My RX-8 got the R flash & thermal shield Tuesday. McKay Mazda in Jefferson City Mo had the parts on hand and did it without a question. Car was in for something else very minor (door speaker intermittent).

Is there a test for the R flash? I seem to remember for some of the other flashes, if you turn the key on, hit the brake 20 times, and say the magic chant (in German), and stand on your head, the oil pressure guage will swing. Is there something specific to verify you've got the new flash?

GTJohn

 

^ receipt. Look up the flash code they used.

 

My experience with the new flash has been somewhat mixed.

Before I got the flash update, the car would stumble every once in awhile. Sometimes, I thought that it was gonna die right in the middle of the intersection. But this was an intermittant occurance.

After the update (heat blanket, etc.) the stumbling seems to be more frequent, especially when the car is warmed up. I have to rev the engine up a little before taking off from a light to make sure that it doesn't die, and I've also noticed that shifting requires a little 'burp' from the throttle during the shifting sequence to make sure that the annoying 'hesitation' does not occur.

To make matters worse, there used to be a 'kick' right at the 5K spot on the tach, it's no longer there. In fact, it doesn't really seem to want to kick until I get to the 8K spot. I feel like the car has been neutered now.

I've taken the car in with the above problems, and spoke with the service department. Their take on it is "If we can't duplicate the problem, we can't fix it." That sucks. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Leave the car with them for a week while they try to duplicate the problem? I understand their position, but where does that leave me? I've thought about taking it to a different dealership, but I suspect that I'll get the same results.

Any suggestions?

 

I got the R flash and it SUCKS! my car used to run great, now i have a rough idle and when i give it hard the car shutters between 7-9K And i get a flashing CEL! I'ts goin back on Tuesday!

 

http://www.finishlineperformance.com.../pdf/3305G.pdf

Scroll down a bit (page 4)... you'll see the changes made where it returns to idle if you keep the rpms up for too long when not moving.

 

it always dropped off around 5500-6000 rpms and you really always should have only been tuning above 5500-6000 rpms

 

Xyntax, I just reset my PCM with that 20 quick brake taps and I say my Oil Press. light go about 1/2 way and back down. So now if I drive like I usually do around 3-4k shifts, it should adjust to that kind of driving or what? Basically I want to try to get better gas mileage and keep my shifts around 3-3.5k. I've been getting around 17-18mpg.

 

^ That has been the old trick with this car. We reset it and drive it in a way that the ECU could adjust for better mileage. Whether we found the right driving style or if it ever worked, there's no telling. I did reset my PCM before taking that 310-mile drive and I have been getting higher MPG since. I will be resetting it again tonight to get my maps tuned better for tomorrow's dyno. I still have a few spikes to smooth out.

 

good luck Xyntax. hope u make a good one, btw i just get the recall done, I found that my A/F is around 12.8 -> 13.2 for 2nd gear until 7.2k rpm. need to log more completed log data using third gear before I can compare it before and after recalled.

 

one tip nhk: Camden - Union loops :D You can do 1-2-3 9K RPMs

I got two maps finished in a week! One was a lot of fuel reduction and conservative advance to lean it. The other was aggressive advance and maximum of 5% only in A/F maps. Both lean out to a good 12.8 - 13.8 AFR. I hope I get good gains in both maps.

 

Well, i just got my car back from the dealer and WOW , its better than ever. The problem was my plugs. When they reflashed the ECU the computer started out "Fresh", not trying to make up for the fowled plugs. They simply put new ones in and i cant believe how smooth my car idles and accelerates! I was REALLY concerned that the cause was the R flash itself, and i was going to have to live with it running crummy until a new flash came out. BTW i'v got only 12,600mi. on the car. Not sure why the plugs gave up so soon. Could be when my other DEALER over filled the oil!