I have an 04 rx8. I've done coils, plug wires and spark plugs. Just did seafoam, cleaned ess and maf. I still get misfires at high rpm. Only when in drive, not neutral or park. What should i try next? Thank you

2004 Rx8,90k,no mods.Got the p0302 code and the engine misfires.Will change wires,plugs and coils but my worry is that now I have a small oil leak.
Car has never had a leak before,can the oil leak cause a misfire?

Are you getting a CEL code? If so, which one? Essentially, how can you tell it is actually a misfire?

In essence, it can be the other way around, but regardless, find out first if you have that oil leak. Full ignition system is a great start, I would recommend the BHR ignition system. Compression test may be in order for you, as well.

Thanks to whichever mod stickied this. I'll keep the OP updated as necessary

I had idle misfire issues due to a leak in the exhaust joint between extractor and cat.

I had a misfire issue. It ended up being because my spark plugs were shit (pics below) and the ignition coils had likely never been replaced (at 58,000 miles, bought it at 46,000 with little to no record of maintenance). :icon_no2: The engine eventually had continuous misfires in both rotors, which meant no RX-8 for a week or so. :banghead: After I replaced everything it ran like a dream. I highly recommend starting here if you have a misfire. :lol: Also my CEL codes were P0301 the first time and then when it was really bad I got both P0301 and P0302.

That "day" came in October of 2012. (when i got my RX8) This is my ...

FIRST POST

...since i chose this forum as my main source of knowledge. IMO a good choice. So here goes...

THANKS for all your trial and error, then taking the time to post and discuss.

Many times, i have been tempted to post one of those now familiar noob questions. I didn't. I searched, read, reread and couldn't come up with a question that didn't have an answer somewhere on this forum. Sometimes the details can be hard to find, but are in RX8club.com somewhere. Stickies on this forum are great for bringing those details together. So again, THANKS.

Back to my silent, but ever present, status on this forum.

By the way i read "Newbie's Guide to Modding the RX-8" by RIWWP" after buying my RX8 and it initially broke my heart. lol. My stubbornness allowed me to fall in love with my RX8.

Good to know you did the research and found what you were looking for, this forum is filled with everything you'd ever need to know

Do you get misfires even in neutral or only under load?

Check compression

Hey think i found the problem. My car misfires above 6000 rpm in drive every time and sometimes in neutral. Checked my cat and it was glowing. That's gotta be the source of the misfire right? Anything else I should check out? Thanks guys

Flashing CEL is a misfire; at this time, since you changed your ignition system, your only lead is the CAT. Check if it's clogged, otherwise, do you know if you are loosing coolant fluid?

If it's glowing, it is definitely a problem. Gut it or change it - The longer you wait, the higher the chance of blowing your plugs and coils. Plus yes, you would be getting a misfire. Just hope it isn't too late, you could also be having ignition problems and compression problems.

BUT - Those are just possibilities - FIRST place to start is the CAT

Misfire is gone on my car,think it was the coils.3 of them had the white mark .Now with new plugs,plug wires and coils the car did great on 2 drives.No oil leak after warm up but after the last drive a small amount on the floor.It is in the middle right behind the radiator.Will put the car on a lift to get a good look,but no oil leaks before my misfire adventure started.

The white mark on the coils is not an indicator of being worn out. Although if your coils have over 30,000 miles on them they are likely worn out :wiggle:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...43287494,d.eWU It's a PDF so make sure to open it

Thanks brothersboy for putting the PDF file,will print it out and bring with me when it's time to exchange these ones.My coils had way more(way more)than 30k,so it was time to replace them .

No problem. And the 30k is just a rough estimate. I bought my car at around 46k and replaced mine at 60k so for all I know they could have had 60k on them. And from the looks of my plugs they very well could have! :yelrotflm

I just replaced my coils, wires, and plugs this weekend- wow! Torque is back. Runs like new, idles smooth, sounds better.
I've got an '06 MT GT with 65k miles... I bought it brand new, and I shouldn't have waited this long to change the coils. It's been a bit lurchy when cold and I drove in stop and go traffic last weekend and it lost low rpm torque and would misfire when revving cold or hot, and the exhaust note sounded wrong. It didn't flash the CEL or throw a code. I stopped driving it for the week and I pulled the plugs and they were fouled. I've changed the plugs every 15-20k miles on this, probably had 10k miles on this set, and I flooded it a couple of times this winter when I didn't drive it for a few weeks and cranked it up in cold weather with a low battery.

I found that the leading coil on rotor 2 was a bit melty.

I'm guessing the new battery and ignition system will keep me going for a while. Hopefully the cat didn't get roasted, but I took it for a good italian tuneup and it ran great. The compression seems fine- I can get it hot and it won't idle sag and it fires right up. Man, it's a pain to get down to those coils. I had to pull the stiffener bar and even then had trouble getting to the bolt on the one near the wiring harness clamp.

So, my car is having a really hard time starting, and knocking and generally showing all the signs of misfiring. I found this thread - and it says I need coils/wires/plugs. Okay fine, I'm willing to replace all that and can find the instructions on how to do so fairly simply, but the only link I can find is for a $500 set. I'm looking to do it myself, I almost NEVER drive the car, but when I do, it's for something important. Can someone provide me with links for everything that I will need to do this without costing that much money!?

You can check your local auto parts store: AutoZone, O'reilly's, Advance Auto... Our forum has vendors that will sell those as parts or as a set, you will need to search for them here (i.e. BHR, mazdatrix, rotaryfx).

NGK (6701) RE9BT Laser Iridium Spark Plug, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive

NGK (4858) ZE81 Spark Plug Wire Set : Amazon.com : Automotive

NGK (6700) RE7CL Laser Iridium Premium Spark Plug, (Pack of 1) : Amazon.com : Automotive

Mazda RX-8 Ignition Coils - Set of Four (4) : Amazon.com : Automotive

Order one coil set, one wire set, and two of each spark plug.

hey guys, i hollowed my cat the other day and im still getting the misfire. it only does it in drive now. not in neutral or park. it pulls good up until 6000 rpm. i have a code reader and it says p0300 and p2096. what should i check out next? thank you guys for the advice

i dont think it should be compression, because its good until the higher rpm and it starts fine when warm. ive check over some of the vacuum lines to look for a leak, everything looks ok to me. im kinda new to the car, ive only had it for 6 or 7 months. so far i do love it even with the misfire problems. this car is truly addicting.

have you done the 20 stomp brake pedal reset?

i tried that, cleaned maf and ess. hollowed cat, new plugs/coils/wires.