Nah, I'm gonna baby it. Revving up a rotary is a good thing

 

Uhmmm, call me cynical if you will, but surely if ALL the pre-production Renesis engines had a sticky port then it must be a generic design fault. If it's a design fault then all the engines produced thus far in Hiroshima will have to be disassembled and modified. Will this not affect the first delivery schedule?

 

...i'm still not sure if they've all had this problem, and that the problem is that big a deal... i want proof dammit!!
but obviously Mazda ain't gonna come forward and say "oh yeah, we, uh, screwed up on the tertiary ports, and they stick closed" no matter how big a deal it is... so we may never know...??

 

Since most of us won't even experience the opening of the 6250 rpm power ports for a while after taking ownership during break-in, sounds like we may need to dyno our cars, as a baseline for future mods AND as a precaution to sticking power ports.....

I also agree with you Wakeech about needing more information and proof on the power port "allegations". SCC should have posted their dyno.

Sorry made it sound like I needed more proof that it actually happened to SCC. Actually I was questioning that it happened to all the test vehicles used so far, but if it did, it just means more power for us when we finally get it in a couple of months...

:D

 

Everybody needs to remember that these were pre production, hand-assembled cars. I guess the proof would be that Mazda pulled ALL of the test vehicles to diagnose the problem. If the power valve looks similar to powervalves found on other Mazda cars, it's simply a brass butterfly on a shaft. No big tech there. I'm sure it's just something minor. I'm just glad they caught it!

 

... i know you're an FD owner, but the last NA wankel Mazda produced has a rotating "sleeve" valve for the tertiary port...

but yes, certainly (as i keep saying) it's no big deal... and i've STILL not heard of anything pertaining to Mazda pulling all their cars to try and fix some phantom problem...

 

Yeah, I'm aware...most of the newer cars produced that use tuned runners and valves switched to a simple butterfly controlled by a solenoid which supplied vacuum to open/close the valve as needed. Best example is the KL series engine found in the MX6, PGT, and Millenia. Yamaha has used a similar valve (to the 2nd gen n/a) since 87 or so...those freeze up over time (not all though) as well.

I'm estimating that the events in the article appeared over a month ago, giving them time to solve and fix the problem. The first cars aren't expected here in the states, at least locally for me, until late April. Local dealer is getting four cars.

Personally, I would expect a few niggling problems with the first cars to come off the line. This isn't a "Mazda" thing, it's an automotive thing. Just ask E46 M3 owners, 03 Cobra owners, 350Z owners, etc....Just a fact of modern design and production.
Michel

 

I believed that SCC did experienced the stuck valves problem. But I think the problem is unique to their test car. I don't see how it would be possible for R&T and C&D to achieved 5.9/14.5 with 40hp deficit.

I simulated 40 less ponies in CarTest and the best I got was 6.2/14.8 and 0-100 at 17.1 sec. With the correct power curve, CarTest gave me 6.0/14.5 and 0-100 at 15.7 sec. This is very similar result to R&T and C&D. Plus the stuck valves would have affected all gears not just the high speed ones.

 

Good Duck-

Is CarTest taking into account dropping the clutch at 8,000 RPM?

I think I remember at least one article stating a more "realistic" launch resulted in numbers closer to your "40-less ponies" results.

~Robert

 

Yes it would, but I'm not concerned about the off the line power... I was more concerned with the power at the top end, where rotaries are great.

Road and Track reported the RX-8 being sluggish at the top end which is unlikely... which would lead me to believe they also had a similar problem.

However until it's confirmed by Mazda, I will reserve judgement. I'm happy with the speed of this car right now, any extra power is just icing.

 

well...i think so too, but i think japan already have RX8 in production.....so if there is any problems with it japanese ppl will be more likely to find out whats going on, so by the time our cars get here it's going to be solved...:D

 

What happen to the scc article? Did they clarify what the actual times are yet? I read a post about someone asking the scc article's author to join the rx8 forum to answer questions, what ever happen to that?

 

nope we dont have any "final times" yet. Just have to wait. Anyways, here's a little something for you (found in another thread):

So if this is true and the SCC article is true, then media mules were tuned to 240hp AND had problems with high end power. Hmmmmmm, wonder how much performance will improve once everything is finished.

 

In Japan, there is no offical comments on this from Mazda.
And there is no rumors about this on BBS in Japan as far as I know. I think this is because this article is in English.

My dealer also said that currently there is no official comments on this matter. He was also not sure.

 

I think a more apt question is whether or not we early adopters will be seeing the service bays for stuck ports or othere teething issues with the Renesis. Little stuff is OK... my G35 had two minor recalls... but potentially chronic and widespread engine problems are another story. I'd hate for the motor to get a bad rep early on.


"Hmmmmmm" is appropriate for a rotary forum... "the Mazda goes Hmmmmmm!"