blaster

had cel problem in december. dealer replaced pcm and reflashed, not sure which version. one week later no start! dealer relaced all spark plugs with updated parts. Anybody else need a new computer or plugs yet? only have 6700 miles on my titanium 04 6sp.

LiL BenNy

does it cost money to get ecu upgrades? no right,...

ttt

they did not want to do the m flash because they was scared if it messed up the E manage. That what they said.the dealer

elysium19

iTrader: (1)

I did read through this thread, but didn't really find the answers to my elementary questions....

I know the ECU is the computer that controls fuel input and the engine to some extent. I know a "flash" is an update to the firmware code in that computer. How does that relate to my 8??

How do I find out what version of ECU software my car has (do you need to go to the dealer?) , and is there any reason to request a flash to the newest one, other than the fuel consumption issues described here? I just got a used '04 and have no idea what it 'started' with. How does this alter performance or anything else?

zoom44

you should be at least on M flash. if your car is on an earlier flash it needs to be updated. aske them to check your car for available updates. Mazda wants all 2004 cars brought to at least M so if yours is not they shouldnt give you any problem over it. there is no tsb for the P flash so it doesnt addres any particular concerns THAT WE KNOW ABOUT RIGHT NOW.

jird20

Dear everybody,

Does anyone know what really does the R Flash over the N Flash?

I have read through different posts that mileage seems to be better and that there is a bit of low/mid revs torque, but still not numeric/objective data (i.e AFR vs speed and load, ignition timming...) about that.

I am currently on N (from M) and I am enyoing the advantages of N, but would like to know how worth is to go to R.

Regards

jird20

zoom44

we dont know what change from N to P so not going to be much help there. we do know what changed in R. read the recall papers

davefzr

I havent gotten mine yet.. Can you point me somewhere that I can read this if it's posted online?

zoom44

check the rosenthal tsb page

willhave8

Generally, No. You should not have to pay for them to flash your ECU to the latest version if they are told to by Mazda. But no all dealers are created equally and there is the odd chance that one might try to charge you if the latest flash isn't part of some upgrade program they have to do. Watch this forum and learn about what you want and what you don't in terms of flashes. Not every 'new' flash has provided significant changes or noticable improvements.

Xyntax

Check here: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/r-flash-charts-my-8-a-67163/

As for low RPMs, I have noticed that Ignition Advance keeps at 44 (highest) above 3000 RPMs. Anything lower than that goes down to 43 and below. Anything higher than 4000 RPMs, it's all kinds of ranges. Above 6000 RPMs, open-loop, 30 is the maximum.

I have just gotten 275 miles and the fuel needle is at the 3/4 line (1/4 fuel is left). This is with a 90%HW/10%City, REVi intake + Ram Air, and hot plugs.

Pretty neat :D

jird20

Thank you Xyntax,

As far as as I have seen, R Flash is pretty new (July) so about exceptions like yours, there is no much experience about it in general.

I will keep on following the threads about this interesting topic.

Cheers

jird20

StudyBuddy

Okay guys, I'm new to the forum and I'm just researching things for my mom's RX-8, so please don't be harsh on this poor 350z owner

Her build date is 10/04 and the car gets terrible gas milage. She doesn't really need any more power because she won't really notice the difference. The main thing is the gas milage.

I've read a little bit about the flashes, but I still don't know what to ask my dealer. Can someone clarify this for me?

zoom44

what do you mean by poor gas mileage?

StudyBuddy

I can watch the guage go down as I drive basically. I haven't had the chance to test it over more than 100 miles, so I haven't been able to record it. My mom is automobile stupid, so she doesn't know what kind of milage it's getting. I'm guessing about 225-250 a tank, all interstate.

It's a 6-speed by the way.

zoom44

anybody can watch the guage go down as you drive for 100 miles. when you have actuall numbers come back and ask again in a MPG thread. there are tons of them. but x miles per tank is not useful information at all. not worth getting into and hijacking this thread anymore. get miles driven and gallons for refill. gear,cruise etc etc.

StudyBuddy

Thanks for the... uhh .... help. I guess.

RenoIV

You should read the sticky in the issues and problems section by Polak about several flashes.

Until you establish your true mpg not miles per tank, we won't know if your mpg is low or not. miles per tank is useless.

The site has many mpg threads ... it is one of our favorite topics ... it's a sports car.... do a search

as with many engines the rotary mpg improves with miles....

vrpirata

The fuel tank meter is not linear, the first half tank goes really fast, but the third quarter usually last forever:

60 miles when needle is at 3/4 (~60 miles for fist quarter).
130 miles when needle is at 1/2 tank (~70 miles for second quarter).
230 miles when needle is at 1/4 tank (~100 miles for third quarter).
270 miles when refuel-light turns on, this is 1/8 before empty on the scale.

So, the first half gives the impression the RX-8 is a guzzler, but the last half gives the impression the RX-8 is very fuel efficient. My RX-8 manual oscilates from 19.5 to 21 mpg, that is with a lot of bumper to bumper and city driving here in LA.

Newer flashes usually show better mpg. Besides, this rotary engine get much better mpg and jump-off-the-line-acceleration as it breaks in, looks like that is after the 5000 miles.

silver1.3

I have had every flash, and from day one my ecu is clear of errors and I get 140 miles per fill up - thats about 12.8 mpg. These flashes do not help enough to change my gas usage. Even when I baby it I get 13.1 mpg. There is somthing else going on. I do mostly city driving. On the highway I get 18 mpg.

Kewl

So I had the recall work done today and when I ask about the flash version I was told...N3Z1-18-881S. I understand now that the 'S' version is for AT, my 8 is a MT. Car runs fine, redlines without issue...and seems to do so smoother then before the recall. Idle is about 100rpm higher, smooth idle. I would think that if I had the AT flash I couldn't redline to 9K...comments?

I have noticed that the AC doesn't work as well...not sure there is any relationship to the recall work however. As for the recall itself...no issues found.

crewshell

i got mine reflashed today as well - to N3Z1S .... which "version" would this be considered? R?

speeddemon32

ok I hate to ask this question as I am sure it has been asked before. but I couldent find anything on a search. so I decided rather then start a NEW thread, I would just revive an onld one.

what does the new flash (on the new recall) do? (I hear it injects more oil, and thats about all I have heard. I am sure it does more then just that.)

and what "letter" flash is it? (N???)
only info I found was this would be my flash N3Z2-18-881T (2004 M/T)

I found alot of info on the thread that talkes about the J,K,L,M, flashes, but nothing recent.

thanks to who ever has the answer.

success07

All I know is my flash code was 5 digit's long and ended with a 'T' which is the latest reflash for an '04 MT they said. The '04 AT cars get a 'U' at the end of theirs I believe.

Who knows what the heck these things do anymore. Car seems to be doing well with it so I would make the appt. and get'r done. They also check the cat, and a few other things per Mazda's direction.

Go48

Go the the link below and see the table on p.16. The letter doesn't much matter--although I suppose it's "T"--as long as the part number of the update is the correct one for your vehicle and location (which it is in your case.)


http://www.finishlineperformance.com...res_recall.pdf