Ok, after the M flash, I noticed that when I drive the RX8 and the engine is still warming up, the auto tranny stays on the 2nd and 3rd gear for a long time BUT I noticed that the engine revs up easily and smoothly to 5000-6500 on cold mornings. I'm even afraid to make it reach 7000 when the engine is not fully warmed up, but it could easily get up to the 7000 level.

Then when the engine gets warm, the tranny easily shifts from the 3rd to the 4th when the rev reaches about 5000. But early morning, I hardly see the auto tranny going to the 4th gear during the first 3-5 minutes of driving even at 6000-6500 RPM on 2nd gear and about 5000 on 3rd gear. It just kinda stays somewhere on the 3rd gear at about 3000-5000 rpm.

Do you guys with an auto tranny have the same experience?

 

Most automatic vehicles allow the engine to rev higher (& sometimes will not shift to top gear) when cold in order to get the engine warmed quickly. It's for emissions.

 

Yep, I guess you're right. some intelligent tranny I got there (fuzzy logic AI programming technology) :D

 

The ATX's also need to warm their fluid up to operating temp, which is usually in the 160-180F range, which usually takes about 3-5 minutes, depending on the exterior temperature, and how long the car's been sitting.

Odd shifting behavior (like a hard shift), or otherwise, should be ignored for the first few minutes. If it goes away, it was just the fluid warming up.

 

Just warm your 8 up as in the book.

 

wait a minute... i didnt know you had to reflash your automatics. i thought it was the manual? so should i check if my cars flashed?

 

If you register on-line with Mazda and put in your VIN they will tell you if any recalls are for your car and M-flash might be one of them but not sure what Mazda calls it.

 

That was the first thing that went wrong with my RX-8 and me my girl and her Mom where struck 40miles out of Las Vegas and had to get towaed in to town...

 

Yeah, you can have it reflashed. Even my wife noticed how smooth the engine runs after the reflash. The RPM revs up very smoothly now after the reflash. Before, there was an abrupt shift.

There was also a very distinct change in tranny shift from 2nd to 3rd gear. I noticed that at 2nd gear, the RPM went very fast and smooth from 2000-6000 RPM if you floor the pedal. Before the M flash, it takes a while to get the RPM up from 2000 to 5000 and then from 5000 there is a sudden jerk acceleration.