Newbie With A 40th Anniversary Edition

[nightfire10]

Hey All!

Believe it or not this is actually my first car, I picked up my 40th Anniversey RX8 no. 369/400 just over a month ago now and every single time I drive it or even look at it it puts a smile on my face.

Since I bought it I've have had to replace the battery as the one fitted by the garage I bought it from didn't have a high enough CCA but the car starts pretty well now with the new battery.

The only thing that I know needs doing to it is the rear light gasket seals need replacing.

The previous owner has put an after market exhaust and Mazdaspeed badges on it (no Idea if there actually are Mazdaspeed parts on it or the make of the aftermarket exhaust sorry! Just know it sounds very nice haha)

Also just paid to be part of the club as well so hopefully some good times to come

[GreySilver Beast]

Hi & to the RX-8OC


Please check out the EVENTS SECTION's for anything coming up soon in your area

Events Team

[Delanor]

I have entered you & your cars detail in the Special Editions Register which is in the members area you will be able to check once you are a full member.

Have a read up on our various sections especially The Buyers Guide as it will point out important areas you should make sure are in good condition such as ignition components.

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Del.

[Shagrington]

Hi and Nanotrox That looks very nice ... and your first car? No wonder you're smiling.

Thanks for joining the club - your status will be upgraded and you'll get access to all the areas you can't see yet as soon as the right person gets on line and processes your application.

Have a good read through whatever in the FAQ section viewforum.php?f=25 you didn't already read and then (and just ignore me if you know all this already) here are my best tips for keeping it all running sweetly:

1. To start up turn the key to position 2, wait for most of the lights on the dash to go out (I watch the airbag light by the glove box), press the clutch to the floor (optional, but reduces drag), turn the key to start and do not touch the throttle until it has started. You can drive off straight away, just keep the revs down for a bit (see #4 below).

2. Never turn off the engine before it has reached at least somewhere towards normal operating temperature (should only take a minute or two, but best to go for a short drive if just swapping cars round on the drive etc). Switching off cold risks flooding, which is a real with a rotary engine. Mazda recommend rev to 4k and hold it for 8-10 seconds switching off while still revving if you have no option but to switch off cold (it is not necessary to do this in any other circumstance).

3. Check the oil level regularly (use the dipstick - the oil gauge tells you nothing other than that you have or don't have pressure) and top up if necessary with semi synthetic 5w30 (most people and specialists are advising to use 10w40 now though) ... small amounts at a time, no more than ½ a litre then check the level again before adding more as you don't want to overfill it.

4. Use all the revs once the engine is nice and warm (don't sit idling to warm up, start up and drive but keep it below about 4k until the needle on the water temperature gauge is pointing straight up, then give it another 10 minutes for the oil to warm up too before really thrashing it ) and hit the beep often. Best acceleration is from 4k revs up - to pull away you really need to rev to 2k - you can let the revs drop after lifting the clutch if you are in traffic, cruising steadily at 3½k revs and changing down to go up hills or accelerate gets you the best mpg ... which still won't be great.

As you have paid the membership already you've saved me the effort of copying and pasting my usual 5th (and most important) tip.

[nightfire10]

Nice choice of model and colour

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

[casey]

to the club and the wonder of the rotary! Car looks good in the picture

[Nanotrox]

Thanks for all the advice and welcomes everyone!

4. Use all the revs once the engine is nice and warm (don't sit idling to warm up, start up and drive but keep it below about 4k until the needle on the water temperature gauge is pointing straight up, then give it another 10 minutes for the oil to warm up too before really thrashing it ) and hit the beep often. Best acceleration is from 4k revs up - to pull away you really need to rev to 2k - you can let the revs drop after lifting the clutch if you are in traffic, cruising steadily at 3½k revs and changing down to go up hills or accelerate gets you the best mpg ... which still won't be great.

With hitting the beep what speed does it usually hit the beep in 2nd gear? and I remember reading somewhere not sure where not to beep it in first gear? is this right on wrong?

[warpc0il]

The beep in 2nd gear is around 68mph, so you only want to be doing that on the motorway, or at least a dual-carriageway.

There's no harm beeping in 1st gear, as long as the engine oil is fully warmed, and you'll be doing just over 40mph.

[Nanotrox]

Thanks very much!

[New Duke]

And there's no rush to change out of 1st gear. Unlike in other cars, you can happily poodle around in heavy traffic and leave it in first. Enjoy using the full rev range.

And welcome to the club.

[Honkytonk]

What a first car! One of the best models too.

I beeped mine in first all the time on the way to work (once warmed up obviously), made roundabouts and stop-start traffic much more exciting (even if I got a few odd looks)

My beep in 2nd always kicked in around 60, topping out at 65+ as Warpcoil says, which was always a handy speed limiter. I would probably say 2nd and 3rd are where you spend the majority of your time, everything above that is more of a 'comfort' (i.e. keeping your passengers from screaming as loud as your engine bay) or cruising gear. Once it's all warmed up don't be afraid to wring it out, unlike everything else you're only really getting started around 6k rpm...

[30405]

Beeped it today for the first time since I owned it and WOW! did it a fair few more times It's amazing!