ch15: KEEPING the car at those high rpm's is not only unnecessary but in my opinion, can be detrimental to your engine.
Drive the car like you would any other car but with this simple exception: At least once a day, (quickly) get your car up to redline and shift.
If you need extra power, just know that you'll need to downshift as our cars don't product a ton of power in the lower rpm range.

again, it's not like you need to stay above 6000 all the time, just when you need the extra power. (passing a car, accelerating quickly, etc)
Heck, when I drive around town it's not all that uncommon for me to be in 5th or even 6th gear.

 

If your cat isn't the issue and you're still getting a burning smell, let us know.

 

you can rev it, you just don't have to stay in 1st and 2nd gear. the nature of a high-revving engine is that power is spread across...so you have to stay in gear longer (reacher higher rpms) to get similar power to a "normal" engine. for instance, i was taught for "normal" driving to shift between 3-4k rpms. for the 8, it's probably 4-5k for "normal" driving b/c there isn't a lot of power at 3k. that doesn't mean you can never shift a 3k, just that if you do it consistently you'll (1) not be in the "meat" of the powerband and (2) over the long run, doing this consistently could lead to engine damage due to carbon build up.

bottom line, drive it "normally" but unlike other engines, don't be afraid to rev it, but don't think you have to live in the high rpms of 1st and 2nd gear either.

 

high rpms arent necessary, they just told you that cus you wanted more power...our engines are torqueless down low...i usually get up to speed and cruise in 6th gear, but when i wanna redline i redline at 9.5k rpms...

keep in mind this is a rev happy engine, redlining it wont hurt it, itll just clear the carbon out and give you a grin...

city drivin i usually shift at around 4k

 

Unfortunately with this car when city driving you'll just have to take your time unless you want to sound like a bat out of hell wherever you are driving in first and second gear. Yes that will put you in the power band but it really isn't helping your engine to drive it like that every day.

May be time for a new car if it is really that slow for you.

 

alright thanks guys. i'm going to look into getting new coils and plugs, and i'm going to contact the dealership to see how much the new cat will be, if it's still not covered.

and it's not so much the "i never have the power" thing. what bothers me and i've yet to figure out how to correct it, is like i said it just feels like at times my car is dragging, taking forever to get up to speed, if that makes sense.

anyways, i appreciate all of the help. i will keep you posted on everything.

 

don't call the dealership and ask for a new cat until you've verified the issue with yours.

P.S. the MSRP on a catalytic converter is $1440.40
The cheapest you will find that (new) is $1,123.29

 

ahh alright. that program you told me to download on my laptop, will it help me find out what's wrong with the car? I mean, will it tell me if something is wrong with the cat?

 

If you buy the Scanalyzer, it comes with Hardware to connect your laptop to your car's OBD II.
If your cat is going, there could be a CEL associated with it and the software will tell you that.

 

The 7 guy didn't mean driving it only at high rpms, he meant when you are accelerating to shift at high rpms. Cruise in high gear, low rpms.

As for the "no one can seem to help me" statement, Dozer and Jedi told you exactly what you need to do step by step. I really don't know any other way of helping you.

 

 

yeah i did

 

huh? i said no one can seem to help me because where i'm from there might be a total of two 8's in a 60 mile radius. I'm from a small town in West Virginia where no one knows anything about the rotary. the closest mazda dealer is an hour away. that's why i came to you guys, for help. i wasn't meaning that dozer and jedi weren't helping. they were more than helpful.