I was at a local Mazda dealership looking at buying this 04 rx8. I had about 3 people tell me that every time i turn the car of regardless of if it has warmed up or not that i should rev it to 3k RPMS then turn it off.

 

only if the engine is extremely cold when you're turning it off.
IF it's warm, there's no need for that.

 

yah thats what i was telling him... its like 75 degrees outside and we just got done with a test drive... but everybody i talked to was trying me that i need to do it EVERY time

 

they know not what they speak of.
When the car originally came out "flooding" was a bit of an issue so to prevent that people were told to rev to 3k and hold it there for a bit before shutting off.

The ONLY time I do that is if I pull my car out of the garage to put it in the driveway for a wash. Then I'll sometimes rev before shutting off.
Either way, the car's spark plugs, starter, and battery have all been upgraded since '04 to prevent flooding.

 

ahh i see.

BTW Jedi... the car is exactly the same as yours :D !!! Black with the 2 tone interior

 

This winter I reved it up every time and shut it off as it slowed down. I know its not going to flood when the car is warm but it seemed to make it start quicker. Its possible I'm imagining it too.

 

Yea ur good if its warm. I still find myself doing it just out of habit, but it isnt necessary unless its cold.

 

Well "everybody you talked to" doesnt own an rx-8 lol

 

they are certified mazda salesman :D

 

^haha keyword there is "salesman" if the car is warmed up you are fine to just shut it off....even if i'm pulling out to wash or something where is doesn't warm up i'll just take if for a spin around the block....haha...well that usually turns into like 20min drive and some 2 and 3rd gear redlines haha....

 

I do it if I remember to when its warm. I never turn off my car if the temp dial hasn't moved toward the middle range.

 

It's the government and Big Business telling you to rev it to 3k rpm before shutting it off. Over the course of a year all those 2 seconds for every shut off you waste valueable and rising price of gasoline.

Oh yeah errr there is that whole flooding issue too.

Key to remember is the weather outside doesn't affect the engine temperature(100s of degrees).

If you just start the car and turn it off before the engine temp gauge is not in the middle. I recommend revving a little.

 

I remember another post where someone had monitored their water/oil temps and said that you should make sure the temp gauge has been in the middle for at least 5 minutes or so before turning it off. Apparently it reaches the middle quick, but that doesn't mean everything is properly warm.

Of course, once your engine IS warm, then you really don't need to hold it at 3krpms.

 

I noticed on my car is when its warmed up and drive it to the grocery store and turn it off for 15 minutes and start it again, I would crank it longer than usual for the car to start. However, if I did the same thing mentioned above and rev it to 3krpms for 10 sec before shutting it off the car starts normal. So everytime I drive somewhere and I dont plan on being at a store for too long then I do the rev procedure. But if I plan to stay for hours then I don' t do the procedure. I also have a 04 RX8

 

Good rule of thumb: if you car is in "fast idle" mode (idling above 1K RPM), then rev + shutdown. If you are not in fast idle mode, there's no need, you're just wasting fuel.

The reason the engine floods is that there is excess fuel being injected into the engine at high RPMs that will not get burned up before the engine shuts off. Combine that fuel with the fuel being injected on startup and you got yourself a flood (though you can get lucky). If your engine is not in fast idle, there will not be excess fuel and you will not flood.

Followed this for the last 3 years and never flooded.

 

Yeah i have shut mine down without warming...acutally drove it on a flatbed(yes a tow truck) and shut it right of and if fired up when i got back to my apt.....but i still do not risk it....just let it warm up till the needle move a couple lines and ur good to go....never flooded with that procedure in 2 years

 

One more time...revving is not a substitute for warming it up. You rev it before shutting down if you warmed up by sitting and idling rather than driving. The procedure is spelled out in the Quick Tips guide.

Ken