I read in the info section about not pushing the rotary too hard before warming up, but I'm curious about something I was told, and whether or not it's true.

Is it okay to turn the car on just for something like moving it from the garage to parking on the lawn?

(Yes, I am sure I sound silly...​​​​​​)

 

I avoid it, if need ill idle for awhile to get some heat in the engine before turning it off. Havnt had a problem yet..

I beleive its more of a issue with low compression and causing it to flood easyier not really sure though, id like to no exactly why people say to not do it also

 

If your engine and ignition systems are healthy it's not an issue.
I would do it all the time, but I would avoid doing it repeatedly without at least driving it around the block just in case.

Bad compression, bad or weak ignition or charging components will cause flooding because of unburned fuel being dumped into the engine.

A strong battery, starter and ignition can help mask bad compression and keep it from flooding, but only for so long.

When my engine was going bad, a weak battery would cause floods the most.

 

You don't sound silly. It's an extremely popular myth. What's silly is people repeating the myth.

My S2 has weak compression. I still have no issue starting it up to move it across the driveway for an oil change, and then shutting it right back down. Then doing it all over again in reverse after the oil change.

I don't beat on it before it's warm, but that's hardly a rotary thing.

 

That makes me feel better, but also embarrassed that I accidentally perpetuated it by telling someone else.

I have many questions, but I was intimidated by the FAQ and I really don't want to bother or annoy anyone by mistake by asking something dumb.

 

Read up on rx8help.com, it's condensed knowledge from this forum.

 

When searching use the google search option and type: www site Rx8club then your topic. You will need to try a few ways of phrasing your question to get the correct wording. The more you search the more you clue into the typical wording to get results you need. Since there’s 20 years (almost) of threads here expect to run into pages of interpersonal battles that cloud useful information. If after several attempts you can’t find your issue then ask. Sure there might be a grumpy response from someone but these are rare and can be avoided if you provide all the details available (codes from code reader, symptoms) when asking.

 

I like having shop manuals in hand when I'm working (I have ones for my miata and my prius.) I did not see a RX-8 Haynes manual. Is , or is there a better one?

Thank you all so much for being so kind to me!

 

There are no Haynes or Chiltons for RX8s as far as I know.
I often look whenever I'm in the auto parts stores.
I don't think a buyer's guide is going to be of much help, but it might be a cool throw-in when/if you sell it.

There are online repair manuals available.

https://carmanualsclub.com/2004-2011...repair-manual/

 

I appreciate the link, only I want something hard copy. I can't use the internet sometimes, and I think that might be expensive to print at kinkos.

 

Not a hardcopy, but I think I have the service manual chapters as PDF somewhere if that helps. At least it doesn't require internet
Edit: The above linked pages are also PDF, so downloadable as well. Should be useful even when no internet is available.

 

You can purchase most of the factory manuals. Some are bound, some are loose leaf. The bound ones are expensive, and hard to find. I managed to find a good deal on the shop manual, and when I purchased what I thought was a bound engine manual, it came loose leaf and I was annoyed, so I just printed the other two. Only the service manual is really all that long. The electrical system manual is the real PITA. It was released as an Adobe Flash application (remember that disaster?), and is basically unusable in its original state. Handy when you can get it to work, but who is going to be out in a shop messing around with a janky old PC? The PDFs of that exist, but aren't interactive, and organization is challenging.