Hi - New Owner of an '04 in Nordic Green

[Koren]

Hi! I recently bought the below car - my first RX8. It had a rebuilt street ported engine put in 6k miles ago, which made it seem like a sensible choice. It also has a stainless catback system, but is otherwise mostly standard (for now!) I'm pretty happy with it, although it has a few problems.

[Craig M]

Hi and welcome.
Always liked the Nordic Green, not many about.
Looks like a good base for some mods/improvements.

[GreySilver Beast]

Hi & to the RX-8OC

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[Koren]

This is what I'm coming from. Alfa Romeo 159, 3.2 V6, AWD. 260 bhp, but awful lot heavier than an RX8, so the RX8 seems a fair bit faster, although I do miss the low down torque of the v6. I had to sell it as the big end bearing went, and didn;t want to replace it with something boring!

[Nickp47]

Have to say, I have always loved the styling of the 159, the Ti model in particular just looks so right even today.

[Koren]

Hi and Koren. Looks good - I have a few nordic green bits on mine too.

Have a good read through whatever in the FAQ section 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.

5. Join the club for discounts on all sorts of things (you will very quickly get the cost of membership back - and then some), loads more info in the members only sections (including access to all the workshop and technical manuals), local meets (if you can't find one exactly local it is a good excuse for a drive if you come to one a bit further away), a sexy keyring just for joining and more.

Talking about local meets - next Wednesday (4th Dec) we have the monthly Surrey area meet at Cobham (just down the A3 from you). You will be very welcome to come along for a chat and some food if you're free. All the details, directions etc are here viewtopic.php?f=99&t=59273

[Koren]

Thanks for the info! I'd read some various bits and pieces, but it's nice to have some confirmation about the important bits. Actually, on that note - I got an OBD dash gauge thingy for better oil and water temp displays. Is there a particular oil temp that it's best to get it to before exceeding 4k?

Nick - yep, me too. I never really considered them before as I thought they were all FWD, but when I found out they did an AWD with a V6, I couldn't resist! I was working toward getting all the TI bits - it already had the alloys, I got the lowering springs done, and the wing mirrors, just needed the side skirts, which I was just about to buy when the engine died.

[Nerdstrike]

Unless somebody added one, you won't have an oil temperature sensor. You should be looking at a water temperature in the 80s before gunning it, but the oil does take a while to follow if you have two oil coolers and it's cold. Be sensible and the car won't hate you, and you'll hear it if you overstep the mark too much.

[Shagrington]

.... I got an OBD dash gauge thingy for better oil and water temp displays. Is there a particular oil temp that it's best to get it to before exceeding 4k?

The OBD thing won't give you oil temps unless you get an appropriate oil temp sensor (I have the HKS Camp2 system in mine that gives a load of different info but I've got separate oil temp and oil pressure gauges fitted). My oil temp is done through a sandwich plate and I wait until the oil hits 70C on that before I use all the revs.

[Koren]

Oh interesting. It definitely has a readout for Oil temp, I wonder what it's reading for that then?

[ChrisHolmes]

There is definitely no oil temperature sensor that feeds into the ECU and hence can be monitored via the OBD port. Its is the same for oil pressure on the standard car. Both readings can only be monitored using aftermarket sensors and gauges.