I have had my RX-8 for 3 weeks now, and the oil pressure guage seems to goto just above halfway and sit there-regardless of throttle imput. The MX-5 gauge moves back and forth from idle to open throttle as did both of my previous RX-7s. Anyone know the reason why our oil pressure gauge does not move, or is it a faux gauge?

 

Its just a faux gauge.

The real oil pressure is about 18psi at idle, and from 60-75psi at throttle.

 

Great-thanks, 'preciate the help.
Looks like I am guage shopping soon...

 

http://www.racingbeat.com/resultset....rtNumber=11816

 

Yes, it's a dummy gauge—an "idiot light" in gauge form. And it's a horrible design.

It would be better, obviously, if it were a real gauge, or if it were an actual idiot light. But we get the worst of both worlds: like an idiot light, it doesn't convey any info about oil pressure (unless there's none). But, amazingly, it's worse than having an idiot light, if such a thing is possible. An idiot light at least gets your attention when there's a problem! Who'll notice a dummy gauge suddenly reading zero after months or years ignoring the gauge that never moves?? The engine temp gauge is fake, too.

The Miata had a functional gauge from its debut 'til '92 or '93, when Mazda replaced it with the fake, supposedly to save a few pennies, or to stop dumb owner complaints about "my oil pressure gauge keeps swinging up and down and is always in a different place—what's wrong with my car!?!" Idiots. (A better solution would've been simply to add a paragraph to the owner's manual explaining how an oil pressure gauge fluctuates in different conditions and reads "normal" as long as it's in a certain range.)

Apparently Mazda finally brought back the real gauge when the new MX-5 came out. Which leads me to believe that the next RX-8 will probably have one, too.

But it's my biggest complaint about the car.

 

Wow, good to know. Guess I'm going to have to buy some new gauges too.

Why on earth wouldn't they just put in a light for that and keep real gauges? The money saved couldn't be THAT much...

 

This might be a stupid question, but anyone ever try to mod it to function like a real gauge by frankensteining the guts of a real one to the display on the dash?

 

my temp gauge seems to work. it starts out cold and will slowly move up to about 45%, but then.. once its there. it will never, ever, ever, move.

not even during 2 days of very spirited driving.

 

That temp gauge is even worst.

like MM said it in another post. the temp gauge wont even move until it reach like 235 degrees, which is really high, another 20 degress higher will kill your engine instantly.

Im going to get a bunch of gauges, but I will be out of NYC soon so gotta wait till I come back.

 

They did that with other cars too. The second gen. Ford Probe (which is a Mazda MX-6 in disguise) had a real oil pressure gauge up to the '94 model year, but with '95 they decided to replace it with an idiot gauge, for the same reason (stupid owners complaining about "fluctuating oil pressure").

People tend NOT to read the owner's manual. Especially not in the USA, for some reason

 

I have had my car for 3 weeks, and do not really feel like taking my dash apart (and it is a lease) is there any way to mod the stock gauges so that they work? If I was to buy aftermarket ones, they go straight to the sensor--so the stock ones goto the ECU?
Just wondering if you could wire them directly so they work as they we all think they should (be a pretty cool subtle mod)...any thoughts out there?

 

I raised the question a year back about modding the RB kit to existing guage and most people said it wouldn't work or would required waaaaay too much effort.

I say add the RB unit in and when it comes time to trade her back in, just yank it out and resell.

 

Is that RB unit really as easy to install as it sounds?

 

if only i had unlimited amounts of funds.. -_-

 

400 something isnt alot. consider you're getting 3 gauges, the other stuff.

I didnt get it because I dont like to look down, I want to keep my eyes straight at all time.

 

It may be possible if you take out your instrument cluster and look to see if the pressure gauge terminals are accessible.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/making-oil-pressure-gauge-functional-119975/

 

So, all that said... will the oil pressure warning light actually come on when the oil level gets too low from the engine usage? Or is the only way to be sure you have an adequate amount of oil actually looking at the dipstick each time you refuel?

 

WOW. I feel like a fool. I definetly didnt know that oil and temperature gauges were faux! I am trying to excuse myself saying, "chill you have hardly owned this car for more than a month" I hope the RPM meter and the speedometer show the right readings :P

 

The answer is in your manual.

But as a freebie - yes, the indicator light on the dash will come on when the oil gets too low. Which should never happen, since you top it off every thousand miles or so.

 

That would be super. I guess what would be "easier" is to know the different voltages the stock pressure guage gives off and what voltages the needle in the dash moves at.

 

no its not. it is an actual temp guage. BUT there is a range between about 190 and 235 that it doesnt move.

believe me when it starts too get too hot it shows you. i've seen it move up on a dyno when some one forgot to put the fan in front of my car.

and no there is no way to make the dash do anything different. the back side is a circuit board which gets its info from the can bus.

 

Oops. Sorry, I was wrong.

 

ditto.

i had never thought of making the oil-pressure guage functional in the car, which seems like a tight idea. too bad it's not gonna work out.