM's? Any tips for improving gas mileage? Don't laugh! I know the rotary engines aren't great on mileage, they're more tuned for a racing engine like my Rotax. My 800 cc ATV only get about 20 mpg.
Other then an oil change is there anything specifically I should do before taking it in to be smogged? I'm thinking spark plugs?
I've read a few threads that suggest opening up to around 6,000 RPM's when freeway driving at least for a bit.
Synthetic oil? I read like a 100+ thread topic with the consensus seeming to be a toss up! The people who really seem to be educated and experienced with this engine don't seem to think it's a problem, some newer members seem to think it is. When I bought the car the prior owner stated "don't use synthetic, it even says so in the owners manual", after reading the manual three times there is no mention of synthetic oil. I know there are a million opinions on oil, I'm an avid ATV rider and researched synthetics for my atv's and came across similar opinions. I even had a certified ATV mechanic tell me "do not mix synthetic with standard oil or it will muck it up, make it really thick and ruin your motor"....needless to say I never took my ATV back to that shop.
Oil capacity? I changed my oil and put in exactly 3.7 quarts but the dip stick still showed oil only halfway between the marks even after sitting, so I added the other .3 quarts and it still doesn't show to the top mark. Manual states 3.7 quarts so I'm a bit confused. Could the replacement engine have a bit more capacity?
Brands of gas? What are most people using? I have a Valero right down the street and made the mistake of running about half a tank of it, car idled like crap after driving it a bit so I filled the rest up with Chevron. Chevron and Shell are about .26 a gallon more then ARCO, I've never had a problem with ARCO gas but I'm open to opinions. I don't mind spending extra for 91 octane and better quality gas but ARCO claims their fuel burns clean.
What type of batteries are most people using? I've had really, really good luck with Interstate batteries on the quad, sat through Oregon winters without even needing a charge. It currently has a Redline battery which has ran down on me a couple of times, I did notice a connection to the alternator was loose and I snapped it back on so I'm hoping that may have been part of the problem. Prior owner said if I let it sit for more then a week or so to keep it in a float charger, I didn't do this the first week I had the car and it was pretty chilly every morning and sure enough it needed a charge, after weather warmed up I let it sit for a week and it fired up fine. A few days ago while changing the oil and doing some other cosmetic detailing I ran the radio fairly loud for a while probably over an hour and the battery ran low.
I plan on flushing the cooling system out, is there anything particular I should do or add to the new coolant? I have found Royal Purple coolant additive to reduce temps. significantly in my commuter car. Pro's/Con's?
How do I go about updating the GPS? I'm missing the original DVD.
Are there any suspension upgrades to help with the rough ride over rough roads or is this just the nature of the beast with the low profile tires? It has aftermarket wheels/tires but owners swears they are OEM spec's.
It took me a few tries to get reverse gear down, but the first couple of times I didn't think it would go into reverse, finally read in the manual you have to push the shifter down a bit and now shifts easily, when I got it home I initially couldn't get it out of the garage!
Handling is amazing, I can get on/off the freeway on one of those clover leaf exits without even having to brake!
Shifting is awesome, when I switch from my commuter it takes me a minute or two to adjust then when I go back to my commuter I wanna rev the engine! This is the tightest shifting car I've driven since my friends Z.
As a secondary vehicle full coverage insurance was amazingly affordable, I was pleasantly surprised.
Why is resale of these cars so low compared to other cars of similar age? I mean a Honda Accord of the same year/mileage goes for considerably more money then these cars. I think Honda's in generally carry a much higher resale then they are really worth. I paid $8,000 for my 04 RX. It was driven by a middle aged woman and in pretty much pristine condition other then the drivers side seat heater not working.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Hi, my name is Mike and I'm new to this forum. I purchased an 04 RX8, 87,000 miles with the engine replaced at about 32,000 miles(I've also read this was fairly common among 04 models). I've stalked this site a bit to get some basic information but I do have a few questions/comments etc. I had an RX7 briefly in the 80's but had to sell it for school funds and only drove it for a summer, this new RX is a completely different car obviously. This is more of a recreational car for me as I have a daily commuter, which is in the shop right now, so I'm alternating between the RX and my Cherokee for now but the gas mileage is killing me!
What is the optimum freeway cruising RPM's? Any tips for improving gas mileage? Don't laugh! I know the rotary engines aren't great on mileage, they're more tuned for a racing engine like my Rotax. My 800 cc ATV only get about 20 mpg.
Other then an oil change is there anything specifically I should do before taking it in to be smogged? I'm thinking spark plugs?
I've read a few threads that suggest opening up to around 6,000 RPM's when freeway driving at least for a bit.
Synthetic oil? I read like a 100+ thread topic with the consensus seeming to be a toss up! The people who really seem to be educated and experienced with this engine don't seem to think it's a problem, some newer members seem to think it is. When I bought the car the prior owner stated "don't use synthetic, it even says so in the owners manual", after reading the manual three times there is no mention of synthetic oil. I know there are a million opinions on oil, I'm an avid ATV rider and researched synthetics for my atv's and came across similar opinions. I even had a certified ATV mechanic tell me "do not mix synthetic with standard oil or it will muck it up, make it really thick and ruin your motor"....needless to say I never took my ATV back to that shop.
Oil capacity? I changed my oil and put in exactly 3.7 quarts but the dip stick still showed oil only halfway between the marks even after sitting, so I added the other .3 quarts and it still doesn't show to the top mark. Manual states 3.7 quarts so I'm a bit confused. Could the replacement engine have a bit more capacity?
Brands of gas? What are most people using? I have a Valero right down the street and made the mistake of running about half a tank of it, car idled like crap after driving it a bit so I filled the rest up with Chevron. Chevron and Shell are about .26 a gallon more then ARCO, I've never had a problem with ARCO gas but I'm open to opinions. I don't mind spending extra for 91 octane and better quality gas but ARCO claims their fuel burns clean.
What type of batteries are most people using? I've had really, really good luck with Interstate batteries on the quad, sat through Oregon winters without even needing a charge. It currently has a Redline battery which has ran down on me a couple of times, I did notice a connection to the alternator was loose and I snapped it back on so I'm hoping that may have been part of the problem. Prior owner said if I let it sit for more then a week or so to keep it in a float charger, I didn't do this the first week I had the car and it was pretty chilly every morning and sure enough it needed a charge, after weather warmed up I let it sit for a week and it fired up fine. A few days ago while changing the oil and doing some other cosmetic detailing I ran the radio fairly loud for a while probably over an hour and the battery ran low.
I plan on flushing the cooling system out, is there anything particular I should do or add to the new coolant? I have found Royal Purple coolant additive to reduce temps. significantly in my commuter car. Pro's/Con's?
How do I go about updating the GPS? I'm missing the original DVD.
Are there any suspension upgrades to help with the rough ride over rough roads or is this just the nature of the beast with the low profile tires? It has aftermarket wheels/tires but owners swears they are OEM spec's.
It took me a few tries to get reverse gear down, but the first couple of times I didn't think it would go into reverse, finally read in the manual you have to push the shifter down a bit and now shifts easily, when I got it home I initially couldn't get it out of the garage!
Handling is amazing, I can get on/off the freeway on one of those clover leaf exits without even having to brake!
Shifting is awesome, when I switch from my commuter it takes me a minute or two to adjust then when I go back to my commuter I wanna rev the engine! This is the tightest shifting car I've driven since my friends Z.
As a secondary vehicle full coverage insurance was amazingly affordable, I was pleasantly surprised.
Why is resale of these cars so low compared to other cars of similar age? I mean a Honda Accord of the same year/mileage goes for considerably more money then these cars. I think Honda's in generally carry a much higher resale then they are really worth. I paid $8,000 for my 04 RX. It was driven by a middle aged woman and in pretty much pristine condition other then the drivers side seat heater not working.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
What is the optimum freeway cruising RPM's? Any tips for improving gas mileage? Don't laugh! I know the rotary engines aren't great on mileage, they're more tuned for a racing engine like my Rotax. My 800 cc ATV only get about 20 mpg.
Other then an oil change is there anything specifically I should do before taking it in to be smogged? I'm thinking spark plugs?
I've read a few threads that suggest opening up to around 6,000 RPM's when freeway driving at least for a bit.
Synthetic oil? I read like a 100+ thread topic with the consensus seeming to be a toss up! The people who really seem to be educated and experienced with this engine don't seem to think it's a problem, some newer members seem to think it is. When I bought the car the prior owner stated "don't use synthetic, it even says so in the owners manual", after reading the manual three times there is no mention of synthetic oil. I know there are a million opinions on oil, I'm an avid ATV rider and researched synthetics for my atv's and came across similar opinions. I even had a certified ATV mechanic tell me "do not mix synthetic with standard oil or it will muck it up, make it really thick and ruin your motor"....needless to say I never took my ATV back to that shop.
Oil capacity? I changed my oil and put in exactly 3.7 quarts but the dip stick still showed oil only halfway between the marks even after sitting, so I added the other .3 quarts and it still doesn't show to the top mark. Manual states 3.7 quarts so I'm a bit confused. Could the replacement engine have a bit more capacity?
Brands of gas? What are most people using? I have a Valero right down the street and made the mistake of running about half a tank of it, car idled like crap after driving it a bit so I filled the rest up with Chevron. Chevron and Shell are about .26 a gallon more then ARCO, I've never had a problem with ARCO gas but I'm open to opinions. I don't mind spending extra for 91 octane and better quality gas but ARCO claims their fuel burns clean.
What type of batteries are most people using? I've had really, really good luck with Interstate batteries on the quad, sat through Oregon winters without even needing a charge. It currently has a Redline battery which has ran down on me a couple of times, I did notice a connection to the alternator was loose and I snapped it back on so I'm hoping that may have been part of the problem. Prior owner said if I let it sit for more then a week or so to keep it in a float charger, I didn't do this the first week I had the car and it was pretty chilly every morning and sure enough it needed a charge, after weather warmed up I let it sit for a week and it fired up fine. A few days ago while changing the oil and doing some other cosmetic detailing I ran the radio fairly loud for a while probably over an hour and the battery ran low.
I plan on flushing the cooling system out, is there anything particular I should do or add to the new coolant? I have found Royal Purple coolant additive to reduce temps. significantly in my commuter car. Pro's/Con's?
How do I go about updating the GPS? I'm missing the original DVD.
Are there any suspension upgrades to help with the rough ride over rough roads or is this just the nature of the beast with the low profile tires? It has aftermarket wheels/tires but owners swears they are OEM spec's.
It took me a few tries to get reverse gear down, but the first couple of times I didn't think it would go into reverse, finally read in the manual you have to push the shifter down a bit and now shifts easily, when I got it home I initially couldn't get it out of the garage!
Handling is amazing, I can get on/off the freeway on one of those clover leaf exits without even having to brake!
Shifting is awesome, when I switch from my commuter it takes me a minute or two to adjust then when I go back to my commuter I wanna rev the engine! This is the tightest shifting car I've driven since my friends Z.
As a secondary vehicle full coverage insurance was amazingly affordable, I was pleasantly surprised.
Why is resale of these cars so low compared to other cars of similar age? I mean a Honda Accord of the same year/mileage goes for considerably more money then these cars. I think Honda's in generally carry a much higher resale then they are really worth. I paid $8,000 for my 04 RX. It was driven by a middle aged woman and in pretty much pristine condition other then the drivers side seat heater not working.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
I should just walk away from this post but I'm not ... and I'm going to be nice.
Because I can tell you're really excited .. GREAT and welcome (nicely written post btw)
I'll tell you why (because I don't think you're troll'n).
In your very first post to the forum you've hit just about ever topic that has started a very lengthy, controversial and some what heated debate about new posters (noobs, newbies, etc)
In chronological order if you're interested in reading it:
https://www.rx8club.com/lounge-4/why...*holes-243970/
https://www.rx8club.com/lounge-4/why...Aholes-244002/
https://www.rx8club.com/lounge-4/for...xample-244707/
Now to the meat and potatoes:
Ok please read the following posts as the items on your punch list have been discussed at nauseum
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/
https://www.rx8club.com/tech-garage-...ources-244730/
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...llowed-208221/
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...rx-8-a-233937/
https://www.rx8club.com/tech-garage-...t-here-222280/
Oh and a word of caution on the topic of what type of oil to use.
Honestly (no really) it's bloody holy war topic. Best advice is just to read and decide on your own.
DO NOT POST A NEW THREAD ASKING ABOUT WHAT OIL TO USE!!!
And that is friendly advice you can take to the bank.
Sorry if I came off like an ******* ... but the answers to your questions could have been discovered easily in less time then it took you to type your very nicely written post (and I mean that).
Use google to search your topics like this (without the quotes)
"site:rx8club.com fuel mileage"
Last edited by wcs; Apr 7, 2013 at 10:28 AM.
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No offense taken, in fact I expected more then one "don't be a lazy *** and do a search", I've been on enough ATV forum's to know the standard mantra goes. Most of my google searches brought me here so that's why I joined.
I believe the synthetic oil thread is 100's of threads long, I read about 100. Trust me I won't go there I have opinions of my own.
I believe the synthetic oil thread is 100's of threads long, I read about 100. Trust me I won't go there I have opinions of my own.
No offense taken, in fact I expected more then one "don't be a lazy *** and do a search", I've been on enough ATV forum's to know the standard mantra goes. Most of my google searches brought me here so that's why I joined.
I believe the synthetic oil thread is 100's of threads long, I read about 100. Trust me I won't go there I have opinions of my own.
I believe the synthetic oil thread is 100's of threads long, I read about 100. Trust me I won't go there I have opinions of my own.
lol Anyway I meant to provide this link on coolant.
https://www.rx8club.com/tech-garage-...licone-238638/
I thought somewhere in there they discussed the Royal Purple coolant additive, but I can't find it.
Going only from memory (and not experience), I seem to recall a couple of very experience members not liking it, causes corrosion or something. <shrug>
This was my search site:rx8club.com Royal Purple Ice
But I didn't find what I was looking for.
My advice would be to save your money and not do an additive until you've had a chance to dig around some in forums.
queue x-files theme
The truth is out there
cheers
Hi, my name is Mike and I'm new to this forum. I purchased an 04 RX8, 87,000 miles with the engine replaced at about 32,000 miles(I've also read this was fairly common among 04 models). I've stalked this site a bit to get some basic information but I do have a few questions/comments etc. I had an RX7 briefly in the 80's but had to sell it for school funds and only drove it for a summer, this new RX is a completely different car obviously. This is more of a recreational car for me as I have a daily commuter, which is in the shop right now, so I'm alternating between the RX and my Cherokee for now but the gas mileage is killing me!
What is the optimum freeway cruising RPM's? Any tips for improving gas mileage? Don't laugh! I know the rotary engines aren't great on mileage, they're more tuned for a racing engine like my Rotax. My 800 cc ATV only get about 20 mpg.
Other then an oil change is there anything specifically I should do before taking it in to be smogged? I'm thinking spark plugs?
What is the optimum freeway cruising RPM's? Any tips for improving gas mileage? Don't laugh! I know the rotary engines aren't great on mileage, they're more tuned for a racing engine like my Rotax. My 800 cc ATV only get about 20 mpg.
Other then an oil change is there anything specifically I should do before taking it in to be smogged? I'm thinking spark plugs?
Do you have maintenance history? I would check out the coils/wires/plugs and consider changing them. Ignition health is a big thing with these cars.
I have an Optima Red in my car - just make sure whatever you get has over 600 CCA.
Congrats and good luck. Lots of good info here.
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From: Northern Virginia
...you've hit just about ever topic that has started a very lengthy, controversial...
Let me add some answers to a few of them.
On the oil quantity... besides what's in the sump, there are a couple of quarts in the coolers. Some people tip their cars to get that out. If your car was not level when you drained the oil, nore than the official 3.7 may have come out.
You need to buy a DVD to get the GPS working. It retails for a couple of hundred dollars. You can buy a very nice portable Garmin or Tomtom for less than that.
Retail value is low because it's not a commodity car. It also got a bad reputation because of the engine failures in the early years. Mazda was even placating dealers for a while by leaving RX-8 owner responses out of satisfaction surveys. IMHO, the continued low prices are fueled by all the "This car is not for you" and "This car needs a huge amount of fussy maintenance" talk on this forum.
Being listed by Consumer Reports as a used car to avoid doesn't help.
But the low prices are a boon to discerning new owners who want in on the rotary world. Welcome, and congrats on your new ride. Sounds like you're enjoying it already!
Ken
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From: Denver, CO
BC.
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Posts: 5,027
Likes: 5
From: Northern Virginia
i have always replaced all four coils, wires, and plugs together. its also a good time to clean the ess and maf, do the 20 brake stomp, and check/replace air/cabin filters.
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