Moderators - please feel free to MOVE this post where you see fit


Went to my Vegas Mazda dealer today - wed - at around 3pm.

Current info

They now have over 30 RX8's on the lot with either blown or suspected blown engines.

YES - most of them are AT trans, not manual

They said about 4 are manual - the rest are AT

Asked why? They said for one, more AT are sold than manual - not %90 percent more, but definitly more sold and on the road.

Also said that the AT engine has only 4 oil injectors and that the MANUAL has 6 oil injectors. So the theory is that the manual engines have a bit more built-in protection against oil problems.


Has Mazda had their engineers in Vegas? YES. So far at least 4 engineers have been to Vegas in the last 10 days. One from Mazda N.A. and THREE from Japan.

They took at least 3 of the defective 8's out and ran some tests on them. Spent at least an entire day doing so. No word on what they found or didn't find.

Any updates on the recall or parts - NO - still waiting.

Main theory on what is affecting the engines in Vegas and other HOT areas. The engines are building up heat and the HEAT TRANSFER is not taking place as needed. The oil inside in engines is burning up and breaking down. The seals are warping and melting.....and so on.


That's it for now guys.




Rob in Vegas

Crusin' in the Chrysler Pacifica.

Still WEAK!

 

Yes ,well based on my experience with my 2nd gen cars,I have been using 10W40 GTX and may go to 20W50 in summer.

 

Eh??? Isn't it summer already in Ontario???

 

absolutley freak'n fabulous, I wonder at what temp (atmospheric) things start to give the engine trouble. Im in Louisiana - definately a HOT spot. We've had 90-96 degrees here.

 

w00t the temp guage said 112F in the car today. I just cant wait for the gas tank to start leaking and the engine to explode.

 

More A/T sold than M/T? I call bullshit. Does anyone have the actual numbers?

 

Yes, and ironically enough they're having heat spells like never before. They've set records for the past 2 months for energy usage (all the A/C).

 

96 o my! im just picking on you . the worst ive ever felt during the summer was in alexandria it was about 95 and way too much humidity. it felt like i was taking a bath with my clothes on.

on subject i talked w/the service guy here in SA and he said he had 5 ATs on the lot that couldnt hold any power. it was a short conversation but i think he said they believed that the side seals were expanding into the rotors. does that sound right?

 

yep - that sounds about right



Rob in Vegas

 

hmm well i was in savannah GA for a summer in the army...adn i never had any problems and it gets damn hot at Fort Stewart. oh well maybe all the humidity from the swamp the base is on helped with colling my 8 :p

side note: hottest weather i ever experienced was overseas 145 in the shade don't know what it was in the sun b/c the thermomitor stoped working at 145...lol.
had the fun of packing up my gear in Kuwait preparing for coming home from Iraq...talk about suckage

oh and at night it was 100 with about a 100% humidity (damn persian gulf)

 

Yes, I always wondered why the hottest running engine on the market uses 5W-20 during the summer, in ALL of the US. What is OK for small 4 cyl is not OK for high rev, higher power, hotter running Renesis.
Motor oil grades exist for a reason: to cover specific temperature ranges. So yes, I agree with Two Rotors above, at least one problem is improper oil grades for the heat wave all across US. So I run 10W-40 over the summer (in NJ) and because I have a 4AT, I use premix too to help lubricate those seals...
So far, knock on wood, all good at 18k.

 

AT: Four FUEL injectors.

MT: Six FUEL injectors.

Both: One Oil Metering Pump. This is the one and only doohickey that'll squirt oil into the combustion chambers.

 

more ATs sold in that area is what he is saying. i believe it- people tend to get at cars in heavey traffic areas - Vegas is one of them. Thanks for the update

 

I know that more A/Ts are sold in Japan from some old press releases I read--Around here in Houston I've seen more A/Ts on the road and more manuals at the dealer. I figured that there wasn't alot of demand for the A/T hence the smaller dealer inventory--but maybe its because they are selling those more.

 

thats for damned sure! its been HOT for a long time now. and we've had a lot of problems with the humidity too! there was a week straight where we were hitting 40+ all the time. 30 in the middle of the night... summer started here around the beginning of June, and hasnt let up since (and this ones a hotter one that a 'regular' summer)

but i havent heard of many problems regarding the 8 at dealerships in regards to heat....

 

Maybe this site isn't the place to come for correct information.

 

if some information is incorrect and you know it then you should correct it. you see sevral of us trying to keep up . if you can help please do.

 

What do you mean by "correct"? If you're referring to inaccurate information in some postings, you will get that on any forum from would-be experts. On this forum, at least, there are a few people who DO know what they're talking about, who have good access to authoritative information and who, on their own time, are trying to help fellow RX-8 owners. You just have to analyse the posts and determine who to believe and who to ignore. It ain't that difficult to figure out.

Like Iacocca says, if you find a better source of information, go there. (Or something akin to that anyway. )

 

Reminds me of someone talking about leaving Vietnam. Said it sucked so bad they were worried the helo might not get off the ground....