Hello all,

Just bought a 2010 R3. I've been looking for one for a little while now and finally found one with under 30k miles. Still has some of the factory warranty left.

I know you guys say to do the compression test before buying it, but no one was available today. So that'll be the first thing that I get done.

Anyway, hope to learn some good stuff here. Just the little that I've seen so far has been super helpful.

 

Welcome. I am new to the club as well.

 

Welcome bro! Post up some pics!

 

 

Welcome to both of you ! Pics would be nice.

https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

 

I tried posting pics, it said a moderator needed to approve it first.

 

I read through some of that before I bought. SUPER informative, especially for someone like me who's brand new to rotary engines.

 

So I figure I'll just keep all my posts together in this thread, instead of making a new one.

I've been doing a lot of reading and figuring out my plan for the future. Since my car is still under the 100k/8 year engine warranty I'll have to hold off on most of what I want to do.

Here are my plans so far, please let me know if I'm looking to do too much, thanks in advance.

So here's my list as of right now:

BHR ignition coils

Switch oil to 10w-30. I'm currently stationed in Lemoore, California so it stays pretty hot year round.

Pre-mix with Amsoil Saber-pro

RB intake, header, exhaust and maybe the mid-pipe as well. I haven't decided yet.

That's basically going to be it for me with this car. I love everything about this car so far, and getting use to the peculiarity of owning a rotary didn't take much adjusting on my part.

Again, all feedback and opinions are very much appreciated.

 

Were you able to get that compression test done yet? It really should be first for any used RX8, even one with low mileage.

Once you establish your engine is healthy inside, then go ahead with your list, it all seems good. Be sure to change the plug wires and get new plugs with those BHR coils. Get BHR's wires.

 

Yes midpipe. Or at least a pipe with a resonator, or it'll be godawful loud and very raspy.

 

The closest dealership near me is saying it'd be around 300 for that check. So I'll have to wait a couple more weeks to do that unfortunately. I'm not as worried about that right now, only because it's still under it's warranty for the block. However, next time I take it to the dealer, I'm gonna see if I can work something out with them to get that check done.

The resonated one has been the one I've been looking at. Do you know if everyone that has it always has the CEL on?

 

Me personally, I only got the CEL to "pending" (checked via Torque app) while cruising for a long period of time on the highway around 75-80. It never fully threw the code.

If you eventually go the route of Mazdaedit, you can mask the code if you do get it.

 

Shifty, I run the BHR midpipe catted midpipe. No CEL's whatsoever. It will pass in Colorado, so it should pass everywhere but California.

 

I read a thread on here that said the catted BHR pipe had a short life span. Have you ran into any issues?

As far as emissions, I register my cars back home in NY. So I don't have to worry about that lol.

 

Unless California has a different hourly rate, it should be 150ish. There is a Mazda shop procedure for this that states the time required, it's really not a "charge what you like" type deal.

 

I'm on 17xx miles while premixing with no issues. I also have BHR Coils. If I don't get the car sold I'll have an answer for you come next year, lol, as I'm running out of driving time. It gets used as weekend car or sometime errand getter, so it's driven fairly regularly.

 

BHR coils are a great idea. Replace everything at the same time: coils, wires, plugs.

That oil is fine. I run Mobil 1 0W40 in Texas. Heavier is probably better in hotter climates. What is much more important than the type or weight of oil is how often you change it. Do it every 3K miles, and you will be OK in that regard.

Saber premix is good stuff. I use Lucas and buy it by the gallon from Amazon. It is a lot less expensive than Saber.

All that Racing Beat stuff is fine, but don't expect much in the way of horsepower gains. If you are lucky, you could see as much as 12HP from all of it, but odds are, it will be closer to 5. I have even seen 0 on a car or 2.

The BHR midpipe is regarded much more highly than the RB one. Whatever you do, if you keep a cat in the mix, stay on top of it, and make sure it is healthy. Hell, check your factory one RIGHT NOW to make sure it hasn't started clogging.

 

I know there's not much in the way of HP to be had. From my understanding this engine is basically at it's peak for what can be added, which is a shame. This car is awesome.

This is mainly my weekend fun car. I don't want it getting all dinged up in the lot at work lol. I have a 94 MX- 3 that is my work commuter.

I wouldn't mind keeping a cat on it, but I really don't need to. Like i said, I don't register my cars in CA, so none of that smog b.s. for me lol.

Which Lucas do you use, is it the upper cylinder stuff?

I was under the impression that synthetic was a no go for our engines?

As far as staying on top of my oil changes/oil consumption goes, I use my second tripometer as a guide for when I check my oil and other fluids. I've gotten in the habit of checking every 500 miles or every other fill up. This was probably the easiest thing for me to adapt to. I do weekly fluid checks on all of my cars.

 

The Lucas oil to use is their semi-synthetic 2 cycle oil. It is FD certified, low ash, high detergent premix.

Synthetic oil is fine for our engines. Mazda even sells it labeled for our cars outside the US.

 

I've been running liquimoly with no issues.

 

The holy oil wars appear to be largely behind us, but I'll just mention that "synthetic" is not an accurate description of oil. It doesn't even mean what it says, because low-end synthetics are a more refined mineral oil with all the chemistry of mineral oil. It still breaks down and leaves varnishes like regular oil.

So if you're selecting an oil for your car, you want to be talking about oil groups and certifications, and looking at a Group V oil with ashless burn, high stability and ability to resorb own varnishes and deposits. The downside is it's expensive, so a Group IV blend of PAO and ester base stocks, like Royal Purple, Mobil 1, Liquimoly Synthoil are good alternatives. Avoid race oils unless you're racing and changing your oil every day.

And if you really want no compromises, install a Sohn adapter and burn dedicated 2-stroke for injection, and keep engine oil in the oil pan.

 

I've got 15w40 in mine (Tennessee and free from work) the Rotary gurus around here recommend 20w50 and a bottle of marvel mystery oil in fuel every 4th tank. They says biggest issues with the motors is too thin of an oil and rotaries are dirty engines which wipe out the Apex seals.

 

15W-40 is fine, any 40 is, so long is it is not cheap crap. But what is more important is that you change it often. Marvel Mystery Oil is just a bit of mineral oil and mostly spirits. It is useless to put it in your fuel, you need a proper Jaso FC 2 stroke that is designed to be premix. I would stop taking advice from the "rotary gurus".

 

I mean. Sure. They burn richer than a ************. 20 weight sounds pretty damn high. I run Idemetsu, which works well and the car's been responding better since I've been running it.

 

The 20 doesn't matter, it doesn't get that cold in TN. Idemitsu is not even Jaso FC rated and it's overpriced. But it's fine I guess because it's proven.