I'll be leaving the RX-8 in about two days, going back home to Malaysia. Can't take the car with me, so it'll sit in the porch for two months or so.

Any procedures I need to follow to ensure no damage is done when I come back? What about starting it up?

 

u should always try to park it indoors if possible. that way u can hook up a battery charger and keep the car out of the sunlight- which is very damaging to cars in general. happened to me like 3x's already. so i bought a portable battery jumper for $30 from pep boys.

after 2 months, it's almost guaranteed your battery will be dead- since mazda uses the cheapest *** battery on the planet. otherwise, just be prepared to have to jump it. not too big a deal.

if u have to park outside, try to avoid anywhere in direct sunlight. get 2 car covers: 1 indoor one, since they're thicker and block out sun and 1 outdoor one to repel rainwater and dust. tie everything down tight so the wind doesn't blow it away.

that's the best i can think of.

 

Well, I don't have a indoor spot, but I did rent a car porch, which is covered by a roof. I'd reckon the rear end of the car gets exposed to sunlight about 2~3hrs a day.

Is it possible for me to just disconnect the battery to preserve it?

 

A light cover to protect it from dust or any foreign matter and from sunlight. I've stored my rx8 for four winters now and only this past winter did I realize that had I disconnected the battery I would have saved some aggravation with run down batteries each winter. Your battery should be fine for two months if you disconnect one terminal.

 

Oh, I almost forgot---you'll lose your radio presets and also upon start up the little yellow sqiggly car will appear on the instrument panel but should go away after acouple of engine starts and stops.

 

No RX8 for 2 months. You'll miss it! I was without mine for a month and it was like hell!