I have a rough idle on my 04 rx8 so reading threads i decided to look it up. Finding ignition coils as a common point of failure. I dont have access to bench or spark tester so i youtubed it. Video said to loosen coil wires and start car and pull them out slowly and look for spark and clicking. So i tried it and from left to right i saw spark on coils 1 and coils 3. Neither 2 or 4 have spark at all. I read on one thread that the trailing coils are not always supposed to fire? Is this true? Are my coils bad?

 

No, that is not true. The trailing coils are supposed fire at idle. You can by an HEI ignition tester on Amazon.

See this thread for details:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-...-wires-222641/

Also, welcome to the forums.

 

Thank you for your help and link to the thread ill order 2 coils tomorrow

 

Change all 4, if 2 have failed thr others aren't far behind.

 

^This.
Also (I may have missed it), check the condition of your plugs. If the coils went, the plugs are likely fouled. And just as with coils, you may as well replace all 4 plugs. A fresh start is a good start

 

So i replaced the coils and plugs started up bunch of smoke and soot out of tail pipe so i took it for a good har ride came back shut it off now it wont start. Hot or cold. It trys to but it rocks the whole car. Im thinking all that crap clogged cat convertor. What do you think?

 

Are you sure you plugged the right coils to the right spark plugs?
It sounds a lot like that, check that first.

Check the cat for sure, it could also be in bad shape after running on bad coils and being beaten. In fact it could have been fine before you beat on a sick car for an hour. Good job

The cat by itself shouldn't affect starting, the car pulls very little air idle, so if it ran at all before, it should at least be able to start.