I recently changed my battery in my rx8 from a duralast that died in less than a year and a half to a optima red top. since that change i find it harder for my car to fire off. the optima definetly spins the motor great but it seems that i have to hold the key longer to start, and most of the time it sounds like it bearly has enough to fire it off. What may cause this?

 

Look, it's really this simple. Your battery cranks the starter, period. If the starter cranks good, but the car us slow to start then it's something else; low compression, bad plugs, bad plug wires, bad coils (please spare me the xxx coil change BS, I'm making more power NA on factory coils than you can have the biggest wet dream fantasy of your life over)

 

Anything with xxx in it = biggest wet dream, thats where you get your power

 

Sigh.

Basic questions need to be asked before we can answer anything.

What year is your car? (you could have the crappy old starter if your car is old enough)
How many miles does it have?
What is its service history? (When did you last change coils, plugs and plug wires?)

Team RX8 is right. The battery just spins the starter. If the starter cranks properly instead of slowly, your problem has nothing to do with the starter or the battery.

 

^+1! Does your car start better when it is cold rather than warmed up?

 

2004 rx8 ( got updated starter)
132,000 miles
changed coils plugs and wires at 100,000

 

yeah i would say it starts a little better when its cold

 

132k miles? original engine?

 

yes sir, original engine, i would say 80% is highway milage

 

still can get extended warrenty?

 

Are you asking me if I can or if there is an extended warranty after 100k

 

Extended warranty = wast of money. Send me the $3,000 lol extended warranty plays off the manufacturer warranty.

Lets try this:
When was the last time you changed your spark plugs? and spark plug wires?
Also depending on how you drive, you will need to change the spark plugs coils and wires about every 40k miles.
Take your 8 to autozone or checker and ask them if they can check your cold cranking amps on your red top. They can also tell you how many volts your at during idle and if your starter is going out or weak.
If all checks out good, have a compression test done.
GL

 

First of all congrats on your mileage and wish you many more miles to come! In terms of your problem this is what I would do:
Make sure your battery is fine. Since you changed your spark plags, wires, and coils at 100,000 miles it is time to do it again. I would also suggest you to decarbon your engine with Seafoam or Zoom Zoom cleaner. A compression test would also be helpful so you know where your engine stands.

 

Are you saying you noticed harder starts just as soon as you changed the battery?

 

If it's harder to start when it's hot, I'd get a compression test before changing out coils plugs and wires. They could be bad after 34k, but with a motor that's over 100K, there are other likely culprits to check first. My reasoning for a compression check first is that it would be cheaper then new plugs wires and coils and it tells us something about the health of the engine. It could be new engine time, or it could just need a Seafoam treatment if you're lucky.

Congrats on making it over 100K miles btw.

 

have we checked the grounds?

 

Good one. But I never heard of grounds just going bad unless someone was messing with them.