pistonhater

Interesting. Thanks for clarifying that info for me. I guess I never found out because i always way for the car to warm up before I go above 3.5K rpms.

Thanks.

Cool, thanks. I sort of wish I had those red lights!!

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Found a pic of the S2's 2 stage rev limiter. This is with both stages engaged and lit.

paimon.soror

iTrader: (15)

yup, and they are virtual limiters. cant rev past them. Not sure why an earlier person said you could.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

If the average RX-8 owner actually monitored temps they would never drive their car until it is fully warmed up. Even when coolant temps are in the normal range the oil is not.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Though that's the same for piston engines. "not warm" doesn't mean "no lubrication" though. It just means "thicker oil". And that isn't entirely bad for all driving, just some driving.

Knowing when parts are receiving sufficient oil is different than knowing your oil temp.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Thicker yes, and less protective at that point as well due to the fact that the additive package is not in play until a certain temperature.

New Yorker

RX-8 owners are many things, but average is not one of them.

talle232008

Well I have had my 8 for 2months love it!! Don't know weather the daily rev is the way to go. Generally I rev it out once a week and it runs substantially better after a good run in the red, but it seems that a daily rev in the red would do the 8 some good. So, zoom zoom ...Red here I come!!!


Just do it dont be scared the wankels love to get spanked!!

Zahir

Supernaut writes "you didn't buy a rotary to drive it like you have no ***** did you? "

What is "*****" got do with revving, driving a rotary or an RX8. ***** is driving a 170 Impala with a 100K miles on it at 100 mph on winding Highway 1 (ca) or down a mountain road.

I can hit 100+ on my RX8 without ever revving the engine past 6000.
__________________

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

I know several chicks that drive it without any ***** at all!

Are-Ex-Eight

iTrader: (1)

Because I have.

Are-Ex-Eight

iTrader: (1)

It's a bit of a wtf moment when it does kick in the limiter but I'm on my way to 7 or 8 before it drops me down to 5.

Prophet

Mine has kicked in like a sledge hammer the few times I forgot about it. I always wait till the first light goes out before driving off. But, in my morning stupor, I some times hold the gear a tad to late when fighting traffic. The As soon as I hit, the engine backs off and holds RPM. Every time. Never going more than a couple hundred over the mark.

LifeAfterRx8

iTrader: (17)

I don't think redlining it a day would ever hurt it.

The only real problem with rotaries is the carbon build-up causing premature wear (as many suggested) and the seals starting to wear from a lot of heat.

Obviously, if you're sitting in the first gear for 10 miles at 9k rpm or launching at 9k at every stop light, it's not going to be the best for your engine... or any engine really.

I usually just redline it once a day when on the highway... honestly I'm not sure how you can go that many miles without at least redlining it once... when I had my engine replaced at 82,210 miles (could have lasted longer IMO) it was very difficult to drive the 1,600 miles for the break-in period without redlining it once. Unfortunately, I still can't really redline it, as you gradually build up until it's fully broken in at 2,000 miles, but I'm getting close... I try to never go higher than around 7,500-8,000 until I hit 2,000 miles.

Zahir

I suspect that if there were engines blown for "08 onwards, it has more to do with revving a lot, revving when cold, racing and general aggressive griving. I doubt that people who purchased the RX8 for other reasons (looks, road handling etc.) and drive conservatively, get their cars in trouble because they do not redline. Mine has reached 27K without ever getting over 7000 and still drives flawlessly. Thus my question about whether revving to redline is ever inecessary.

sjschutz

Whether it's necessary or not I just don't know how you could own an RX-8 and not stomp the pedal to hear the 9K *beep*

The rotary loves to rev. Give it what it wants and enjoy.

lastphaseofthis

how come no one corrected him??? you're not supposed to REV to redline, but speed in gear from 1-3. yes you need to do this, it's in the RX-7 manual! i'm sure it probably is in the 8 manual also.... or it needed to be... above 4-5k before ~170 degrees is bad also, is there any debate about that? i thought it was an open and shut case years ago

ShottsCruisers

The harder you drive the better for the motors. Keep it above 6500RPM and you're keeping those APEX seals lubed up. Time has proven that rotaries last a long time when driven this way. (Except for the 04-05 troubles...not the fault of the rotary engine) Piston engines...the exact opposite.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Not entirely accurate.

Light load 7,000rpm is not good for the engine and not actually injecting much oil but generating lots of heat. RX-8 OMP is load based, so just "being above" the RPM doesn't provide much lubrication. And unless you have upgraded your cooling system and know that it can take that kind of heat abuse, you shouldn't just "keep it above 6,500rpm". Full throttle up, and let the RPMs drop, maybe another couple times as you row through the gears, but give it time to cool off.

The race RX-8s have proven that spending the entire life in the top powerband will cause a failure of side seals due to exhaust port heat deforming the springs. (Keeping these cool is also the main point of the RX-8's OMP, not apex seal lubrication, though apex seal lubrication is another intended aspect)


You can't just say to stay in 1 RPM range, because it doesn't matter which RPM range that is, there is something bad about it that becomes more and more critically bad the longer you stay there. Varying the RPM prevents the negative of any 1 band from becoming a sure thing for a failure reason.

Are-Ex-Eight

iTrader: (1)

It's the same reason why you shouldn't use cruise control. Piston or wankle.

ShottsCruisers

Sure, but I think you know what I mean. Shift up in that rev range often...inject the extra oil, burn off that carbon....it's good for these engines.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I know what you mean. But for someone that doesn't know and has to ask, your post is a bit misleading

I was just clarifying that so we don't have someone driving around above 6,500 rpm, even in light throttle cruise.

ShottsCruisers

That'd be bad = 10mpg and loud.

MattC867

I guess there isn't really a clear answer, but I'm still inclined to believe that occasional redline shifting with high load is a good thing for the engine. I've only had the RX8 for a year now, but I've read pretty much every thread on this site and others, and one thing seems clear to me: Early engine failures disproportionately favored 2004/2005 automatics. One assumption that you could make there is that automatics 1.) have a lower redline and 2.) are more likely to be babied because you have to go out of your way to get it to rev high. Additionally, there seems to be some info that when these engines were disassembled to see why there were failing, they had lots of gunk and carbon build up.

As somebody already stated; you're injecting oil into the combustion chamber. Unless you have the Sohn adapter and are injecting separate 2-cycle oil, that means you're injecting oil which was not formulated to burn clean inside a chamber. The RX-8 can get around this, but its only because the rotary can get very hot under a high load: hot enough to burn all that crap out (or so goes the assumption).

I do agree: It's hard to judge, because none of this is very scientific and more anecdotal. I would say that the basic "Redline every day" saying misses the point; its about high load and therefore high heat/pressure inisde the engine. Even if you only go to 7,000, you can probably still accomplish that to a degree.

Bottom line: it's your car so treat it the way it makes sense to you.

RufusVonStorm

Redline a day or you're missing the point