At autozone

 

ahhh- did you test the t-stat to see if it had failed??

have you done thermostats before? what did you reseal it with?

did the overheating start AFTER you flushed the coolant or before?

 

The OE temp gauge is actually "calibrated" to some extent.
It starts to move off the left side around 145°F and is in the "normal" range from 165° - 233°F (it will sweep the normal range to some extent in this range of temps) and hits the top around 260°F at which point the engine is not very happy.

OP - did you verify the problem with the original t-stat? Did you get the orientation of the new t-stat correct?
Under what conditions is it overheating? I realize that a lot of the valley has been over 110°F for the last couple of weeks, so driving around in stop-n-go with the A/C on here in Phoenix or in Tucson is probably a no-no for most RX-8 owners, especially if the maintenance history of the car is questionable.

 

hey , i said it first!

 

but he said it with naked girls kissing

 

Man blow off the Autozone thermostat and get a Mazda OEM from Mazdatrix or dealer. I fix old cars as a hobby and cooling is prob what I have done most over the years. 3rd party thermostats are always lolerz. They never match up perfect.

 

The AC in my car is always on, as in the green light, even when I am not using it...

Is this normal?

when its turned off, should any light be on??