Hello all.

I've owned my RX-8 for a little over a year and the owner before me was my Dad.

Recently, when I start my car it idles really rough and starts smoking out the back. After I drive it a couple of miles, it seems to be fine, but it will smoke for a solid 5-10 minutes after starting.

I thought maybe it was just burning oil, and it needed an oil change, so I changed the oil but it's still smoking.

Any idea as to what's wrong?

 

any CEL? Mileage? MT?

 

Mileage is 149,324.

What is CEL and MT?

(I know nothing about cars except for very basics)

 

CEL = Check Engline Light
MT = Manual Transmission

simply changing your oil won't make your car stop smoking. What color is the smoke? It could be fuel, oil, and/or water.

 

CEL is on. It actually blinks upon startup

It is manual

 

go to a dealer or auto parts store that offers free diagnosis to get the underlying code read for the Check Engine Light. Once you have the code come back here and tell us what it is.

 

a flashing CEL is a "catastrophic failure" or "misfire"usually one if not many of the ignition parts. Coil packs plugs wires possibly a clogged Catalytic converter. Get the codes on it DO NOT run the vehicle. and as shelldude stated. Let us know.

 

and if you have any clue. When was the motor replaced in your car?

 

149000 no way is that the original motor. If it is. Yikes.

 

and FYI not to be a dick. BUT. If your going to own one of these cars. Read the new member forum. Go through it. learn it. Because unless you have deep pockets. "the very basics" as you stated. Will not cut it with this car.

 

cjsweat hard to tell you what could be wrong with the car without more info. For example, do you have any maintenance records? When was the last time the car was tuned? How many miles on the CAT? How does your coolant level look like? How does your car drive? Do you sense a power loss? Can you redline?

You got to give us more info to help you out. Further, get your CEL read and report back. Assuming that you are in the US there are places such as Autozone that would read your CEL for free.

 

tza how do u like the mazdaspeed shocks and springs?

 

^I love them. The set up has certainly improved the look and the ride. The car sits lower about 0.8 inches, which gives you enough clearance most of the time to go over bumps/humps The handling is further improved. Considering that the rx8 has amazing balance as stock, you can imagine that I am very happy with how the car handles with the new set up. The only negative (but something to be expected with aftermarket suspension) is that the ride is a a lot firmer. Now I can can certainly feel the cracks and rode holes. I guess you just need to be careful when driving, especially in these North-Eastern roads. Every time I get into the car I feel I play some sort of Atari game…"Road Holes Avoidance"

 

I live in PA TZA. I know all about the back country roads haha, my wife and i drive them frequently just for fun. Where did you order your springs and shocks from? Is it possible you still have the link? My rear shocks are done for so it's time to put some new ones on. I've been looking at a set of springs and was debating on the shock type.

 

you most likely will need a rotary professional to diagnose the issue. it could simply be failing ignition components, or oil seeping down into the engine due to mileage which is killing the spark plugs or coolant that is being pushed into the engine overnight causing the rough idle and misfires.

the latter 2 there is no easy fix for, the ignition is relatively easy to fix but not worth chucking $500 at unless you know the last 2 issues are not the main ones. if it is the original engine then it's already on its last legs so a rebuild or engine replacement might be on the horizon regardless.

 

I found the best price at MED CENTER MAZDA. There are a few options out-there depending on what you are going for. I personally wanted to get the Tokico d-specs but they were backordered. Where in PA are you? There are some meets going on (look at the NE regional forum---Sushi meet). You should all come out.

 

I live in Sunbury PA. I've heard about some meets going on that were a few hours away. I actually created a thread for the forum members that live around shamokin selinsgrove mt carmel southern. Pretty much all of the surrounding coal cracker country.