yz007

Whats up!, After i bought my car about 10 months ago, It took me about 2 months before i realized it had a trunk switch, i was cursing mazda for not having a switch , then i find out somthing else today, the radio button that switches the radio presets and tracks on the steering wheel also will Seek if you hold it, so am I the last to figure this out? :D any other features, suprizes out there?

Hammer

I didn't know that, and thank you for the discovery. I had been cursing mazda myself for not having a seek button for the steering wheel. Here's a link to check out to find some other things people have noticed...I haven't read through the whole thing, but have found out a thing or two from what I have read.

https://www.rx8club.com/violations-53/little-things-9437/

truemagellen

I read the manual...it is the bible to me...

by the way did you find the super secret hidden compartment? the one with tiny little japanese men who live there and come out when you need to change your turn signal bulbs

8_wannabe

Hey, good catch. I'm been driving mine for 14 months now and didn't know that. Of course, I don't seek much but it's still cool. Use the link that Hammer gave you and add it to the Little things thread. I've read the whole thing but never saw this one.

another8owner

has anyone mentioned that you can adjust the brightness of the gauges with the dimmer switch W/O the headlights turned on or how about when they are on you can make the center info display dim or be bright or the positive/negative dispaly feature ?

yz007

Are you trying to be smart? if so you need a new bible....
I read the manual the first day i had the car, but i think i read to much at once, eyes even hurt, I didnt find the little japanese men on my rx8 yet, but on my old fd when i changed the turbos, and all the rx-7s ive had, every bolt i turned was tightened by that bastard, little japanese dude with a big freakin wrench.

B-Nez

Can you clarify what you mean by positive/negative display? It could be semantics, but that doesn't ring any bells with me.

truemagellen

I think he is talking about the Navigation system...when you put the headlights on the nav sys display displays a negative image so that your eyes don't bug out seeing the bright white map in the dark...if you haven't seen it it is pretty damn cool...maybe I can post a pic

epitrochoid

dammit, i just drove for 20 hours seeking radio stations on the panel!

B-Nez

Ahh, okay. That makes sense - I don' have the NAV.

another8owner

to clarify my statement:

The Main Gauge cluster


during daylight driving if you adjust your dimmer switch ( located on the left side of the dash )with the headlights turned off, the gauge lights will dim or brighten.

The positive negative effect i am talking about is during night time driving, you can switch the gauge lights from amber to white by rolling the dimmer dial all the way up till it clicks.

another8owner

.

at night when the headlights are on if you push the -DISP- button ( located next to the ambient temperature button -AMB- ) it makes the radio/heater dispaly brighter.

robertdot

Does yours display the radio name? My mom's PT Cruiser does, but my '8 doesn't. Is that a Bose thing, or am I not doing something right (base model non-bose)?

truemagellen

my girlfriend's Mazda 3 displays 'hi' as it is starting up

eightboy

Only on certain radios that has a RDS reciever (Radio Data System). It is a digital signal that takes a tiny bandwidth from the radio channel to transmit digital data. This doesn't affect the audio, but requires a RDS reciever to decode the signal. Althought RDS has been existed for many years, only recently in America that a few radios start to have such feature. Too bad the radio in the '8 don't have such feature (perhaps RDS is not so popular in Japan).

robertdot

While not aware of the technical definition, I was aware of the technology.

However, the photo above appears to have a stations call letters (though I have seen other names put there, like the station's name if it is short), and it is the RX-8 display.

So, what gives? Is that a Japanese version (looks a but like it)? Or does anyone with Bose have the RDS receiver? I know the base M/T does not.

Hammer

Actually you have to have a radio that is compatible, as well as be listening to a radio station that transmits the data. All stations do not transmit this data as of yet. About a year ago, 96.1 in Norfolk Va got it and there was a write up about it on their website, how they were excited to be offering this to people with compatible radios. The stock head unit in the 04 model must not have the software, as when I listen to their station only 96.1 displays. If it works, you'll get an alternating display of the station's call leters, as well as the artist and name of the song playing. Very similar to what you get with sirius or xm satellite radio, which I believe was what spurned the development of it in the first place.