So here's a problem I've noticed. Only 1100 miles so far, barely two weeks since I've bought it. It does have the latest ECU flash.

At WOT, above 6000 rpms, the engine kind of hesitates. The easiest way to describe it would be "anything but smooth". It doesn't feel like the clutch or flywheel are slipping, but the behavior is similar. If I let up a little, instead of flooring it, it's pretty smooth. But when the pedal is completely floored it comes back.

Two or three times now it's made a kind of clacking noise. Very quiet, and disappears at around 6500.... it scared me because it sounded really similar to my old Toyota when the oil was pretty much empty and the cylinders started rubbing all wrong. But I know there's plenty of oil in there, so....

I've been trying different things out, trying to narrow it down. It's especially noticeable in 3rd. 1st is fine, but 2nd it comes up now and then.

I need to experiment a little more, but I think when I turn DSC off, it's not as bad. I can't tell quite yet if it completely disappears with DSC disabled though (hard to find roads that I can get to redline in third without a bunch of cops chasing me down).

Anyone had similar experiences or problems? Any ideas? I'm just trying to narrow down the behavior so I can tell the service dept. how to replicate it when I take it in.

 

Are you doing WOT before the engine has warmed up (e.g; have you been driving the car at least 10 minutes)?

 

No way dude! That's crazy! I only start testing things out after at least 20-30 minutes of casual driving.

 

Welcome to our world. Various nomenclature has been used to describe it, from "rattling" to "ringing" or "grinding", and now "clacking", but there are a large amount of people reporting this noise combined with a hesitation.

Check it out HERE

 

I've noticed the same thing a couple of times when accelerating in 4th: at about 6500-7000 rpm, the engine starts knocking and losing power. Mazda has evidently noticed it, too. A new PCM reflash called "MSP04" addresses this problem. It was released on 6-2-04, and describes this problem almost exactly. The bulletin is listed on the Rosenthal Mazda website:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...01-022-04.html

(The site home is: http://www.finishlineperformance.com/rx8/index.html)

Last Saturday, I took my car in to get this problem diagnosed because it was starting to worry me. The mechanic drove my car 25 miles and couldn't duplicate the problem. Then they flashed the PCM with the new MSP04 as part of their standard procedure to perform the latest reflashes and recalls when a customer brings a car in for service. The idiot mechanic and service advisor must have had their heads up their refinery chutes because they evidently didn't bother to read the bulletin that accompanies the MSP04 because when I picked up the car, the advisor said, " Our tech couldn't isolate the problem." After I got the car home, I researched the MSP04 they had performed, and realized they had fixed the problem without even knowing it! Anyway, my 8 is running fine now, the problem appears to be gone, and I've even detected a bit more mid-range torque and acceleration.