Warm up time
 

So I'm picking my RX-8 up Saturday. I've heard some people talk about the rotary engines needing at least 5 minutes of warm up time (summer or winter). Is that true for the Renesis or was that for the rotary in the RX-7?

It's true. The dealer should tell you about all of that (it's also in the car manual), but bottom line is to just let it warm up or drive it around the block and you should have no problems flooding the engine. Had mine since 10/2003 with 3500 miles and have had no problems. I always rev mine up to 4k and then shut it off after it comes back down. If you need more info just do a "flooding" search of this site and I'm sure you will get plenty of hits.

You don't need to let it warm up for five minutes before driving it. Just don't turn it off before its warmed up. If you search for "flooding" you will be flooded with information.

Congratulations on the new car!

I don't shut mine down before the temp guage is at least on the 2nd or 3rd line from the left by the 'C'

No way - just normal warm-up time given outside temperature just like in the wise use of a piston engine. Seconds not minutes.

John

PS Be careful with 6 spd MT and reversing out - stalled it a couple of times when I had just got the car - had put in 6th not reverse.

PPS Enjoy - enjoy - enjoy !!!

No matter how cold or warm the weather is the engine is cold so you need to warm up ... but 5 minutes is a bit overkill except I think in freezing (sub-zero) temperatures.

We should do a poll to see how many people actually did that :p

I've put it in 6th gear instead of reverse a few times when I first got my car and once I stalled while the car was VERY cold. Luckily it started right up but I was very nervous about flooding it.

I guess that 'problem' has not be detailed much. Stalled it about three times in the first week os so. Now it's very very rare for me not to get it right. I had never had a 6 spd MT. John

PS I would think that many RX-8 buyers are new to MT's - so may 'sports cars' (actually most are sporty cars IMHO) have ATs/ Even my SLK320 is an auto - but all my Mazdas are MTs.

For warm up from a 50-60 degrees or more I thought you just wait till the tach settles down from about 2000 rpm to around 1000- which takes maybe 30 seconds or less. Doesn't this seem right?

When its colder out obviously I give it 2 mins or so.

And of course no matter what the temp I always drive mellow for the first few minutes till engine is at or close to opperating temp.

listen, if you are going to work or any drive just start up the car, buckle up and drive away. Any time you spend at idle is money wasted and polution. even at -25 C i never wait more then 30 sec. If you wanna back it up the garage then you NEED to warmit up to avoid flooding.

That's a solid reason for placing reverse up and to the left of 1st. You may move in the wrong direction (fwd instead of reverse) but there's usually a gate to prevent an accidental move like this and as long as you don't mash down the accelerator to back up you won't ever have a problem.

-Eric

Actually, I had the 8 in 6th the very first time I went to test drive one. Went to backup, merely kept the revs stable just above idle and gently let the clutch out and the car creeped forward. Clutch in, select reverse again and away I went.

Never stalled. I attribute that not to my skills (or lack thereof) but to the 8's sweet clutch, which is far more communicative and forgiving than my Ford Contour SE's....

That said, I'd prefer reverse to the top left instead of bottom right.

I had trouble finding reverse on my test drive. I kept putting it in 6th but never stalled it either. Reverse is usually a pretty tall gear (much like first)...so when I didn't feel the gear kick in I hit the brake. Unfortunately, the tester was parked on a steep incline so it kept inching toward the curb until I pushed down hard to the right.

Aside from that, I loved everything about the tranny...even they way my arm rested on the column with the shifter in my hand.

-Eric

My Version of warmup
 

I don't believe in sitting in the car to let it warm up. I do believe in not overrevving it until the temp gets the middle.

Basically, I just like to cruise below 400 rpm until the temp guage gets to normal. Then I start gunning it.

"Warmup time" depends on what you're warming it up to do!

Warm up before driving off (gently) in cold weather - 30 seconds.

Warm up before turning off to avoid flooding - 3 minutes.

Warm up time before being able to use full throttle and maximum rpms - minimum 5 minutes, probably closer to 10 minutes. Coolant temperature isn't the issue, normal operating temperature is indicated by the OIL reaching a certain operating temperature. That's kind of hard to gauge on a car like the RX-8 with no oil temperature gauge, but as a rule of thumb it takes at least twice as long for the oil as for the coolant. That is, if it takes 5 minutes for the coolant to indicate normal temperatures, then wait ANOTHER 5 for the oil to get up to temperature before using full throttle or max rpm.

Anyone who uses full throttle as soon as the coolant temperature reaches normal op temp is NOT letting their car warm up fully, and WILL be causing premature wear.

Regards,
Gordon

Gord96BRG --

Thanks for the clear and succinct reply

I had been wondering what the "warmup physics" were

Hey cool, I've been doing that also. About a minute of warmup before pulling out in the morning, but 3 minutes of warmup if I'm moving my 8.

o, i thought u only need to warm up when u need to move the car / driving a for a short distance when the tempeture is low. correct me if i am wrong.

Gord,do you know if the oil coolers have thermostats? If not, it's going to take a while for the oil to get warm.

I think there are three issues here:
(1) Should any type of car be driven when the engine is cold?
(2) How does the air temperature affect engine warm up time?
(3) How does any of that relate to RX-8 flooding?

Issue (1): a general idea that you shouldn't start an engine and drive it at high throttle/RPMs when its still cold because it causes premature wear. This question relates to all engines, not just the RX-8. But, you could start a very cold RX-8, drive it hard immediately (cringe), turn it off after it was fully warmed up, and it wouldn't be likely to flood. The issue here isn't flooding, its driving it hard before the engine is warmed up.

Issue (2): a colder engine takes longer to warm up. Being warmed up is related to coolant and oil temperature, but the RX-8 only reports coolant temperature. The "rule of thumb" from Gord96BRG is it takes the oil 2x longer to warm up than the coolant.

Issue (3): If an RX-8 is turned off before it warms up, it may flood. So what does warmed up mean?

According to the Quick Tips Guide from Mazda:

(a) Needle in the middle of the temperature gauge indicates normal temperature

(b) When moving a vehicle a short distance:
- Start engine
- Move vehicle
- Warm engine for 5 minutes at idle
- Raise engine speed to 3000 RPM for 10 seconds
- Return to idle
- Turn off engine

But, just because the coolant temperature is normal and the car isn't likely to flood, doesn't mean the oil temperature is normal, and "rule of thumb" says high throttle/RPMs should be delayed another 2x.

Other guidelines are given elsewhere. If others have better summaries than mine, hopefully they will post them.

thanks for ur information TRX8. actually the flooding issue is very mundane matter to me. however, the more i read about the flooding threads, the problem seems to be more complex.

It's actually not complex at all. If you shut the engine down within 3 minutes of a cold start (deliberately or via stall), it might flood. That's all! If the engine is warmed up more than 3 minutes, it doesn't flood. If for some reason it does flood, use the flooded start technique immediately and it will often start.

Regards,
Gordon

Gordon:

What's 'complex' is that almost 30 years after the RX-7 was first marketed - it's still an issue. With fuel injection - and all the other changes in the past 20 plus years - you would think it would have been laid to rest.

John

I often let it warm up for about 30 seconds, pull it out of the garage for a washing, shut it off (prior to being fully warm). When she's clean, start her up, pull her back into the garage. I've never had any issues with flooding. I'm going on week 6 (knock on wood).