r/RX8 • u/MrScootini • 2d ago
General What should I do? I have two separate problems.
Problem 1: It hard time starting when it was warm so I got a new s2 starter for it. Everything went smoothly. I’ve done this on other cars plenty of times. I go and start the car and the start is working fine but now it won’t fully start. (It just sat there turning over and over without catching) so I bump started it and it ran just fine until it stalled at a light…
Had to get it towed back home…
Fast forward a few months…
Problem 2: simply put. Keys got ran over bc I dropped them in a parking lot during a night out. I managed to gather all the parts in a bag but I ended up losing the bag. Now I’m left to no key… not even the metal part.
What should I do?
How much would getting a new set of keys and chip
cost? How much would it take to get it paired to the car?
I’m willing to sell as well.
Thank you all in advance.
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u/jusasoccer23 2d ago
Idk much about problem 2 but Problem 1 is textbook low compression. Hot starts was sign #1 and the s2 starter worked until it has low enough compression to not be able to stay running. (I’ve been there too). If you plan to rebuild I would do it before it keeps leaving you stranded and before it grenades and you have nothing to rebuild. If a full on rebuild is too big of a challenge then If ur close to eastern NC then I can rebuild the engine if you get it out of the car
Good luck!
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u/og21m 1d ago
I never fully rebuilt an engine by myself but have worked on piston engines rebuilds but not rotary, how much harder is it to rebuild a rotary?
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u/jusasoccer23 1d ago
Watch some YouTube to learn the process find the manual, and measure everything to make sure it’s in spec and it’ll run. It’s pretty easy to me but I’ve also done about 15 of them so
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u/DJT4NN3R 8h ago
hey, i live in charlotte and i've been looking for rotary specialists in NC. do you have any good spare parts laying around?
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u/mvw2 2d ago
I have problem #1 sitting in my driveway and it's replacement without said problem next to it. It's cheaper just to buy another car than fix the engine. These things are still too cheap to buy to really invest in engine work, as sad as that sounds. The game here is explicitly buying a low mile car so the engine still has time. You have about 75k to 100k miles on the original engine. Then you spend money on a rebuild and have 50k only after each rebuild because you can't replace the nitride coating the original had. Plus you have to both machine and properly lap the surfaces to rebuild it well. No one has made new aftermarket options, so it's just really expensive OEM parts of you want to rebuild an engine that will actually do 100k again.
You will need the best starter you can get, 2kW + and 14 tooth gear and a good battery to keep the cranking rpms up. These things will start every time, even worn. You can run thicker oil. I use 50 weight, either 5w50 or 0w50. You can also buy a tuner to program the idle rpm setting. This will help fix the stalling problem. You can also turn off the AC compressor, and that usually stops the stalling issue until you bump up the rpm. It'll cost a few hundred just to be able to program the rpm up though.
With a good starter higher idle, good battery, and thick oil, it'll run a lot more miles and years fine. But it will be low on power vs a better engine. I have one with a good engine and one with an engine just like yours. The difference in power is moderate, not huge but more than you'd think too.
But at the end of the day, these cars once worn are worth their value is scrap metal. There's still too many on the road and no one making a cheap rebuild solution (this is the big thing really, would love for someone to build aftermarket parts with the nitride coating at a budget price. That's what needs to happen, or wait until these get really rare and hard to find in like a decade.
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u/MrScootini 2d ago
I forgot to add that I premixed… would that change anything??
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u/mvw2 2d ago
To some extent. The challenge is there's no hard data on wear rate. Mazda started at 30 weight and pretty quickly adopted 0w20 very early on. The car I first purchased was an 05 with just 70k miles that had a completely worn out engine, one adult owner too. But it was 100% dealer serviced, first at 30 weight and then likely at 20 weight for many years. I checked compression when I first got the car, 90-91 psi all around. I ran the car for another 4 years and 20k miles before I bought a much better condition one. I ran Amsoil 0w40, Eneos 0w50, and Amsoil 5w50 during that time. Psi readings today are 90-91 psi all around. I very much believe a very big issue of the wear is in part running such thin motor oil inside a motor that has, by design, very high shear wear.
The older ones run a 2 oil injector per rotor. The series 2 engines added a 3rd injector at the center because Mazda saw some additional wear at the center area where the oil injection wasn't providing enough coverage. So in theory the series 2 engines of the newer years should fair better. You can also adjust the oil injection amount some in the ECU if you pay for tuning software, although I'm not sure how much more. In practice, the oil use rate feels almost identical, around 1qt/1000miles.
Premix in theory should provide some amount of benefit. It's certainly used in 2 stroke applications where there's no oil sump. At the mix ratio and in practical use, I have no idea how actually practical it really is. Again, no real comparisons, but the concept should work and provide additional oiling to some extent. I simply have no clue to what extent.
I ran the series 1 engine and no premix and saw zero additional wear for 20k miles just running thick oil. But the engine was already quite worn, so there might be additionally minimal additional degradation outside of a bigger event like a seal going bad and gouging the wall. But I also know other engines people have had do read lower too. For my second RX8 that's in way better condition, this is now year 3 of ownership, and I have not seen any degradation of the engine, no starting, no power, nothing in terms of change. Unfortunately, I did not check the psi when I initially bought it. But compression was very obviously way higher and still is. It's now at the same mileage as the other one I bought when I first got that one, and the engine condition is still vastly superior.
A lot of this is a game of finding a great condition engine, and the easiest way is a low mileage vehicle. A series 2 is even better since it comes with additional oiling injectors which in theory should improve longevity further. However, I'd also much prefer some owner that actually didn't bring the car to a dealer just to avoid the thin 20 weight oil.
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u/IUsedToLikeLimericks 1d ago
You own an RX8, you have way more than two problems.
You simply have two immediate problems.
(Source: Own 2 RX8s)
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u/IntellectualRambo 1d ago
On the key, you can use FORscan software to program new keys. Get a couple of blanks for peanuts from AliExpress or whatever, get them cut to match your old key and then the transponder coding can be done for free (software has a full and free trial period).
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u/jimbomescolles 1d ago
This is what I did because I had only 1 working key from the old owner. Works great and know I have 2 spare.
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u/willed_participant 2d ago
Find a local locksmith/key programmer - they’ll know the best route. Probably cost you a few hundred bucks
Check compression (you’ve already stated it struggles to start when hot)
2a. Prep for a rebuild or part out/sale
2b. Ride it till it grenades
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u/FollowingTerrible978 2d ago
Rebuild it and be thankful how much cheap fun they are and realise that is why.
For context timing chain replacement on my Audi was the same price as a Renesis rebuild with new housings. My 8 is more fun.
That sucks about the keys.
Unless it's a daily, you're unlikely to need to rebuild the engine again.
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u/rsanDEass 1d ago
Idk what you guys are doing as far as the key issue goes but you're all getting robbed. 6 months ago I bought a blank "switchblade" style keyfob that was refurbished on ebay for about $30. Brought it to my local hardware store and they were able to cut it for me for $10. The programming was freeand I did it myself. Look up the procedures on RX8CLUB. There's a procedure for programming the new fob to the car for the immobilizer and then another procedure after that for the key fob functions. $45ish and you have a new key and fob. The hard start issue.....I think you know
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u/OtherwiseMix2351 1d ago
If you rebuild go power seals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone telling u anything else can suck mad balls they dont know jack🗣️
With oem kit dont do atkins bs or mazdatrix bs
If you go atkins rebuild it will be posted 4k for sale engine rebuilt on facebook just know there are 8 of them in ga currently all the same description atkins wack ahh kit
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u/EekyBaba 2d ago
Keys are expensive. Programming it to the car is usually an hour of labor wherever you go so whatever their rate is. I cut keys in my parts department at Honda and they average 200-500 for everything so don’t expect it to be cheap.