Do I have to revv the rotary engine to 3500 rpm in order to turn off the RX8?
Here’s the real scoop… The “rev to 3000” before shutting down is for stopping the engine cold, and you will find these instructions in your owners manual. Rotary engines should not be shut down cold. All cars run rich (extra gas) during startup. In a Rotary this excess gas can pool at the bottom of the rotor housing if shut down too early. The pooled gas thins the oil film and you lose compression and will have a very hard time starting again. This is called Flooding the engine. Because of this it is recommended that the Rotary engine be allowed to warm up before shutting it off. If you must shut down cold you can minimize the risk of flooding by revving the engine to around 3000 rpm and hold it there for about 10 seconds, and then shut down. The higher rpm will switch fuel delivery to normal flow instead of rich flow so you won’t have the excess fuel to worry about. Once the engine is warmed up you can stop it like any other motor.
