mazda rx 8 (231) - Page 2 - Saxperience

marcusd · 9th November 2014, 15:11

from what ive read up on, the wear is caused by prev owners who drive them like piston engines. they need high revs when warm, the correct oil, and basically drive em hard to clear the carbon builds. its also to do with spark plugs and coils, as coils die (20-30,000 miles)quickly die to their placement so once they start to go it puts stress on the start ups which eventually kills the tips.
from what ive read up on you can get tips insulated which makes them harder wearing, rebuilds are around £1-2000 quid ish. and you need to keep an eye on cooling system hose.
as for the price, ive found most are all around £1-1900 oviously paying lil more for good ones. the newer versions after 2005 pay £500+ road tax so their prices are lot less. as for trying to find one that wont fuck up get a hot compression test done. apparently there are a lot of tell signs its on its way out like the hot start issue, accompanied by other stuff. I tried it on mine it was fine and also still pulls like a train, no idle problem. but am scared of compression test.
new buyers no matter what prev owners says are advised to change coils and leads as soon as you get it for peace of mind. other than that search rx8club/owners forums there is literally hours n hours of read for new owners.

like I said above I took a punt, the 4 forums im on have several examples of engines that are on 100k+ and still good.

Nik_L · 9th November 2014, 15:26

Is it essential for them to be up to temp before switching them off (and holding the revs up high) and how long does it take to be up to temp? It would be used for work which is about 1.5mile away (bearing in mind I always let the car idle for a few minutes when cold before setting off).

Is it also true the hot start issue can be hidden to some extent by fitting the uprated starter motor?

And realistically what sort of mpg do they do on short stop start journeys? I'm not too fussed on mpg as my previous Vectra done around 19mpg average.

marcusd · 9th November 2014, 15:36

from what I have read yes if you switch it off before its hot, too much unused fuel gets pumped in to the chamber and causes flooding another wear on the engine. doesn't take long to get to temp probs switch on to temp around 5 mins or so. and the whole rev it to 3-4000revs before switching it off is a big argument point on forums as some says its best to do it others say its a myth and they've never done it. its the same as premixing some do some don't argument follows.
and again from what I have read no it cant be hidden, fitting new starter from newer model will mean it just cranks quicker, older models crank a lil slower, so when its switched off and tried to turn on it will still take 5-10 sec to start if it starts. as the problem is it gets flooded and refuses to start.
haven't really driven it much but most say 19-24mpg is good. but as you need to redline on a daily basis your never gonna drive it conservatory. also it going less n less mpg is another sign of wearing parts.

craigy_87 · 9th November 2014, 15:45

I never held the revs before stopping mine, but you can't start the car cold an then turn it off yeah just floods the engine, it really doesn't take too long before you are able to switch it off though I would wait untill I seen the temperature needle move up abit.
Short journey for me gave around 17mpg on super unleaded

marcusd · 9th November 2014, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigy_87

I never held the revs before stopping mine, but you can't start the car cold an then turn it off yeah just floods the engine, it really doesn't take too long before you are able to switch it off though I would wait untill I seen the temperature needle move up abit.
Short journey for me gave around 17mpg on super unleaded

another argument to be had, the super unleaded vrs normal unleaded, some say super is better others say its the same for the engine so doesn't need to be used all time.
not joking spent most of my nights over last few weeks going through all info before taking plunge

Nik_L · 9th November 2014, 16:14

What are they like performance wise? They say the 192 is more torquey than the 231. Do they feel quick?

marcusd · 9th November 2014, 16:19

231 pulls like a train and being able to go up to 8k on revs helps more. But Tuesday is motorway day to work so will see how 70mph feels;-)

craigy_87 · 9th November 2014, 16:37

Yeah I could feel an hear the car run better on super than normal unleaded and I've never had that on any of my other cars

marcusd · 9th November 2014, 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigy_87

Yeah I could feel an hear the car run better on super than normal unleaded and I've never had that on any of my other cars

gonna prob do as I do with the saxo 3 out of four fill use normal then forth use super, or maybe two normal two super. say all the reading up the rotarys should like the super more as it has more additives in supposedly clean the carbon and all other stuff off better with the heat? but like I say the arguments continue on the forum over if there are benefits or not.

craigy_87 · 10th November 2014, 10:34

I just didn't like the way it ran on normal unleaded an super wasn't that more expensive near me so just went with it

The oil supposedly takes awhile to heat up because of the two oil coolers in the front bumper heard of people blocking one off so it doesn't get air about it.
When doin oil changes aswell the oil in the coolers doesn't get drained which was annoying

marcusd · 10th November 2014, 10:46

Well saying that the diy guides all say jack car up one side and drain then jack other side and drain so I guessed it was for that reason maybe not tho

Alfie09 · 10th November 2014, 11:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcusd

231 pulls like a train and being able to go up to 8k on revs helps more. But Tuesday is motorway day to work so will see how 70mph feels;-)

You want to get that looked at!
Mine doesn't start beeping at me till 9k!!

Yes they need high revs, a bit of pre mix helps.
Don't buy eBay coils as most are fakes, and the ones Ecp gsf sell arnt up to the job

Mazda type c ones or after market kits by rotary revs

Oil it uses good old mineral oil

Mpg wise best I've had is 22mpg on a long run , normally get around 1mpg

Next up on mine are braided clutch and brakelines

Cam · 10th November 2014, 15:23

A redline a day keeps the carbon away

True story

MuZiZZle · 10th November 2014, 18:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfie09

You want to get that looked at!
Mine doesn't start beeping at me till 9k!!

Yes they need high revs, a bit of pre mix helps.
Don't buy eBay coils as most are fakes, and the ones Ecp gsf sell arnt up to the job

Mazda type c ones or after market kits by rotary revs

Oil it uses good old mineral oil

Mpg wise best I've had is 22mpg on a long run , normally get around 1mpg

Next up on mine are braided clutch and brakelines

22mpg!

My M5 gets more than that on a run!

Fuck that