Hi i saw you guys have rotary websites and was wondering can you answer a couple qustions
i have about my rx8
1) How long do you need to warm this cars up(rx8)?

2) How often do you change your spark plugs(rx8)?
3) How would you know that the apex seals and/or side seals are bad, broken, or blownon an
rx8?
4) I use 5w20 non-synthetic castrol gtx oil in my rx8 is this good or would you prefer
something else?
5) Also i own a stock 6 speed manual rx8 and i heard people drive they keep there rpms at
3500-4000(when cruising) and then redline the car once a day. I shift the car at 3000rpms
1 through the fourth gear skip fifth and then go striaght to sixth and crusie at 2200 rpms
in city and highway driving i cruise at 3500rpm but i never redline the car i just take it
up to 7000-7500rpms and hold ot there for about 20 seconds to get rid of the carbon buildup.
6) What would you say is the main problem these engines break. What can I do to prevent
that from happening?

respectfully

Nazar

I am in So California so I rarely have to warm it up. If you drive slowly when it is
cold it does not seem to hurt it. I just do that as a matter of course. I have never
really zinged it to 9000 RPM when it was cold to see what would happen. It warms up rather
rapidly as the thermostat recirculates the coolant until the engine gets warm.
It does this mainly to keep down emissions. Same for the oil cooling. BTW I have owned
six rotary powered cars starting with a new RX2 in 1973.

I have 30,000 miles on the original Iridium plugs in my 2004 RX8. They are quite
expensive. If you use Mobil 1 or Idemitsu synthetic rotary engine oil my guess is change
it 10,000 miles or once a year what ever comes first. I have no experience with castrol
gtx. I am a believer in synthetic oils and have used them since they became available
despite what Mazda says.

Shifting like that saves fuel. Mine is a six speed as well. Nine thousand from time to
time does not hurt it. It is more like an electric motor than it is a piston engine.
It doesn't really get going until 6000 RPM. A lot of people don't drive them properly and
than complain about the lack of acceleration. Especially journalist. What it needs is a
Formula One type gear box with paddle shifters. That would make it a lot more fun to
drive. It is a lot of fun as is but it would be even more fun :) Are you listening Mazda?

We run them at 6000 RPM high power for hours at a time in an aircraft. Some take off at
7500 RPM. Some have over 2400 hours. They have been used in aircraft since 1973.

They dominate endurance car racing and for that reason they are heavily penalized.

Here is a trick to demo the car. Put the car in first gear and take your foot off the gas
pedal. Let off the clutch slowly and observe that the car will drive off smoothly.
I know of no other engine that will rev to 9000 RPM and that will do the same
thing. They all stumble :)

If you have a pre 2007 RX8 with only two oil injectors per rotor mix one half ounce of 2
cycle oil with each gallon of gas. The early 2004 to 2006 RX8's had inadequate apex seal
oiling.

The engine should then last at least 300,000 miles or more if you keep the cooling system
in good shape. You need to clean out the rad and replace the hoses every five years to ten
years depending on how many miles you put on it each year. It is probably as important to
change the coolant as it is the oil. I have had several rotaries with over 300,000 miles
still running strong when I sold them.

Paul Lamar

       
Paul lamar

1) How often do you need to change the cooling sytem,hoses and radiator on an rx8( around every 50k maybe more or less)?
2) Would you happen to know how to make a single rx8 engine last a hundred thousand miles any tips/pointers would help? thank you for your time.


Nazar               

Reread what I said above.

The only reason they last less than 100,000 is Mazda underestimated the apex seal lube
requirement on the RX8. If you have an RX8 with only two oil injectors on each rotor
you need to add 1/2 ounce of 2 cycle per gallon of gas. I think they increased the
number of injectors to 3 per rotor around 2006. It won't hurt for any year.

The cooling system service is probably more time Dependant than the number of
miles. I would say five to ten years. If you replace with the hoses with silicone
that will not hurt. Also drain and change the coolant every two years.

After ten years check the nylon lines going to the oil injectors for brittleness.

A compression test will reveal anything wrong with the seals.

Paul Lamar