New Yorker

Got the recall flash on Tuesday. My car was running great before and is running great now. (Oops, guess I'm not supporting the "recall makes the car run worse" hypothesis. Sorry!)

shinka213

my car definitely runs different since the flash....and for the better...the idle is smother and it seems to have more pep...but that may be just the butt dyno....

Hey bunny - what kind of treatment do you put in the tank?

BunnyGirl

I put Iso-Heet in it. It comes in a red bottle and costs somewhere around $1.50. It is supposed to absorb water in the fuel system. I did that and now my car is much improved, so it seems I had two unrelated problems causing what was wrong with my car, the loose spark plug and then apparently water got into my gas tank. It was recommended to me to put the Iso-Heet in for one tank and run it down to as empty as possible, then do a tank of just regular gas, and then do another tank with the treatment in it. After about 25 miles with the treatment in the tank it was running much more smoothly again and feeling like it was a lot less sluggish. It continued to improve the more driving I got in with that tank. It was also starting up a lot better too.

My car initially felt much "peppier" after the new flash, but then I developed the "issues" at the same time, which where the loose spark plug that I seem to have acquired while getting an oil change, and also water in my gas, which I happened to get on the way to my oil change. I sure was having an unlucky day!!!

RedSheDevil

you should really get some snow tires. im amazed you were able to get through any snow at all (not to mention 2") without them turning into hockey pucks. they are summer rated tires only and are absolutely not made for any winter driving conditions.

BunnyGirl

I'm looking into getting some really soon now, since it looks like it will probably be a bad winter here. Snow is generally atypical in my immediate area and what little does come down doesn't usually stick. I haven't quite narrowed down my choices yet since I just started researching. I think I may have done okay because my tires still have pretty low mileage on them. I don't know if that makes a lot of difference or not but I'm glad I was able to manage okay. I'm kinda leaning toward Blizzaks so far but I'm still looking.

I like the new avatar. I love that pinkish critter!

c41250n

iTrader: (5)

for some reason, my car feel like it has a better low end power!!

Duke15

The Dunlops that came stock on the 2006's aren't summer rated tires. They are rated very highly for snow and water traction, but they are "all-season" tires. I don't plan on switching mine out, but I live in Virginia and have the option of working from home if my wife beats me to taking our 3rd car, which is a 4X4. But I grew up driving in Ohio snow, so I trust my driving abilities or at least my ability to decide not to drive in certain conditions.

BunnyGirl

Good to know. I don't think I actually looked to see what my Dunlops were rated as. I just know when I had the flat and had initially been told that "not all flats can be repaired" I was quoted $370ish for a new one including mounting and balancing. They were $250 at Tire Rack. Maybe I won't need to get winter ones then, unless I move somewhere with terrible weather much more frequently. I just know I keep hearing horror stories about winter driving experiences on here and then discovered I wasn't having any problems driving. I guess the tires were another "upgrade" for the 06s.

mdw1000

Are you sure the dunlops on the 06s are all-seasons? The dunlops on my 05 were definitely summer tires.

Duke15

That came from my salesman, so I looked up my tires myself after reading your question. As it turns out, I have one more example of a "less than truthful" salesman.

Here is the tire rack link and description: "Original Equipment (OE) summer tires are an appropriate tire choice for sporty vehicles manufactured in the U.S., as well as those imported from Europe and Asia. Developed for use on new cars and light trucks, these tires provide a sporty blend of ride quality, noise comfort and handling, along with dry and wet traction. These tires are not intended to be driven in snow."

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=H


There seems to be a new option that could end this debate, the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D: http://www.dunloptires.com/catalog/winterSport3D.html

My appologies for hijacking the thread. We now return you to engine performance after recall work...

LODOSS

my GF RX8 has dropped too after the flash/. she also constantly gets CEL light to go off.. is there like a lemon law on that? i am tired of seeing how my GF have to keep driving her car to the dealer to get **** looked at.. i go ta Z with turbo and i don't have many CEL light come on as hers.

nuke0907

iTrader: (2)

i took mine in cause it was idling rough and the exhaust was banging against things. i told them it was probably the engine mount recall, and they were like, "no, its something with the performance." WTF? they did the reflash and it was fine that day and then started again. now its even worse than ever. i really need to find another dealership. BTW it's Hampton Chevrolet/Mazda.

RedLineShinka

I've had mine done... and it's been great. The only things I'm having a strange issue with (and I noticed this) is the idle getting a little rougher lately... but it's not exactly noticeable unless you pay very very close attn to the car

kalix

2006 MT, with ~1450 miles on it.

I had my 4206 recall donw ~2 weeks ago and ~450 miles ago to this date. Starts fine, although there is now a ~0.5--1 sec. delay when starting it. I assume that's part of the recall to help prevent flooding.

I also read other members stating their idle is rough. Well my idle is just fine, no problems. And it idles around 800-850 RPM.

Gas mileage wise it's roughly 16.7-17 mpg with revs around 3k-4k. And the occasional hard driving 4k-5k revs. Hopefully my MPG will go up as my engine breaks in.

Big_Mike_4488

Damn I'm scheduled to take my car in on Wednesday for the recall... My car has been running soooo good lately should I call and cancel it???

Oranje

I'm in the same position. Mine is running great (August 2003 build with 29,000 miles) and getting ready for its annual winter nap. I'm thinking I should let it sleep and get the recall in the spring. Who knows, by then there could be another new and improved flash to correct this one.

Cheers,
Oranje

JeRKy 8 Owner

Just wanted to mention to all the people who complained about the flash and gas mileage, after a month it looks like the mileage has gone back up to what it was before the flash.

arosenkrans

This happened to me too. Now my car exploded from an electrical problem! Has anyone heard of this?

GreekShippingHeir

I also had the emissions recall performed recently and only difference I noticed was the rough idling (even after the engine is warm)

I just drove it from Augusta, GA to Chicago, IL for Christmas loaded down with mine & my GF's luggage, presents for both families, bazooka tube and snow skis and managed to get 19-20 MPG with the cruise pegged at 79-84 for most of the trip although it understandably did a little bit worse through the Appalachians. Those mountain roads were a blast though.



Side Note: when the re-flash was performed the rental car I got was a full-size cargo van that I trucked around in for 2.5 days. After making nice with the guy from Enterprise he told me it was a joke they play on all the RX-8 owners that go in for the re-flash. (they tell all RX-8 owners that all they have left to rent is a cargo van) I thought that was hilarious.

ZGlide

I think "worse" is an understatement for what's been happening to my car. Let me set the issue straight for everyone first. About 1 month prior to the recall work I installed the Supercat from the group buy. The car was running like a dream. I asked the service person at the dealer if the Supercat would cause any issues, and he said it'll be fine and to just bring the car in. Completed the recall, reflashed and plugs changed. Regarding the cat inspection, he said that he passed me since none of the cars in CA had any problems with it.

Now speed up to date. I'm having almost all of the "bad" symptoms people are complaining about. The car idles much rougher, especially after it's warmed up. MPG's gone down. And I have to give much more gas and rev from stand still to go, or else the car seems like it'll stall. And the idle has gotten worse and worse, to a point yesterday, the car was about to stall by itself at a red light ( you know when all the light on the gauges starts to flash).

Now, I know there are many pages on this subject, but are there any advice directly? Are others experiencing and same level of severity? Go back to the dealer? I'm also concerned that the dealer may say it's the Supercat causing all these problems. Really lost, concerned, and confused. Any suggestions would be appreicated.