New Member, New Owner, New Engine!
 

Hello Rx8Club,

First time owner of a 2009 R3 with new engine.
Any tips or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Firstly, Are there any "break-in" procedures with a rotary like a piston engine?
Secondly, is there a "RX8 for dummies" thread or maintenance basics thread?
Thirdly, What should I be looking for when I get my Rx8 from the dealership?

Thanks,

R3Dream

An R3 with a new engine is a rare sight.. how many miles?

Also, read this:

https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...ot-8-a-202548/


Cliff's Notes Version:

-Keep on top of your ignition coils, wires, and plugs. Aftermarket upgrades exist that will increase the longevity of these parts, but stockers will work. Assume you will need to replace these (there are 4 of each) every 30,000 miles or so.

-You can premix oil in the gasoline if you're ambitious/paranoid/otherwise a bit neurotic. I do, some don't. Search around for suggestions on what premix to run and how much.

-You want both original keys from the dealer. Don't let them tell you otherwise.

-You have an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty on the engine core. There's a non-trivial chance that you'll have to use it, even though your engine is brand new right now. Don't freak out about it, just keep it in mind.

-Beat the crap out of the engine regularly (within reason). Don't be a dick and bounce off the rev limiter from a cold start or anything, but the engine needs to be exercised. The redline beep is nothing to be afraid of.

-Change the oil more often than the manual recommends. Most people do it every 3-5,000 miles. This is more to keep the oil metering system free of gunk than anything else.

-There's a lot of belief here that a 30 weight oil or heavier is better than the 5W-20 recommended by Mazda. Whatever you do, don't buy into the hype that the first number (before the W) needs to be bigger. It needs to be smaller. 0W-40 or 5W-30 is great, anything heavier than that (ON THE FIRST NUMBER, NOT THE SECOND!) is not helping you.

-Mazda says to use conventional non-synthetic oil only. It would be prudent to follow this recommendation to avoid any snafus with your warranty, but remember that 20 weight oils are technically "synthetic blends", no matter what you do (due to the stupid laws in the US on what constitutes "synthetic", this means almost nothing). This is a bit of a gray area, so just do your best to stick with stuff like Castrol GTX or another good quality 'conventional' oil.

-You will get terrible gas mileage. Know this, accept it, and move on with your life. This is a thirsty beast, keep her full of oil and premium gasoline and enjoy it!



EDITED TO ADD:

Don't worry too much about break-in.. just drive it normally. You can follow the manufacturer's recommendation not to exceed 4,000 revs for 1,000 miles, or you could follow some guy on the internet's advice and redline it out of the dealer lot. Safe to say, you probably won't notice much difference either way.

Welcome to the club, :) I think this is actually a better place to start for familiarizing yourself. ->https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

Bahaha! I must have this quote. Truer words were never spoken. I knew it would be bad, but I'm used to low mpg so I assumed it couldn't be THAT bad... Oh boy, was I wrong. You know what they say when you ASSuME! :uhh:

:rolleyes:

No joke. I came from a 2014 STi that got 18 MPG in the city. The plan was to eliminate the car payment & reduce insurance costs. That all worked fine, little did I know I'd spend all my savings on GAS! :lol2:

Thanks for the pointers.

Got 60k on classis. Dealership got engine replaced under 6 year/60k power-train warranty.
Now the Engine Core Warranty, is that 8 years/100k from original vehicle registration or from when I pick up the vehicle (or engine was replaced)?

For the Series 1s it was a special extension that started the day the vehicle was first registered. For the series 2s I thought they built it into the standard warranty verbiage, but it definitely starts the day the vehicle is first registered and is transferable. Check your owners manual to get the exact verbiage.

It only covers the engine core itself though, so you'll be on the hook for a few hundred bucks in gaskets and fluids if it comes down to that, which it almost definitely won't. Series 2s have and much better reputation since the entire oiling system was redesigned for higher pressures and more even chamber injection (you have 6 oil injectors, we have 4). Yours must have been a freak thing, I wouldn't worry about it at all. Definitely get a compression test done at a dealer at ~99k, though. Just to hedge your bets. Until then, have fun with it!

Dealer told me people requested a compression test on the vehicle, at which point they decided to replace it, dealer really didn't know about the special rotary 100k though. Actually requesting a compression test before I drive it off the lot, so I have a base-line for future tests. Still debating if i should get an oil change while on the road.
Definitely gonna upgrade the ignition/cooling system once I get it back home.

Any recommendations on types of premix?