RX-8 Owners Club UK

Hi all,

Noticed on the way to work today when doing the usual beep of the day, it seems like it is down on power when I hit 7k to 8k ish, a bit like backing off the throttle. Am I right in thinking it could be ess or ssv? It's got RRP MK2 coils and good quality leads recently fitted so I doubt it's ignition? Any help appreciated as per. Cheers.

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Jeags wrote:Hi all,

Noticed on the way to work today when doing the usual beep of the day, it seems like it is down on power when I hit 7k to 8k ish, a bit like backing off the throttle. Am I right in thinking it could be ess or ssv? It's got RRP MK2 coils and good quality leads recently fitted so I doubt it's ignition? Any help appreciated as per. Cheers.

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Plugs ?


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I had this issue when I had RRP mk2 coils and MSD leads fitted, going back to OEM cured it.
I would suggest fitting a known working set of OEM coils for comparison.

mrspiller wrote:

Jeags wrote:Hi all,

Noticed on the way to work today when doing the usual beep of the day, it seems like it is down on power when I hit 7k to 8k ish, a bit like backing off the throttle. Am I right in thinking it could be ess or ssv? It's got RRP MK2 coils and good quality leads recently fitted so I doubt it's ignition? Any help appreciated as per. Cheers.

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Plugs ?


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Pretty much new, fitted recently, about 2k miles on them at most.

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Jeags wrote:

mrspiller wrote:

Jeags wrote:Hi all,

Noticed on the way to work today when doing the usual beep of the day, it seems like it is down on power when I hit 7k to 8k ish, a bit like backing off the throttle. Am I right in thinking it could be ess or ssv? It's got RRP MK2 coils and good quality leads recently fitted so I doubt it's ignition? Any help appreciated as per. Cheers.

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Plugs ?


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Pretty much new, fitted recently, about 2k miles on them at most.

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Depends how you drive it
Mines just a track car ,does 1000-1500 per year and will ruin a set in 18months


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mrspiller wrote:

Jeags wrote:

mrspiller wrote: Plugs ?


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Pretty much new, fitted recently, about 2k miles on them at most.

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Depends how you drive it
Mines just a track car ,does 1000-1500 per year and will ruin a set in 18months


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I'll have a look at them tomorrow, pretty sure they're fine though as I fitted them about a month ago. I just drive it 2-3k normally and give it a few beeps a day.

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Before anyone goes down a witch hunt, RRP MKII, or MKIII coils do not cause stuttering at 7-8K. I have literally 1000s of these kits out there including a set on my own car, these are also on boosted applications with NO reported issues even at 16PSI!

7-8K is where the VDI opens I'd suggest it's something to do with this. That being said it worth checking all is connected properly with regards to the ignition.

to be fair carl, everything electronic CAN fail, but in the case of your coils the chances are very small. however it would be irresponsible to say its impossible,..

Apologies, what I should have written (and what I meant) was "I would recommend fitting a known set of OEM coils and leads for comparison". I don't believe the coils themselves were at fault when I had the above issue, it seemed to be related to how well the leads were connecting with them but I didn't put too much thought in to it as the OEM bits worked fine once changed.

I had a similar issue recently. Checked SSV, coils, leads and plugs, and no issues. Ended up being collapsed/clogged catalytic converter. Decat sorted it out.


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I found that when my racing beat filter was getting dirty I suffered from a flat spot between 6 and 7 thousand rpm, maybe it's exaggerated by the apv opening causing a restriction just when it needs it. But certainly check the airfilter as it's an easy check/fix

tsouthern wrote:I had a similar issue recently. Checked SSV, coils, leads and plugs, and no issues. Ended up being collapsed/clogged catalytic converter. Decat sorted it out.


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Already running a decat so doubt it's that. Had the coils on my previous 8 for about 1k miles and didn't have any issues then, doesn't mean it isn't them, but again, doubt it. I'll have a general look around after work today.

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tsouthern wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 08, 2020 7:36 pm

I had a similar issue recently. Checked SSV, coils, leads and plugs, and no issues. Ended up being collapsed/clogged catalytic converter. Decat sorted it out.


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Hi guys, I’m a new owner to the RX8 and have been reading and taking the advice posted on the forums. My problem started after I read that I should beep the car at least once every few days or so, which I did and all was well until last week. I took it to 7k rpm and it started stuttering, when the revs came down it was fine, but it then wouldn’t go above 5k. I switched it off and restarted it again, it was fine and went above 5k as soon as it hit 7–7.5k it stuttered and repeated it self, when the revs came down it drove for a 100 yards and then cut out. I restarted it and as I attempted to drive off it cut out again. I tried restarting it, it would catch but cut out again when I tried to rev it, now it’s just refusing to start. Someone mentioned that it’s possibly the cat that’s stopping it from starting and I should de-cat it. I’m at a quandary here as it’s my first with a rotary engine and I have no clue as to what I should do, hence my post, I’m hoping that the experienced guys on here could point me in the direction that I should be looking at. I’m quite apt at DIY, where should I start, thanks guy’s

The cat can collapse and restrict exhaust flow, which becomes more noticeable at higher revs.

However, I've yet to come across an instance where the cat has blocked sufficiently to prevent the engine from starting.

More likely would be a problem with the fuel pump or ignition system.

How many miles on the car?
Have the coils ever been replaced?

warpc0il wrote:The cat can collapse and restrict exhaust flow, which become more noticeable at higher revs.

However, I've yet to come across an instance where the cat has blocked the sufficiently to prevent the engine from starting.

More likely would be a problem with the fuel pump or ignition system.

How many miles on the car?
Have the coils ever been replaced?

Car is now on 75k on original engine . I changed the coils as soon as I bought the car for peace of mind, had revision c ones fitted before which didn't look new, but didn't have any white spots underneath. Took her out yesterday for a good 100 mile drive and didn't have an issue at all, so maybe it's fixed itself? I guess I'll find out in the future!

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I have experienced the cat collapsing and causing the car not to start with a few different RX-8s so can confirm for sure it is possible.
Your symptoms sound much like what happens when the cat collapses/blocks (Struggling to Rev/cutting out) so I would definitely start there.

Nickp47 wrote:I have experienced the cat collapsing and causing the car not to start with a few different RX-8s so can confirm for sure it is possible.
Your symptoms sound much like what happens when the cat collapses/blocks (Struggling to Rev/cutting out) so I would definitely start there.

Thanks for the info. Running a decat at the mo so doubt it's that? It's strange as it has stopped happening since yesterday, but when it did happen, it didn't slow the speed the revs rose when it hit 7k, it climbed the revs as it normally does, but just felt a flat spot in power for 500rpm or so.

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Sorry, bit of a cross-thread situation here, I should have said my cat answer was aimed at Pupsi.

Nickp47 wrote:Sorry, bit of a cross-thread situation here, I should have said my cat answer was aimed at Pupsi.

Ah, I see. Sorry!

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Thanks for the heads up Nick, will take the cat off and see if it starts