I just purchased a Mazda RX 8 I absolutely love it however I am a bit concerned about the engine light turning on after only 100 miles and also about starting the engine a letting it warm up till it reaches the center on the needle. will I harm the car if I don't warm it up fully?

Engine light on after just 100 mile could be just a loose gas cap .. as for cold start up my idea is start the car give 1 min for oil pressure to rise and flow and light load drivin till car gets off cts (coolant temp sensor) and leans out

Welcome to nopistons! I'm moving this to the rx-8 section, you should get more replies there.

the engines like to flood, and the easiest way to avoid that is to not shut the car off cold. flooding doesnt hurt anything, but it is a pain in the ass

My morning routine when it is not freezing cold outside, is to start the car, let it warm for a minute or so, and then keep it under 4,000 RPM until the temp needle is halfway across it's sweep range. Problem is, it is still not up to temperature at that point. Those with fully functioning gauges in their 8 will tell you that the stock temp gauge is only there as a general guideline. You won't hurt your car if you don't warm it up right, but you run a greater risk of flooding it if you don't. I have had mine for almost 3 years, and never had it flood. Knock on wood.

Macboy, don't worry too much about the warm up protocol. Just treat your '8 like any other car for a startup and drive to work. When it's cold, do everything gently, but you don't need to go to extremes. My routine is generally as follows: Get in the car and immediately start it up. Then put on the seat belt, turn on the Escort and adjust for dim lights. Then gently let out the clutch to move the '8 out of the garage and stop. Let her idle in neutral. Push the Homelight button on the mirror to close the garage door. Turn on the radio/iPod and get the right station or iPod playlist. Turn on the head lights and adjust the dash lights to Red (at this time of year since it is dark when I leave for work). By now 1 to 2 minutes have elapsed and the oil is not hot but flowing nicely. Now it's time to get going. I'm about 4 blocks from the interstate and take it very easy till then. It's probably a good idea not to push much above 5K rpms at this point, although I really don't obsess about looking at the tach, but just shift earlier than I would after she's warmed up. (could you imagine saying go easy and 5K in the same breath with any other car? Most are red lining at 5K!!!) - Getting on th the interstate I again shift a little earlier than normal and then just set the cruise at 70 and I"m off and running.



I've had my '8 for about 20 months now and she's running fine with this routine.



Just my humble input.



Zoom, Zoom!

Flooding does in fact harm something.



Flooded RX-8's very often have problems with their cat converters sometime down the track. Mazda Techs have reported seeing cats glowing red after successfully starting a flooded RX-8. Many of the RX-8 cat problems in North America can be directly attributed to the cars having been previously flooded.



Cheers,



Spoon.

Thank you for all your help, I generally let the car fully warm up before I drive. but with so many comments about this I tried driving the car before the total warm up and it seems to be fine. thanks again. I'm a newbie to the rotary engine. This is definitely the best car I have ever driven. everyone thats gets in the car always asks me why the motor is so quite, so I have to give them the run down on the rotary engine to the best of my knowledge. I learned a great deal from this site.