i actually forgot, if i remember i will check them after work. (bad memory)

 

Good information, as always. Here's my question (yes, I conducted a search), has anyone covered (partially or in full) one or both oil coolers in the winter to aid in engine warm up? I know these things put out a lot of heat but the quicker an engine heats up the less wear and tear on it (plus better mileage, sooner cabin heat, defrosting ability, etc).

 

don't forget a nice blankit in the trunk, while u in the car waiting for warm up

 

Excellent post!!!!

Shopping around for some new winter treads soon. ........ Only thing ... The Cost for those M3's.

 

I agree.. Good thread, wish I had a chance to even see snow, Not likely to happen at the beach.

 

thanks for the info!
good lookin out

 

you're welcome

 

Awesome post!

I already found out the hard way how bad stock tires are in a bit of snow. Tomorrow I get my M3s mounted on 17inch Mazda 3 wheels I bought.

One other quick question. Now that it is cold it obviously takes longer for my car to warm up. I do try to get a redline in at the end of my 7 minute commute. If the coolant temp guage is where it should be when warmed up is it safe to go or is this too soon? I hate not being able to get at least one redline in a day

 

Too soon. In fact, it's also too soon when the gage first reaches normal. You should wait until the oil is at operating temperature. Of course, we don't have an oil temp gage, so it's hard to tell. Drive it a while longer for fun, then beep it.

Ken

 

oil could still be not up to temp after the coolant temp is right. best to wait for a few minutes after that to redline

 

So am I causing a lot of harm with these daily 7 minute commutes with no redlining?

 

you need a longer commute

find a 'scenic route' that takes you 20 minutes to get to work lol

 

I at least need to find a longer way back home I live in the stupid suburbs though.

 

Its a terrible winter up here and i try to drive little this time of year...i know many owners who buy these cars at small time used dealerships where the salesman know nothing about the car...i once talked to a gal who told me the dealer thought the rx8 was a front wheel drive!...so I'm sure he would have been no help on maintaining her car all winter...any winter rx8 driver needs to read this post

 

thanks Tim. keep warm

 

Thanks for the info Zoom. Good work.

I finally got bit by the flood-bug last week.
You'd think someone who's owned rotarys since 93 would know better #@?!
... "it couldn't happen to me syndrome" ...

Got a free tow, a loaner, a new battery and plugs from my dealer...
Did I mention the pissed-off look I got from my service tech when I wished him a
Happy New Year?

Me a D/A... sometimes.

 

I drove home from my folks a few weeks ago on an abnormally cold Tucson evening (+35'ish Deg. F) and monitoring my sCANalyzer, my car never reached coolant operating temp (normal I consider as being 180-185 F). In 20 minutes and about 10 miles it only reached about 160 F. I did not get on it at all. I did have the heater on, after about 7 or 8 minutes of driving.

Some notes and a question. My car is 'tuned' for the high heat summers here... only 15% coolant, 75% Distilled and some redline... vented hood, large intake Mazdaspeed front bumper, custom fan controller (185 F setpoint), and 10W30 penzoil platinum syn.
So with the heater on to keep me alive, and the factors I just mentioned, you can imagine, that driving through the cold air, my car is not going to heat up very fast...although I can't monitor oil temp, you can assume it isn't too far off from the coolant temp. I did re-install my mazda engine cover to keep some heat in, but I doubt that makes much of a difference.

So for guys in my position, don't forget to change to a thinner oil, run more antifreeze, and be more aware of your engine temps vs. high engine load runs.

Now, my newb style question, my dad hands me a newspaper article today with those damn Click and Clack auto guys that are the Dear Abby column of the auto world... they had an article that had a girl write in saying her boyfriend was always mad at her for getting in her cold car and starting and driving off within seconds. The boyfriend said you should always warm up the engine before moving the car under load. The Click and Clack guys vehemently said that was a total waste of gas and time and not to worry about it...the car will warm up as you go. Of course I tried to explain to my dad, that the Rotary was different in this regard and should be warmed up for a multitude of reasons.... can you explain the the reasons that are related to wear and heat expansion and metallurgy issues specific to the rotary? I always remember my old VW beetle books said warming up those flat fours was also critical.... I myself cringe when I see my neighbor hop in her beat up pink 1980 volvo sedan in the morning, and the car barely has 100 revs on the engine before she is plowing out of the driveway under heavy acceleration. Somehow that car lives on.

-C

 

A tip for winter driving - when slowing down on a slippery surface, such as snow or especially ice - remember to clutch in as you let off the gas and step on the brakes.

If you don't do this, the engine braking (slowing down the rear wheels), together with the weight transfer to the front (reduced traction at the rear wheels), will cause the rear wheels to lock up. The ABS can't do anything about this. If the road is banked you will end up spinning at best, and plowing the rear end into the curb or a lamp post at worst.

Remember folks - Don't want to spin? Both feet in!

(I know that's not the real saying, but it's catchy )

 

Thanks man

 

Chamberlin- on most cold mornings its fine to start driving after a minute or 2 as long as you accelerate gently and keep the revs low. however it is advisable to wait longer on severely cold mornings. even then i wouldnt sit for more then 5. as long as i could see the needle begin its rise id start to drive.

you may want to keep an eye on those temps and have the Thermostat checked

has anyone confirmed whether our stock Tstat is a fail close or fail open variety?

 

Thanks Zoom - I suspect my thermostat is working fine, as we are in warmer months now and all is good. Keep in mind of the factors I mentioned specific to my car... I think my 'cooling mods' are just working so good, that in cold environments, these mods are taking away more heat than the engine is creating. Simple as that - so my warning/addendum to your Winter Thread is to remind other warm climate guys like myself, to make the necessary adjustments for when those rare cold months do decide to rear their ugly head!

 

i hear ya and thanks for the info

 

bumpity bump bump

 

one thing i might add if your area gets below freezing is to change out the summer washer fluid and get some winter washer fluid in there or you could be stuck with no washers for the rest of the winter unless you find a heated garage to park it in so the fluid can thaw out

 

About a month ago, I performed my twice annual tyre swap out, as I only have the OEM rims. My snow tyres are a set of Pirelli 240 SnowSports in the OEM size; but I've wondered about using a set of 17 inch rims and with corresponding narrower snow tyres for better results. The only challenge is that I do not want to do without TPMS during the Winter, so I'm wondering if the use of 17 inch Mazda rims from another model might allow me to retain the TPMS function whilst having a dedicated set of rims for the cold weather tyres. I've also considered going to all-season tyres as I rarely actually contend with snow and mostly just deal with cold weather during the winter where the RE040 is about as much use as a racing slick in a downpour.