Is redline the 8 good for it or bad?
 

I know this topic has been discussed so many times and i also redline my car pretty much every 50 kms but unlike other people, i usually redline it at 2nd gear...my car is a 04 WB 6 speed, has 45k kms on it; had one time stalling problem so that my car had been in shop for 1 month and many stuffs had been changed by that time like battery, coils, spark plugs, throttle body.....after that, i swapped my SR intake back to stock with a K&N filter. Tonight, when i was driving on a high way, i knew it was a good time and chance to redline it, so then i put it into 2nd gear, and slowly accelerated it(cuz there was a car at front of me accelerating pretty slow), when it hit about 8k rpm, the CEL started to flush. i was really scared cuz i knew it wasnt a good thing to have a CEL flushed. So then i shifted it up while decelerating my car and prepared to stop. after about 10 secs, the CEL was gone and never appeared again if i wouldnt redline it.
Does my car have any problems? or i didnt understand how to properly redline it? my friend said that i could keep it at high RPM too long but obviously he is a piston owner. what should i do? should i go to dealer?

You have a CEL. Go to the dealer and find out why. Especially if you just got it back.

It makes me scared that you had to ask someone else their opinion on something as straightforward as that.

Flashing CEL under load near redline could be a lot of things, but it most probably is a misfire. Lots of things can cause it, usually ignition related (coils, wires, plug) or bad gas.

If it doesn't light up again, you shouldn't worry too much... you might be lucky and it won't come on again. Most dealer will tell you to drive the car until the CEL stays on and THEN take it to them for a checkup. That means the flashing CEL came on 3 times and now the car tells you this problem is not going away and you should have your dealer check it out.

i got my car back about 2 months already. But its weird only at high rpm but i didnt test it again.

Did you mean that i should run my car to redline again see if the cel is gonna flush?

Bring it back and have the dealer plug it in. It's probably a misfire. It's common at high RPM. You should be concerned that it happened after the dealer replaced everything in your ignition system except your wires. Could be those.

Let us know what the dealer tells you.

I just had 2 misfires today. Both not even high rpm.

Im not concern tho, but thats just me.

Pull ur car back to the dealership and start whinning about it. cuz you got it after u just pull it out, it cant be *it just happen outa nowhere*. Bring it back.

Or just take it in and try to get all the ignition components he listed replaced under warranty. I think Mendossa might be right about it being ignition related.

Thanks everyone, i will let a dealer read the CEL since it has been stored, right?
i have seen mazport has some plugs and coils set up, is it really worth to get that? maybe the car will run a lot better?

Hey Phil, let me knowif you plan on getting new coils... I might just get a set with you.

I have never and would never redline any car that I paid for. A red line signifies that you have reached the technological limits of the engine, anything pushed to the limit breaks. Formula 1 cars are more advanced that anything on our road but they blow engines, loose hydraulics, break suspensions all the time, because they are driven at their limit all the time. In my opinion redlining your car is a bad idea. If you want to remove carbon deposits, run it at 7000rpm. My car has never given me problems. I don't redline it (OK, maybe once or twice in the year I've had it). I get good fuel economy (520km/tank) I get to starting problems, no stalling, no lights, no power loss (Except that I am over a 1000m above sea level).

No, the redline signifies the technological limits of the drivetrain, plus a sizable safety buffer... Anything pushed to the limits breaks, but the limits for this rotary is appreciably beyond 9,500 rpms.

Anyway, rpm limit for F1 is beyond 18,000 rpms. And that's for a reciprocating piston engine. 9,500 for a rotary isn't much.

true THAT!!! you should redline your car 1 everyone 2 weeks

I have to agree... the redline is the highest speed the manufacturer considers that you should use; it's not right at the edge engine destruction.

I beeped at least a couple of times a day, don't think that is going to kill a car like this. They know that people will drive a sports car that way.

i redline my car every time I drive it. I never take short trips and never turn off my engine cold.

I let it heat up for a couple of minutes (10mins or something before I let it rip! :)

I have let it run on shell v-power since i got my new engine but it smells so fucking bad of the exaust that Ive decided to try the regular for a while.

:)

Please slap yourself.

Remember though that while the motor may handle above 9500, the flywheel (and many other parts) are not designed to go above that rpm - and you do not want a fly wheel self destructing on you if you value your legs.

Thankfully the ECU will cut the ignition to prevent this from occuring.

Components on F1 cars are designed to win races, not last a long time. If a part lasts a long time, it's probably too heavy and can be lightened or can be pushed harder. F1 engines are designed to last two races, because of rules. They used to be designed to last one race. The ideal race car would crumble into a pile of dust as it took the checkered flag.

Ken

Ah-ah... NO :nono:

1) 9000RPM is your crankshaft speed, actual rotor speed is 3000RPM so it's not as bad as it sounds, especially considering there are far less moving parts in a rotary engine than in a regular piston engine.

2) the tach is set in such a way that it report 300RPM over actual engine speed. eg: at 9300RPM when the fuel cuts off, it's actually going at 9000RPM.

3) rotary engines have been reported to run on bench tests at speeds over 12000RPM without problems , and I'm not talking about a crazy race engine, I'm talking about the renesis that sits in your car.

4) the redline is actually set at 9000RPM because Mazda couldn't get a transmission that would survive over 10500RPM. The 7500RPM redline on the AT RX-8 is the exact same story, only AT trannies had their threshold even lower.

5a) if you bought a car whose main advertised caracteristic is to rev higher than other types of engines, you can be pretty sure the lawyers of the company that provides service related to the warranty will make sure that it can survive usage "as advertised" without blowing up. Hell, we even get a shift indicator at 8500RPM, not 7000RPM.

5b) If your engine is cold, the ECU will actually move the rev limiter to 6000RPM until it detects a correct operating temperature has been reached. That shows that Mazda engineers and lawyers seriously reviewed conditions where the user could damage the engine and decided that in that case, it was dangerous enough (cold engine parts, metal expanding at different rates) to put a limitation that prevents user input from damaging the engine. Guess what, the same guys set your "normal" rev limiter to 9300RPM. Not 7000RPM.

6) The final intake ports open at 7300RPM, and they generally at the first to fail due to carbon deposits if the car is babied too much. Like if you never actually open those ports because you shift at 7000RPM :uhh:

Don't spread your misunderstanding to unsecure newbies who just had a simple CEL.

:spank:

mendossa for president!!! good explanation man!! :)

+1 it's fine to rev. to the redline. You're not making best power there though. The flywheel and clutch aren't recommended to go above 10Krpm. Racingbeat actually increases the redline to 9300rpm with their NA PCM tune.

You can read more about it here: www.racingbeat.com

Like the sig! :D:

Yeah, I did say 'drivetrain'...and I stand by the 'sizable safety buffer' comment as well based on the simple fact that ppl redline the 8 every day, but I don't remember anyone reporting a flywheel failure on this board. Many ppl have also had transient rpm spikes above 9,500, but no kablooey. CEL, yes.. kablooey, no.

Mazda choose 9000 because power is dropping so fast that theres no point in revving further. Please get your facts straight before answering.

Are we comparing apples to oranges here or comparing bees to cows ?

So in summery.

The engine is designed to handle more then 9000 RPM.

The Transmission is designed to handle around 9000 RPM, but probably not all day long (and why would you do that? even when racing.)

Redline is A-OK!

i actually knew everything above cuz i have been reading a lot from this forum but i just wanted everyone to prove redline isnt a bad thing for rx8 again, no matter which gear did i use, and i also redline my car a lot. but yes, it was my first flushing CEL so i got a bit scared. Thanks everyone here to give me the idea that the CEL was actually about.

Phil

Red line a day keeps the carbon away............

So THAT'S the ONLY reason Mazda chose 9000... I see.. It couldn't possibly also be because building a drivetrain to take much more than that starts costing silly money.

Dunno... why don't you ask msenzo? I was merely replying to his post in the same manner, addressing his examples like for like. Last I heard, that's considered 'polite'.

If I were making those statements out of the blue, they would have little to stand on. But making them in response to someone else's points serves the more specific purpose of countering specific misconceptions. Why do you read so much into them as to regard them as a complete argument?

its weird....when i was driving today, just about 1 hour ago, i hit around 8000rpm twice but CEL didnt show up again like that. the reason why i only hit up to 8k is that there were two cars at the front of me.

that pretty much sums it up

Like I said.

Red line a day keeps the carbon away............

haha, thanks! perfectly sums up our car i think.

disclaimer: i just woke up one day and *thought* of that quote; i felt like an articulate genius! if i subconsciously took if from someone or somewhere, sorry - i'd give you props if i knew :)

But it also matters where you fall in the powerband *after* you shift. There's a YouTube video of an RX-8 driver at Laguna Seca, iirc, and he was taking it to 9200 rpm or so -- nearly fuel cutoff point, at every shift.

need help again
 

hey guys, since last time the blinking CEL, my car never had any blinking CEL anymore even though i drove it close to redline. But tonight, when i have come back 2 hours already, i started my cuz i was gonna go to walmart where is just right by my condo; the coolant temperature wasnt below "cold" and it was at underground heated parking, so its not a cold start; after about 2 minutes, my check engine light came on again but not flushing. it just stays there solidly. i thought that was probably a bad cat, i didnt worry that much but after 2 minutes again, my Power steering wheel light came on; i turned off my car when it was already warmed up by reving it a bit; when i turned it on again, power steering wheel light went off but the check engine light was still on; got no clue what had happened to me. weird stuff, ghost........and bad luck

sorry drivetrain is not the main cause, to get more power they probably have to redesign the engine, most important is the intake part. cuz when your engine is running out of breathe how do you get more power ?

but you were comparing apples to cows, wasnt it ?

The Tach we're seeing is a bit off, by about 300 rpm in the high rpm area. when you see 9000 its actually running around 8700 only. when you shift at 9300 thats the *real* 9000 rpm and fuel cut will happen. if you have RB flash, the fuel cut off happen when the tach saids 9500 something rpm. scary huh ? :)

Power Steering light possible cause : Open the hood, look at your overflow tank hose, check and see if theres any signs of *coolant* came out. the *default* direction goes to your power steering connector. and will create problem in the long run. To solve it either you pull the connector and clean it with some electric safe spray, or cut the wire and solder it yourself. oh also if thats the case, you might want to get a hose from ur local auto shop and reroute the hose to somewhere else.
Or it could be your power Steering motor is failing, unlikely tho.

Find out what the CEL is, pull the code At autozone or something. or just buy some pocket scanner. its very helpful

.....its something strange to me. since last time when the CEL was blinking, i have gone to mazda to make appointment to check it out but its on next Monday. Should i be worried a lot and not drive until next monday. the driver manual says do not drive at high speed if your CEL remains on. FOr cleaning the power steering connector, can i used the one which i used to clean MAF sensor? its called MAF sensor cleaner...

and the light came on when i was warming the car at idle.

IF your gas cap is loose, the CEL will turn on, if its not properly sealed, it will turn CEL on.

It depends on what the CEL is, thats why a pocket scanner is a must, if u love ur car that is. If you dont have to drive ur car, you can leave it till the day u walk into your dealership. Just in case the CEL reset itself if it does not happen again.

It could be a lot of things, I get CEL for the first 1-2 drive cycle after I pull and reconnect my battery. no big deal.

Go out and buy a pocket scanner, get one online, it doesnt cost a lot, and should last the life of ur car (or more, as long as its OBDII and CAN bus)

when can i get those from?

I just got one off ebay last week. Search for "OBD2, OBDII, CAN, Scanner, Reader" in the automotive section.

Mine was a CAN + OBD2 with detailed MIL information display for 100$, but you can get some basic OBD2 (no scan) for 50$ or less. If you try to get one in a "brick and mortar" store, they're going for triple that price.

In case you havent check ur PM, here

http://www.amazon.com/Actron-CP9125-...2343469&sr=8-1

Not sure how much it would cost to ship to Canada. but shouldnt be that bad.

That odb2 scanner makes no mention of being CAN capable. It's CAN that you need to look for, not odb2.

Personally, I like the ScanGauge2:

http://www.scangauge.com/

I recommend it because I have it. :)

its small, handy, cheap, and it works :)

Thanks Everyone Here!!!!really Healpful!!!

well. a weird thing happened this morning again. remember i said i had a CEL. yes, i have had this for 2 days. But this morning, when a girl sat in it, the light was just off. i was so happy the light was off. but how could it happen?

That means its probably your gas cap.

Check that sucker see if its loose, or you might need a new one if its not sealing properly

i read the code for my engine light already which is P2070 SSV STUCK OPEN on 2 CCM. Sounds like the problem i had before but i thought they have already fixed it. since it only showed up once, does it really matter? and the solid engine light wasnt really stored into PCM. whats the problem then?

you will not be able to detect this code until your engine reach the 6000~6250 rpm range.

Drive hard around that RPM range for couple of days with strong injector cleaner to see if you can unstuck your SSV.

+1... take this one seriously, it probably means you're having carbon build-up because the car doesn't get enough action.