I had my RX8 towed to the dealer last Sunday. It was a very sad occasion to see it on the wrecker. The problem was that the car just would not start. I tried all day, but to no avail. The service manager informed me that I should have read the manual where it states that you should let the car idle for 1-2 minuted before shutting down! What??? Anyone else know about this?? He did, however, upload a software mod that should remedy most of the problem. It seems that short drives - like pulling out ot the garage and shutting off - are the biggest culprit. This apparently results in flooding and fouled plugs.

 

uhh yep its in the manual and the little quick tips book under short trip procedure. but the procedure is not to let it idle for 2 minutes. ill let you read for yourself the proper procedure for short trips. however that has been mostly cured with the Mflash, which it sounds like you now have. welcome aboard!

 

Yup....big NO-NO to shut down the engine without letting her idle a while. You'll learn more about this as you become more familiar with the car. Congrats and welcome!! :D

 

BTW, i believe this is true for any combustion engine really...just doesn't affect piston engines in the same way. IMO, it is still 'bad practice' to shut down an engine cold.

 

Hmmm, we never let it idle before shut down and never had a problem. M-Flash did wonders. I'll start it and pull it out of the garage, wash it, and then pull it back in even. I ain't skeered. :D

 

You should tell (remind) your dealer that that upgrade should have been completed *before* they sold you the car...

 

Before everyone starts jumping on the flooding bandwagon again, I was talking about this with a friend who has a Solara the other day, and she told me she's flooded the Solara not once, but twice, and in both instances it was because she turned it on and didn't warm it up before turning it off. So it's NOT just limited to rotary engines.

 

If anyone ever floods their car, rotary or otherwise, just push it and pop the clutch. This assumes you aren't driving an automatic. If this doesn't work, pull it behind another car. It will start everytime. No need for the down time with the wrecker and the dealership. Then just drive it in yourself.

 

Well,
I dont' like when I start my car in the moring the needle goes up to 3k rpm then slowy drops to normal. Why is that?

 

Mike, that is okay, ALL engines will rev faster than idle when cold started because the air/fule mixture is very rich (has to be to start) and could stall if it didn't rev faster. Remember for every 3000 rpms, the rotor is just spinning 1000, so no real harm being done.

 

mikeb,
If it actually goes to 3K that's too high. Should be somewhere betwen 2K and 2500, then a gradual but steady drop. You aren't touching the gas pedal while starting are you?

Allyn,
1. Welcome to the forum
2. Read the manual
3. Now that you've got the newest ECU version (the "M" flash) you should have no more flooding problems. I've started and stopped my RX-8 cold at least 20 times in the last month. Never a problem. I don't remember seeing anyone who's flooded an M-flashed RX-8.
4. Read the manual! :D

 

It uste to be 2k or 2500
but it has started to go a tad higher hitting 3k

 

The RX-7's all rev up to 3000 rpm at startup and then slowly decrease in speed as the coolant temperature rises.

 

thanks rg

I feel better

 

My FD did exactly the same thing. I didn't like it either, and I would just tap the gas real fast with my foot and the RPM's would go down to about 15K.

 

That's some idle you got there.