Rx8GirlsRock

Hey!! Any help on this?
2006 rx8 54k automatic

Changed spark plugs myself last summer with NKGs for 40k miles. I did not get recommended de carb due to money.

Oil change 2 weeks ago, asked dealer to look at car to make sure no problems, everything came back ok.

Yesterday I was driving it in manual and check engine light came on. Parked it in the garage, drove it an hour later in regular drive and check engine light disappeared.
Took it to autozone today to read code: code was cylinder 1 misfire.

Been alternating between 91 and 93 octane to save money.

Any help on this? Thoughts? Random fluke? Gas? Do I need that decarb? Anything I can do to avoid taking it to the dealer? Anything I can do myself? Advice please!

ShinkaEvo

iTrader: (3)

When's the last time u change ur coils and wires?
If not, do it now, and go from there.
Btw, decarb is only like $10 if you know how, just search for the DIY thread.

Rx8GirlsRock

Can I do it myself? How hard is that... Could I screw that up easily? Would you do that before taking it to dealer then just see if the light ever comes on again? Also does anyone know what this decarb service is? Would you take your 8 to someone else other than Mazda to do it? How important is that?

Rx8GirlsRock

Ok just saw the decarb part.

Darkning

Well first off I'd imagine it was a Rotor 1 misfire instead of cylinder, you may or may not already know that this car runs a rotary engine and doesn't have cylinders or pistons at all.

The coils/spark plugs/wires replacement isn't too difficult(Although it could cost you $200-300, but totally worth it) and there are several good DIYs here on the forum for completing them. Really the only difficult things about the whole process is making sure you plug the correct cables into the correct plugs/coils and just having the strength to remove (possible) rusted bolts or spark plugs without breaking them.

De-carbing(using Seafoam) can be done either by you or(ideally) by a Mazda dealer, although it's cheaper to do it yourself it might be a little daunting to do if you don't have much wrench time in your car.

I've done both of these with a prior 0% knowledge on how to work on cars and they both ended up quite easy, but then again I've spent tons of time on these forums reading up on anything and everything.

red_rabbit86

Lol... its always good to check if your cyclanders are blown in a rotary engine... you never know.

jordanjerome

Ok so I also have an AT RX8 so the misfire that happened in mine was due to the VDI solenoid not working anymore, also an SSV valve can cause the same problem. So if you have the high power motor it will only be $118 for the part, if you have the lower powered motor then its $1200 and you have to have the whole intake manifold replaced. This was according to the stealership/dealership. Also at the time my battery was dying so it was also causing the misfire. So after replacing my plugs, coils, wires, battery....... the car is still drivable very much so just cant push it WOT all the time without it throwing the CEL code. On a side note if you replace your drive shaft with an aftermarket carbon fiber one and replace your rotors with light weight ones the MANUAL TRANSMISSION fools who think they are so much better dont stand a chance in a race and it increases your MPG. As for my car as soon as its fixed I am done with MAZDA. RX8's are so tempermental and have too many issues for me to pay out of pocket now that I no longer have a warranty.