Slow cranking of the starter
 

Has anybody else noticed that their car turns over very slowly when cranking the starter? I was wondering if maybe I got a bum battery or something, but if you guys have noticed this too I guess I won't worry about it yet.

I have a 91 RX-7, and the rotary in that car spins over a lot quicker than this one does.

Yep, noticed the same thing. Seems to start fine though. Just sounds a little different than my other cars.

Same here. Don't worry about it. Many others have noticed the same.

-Rooster

An engine with lower compression is easier to turn over than one with higher compression. If your 'vert has a lot of miles on it, the engine probably isn't factory fresh any more :).

My wife's old '87 RX-7 with a rather worn motor turned over CRAZY fast. When it finally went, it really spun over fast - zero resistance :).

By the same token, the higher compression rotors might also be a factor in cranking speed. I know some American muscle cars with very high comression ratios need super beefy starters to force the motor to spin.

Dale

I have noticed that too. I thought I had a starter problem. I took it in to the dealer and they said this engine does that. Seems fine other than that.

yep mine does the same....it varys from day to day




andrew

Me too
 

I've noticed the same thing. In fact, today I thought my car wasn't going to start because it cranked so slowly. I plan to tell my dealer on Tuesday, just so that he can register my finding with Mazda. I kind of wonder if the battery is a little undersized (maybe to save weight and space). I was hoping maybe I just got a weak battery.

When I first got the car, I had no problems. Now with over 1000 miles on the car it is slow to crank over. I am glad I am not the only one with this concern and problem.

I've been having the same slow cranking also....but only when the car has been sitting for a few days. I had the dealer check the battery and when they tested it, it showed 328CCA. The battery is rated for 350CCA. They said that Mazda won't replace the battery until it gets down to about 250CCA. I can see their point, but in a brand new car the battery should be performing to specs. I think after I drive on it for about 30 minutes, it kicks the capacity up to about 328 and the slow cranking goes away until it has a chance to run down again.

When I was on my first test drive I turned the car off at a red light to listen to it start up and when I turned and held for 2-3 sec I didn't think it was going to kick over, but then you felt the ug and the pur and all was well.

Of the 3 rx8's I have driven, all of them did it. Its common.

Any truth to the rumor that the starters are down on power ? ;)

I think the tempeture may have something to do with it. It was about 65 degree this morning here and the car started up with no problems. Since today, the tempeture has been over 90 degrees.

mine initially had the same problem as well, change my battery to a higher capacity gel type (optimax yellow top), engine starts strong and fast now!!!

Shouldn't something like that be covered under the warranty?

dont know about warranty portion but always had the habit of changing to a better battery in all my cars since a experience few years ago with my CRX,
battery was change due to ICE in car, left headlight on one night, next day came down and saw that headlight was still on and thought that was it for the battery, try my luck and crank, the car just came to life w/o a problem
found out later that the battery seems to come with a reserve portion to aid these suituations, moreover it is common for agents to give just adequate battery to cut costs

slow crank
 

My 6MT does the same. The battery is fine. The '01 Miata does the exact same thing and I just put a brand new gel battery in it.