Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Unless your friend knows about RX8s, he might not know about capping the VFAD nipple behind the throttle body.
This happens to some people and they experience problems (vacuum leak).
Hopefully your intake came with clear instructions that he was able to follow.
But definitely check that.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

wow thanks man i cant tell you how much this is helping me. i actually dont think we did that so would that be a cause for the problem i explained earlier? and if so where would i get a cap for that? considering im not sure if i have one.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay i do have one question though. if my intake is on correctly and everything is good. you think the fact that my O2 sensor going all haywire on me already could contribute to something being wrong with my cat? cuz if its not the intake then i would assume from your info that i definately need to look at the cat.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

:::thinking:::
The typhoon is a short ram intake.
So you may not take off the VFAD.
I've (obviously) never installed the Typhoon intake before.
I'm looking online now for the installation manual to see if the VFAD is removed.
Do you remember if your friend had to take off the front bumper?

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Its still very well could be the cat.
I would just like to verify that the intake was installed correctly so when you argue to the dealer about it, they don't come back with, "if you installed this correctly, blah blah blah!"
Trying to save you the embarrassment in case it is the intake

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

well thank you for looking out for me. and no we never took the bumper off for the install. just under the hood stuff and on the lift.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

OK... just read through the installation manual from the K&N website.
Your car still has the VFAD installed.
I saw that the VFAD vacuum chamber and solenoid were removed and installed onto the K&N.
So verify that the green wire harness is plugged into the solenoid and the vacuum lines are reconnected.
Disregard what I mentioned above about capping the VFAD nipple. It should still have its hose attached there.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

idk im beginning to think it may be the intake altho as dumb as some of the people there are, they said its not the amount of air going into the engine thats the problem as much as it id the type of air being forced into it. he said something about the air in it being too hot. idk i started to tune him out cuz i thought it was b.s.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay ill have to look tomorow morning. so your saying that there should be what in place of the v-fad cap?

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

There is a hose coming from the nipple instead of the cap I showed previous.

They thought the air is hot going in because of the short ram design.
Its not a fully enclosed box.

Also, make sure the screens are not damaged.
They are used to smooth out the airflow across the MAF sensor.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay i can check the screens on the intake and the hoses but do you think that because of the short ram design that the air is going in too hot and its causing a problem? sounds a little fishy to me.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

No.
Many people here run the K&N Typhoon V2 intake without your problems.
As long as it was installed correctly, you shouldn't have these issues (with the intake).

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

ok thats what i thought. well i will check those out tomorow and if all goes accordingly and the intake is installed properly then we'll move on to the cat problem. or back to the cat problem i suppose.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay guys i went ot my freinds shop today who installed the intake and he said its very unlikely that what the dealership said is true. so i told him about the possibility of a problem with the intake and i told him about the v-fad and the hose. we checked it out and everything was good. so he said it could possibly be the cat and i guess im bringing my car in to there in a couple days so he can chekc it out. if it is then im going up to that mazda dealer and doing what you told me to. just keeping everyone up to speed with whats going on. guess im just gonna have to deal with the problem for a few days.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

oh yeah one more question. what is that "lack of power" recall im reading about on the forums? i know my cars been in for a few of the recalls but i know it hasnt been for that one. what is that and could this possibly be my problem?

DOMINION

^Lack or power could be one of the following:
Bad cat
Coils & Spark Plugs
Bad compression
Colgged fuel filter sock
Bad fuel pump

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay so you think i should have my friend look at those things when i take it in to him?

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Based on your symptoms, I would just focus on the cat right now.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

alright well thats what i told him. he said that if it was the cat though that it'd prolly be doin it in all the gears not just like 5th and 6th. unless its just the beginning of it. which it probably will get worse eventually. you think?

DOMINION

The reason why I posted that list is; this guy pmed me after he started a thread and he started searching around he found he could not keep his car on. I thought it was his cat, turned out he did not change the coils and spark plugs for some time. When he did his car was ok. So it could be a number of things but the most commen is bad cat.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

The list DOMINION posted are possibilities, but I'm letting you know the common fixes for your symptom.
Bad plugs and/or coils usually has misfires associated with it, but the cat is a very likely cause.

Like I offered before, if you want to rule out the cat, borrow mine for a couple weeks and see if it improves.
If it doesn't, you can borrow my coils is for want.
Then change out the plugs.
Its all a process of elimination.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay thanks guys. well im just gonna guess and say its not the coils or plugs cuz when i said i switched them out 5000 miles ago i was exaggerating. i looked at the papers and it was like 1500 miles if that. so im hoping you guys are right and its the cat cuz i may just go upgrade to a supercat or something.

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

If you're thinking about upgrading, come to our next meet on the 24th and listen to a few different mid-pipes.

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

okay well i already was planning on going to that. so that should help out. but how much would a stock cat be for an rx-8 you think?

rotareriot

iTrader: (1)

oh and i think i may just buy a new one regardless. either an upgrade or stock depending on prices. cuz when i took it to his shop he said he'd check the cat but he said he doesnt know what we'll find cuz its kinda hard to look for something wrong. hah and i like an excuse to throw some more upgrades on it. is there a big sound change with an upgraded cat?