Sup guys Im new here, but just wanna say this forums looks really nice/informative.

-Anyways recently ive been having problems with 04 rx8. Only modification is a CAI. The problem is it takes forever to start sometimes 30 min of trying.. and after I get to start it wont accelerate, I have to floor it to get to move and when I do the RPM's climb painfully slow. Its a hassle just to get it up to 40 mph...any ideas? Im going to make a video one day soon fyi.

 

When was the last time you had your car in for routine maintenance?

Check your plugs and coils, as well as your cat converter.

 

Ah, forgot to mention car has no cats... and I changed plugs probably 6 months ago along with coils. I perform routine maintenance on time, I take very good care of my cars and I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to cars, this is just my first rotary.

 

30 minutes of trying to start?!!!??!!1??

Did it not occur to you that something was wrong when it too a minute to start?

Then when it took two minutes, did a penny not drop that 'all was not well in RotaryLand'??

 

How many miles are on the engine? Just to rule them out, I would test the plugs and coils (check the DIY forum for that).

It sounds like you have bad compression, unfortunately

 

NO need to be a jerk, Im just saying it usually takes 2-3 min of trying, then letting starter cool and then repeat the process and eventually ends up around 30min. It just kinda happened outa the blue one day, so i was wondering what you guys thought... At first I thought it was just flooded but thats not the case.

 

ahh yeah it is flooded. you've got wet plugs, unburnt fuel in exhaust etc etc at that point. Stealth isnt being a jerk he's truly alarmed. So am I . stop asking questions here, take your car and get it diagnosed.

 

I did, they told me they didnt know what the problem was but it wasnt flooded...

 

Three things to check:

1) Ingition. Quick and easy check to see if you have all 8 plug wire ends firmly attached to their respective coil and plug points. "6 months" isn't an indication of how much action those items have seen, and early failures are always possible. You mentioned plugs and coils, but not wires.

2) E-shaft sensor. If this is dirty or fouled or mis-aligned or the sensor data profile is messed up, this could be causing quite a bit of your issue. Clean it, reset the computer with the 20-brake-pedal-stomp reset (or disconnect battery negative for a period of time).

3) If none of that works, take it in for a compression test.


I'm betting that this problem isn't your compression. Or if it is, you also have another contributing factor. If it was just simple compression loss, the amount of compression loss needed to prevent you from getting to 40mph would make it impossible to get the engine started in the first place, not just "difficult."

To me, it really sounds like either ignition or e-shaft sensor. Both affect the car relatively similarly regardless of it's starting or driving. Differences sure, but it's not a "slope" of effect based on speed or RPM the way compression is.

Also, "30 minutes" of even periodic cranking will drain any standard car battery every time. How are you actually getting it started each time?

 

RIWWP thank you for your response, and eventually it just starts on its own. Im also charging the battery with my other vehicle during this.

 

Do you have an upgraded starter in the car?
It might be spinning too slowly to build compression enough to fire up.

BC.

 

That wouldn't explain the massive loss of power when driving though.