rx8miami

Vivid,
Did the dealer tell you anything about your car having too mny aftermarket parts ? Did they claim that the reasons you wanted the flash done where because your is responding indifferently to the amp? The reason I ask is because I have made several mods to my car and am going in for m tomorrow. Wanna make sure they don't shoot me down on anything.

gnj152

Is there a way to know if you got the M reflash like they was a way to check with L reflash ( 20 press on brake pedal and oil press. needle moving up). thank's everyone.

Outlooking

I took my car in a couple of weeks ago as the engine light came on, they reset it, but found no problems. Then a week later I read about the ECU upgrade on this website and looked at my report. No standard flash was done.

I took it back and said I was having trouble starting it, and asked if they could do the upgrade. The service department asked me if I had been "on the computer" and I said I had done some research. Anyway, they did an "N" flash and I saw the number on my service report. The car seems more zippy. Put in a full tank and currently am monitoring the gas mielage.

elite

My car is BACK in service today.....after getting the latest flash I still got the check engine light and the car seemed slower then before and gas milage sucks still. They didnt know the letter flash "L" or "M", he said mazda just sends them recent flash file updates and in their computer it uses the lastest version they have. I wonder what version they do use...I wish all the dealers would read these posts, not like we know more, but its sparks questions and there are alot of good thoughs rolling around here. Alot ot products today get better from customer research vs manufacture. Just look at the computer upgrade CZ or whatever.....20-40hp gains with tweaking the computer....why cant mazda do that huh!!! oh well...still love the car, but my rental hybrid prias isnt cutting it

VividRacing.com

Well, the service manager was a good guy and asked me up front what I had done to the car. Being the person I am I told him everything including my future plans and all he could say was, "ahh, you'll be fine". THey never gave me any greif and when I picked it up a sales guy came up to me and told me that he used my car to sell an RX8 on the lot, to show what could be done with the car. I guess it depends upon whare you go. My advise is to go to a larger dealership that puts customer service before anything and just be honest and friendly with the service manager. I found that by demanding things you typically get the wrong responce.

rx8miami

my car just got flashed, but I'll tell you something. It was a royal pain to get it done. wow they acted like I was asking them to take me to area 51. they were like, flash? what's that? where did you hear of this? That sucked but once I sited all the helpfull tsb's and info you gusy have relayed they brokedown. thanks guys.

snap-on

It takes the same amount of time to go from "H" to "M" as it does from any other level.

The only thing that could take extra time is if the computer in their shop needed updating.

rx8miami

thanks a bunch vivid.

SQ88

My car got re-flashed last week and this week, the warning low gas light came. Didn't refill the gas and drove for another 15Kms to 20Kms and I heard a warning beep sounds. I never heard of such sound before and I didn't know what it was...though it was my watch. It would appears the new flash now includes warning beep sound when the oil level get really low...sweet!!!

MyLadyDeb

I got my flashed last Friday. Also had no issues but told them that I heard of it and wondered what it was all about. Told them about this forum and all that I've learned. I didn't expect them to do it but when I picked up the car they told me that did it - I'll have to check myself to see what letter it's at - but - I have to also say - WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! I immediately noticed that the car was tighter and shifted smoother and definitely had more power. That's in the automatic (although I only use the triptronic these days). Definitely worth the hassle to try and get it if your dealer says no. I gave my guy $20 to say thanks and for all the rest of what they did above and beyond the oil change I brought it in for. I wanted to make sure they remember me for the next time.

galleychief

Took mine in on Thursday because of a rough idle. I asked for the L flash and the hotter plugs. The dealer performed the M flash and the idle is smooth as it was the first day. Nothing else was done to it. It seems to run better through all gears.
When I asked about the hotter plugs I was told there aren't any hotter plugs, the part number changed but the plugs are the same as factory? I wasn't going to argue with him, but has anyone else been told this?

Nubo

There is a TSB that specifies a hotter grade plug for cars that do "a lot of low speed driving" (paraphrasing). It was only for leading or trailing (can't remember which). But definitely implies there are 2 heat ranges depending on your driving style and whether or not you're ending up with fouled plugs.

General rule of thumb however is to use the coldest plugs that don't result in fouling. Hotter plugs increase risk of detonation. So if your engine is running fine with the stock plugs you probably shouldn't worry about getting the hotter ones, imho. Putting the car through a hot run to "clear the plugs" is more fun than screwing in a hotter set... :p

success07

I took my car in for an oil change and they said they flashed my car with the latest flash but when I looked at my work order it stated - "reprogramed power control module - internal failure" - Any ideas what the heck that means? - Called the service dept but they had all left for the day. Is there a check like there was for the 'L' flash that I can do? I drove home and didn't notice any difference in power or smoothness. I turned my CZ Stage 1.1 off before going in for the flash and have yet to turn it back on until I know more about whether I actually received the 'M' flash or not. Thanks in advance for any help.

elite

my dealer drive the car until they got hte light to trigger. they say even after the flash, my car was misfiring, i hope that when they replace the plugs, which is what mazda tech told them to do, my performance will pick up. I can only think that the first 1000 miles or so the plugs take a beating so im actually glad they are doing this..they think itll solve all the issues, misfiring, hesitation, check engine light and so on. I think my car was on the lot for a winter, build date was 6/03 and that winter, and 79 various miles didnt do my plugs any good....so, new flash, new plugs.....keeping my fingers crossed but they said tech told them this has happened in the past....we shall see!

Tall Corn

Dang it! I meant to email my service department at Hiley in Arlington to set up the M flash yesterday, but this compnay I work for expects me to actually work while I'm here(!) - can you imagine???

Anyway, last night I noticed an inconsistant idle as I waited outside a local store while my wife was inside for a quick gift pick up. A few times idle became rough and I thought it might stall. I switched off the AC that I was running at the time and it really didn't make a difference. I tapped on the gas and it smoothed back out.

Is this the "rough idle" that many are referring to and experiencing? It appears that many of you are getting this cleared up with the new flash - from what I'm reading.......

Tall.................

success07

Spoke with the service dept. this morning. He said it is serv. protocol to put the customer complaint, the actual problem, and resolution on the serv. write-up. So in my case the write-up said, hard engine start, internal failure, reprogrammed pcm. He told me that the car was updated with the 'M' flash according to the serv. agent who took care of the car. That its the only flash that they have. It's not on my receipt or on a sticker inside the engine compartment and from what I understand there is no way to check for the update like you can with the brake test on the 'L' flash. If anyone knows any different please let me know. Frank in the serv. dept seems like a stand up guy so essentially I'm taking his word on it.

JERCS

I lost about 17hp with the New Flash. But gas mileage is better... performance...icky. The car goes really smooth now through the entire RPM range, but lot less power.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=26143

elite

17hp, id be so pissed.....i wonder if i lost alot as well, my car feels slower....but its getting plugs as we speak, maybe itll come back to life but I have no way to prove it.

Tall Corn

I just talked with Don in the Service Department at Hiley Mazda in Arlington, Tx. and he knew of the M flash, and said it would be no problem to have it done when I came in for the console replacement work. I'll report back when it happens.......

Tall........................

mysql101

I got the M flash at Ferman Mazda (in Tampa) just by asking for the M flash. They said no problem.

So far I haven't seen much difference in performance, but maybe I was looking at my new MS spoiler too much.

8is>enuff

Does anyone here actually know what the flash actually does? I've been hearing conflicting reviews, and am not sure whether to request the flash before I pick up my car (this weekend). Some people say it's faster, some say slower. Jercs' experience on the dyno seems to be the only objective evidence of either, and no es bueno. I think I'd rather follow the warming up procedures and deal with the car being a little rougher to have +~17hp, especially beacuse that 17hp is soooooo hard to regain.

Sorry for the long post, but when I read Jercs' post, I nearly sh@ myself. Any info on what the flashes actually do to the ecu would be greatly appreciated. And I'm done.

JERCS

Mine also had more HP then others though. Minority Report :D 7/13 port. The RE-Intake at first lost me HP, but now gains me HP.... all due to the map I would wager.

rx8 dx

I don't think we are loosing 17hp. My G pro numbers are much better with the "M"Reflash and better milage than the stock version.

Think about it. Mazda got into a lot of heat because of the HP fiasco. I dont think Mazda is going to reduce the hp even further.
Just my opinion.

Reeko

???
A "leaner" mixture has no influence on compression.

JERCS

We might not be, but I did. I could feel a difference and the dyno agees!