C.Man182ay.com

so i just got this beautiful car from a dealer, and its pretty much been sitting and garaged for the past year. its an 04 with 40,000 miles only. so my questions for now are, what are the rules for the Renesis as far as giving it time to warm up? should i wait a few mins before i drive off? and letting it cool down. how long should i wait before i turn it off? yesterday i waited 5-10 mins and it still wasnt even close to the C on the gauge. its in amazing shape, with low miles, so i plan to keep it in perfect shape and want to make sure im taking care of it the right way. also i have no owners manual of any sort. thats my biggest concern for now....also, how do i program the button on the rear view mirror for the garage door? thx for any help! as you can tell i dont know enough about this car, YET. so if theres any other useful tips you think i should know, PLEASE TELL!

paulmasoner

iTrader: (1)

do not drive it hard(high rpm or load) until it has fully warmed. keep in mind that the oil may take 10-15+ minutes after the water temp needle stops to fully warm.

for daily driving, just stop and turn it off.

make sure all the TSBs are done. consider premixing.

RX8pwnage

iTrader: (1)

consider reading the stickies and becoming familiar with the search function

ken-x8

Go to mazdausa.com and sign up in the owner's area. You'll be able to download a pdf of the owner's manual. That will answer a lot of questions. Also the Quick Tips guide, if there's one for your year. That will answer questions even faster.

Owner's manual says to let it idle for 10 seconds before driving off. That's about right. If it's very cold, you might let it idle longer, at least until the fast idle starts to come down a bit.

If you let it idle for 10 minutes and the temp gauge was not to its warm position (a couple of tics left of center) you probably need a new thermostat.

Ken

C.Man182ay.com

No I waited about 10 mins after driving, to let the engine cool down cause I heard your supposed to wait at least 5 mins, or til the gauge hits the C . I wated 10 mins before turning it off, and it was still close to the half mark on the gauge, is that yer rx8 with the carbon tri slot hood? How much for one?? I like it

RX8pwnage

iTrader: (1)

its a Seibon hood...$600-$800 depending on where u look. Im sure there are club vendors who can get ya good price.

ArXate

What you wrote doesn't make sense. That gauge is for the engine reaching normal operating temp. What does that have to do with cooling down AFTER driving?

Let's make it real simple. Don't listen to people who warm the car up for 5 min before driving. Never do that. Start it, give it around 10 seconds, and then drive off. But be easy on the car until the temp gauge gets to normal operating temp.

If you've driven for a while and then you come home or stop at a store, just turn the engine off. Don't do a cool down.

If your car is totally cold (e.g., overnight outside your home) and you just want to move it, you can just drive it down the street and back, park, and shut off. Some people will do the engine rev thing but I don't take the chance (of flooding).

ArXate

You also say you JUST bought this car but in the same sentence you say it's been sitting and GARAGED for a year. Do you mean the dealership had it garaged for a year? I've never seen a used car garaged at a dealership. Or do you mean the salesperson or someone at the dealership told you the previous owner garaged it? If so, why would you believe them?

So you've said a couple of things that don't make sense. You better not be a troll.

hollistar_4

yes this doesnt make sense saying you just got it and its been sitting garaged for a year? you should let it warm up before you drive off at least 5-10 minutes or until it reaches above c(it really depends on how far you drive, the shorter the trip, the longer you should wait to let it warm it up and vice versa), ESPECIALLY in the cold i flooded it 3 times because of this (one time was actually from battery drainage) i have been told to rev it to 4k rpm for 5 seconds in park/neutral before shutting it off, to make SURE to take care of it, change oil EVERY 3k miles, they have an owners manual somewhere online....search google i found it as mine doesnt have one either, and once you find one online(manual) it would tell you in there how to set the button on the mirror, also i heard its good to redline it once everytime you drive it or once a day...idk um i also heard to use a specific tranny fluid(they have info in one of the threads on here about it) and i also heard to use regular oil, im using synthetic, but because of where i live i dont have good access to regular, and i think thats it of what i have researched, and its helped, my car has 76k and runnin great i take care of it!

ArXate

Hollistar, he's in Houston, TX. He'll never be caught up in a blizzard in the morning. In his climate, he should never warm up the car before driving off. You just start it and go.

hollistar_4

this is true i failed to see where he was located oops, so he should be fine even going 5 minutes away haha!

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

so tell me why he shouldn't warm the engine before driving. every rotary i have ever owned which has been 31 RX-7's in 11 years and now the 8 i have warmed up at least into the normal range before driving it..unless i'm in a hurry and then i let it idle for at LEAST a minute before driving. excessive warmup leads to poor fuel economy and in the 79-80 RX-7's with the thermal reactor and heat exchanger, abrupt flooding and a misfire until driven. the 7's run far better when warm than when cold..the 8 doesn't have a preference but i still like to give it a chance to warm up.

ArXate

How about you explain to everyone why exactly you feel you need to warm up your RX8?

mbentley

iTrader: (1)

i'm going to go with the owners manual on this one. i think the engineers who wrote it might know what they are talking about...

i've never heard or found anything about needing to cool down the engine after driving but the owners manual says:

so it seems that if the temp is high, it will run the cooling fan until it has reached a cool enough level.

yiksing

The rules are simple:

1. Initialize (<<< credits to Zoom44) before turning key to start car.
2. Idle 30 seconds
3. Start driving keeping rpm under 3000 rpm
4. After 10 minutes or so, do whatever you want.

Cooldown procedure:

1. Turn engine off the moment you see your house and cruise in neutral till you park.
Note: Takes a few tries before you get the hang of cruising distance.

ArXate

I would like to recommend this one for anybody who lives in an icy area or has a driveway that goes uphill that is covered with ice in the winter!

C.Man182ay.com

ok so ive had everyone say im not making any sense. i guess i didnt word it right. it hasnt been owned by a person for about a year, its been sitting on at least 2 different car lots. and obviously the person who had it last, which theres only been 1 other owner, must of garaged it alot, cause its an 04 with only 40k miles. so back to my point about warm up and cool down! i went to Mazda the other day, had to get new spark plugs,coils, and cables. (charged me a nice ****** 750$) and they told me that when i turn the car on that its ready to go, i dont have to let it sit and warm up or anything. but they told me that when im rdy to turn the car off, i need to let it sit for at least 5mins til it cools down, or til the gauge hits the C. that just sounds ridiculous to me. and yes im in houston, tx where its warm. and yes i have heard it a few times when i turn my car off and a loud fan turns on, i guess its cooling down the engine, but i didnt know if that was bad for it or not....everyone seems to have a different answer, including most of u, and the actual dealership....so now i dont know what to think. i just wanta take care of my baby but if the manual says u can just turn it off id think that clears the issue right?

ArXate

Almost all of us are in agreement. Pretty much only this person named "Mazdaverx7" swears by warming up until the needle is in the normal range (my god, what's that?... 3 to 5 min or more depending on the outside temp?)- some guy who lives in OHIO (cold winters? that would make sense) who owned 31 rotaries in 11 years (Is that a world record? Someone call Guinness Book).

Anyway, that's what's called confirmation bias. Just because he warmed up his 31 rotaries and nothing broke (except his gasoline budget) doesn't mean if you don't warm up the car, it will break.

DON'T NEED TO WARM UP YOUR CAR IN HOUSTON.

HomicidalApple

iTrader: (3)

Ummmm lol at the fact that u sat their for 10 mins waiting for the engine to cool down while it was still running.... I don't know what u were expecting? I mean yea 8s have a different engine but logic would say that an engine won't cool down while its still running?....

Okay I won't be mean so ill stop at that

Bbut on a positive, good luck with your beautiful car, your goin to looooove it! Welcome to the club

rx8_4TWin

do not let the car idle for 5-10 mins after start. just don't do it. that is actually bad for the car.

fire up, wait for 10 seconds (upto 30 secs if it is really cold) then drive off, be gentle in the first 10 minutes. this is the proper way of warming up your car (any car).

hollistar_4

lol i have always done this lol im in too much a hurry to warm it up first lol, i would say go with what the manual says

ken-x8

Yikes! Who have you been talking to?

When you start and drive the car, it will warm up until the gauge hits its normal position. If everything is working right, it will stay there. It will not drop if you sit idling. As long as the car has warmed up, just turn it off. As far as getting it to warm up, just let it idle for ten seconds and then drive gently til its warm.

I would not listen to the guy who has owned 31 RX-7s (why has he gone through so many?) and has flooded his RX-8 three times.

The "5 minutes" you hear comes from someone misreading info in the quick tips guide or the DVD. If you're going to start the car and not drive far (e.g., moving it out of your garage to wash it) you need to let it warm by idling - which takes about 5 minutes - then do the rev thing. You really need to get the owner's manual and QT guide and see what Mazda actually says. Lots of good info on this site, but until you learn something on your own you can be mislead by the handful with incorrect beliefs.

Ken

cornholio135

iTrader: (2)

$750 for Coils Plugs and Wires!!!! Yikes you should have ordered the parts online and did it yourself... couple of vendors here offer "Tune up Kits" for like $300..

ATL-GP

#1...an 04 with only 40k???? That's pretty low miles...how long has it been sitting? That would be something that would concern me.

#2....check the car history and ensure all the TSBs have been done in a timely manner.

#3....Engine health....might be worth the money to check the vacuum pressure and if it's low, go with a compression check. It is an 04, so it's something you want to be aware of. Your wallet and MPGs will thank you.

I have an 04, it's on it's second motor. I purchased the car used and the first thing I did was get them to do a compression check. I gave them the "loss of power" excuse, but really, I had no idea if I lost power...I just got the car, but I wanted to make sure the thing was healthy. Anyway, it failed the test and a new motor was installed. So, from day one on the new motor I:
Always let it warm up approx 2 min or so, basically as soon as I get in the car I start it up, and then go ahead and get my briefcase situated, change CD or stero...basically the normal piddling, and by the time I'm done, i'm ready to go. I just keep revs in the 3-4k range until my temp goes to the normal operating position. Some people say you need to give it another few min beyond the point it reaches normal operating temp...and it makes sense, so now I do...but I didn't before and my motor is still running strong. As far as cooling down...the only time I ever heard that was with the FC Turbo II, and that was just to allow the turbo to cool off before shutting the whole thing down. ANYWAY, I've never waited until the car cooled off. I keep my oil topped off, but NOT all the way to the full line, just a few mm shy of it. and check it every other time I put gas in the car. OH and speaking of gas...and you will have differing opinions on this site...but I NEVER USE THE CHEAP ****!! nor will I go to a "Go Gas" or some no name mom and pop gas station. No offense to mom and pop, but i've never had a problem with Chevron, Shell, BP or Texaho...so I stick with those...I preferr Chevron though. Finally, drive the **** out of it once its warmed up...really, don't be skerrrd. Now i'm not saying have it at 8900 all the damn time, but don't be afraid to wind it out, if you drive it like a grandma and never go above 4k rpm...you're asking for problems. I love my 04!! And other than routine stuff, I have yet to have any major problems with it, and i've owned it for well over 3 years now...and with a new motor that only has about 25-30k miles on it, I intend to keep her until it falls apart. OH, by the way, and I apologize if I missed it, but is yours an auto or 6spd. Reason why I ask, is the 04 Autos seem to be a little more prone to the engine issues than the 6spd. Good luck and enjoy the ride!! OH yeah, I have NEVER had a flooding problem with the car AT ALL!!!

C.Man182ay.com

ya i know i got jipped on the 750$ but the car died, and i ecven had to get it towed so i towed it to Mazda and had no clue what was wrong, so of course....got charged like a ****. its a 6 speed manual, wouldnt waste my time with an automatic. ya i thought it was stupid that having the car idle for 5 mins before you turn it off would cool it down. but thats what Mazda said. Unless they meant wat ken8x said, that if you just need to move the car out of the driveway or something, i should wait a total of 5 mins before turning it off cause it never reached the normal temp? as in you should never just drive the car for less than a minute?
o ant ATL-GP, u said u got a new motor, are you saying that because you failed the compression test you got them to put a new Renesis in it? cause i still have like 2 years warranty, to where if something breaks down they still have that big recall on the Renesis