I know someone who was a salesman at a mazda dealer for a while and he had a lot of people who bought them then came back a couple of months later and asked if they could get out them somehow without losing a ton. Beyond that, I'd be lying if I said I knew a lot.

 

Drink tons of oil and gasoline. Run hot at the track. Under powered. Other than that, they're cool.

 

With wide enough wheels and steamroller Hoosiers, they can be fast in an autocross setting but all the reports I've heard of them are that they are dissapointing from a performance standpoint in every aspect.

 

my mom has one and to be honest it has been very problematic. awesome little car. when its not broken. and yes they are underpowered

 

I had one for about 6 months few years ago at the height of the gas price. Gas cost was a killer, getting about 17-18 MPG. And a quart of oil every two months.

Also rotaries seem to have shorter life span than piston engines.

Great handling, and loved it for it, but gas cost soured the experience.

 

Also rotaries seem to have shorter life span than piston engines.

Usually due to poor maintenance. If you can get a good deal, I would take it.

 

I don't know if the oil consumption is any less than an N/A 13B but those are about a quart every thousand miles. Gas mileage isn't great as stated. From friends who have them they're boring daily drivers but that's mainly due to lack of low end torque. From a handling aspect they are absolutely fantastic. From the couple I've driven I loved the hell out of them but I'm also a rotary fanboy so that may have something to do with it. If you test drive it make sure to rev the piss out of it (after proper warmup of course) and drive it on a twisty road, they do feel a little underwhelming in the straights but it's definitely not anemic. If money allowed I'd have one instead of my NA without thinking twice.

As for lifespan N/A rotaries are much more resilient than boosted so don't expect it to blow up in another 10K miles like an FD would. <- That's a joke by the way before anybody comes in going "ZOMG! U KNW NUTHING ABT ROTAREEZ NOOB"




Seriously though if it's a good deal do it. They have a lot of potential and you have to push them to absolutely shine. That's where they are home.

 

most everyone knows that rx8 drinks a lot of gas! i'd stay away from that car.

 

I love how they look and sound.
Never driven one, but the general consensus is that they're underpowered.

I'd love to see the renesis being thrown in to an N/A though.

 

I own one. The cost of gas is the only downside for me. I have to add oil about every 2 tanks of gas. Maybe 1/2 a quart. It handles like a big miata and its so damn smooth. If you keep up with maintenance it seems to be a very reliable car.

Spark Plugs cost around 100 for a set.
Tranny takes 1.8 quarts of gear oil
Diff takes 1.4 quarts of gear oil
Oil Filter is the same size as a Miata.

 

So Python, how did you get 50 million posts? lol.

 

one at a time.

 

I don't own an RX8, but would like 1 if I could afford 1. My mechanic is an FC fanboy, he doesn't care too much for the FD as he doesn't think they were very well built, but he thinks the RX8 is actually a well built car and can be reliable if maintained properly.

 

"Car is underwhelming in a straight line but is a blast in the twisties!"

This is the general consensus from those who have driven this car. Sounds familiar... could be talking about a miata with that same line.

Problem: easy situation to remedy with a miata; add boost and be happy. Now you've got all the handling and it's not a pansy as soon as it exits a corner. Same recipe would be perfect for the RX-8... oops that's right, it doesn't like boost one bit. <nintendo game over jingle>

 

Haltech and a full exhaust have netted some pretty impressive gains considering how "little" is involved. Don't even have to crack open the keg. If you have the proper resources and skills a 13B-REW swap wouldn't be out of the question at too astronomical of a price either but then you have the inherent "reliability mods" that need to go with said swap so it can add up quick. But considering the price of a fully put together miata kit, possible transmission upgrade etc it's almost a wash. Miata is lighter but the 8 is more stable for higher speeds. But again lots of factors there.

 

I was on my 2nd motor when I had my rx8. I kinda got tired of getting romped on by v6 camry's on the freeway. that sucked so bad..

 

Never had any problems with mine... just the transmission had to rebuild it 3 times but I was very hard on it too. Was my first nice car and I was 19. I'm still planning on buying another one some day or putting the motor in to my miatas... is my favorite car that I have owned.

Bone

 

Never had any problems with mine... just the transmission had to rebuild it 3 times but I was very hard on it too. Was my first nice car and I was 19. I'm still planning on buying another one some day or putting the motor in to my miatas... is my favorite car that I have owned.

Bone

that sounds like at least 3 problems

 

You cant start the car and turn it off without letting it warm up. Father in law did it and the motor fucked up. Mazda replaced it, said there was some problem with the computer and the fuel tables were messed up. Said to be a problem with earlier RX8s. He sold the car recently, said the amount of gas it drank was horrible.




He just bought a 99 miataXD

 

Wait wait wait...python has 50 million posts? how. and how?

 

Posts Per Day: 28,253.65

 

The automatics have a high engine failure rate because of people keeping the revvs low and causing carbon buildup. I know the HKS/Greddy turbo kits make nearly 300rwhp at fairly low boost levels and it doesn't stress the engine with a good tune. They still have the typical engine flooding issue that can be annoying at times (a problem all rotaries have had).

Here are all the recognized "issues"....aka the TSBs-
http://www.finishlineperformance.com/store/pages.php?pageid=11

Recalls-
http://www.dealerrater.com/recalls/Mazda/RX8/
S2/2009+
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=212228

 

I almost picked up an rx8 before I bought my Si, and I'm glad I went with the latter. Check out an rx8 forum, and look through the "trouble shooting" or "issues" sections. I read far to many complaints about flooding, poor fuel economy, the obvious oil consumption, engines over heating, catching fire, needing replacement motors (sometimes 2 or 3), apex seals going, alternator issues (might be a tsb), and issues with dealerships honoring warranties (which can happen with any car). But this was 4 years ago, the cars may be much better now.

Every car has its issues but this car in particular seems to have more than the norm, and I didn't want to take my chances to end up having issues like this with a dd. It's a shame too because the rx8 is a blast to drive.

 

worth mentioning all rx-8s are warrantied to 100k i believe.

 

This, my friend's dealership seemed to treat Rx motor replacements like a scheduled service.

 

I noticed Pythons post count over a month ago

I have been looking at 8s for my next car. There is an '09 R3 for sale at a local stealership and I get $500 off the sticker price since I'm a mazda owner :fab:

I really only want the R3 for its Recaro seats. They look fantastic and are fairly supportive.

 

I noticed Pythons post count over a month ago

It was 50 million once before. Then I thought it went back down to normal. Now its back up. Makes me giggle.

 

less talk about my post count and more RX-8 talk.