Hespra

If there are existing threads on this issue please help identify search command. I don't know where to start.

In 6th, getting a loud and obnoxious whirring sound--sort of like a dentist's drill. Sound changes with slightest depression of excelerator. Can tap or hold gas pedal and get different degrees of whirr. Passengers remark on my built-in percussion section....

Mentioned the noise to service desk when car in for oil changes and so forth. Mechanic never has time for test drive to see if this noise is a normal phenomenon.

Is this noise common--i.e. usual--in 6th gear? If so I'll learn to live with it. If not, I'll make a specific appointment with dealership to figure out what's up with the whirr.

Thanks for your help. I'll need layman's terminology, obviously!
H

swoope

iTrader: (5)

if stock,

nope.

beers

army_rx8

yea i'd have to say no as well if it's stock..btu with out hearing it myself i can't really say ...tell your service writer not to be a tool..and test drive it liek it says in their job discription.

i have a slight whirr (louder in 6th)..but that's only when my secondary ports and Tertiary ports open up..but it's isn't all that loud even with my Revi

swoope

iTrader: (5)

also make sure you are not resting you hand on the shifter.

beers

army_rx8

^true true...moving it while it is in gear can make it whin a lill.

Hespra

No modification except for Perelli tires. Odometer now about 8500 miles. I enjoy the sound of the engine in any gear but 6th. When in 6th am inclined to use the radio to cover up the noise. Sound is relatively high pitched, variable, annoying, and difficult to describe. Reminds me of the dentist's drills used decades ago when equipment operated via foot pedal and variable speed. Hoping the mechanic doesn't have hearing loss in that part of the register and will be able to hear same thing as I.

Are secondary and tertiary ports something that is related to specific point on tachometer? Thinking I read secondary opens about 4-4.5?

Thanks for your help
H

swoope

iTrader: (5)

make sure stock **** is down tight. likely nothing to do with motor going to be shifter or trans itself.

this is a new one.

beers

xrider01

actually.....i get a similar noise when i'm in 6th gear. i only hold the shifter, not place my hand over it, but it doesn't drive me nuts. i always thought it to be a normal noise.

Hespra

Trying to visualize how hand on shifter ties into this particular noise. Will hold shifter tomorrow and test whether pressure on **** or shaft makes noise better, worse, or has no effect. I generally drive with both hands on wheel--about 5 and 8 oclock respectively--touching shifter only momentarily when changing gears. Will also try to tighten ****.

Noise is sufficiently grating to make time spent in 6th far from relaxing. Will try to convince dealership to allow a test drive of another 8 so I can compare what happens in 6th gear.

Searched here under transmission noise. Found one other post where gentleman reports the "whining" tranny driving him nuts. Someone recommended changing transmission oil. There is no follow-up report to indicate if that helped.

Thanks guys for your help
H

JonsToy

Could it be tire noise? I find when I cruise in 6th at 70 or above the slightest variation in throttle causes my 'tire whine' to change in pitch. And yes, at times it sounds like an old dental drill.

Secondary ports open at 3750 rpm.

xrider01

if you do this, i suggest you go to a different dealership in a different car other than your 8. then tell them you're "looking". but hey, if you do that, you just might end up going home in another 8, lol

Hespra

Ahaaaa....tire whine is a possibility. Got the 8 in Sept. Changed to Pirelli all weather in early December. Noticed significant difference between sound of stock tires and the Pirelli immediately. Remember thinking the Pirelli sounded like they made more substantial contact with asphalt. In comparison the stock tires were much quieter. Couple weeks after that, was on the freeway with windows closed and radio off when I first noticed the dentist drill chattering. Pirelli are a little bit larger than stock tire but still fit stock rims and the pressure sensors.

Dentist drill noise begins immediately upon shifting into 6th and is most irritating at 55 to 65 mph. I hear ghosts of the same noise in fifth but sound melds into general engine noise and is not offensive. Shift into 6th where engine generally quieter and the chattering noise gets nerve wracking pretty quickly. Been driving in fifth till tachometer reaches 4 to 4.5--which is most of the freeway trip to work--just to avoid smouldering over the unpleasant noise. Getting 16 mph/gallon with highest octane Shell gas. Low mileage probably related to staying in fifth.

Ok...so now how to diagnose whether it's normal tire, transmission or shifter noise? I would like to approach the dealership with some degree of intellectual process beyond "bad noise in 6th gear." Garage has yet to take my complaint seriously enough to road test. Before I flatly insist the mechanic test drive would it make more sense to first ask the tire dealer to come along and listen? All I know is that I've never owned or been in a car that made this much racket in high gear.

Thanks for your help
H

zoom44

one thing to remember Hespra about the 8 vs. other cars you may have owned is that you are literally 4 inches from the tranny and the shifter is DIRECTLY connected to the tranny instead of thru some complex linkage. this closeness and connection does produce more noise which can be exagerated by holding the stick between shifts. Auto mag writers would call this "feedback" which is generally considered a" GOOD THING".

and hey im nearly always available. if you cant get a resolution thru the PM sugestion you could always drop by and ill listen to it to see if it seems normal or not. tranny or tire related etc.

Nubo

Since noise is predominantly in 6th gear I doubt it's the tires. Otherwise you'd probably notice the same effect at the same speed in 5th, 4th, 3rd gears. Since you're able to modulate the sound with the gas pedal, whatever it is is sensitive to the amount of torque being delivered. I would say it's definitely inside the gearbox, maybe a bearing. Sure some noise is normal but when someone compares it to a dentist's drill I think it's outside the norm. Especially if just 1 gear is doing it.

grnsharingan

ive been having the same problem...its a high pitch whine only in sixth gear at s pecific percent throttle...(around what would be required to keep the speed constant). from 68-75 mph...crazy annoying..i even get it in cruis control....any fixes... i have an appointment with the dealer tom for this specific problem....

grnsharingan

well i got the car back...they said the issue was that (since this car is brand new) the tires were at 60 psi...instead of 32..and i was like wtf i didnt touch the tires...either way the sound is still there but increadibly faint...and very hard to reproduce now unlike before...i guess road noise??? i don t know any more but this seemed to help so check tire presure

KDBand99

I guess the TPMS doesn't monitor excess pressure, only low pressue?

swoope

iTrader: (5)

no,

they measure both.

beers

Mazurfer

60 psi.............holy crap!

grnsharingan

yeah crazy still whine though..just not as bad...\
does that mean something wrong with my tpms???...so any fixes yet...im planning on changing tranny fluids to see if it fixes the problem...but i dont want to be hiding the problem...anyone???

LionZoo

Funny enough, I just noticed this problem a couple days ago and no, I didn't read this thread and go out to listen for the noise. It's a very very slight whirl in my case so I think there might be some sort of tolerance issue with the tranny that might produce this noise. However, I don't remember hearing it before and I'm very sensitive to my car. I'll take a wait and see on this one.

McJones

I've noticed this as well and just got my car last week. I'm not sure if it's been doing it the whole time or not... The noise happens in 5th and 6th, but is loudest in 6th gear between 3-4k rpm (which is basically my entire drive to work everyday...)

Any new ideas?

Other threads point to possibly fluids and this guy got his tranny rebuilt: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/6th-gear-whine-under-acceleration-anyone-else-132711/

Only mods I have are the Revi Intake and RB exhaust.

Hespra

Noise in 6th was really obnoxious. Maxda replaced the transmission. Noise went away.

piro

I just got my rx8 about a month and a half ago, I first noticed the noise happening in sixth gear, it sounds like a bearing grinding. About a week ago it started happening in 4th, and now its doing it in 2nd as well. has anyone really diagnosed the problem, is it clutch based? or transmission? I first took my car down to Sharrett Mazda because the clutch was burning, and it wasn't from my driving style, they did something to it, I don't exactly know what and was told my transmission fluid was burnt as well. I purchased a vsc with my car, would that problem be covered? any thoughts would be appreciated. thanks

Also the noise sounds like bb's rattling, or a baby rattle on crack. its very annoying, and even though they replaced the fluid and told me everything was fine I can tell my 8 might have been a bad idea, new clutch pedal bracket, tpms went out twice already. woo...