I'm going to say that indexing for us will not make any difference.

 

So i went out to take a look at my plugs.. and look what i found on the tip it was inside the spark plug wire .. dont know if it was their for a reason or on accident. lets just say mazda technicans were the last ones to touch the plugs... hmmmm.. took it off cleaned the plugs and got the junk out the wire.. took out for spin and noticed alot more low end power... better idle..NICE

 

Great Scott! What is that, bubblegum?

 

yeah thats what it looked and felt like..

 

ok this might be a dumb question but...

NGK plugs from AAP, what's the difference between the 6701 and 6700? I'm guessing i need 2 of each for trailing and leading?

 

Thats the difference, one is leading and the other is trailing and yes you need 2 of each. Once you get them they clearly say which ones they are in the model one ends in -T and the other ends in -L.

 

... and the engine block has nice cast 'L' and 'T' by the 'plug sockets as well. Almost idiot proof.

 

GREAT!!! I did this job and the idle dropped down to 0.8, Thanks Tony Orlando.

But, it's not easy to take those plugs out, and I'm not sure I tied enough for all plugs .

 

Hopefully you used some anti-seize on the new plugs then, and they should be much easier next time. I know when I removed one plug to check it the factory plugs didn't seem to have any on them.

 

???
Do you mean you are not sure you tightened the plugs enough? If you do not have enough mechanical background to know if you installed the plugs correctly, have a mechanic check it for you.

 

Here are my Rx-7 Burq9T's. Only 3210 miles with a BHR Ing and 8 lbs of boost. These are the $6 copper plug. So after running this model for 2+ years, I decided to bit the bullet and purchase the NGK's that are made for the 8. All trailing of course.
Base idle smoothness has returned and response feels the same.
But look at that center electrode!

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...2/IMG_3717.JPG

 

BTW, after a couple tanks of gas following the plug change, I have definitely noticed better gas mileage. I'm doing just over 21 mpg now, which is a record for me in this car .

 

Good DIY, saved me $300 today!!!

 

Hi,

I've been lurking for a while, first post. I've gone through about 5 pages of this thread so far.

I tried changing my plugs out at about 30k using the procedure on the first page. Jacked my car up, took the driver's side wheel off, got in there and changed them out. Went smoothly, no issues. Started the car up, sounded great. More power, better idle, the works.

I took it out for a drive, and it was all great. I stopped by a local Ralph's for some food, and that's when the trouble started. I go back to my car, and had a hard time starting up. I finally got the car started, and it was awful! I had to keep the clutch down half of the way. Unsteady idle, MAJOR loss of power, the engine just didn't want to stay on. It must've died at least 3 times on the 1.5 mile drive back from Ralph's.

I checked out the plugs the next morning, and one of the trailing plugs' ceramic was cracked. I ordered a replacement from Amazon, installed it, and...same issue. Hard start, low/unsteady idle, and a knocking sound from the engine. Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong? This is the first time I've ever tried to do this, so I'd really appreciate any help. The dealership told me it'd be $90 for a diagnostic, so I'd like to exhaust my DIY options before heading over.

Thanks!

 

Although most plugs come with the proper electrode gap it's always a good idea to check them.

If one plug was defective perhaps the whole set is?

Coincidentally your coils may be going bad and/or the plug cables?

 

I think it's time to finally do this project, but I figured I'd do the wires and coil at the same time. Can somebody tell me exactly what I need to order? I went to BHR and got a bit confused:

http://blackhaloracing.com/?page_id=60&category=8

They have the big kit which has some extra parts I don't understand, then they have plugs, plug wires and wires for coil. But they don't have the coil separately? Should I just get the kit and plugs and be done with it? I guess I just want to buy the minimum here but I'm not sure what that is.
Thanks!

 

Huey52 - They weren't cracked, but I didn't think to check the electrode gaps.

How would I check the coils/cables? I was going to take it to the dealer and just hope for the warranty. Is there something simple I'm overlooking?

 

You can't go wrong with the complete BHR coils/cables/plugs kit. High quality at a fair price.

 

The coils and cables aren't typically warranty items unless found defective relatively soon after new purchase. The RX-8 coils are weak with most only getting 30k of good service from them, but the cables are of average quality.

You can use a timing light and an ohmmeter on the coils. See linked TSB.

'course if you want to be assured of reliable long term coils BHR kit (GMC Yukon coils) is the way to go.

 

Huey52 - Thanks! You were right, it was the ignition. I just got it back from the dealership and ordered the BHR ignition set.

The dealership told me that the coils were already failing. My guess is that the strain of running the engine without one plug (cracked) probably made things worse. They said that the coils for one rotor had stopped working entirely, and so that chamber ended up getting flooded since there was no ignition going on there. They offered me quite the deal - $1075 to get the coils, plugs, and wires changed.

Yeah, no. That's not happening.

Thanks for the help, Huey52.

 

You're welcome, but thanks really due to BHR for giving us a value-add option!!!

 

FYI, just did mine (2006 RX8 GT 59000km). Followed guide though it was pretty straight forward. Taking the wheel off makes it EASY. My jack does not fit in the place I wanted to jack so I jacked on the pinch with wood, pushed a stand under and then relocated the jack and then stand to the frame. Also, you may think you can remove all 4 from the wheel well but it's much easier to listen to the guide and go from underneath the car for the other 2. Everything was clearly labelled. Changed the oil while I was at it. Took just under a hour for everything.

I ordered mine from sparkplugs.com (at the advice from somewhere near the front page of this thread). About half the price as locally for me. Also ordered spare K&N air filters and oil filters.

For people interested, here are my old plugs. I was happy to see the previous owner had changed them at least once (RE9BT are a newer model than the original trailing plugs but the leads remain the same design). First picture is both Leads and #2 is both trails.

http://imgur.com/a/r4O0M

 

To fix any power/idle issues with the rx8 with stock coils and you want the stock coils to last a long time, it is simple.

lower the gap on the plugs around .005 of an inch on what ever brand plugs you want to use that fit based on stock specs. the stock gap of .048 is fine but, most do not realize that the gap opens up slightly and will stress the coils as the gap is rather large for an NA engine.

by reducing the gap with the new plugs, it gives them room to 'grow' to around what the stock gap setting is and allows for the slight build up of carbon to not interfere with the voltage requirements needed to fire the plug.

Keep your plugs clean/replaced and the car will be performing great with stock coils or aftermarket systems as well.

 

I disagree. All you need is a u-joint for the socket wrench, and the back plugs are very easy to remove through the wheel well. No reason to get under the car to remove them.

Best way to support the car is a floor jack under the main crossmember, then place jack stands at the factory jacking points.

 

a u-joint or a wobble extension is your friend, not only with the plugs but with any project on this car