brillo
03-18-2007, 05:43 PM
Driving back from Dallas today my car rolled over 40,000mi so I thought it would be good to do my 40K impression as most car magazines seem to use 40,000mi as a good benchmark ending for their long term tests.
To start with, my car is a 2004 Base model 6spd built In Dec 2003. I purchased it in July of 2004, so its about 2.7years old. I drive the car as a daily driver, its been to the track a few times, and I typically drive it fairly hard. I still average about 16/17 in the city and 23-25 hwy, the new ethanol gas formulation has cost me about .5mpg in Texas.
Overall, I’m impressed with the cars ability to drive like a sports car, and still have enough utility to be a daily driver for me. I came out of a Mazda6, and to be honest, I don’t notice a difference in ability to haul stuff or people.
Overall, my car has been very reliable. its never flooded, no rattles, good build quality (paint job, panel fitment). My two biggest bitches with the car would be the rear suspension setup which makes changing settings and the springs difficult and the idle quality which has gotten better over time. I could bitch about the fuel economy, but I knew what I was getting into.
I’ve been running royal purple synthetic oil for about the last 37,000mi, with no issues other than better than average fuel economy. As far as maintenance goes, I change the oil every 7,000mi and the sparkplugs every 25,000mi. I’m going to continue running a can of BG44K fuel treatment though the car with each spark plug change.
Of all the suspension packages I’ve installed, I still think the racing beat is the best bang for your buck. It’s the best way to dial the car in without sacrificing daily drivability. I suggest that as people look at tires, they also consider the tire weight, as some good tires can be found that are significantly lighter than the stock tires with better grip (Dunlop, Toyo, Pirelli). I like my MS setup, but its more expensive than Racing Beat and I can’t tell you that its really any better.
How I would rate the car after 40,000mi (Scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the best)
Engine – 7.5* (so much potential left on the table due to a shitty cat design)
Tranny – 8.0 (smooth shifting, but needs synthetic fluid to really shine)
Build Quality – 8.0 (no issues here, rattle free and feels more expensive than $25K)
Handling – 8.5 (about the best part of the car, a good set of tires and your off to the races)
Interior – 8.0 (everyone who gets in likes the design)
Utility – 8.0 (never really felt like I lost my sedan)
Reliability - 8.0 (other than the recalls, no issues with the car that I didn’t bring on myself)
*Note: I would rate the engine in the MY2006 - YTD an "8" as they had all the issues fixed
Best Mods (in order of Cost)
Synthetic Tranny Fluid - $60
Mazsport Cooling Mod - $150
Racing Beat Intake - $300
Racing Beat Suspension package $500
A good set of tires - $1000
Flywheel and clutch - $1200 installed
I don’t want to seem like I don’t like the engine, b/c I do, its just that in its stock form Mazda really shot itself in the foot. Had they spent another $200 and put a higher temp cat in the car, they could have tuned the power up, avoided the nasty early reflash issues, improved fuel economy and avoided the horse power rating PR fiasco.
In addition, Mazda should have looked harder at cooling, as that would have also saved them from some of the engine failure issues due to the single oil cooler. All of this, the cat and the oil cooler, would have added no more than $300 to the cost of the vehicle, and spared Mazda a lot of headache (think penny wise and pound foolish)
For $25K, the RX8 is a lot of car. Would I buy it again knowing what I no now? Yes, but I have to admit, the early adopters like me had to iron out a lot of quarks with the car, something Mazda has to avoid to really be able to see the rotary to the masses. The bitch is that the things they need to change aren’t rocket science, just smart expense management.
Hopefully this year, I will buy a beater and begin the FI journey.
To start with, my car is a 2004 Base model 6spd built In Dec 2003. I purchased it in July of 2004, so its about 2.7years old. I drive the car as a daily driver, its been to the track a few times, and I typically drive it fairly hard. I still average about 16/17 in the city and 23-25 hwy, the new ethanol gas formulation has cost me about .5mpg in Texas.
Overall, I’m impressed with the cars ability to drive like a sports car, and still have enough utility to be a daily driver for me. I came out of a Mazda6, and to be honest, I don’t notice a difference in ability to haul stuff or people.
Overall, my car has been very reliable. its never flooded, no rattles, good build quality (paint job, panel fitment). My two biggest bitches with the car would be the rear suspension setup which makes changing settings and the springs difficult and the idle quality which has gotten better over time. I could bitch about the fuel economy, but I knew what I was getting into.
I’ve been running royal purple synthetic oil for about the last 37,000mi, with no issues other than better than average fuel economy. As far as maintenance goes, I change the oil every 7,000mi and the sparkplugs every 25,000mi. I’m going to continue running a can of BG44K fuel treatment though the car with each spark plug change.
Of all the suspension packages I’ve installed, I still think the racing beat is the best bang for your buck. It’s the best way to dial the car in without sacrificing daily drivability. I suggest that as people look at tires, they also consider the tire weight, as some good tires can be found that are significantly lighter than the stock tires with better grip (Dunlop, Toyo, Pirelli). I like my MS setup, but its more expensive than Racing Beat and I can’t tell you that its really any better.
How I would rate the car after 40,000mi (Scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the best)
Engine – 7.5* (so much potential left on the table due to a shitty cat design)
Tranny – 8.0 (smooth shifting, but needs synthetic fluid to really shine)
Build Quality – 8.0 (no issues here, rattle free and feels more expensive than $25K)
Handling – 8.5 (about the best part of the car, a good set of tires and your off to the races)
Interior – 8.0 (everyone who gets in likes the design)
Utility – 8.0 (never really felt like I lost my sedan)
Reliability - 8.0 (other than the recalls, no issues with the car that I didn’t bring on myself)
*Note: I would rate the engine in the MY2006 - YTD an "8" as they had all the issues fixed
Best Mods (in order of Cost)
Synthetic Tranny Fluid - $60
Mazsport Cooling Mod - $150
Racing Beat Intake - $300
Racing Beat Suspension package $500
A good set of tires - $1000
Flywheel and clutch - $1200 installed
I don’t want to seem like I don’t like the engine, b/c I do, its just that in its stock form Mazda really shot itself in the foot. Had they spent another $200 and put a higher temp cat in the car, they could have tuned the power up, avoided the nasty early reflash issues, improved fuel economy and avoided the horse power rating PR fiasco.
In addition, Mazda should have looked harder at cooling, as that would have also saved them from some of the engine failure issues due to the single oil cooler. All of this, the cat and the oil cooler, would have added no more than $300 to the cost of the vehicle, and spared Mazda a lot of headache (think penny wise and pound foolish)
For $25K, the RX8 is a lot of car. Would I buy it again knowing what I no now? Yes, but I have to admit, the early adopters like me had to iron out a lot of quarks with the car, something Mazda has to avoid to really be able to see the rotary to the masses. The bitch is that the things they need to change aren’t rocket science, just smart expense management.
Hopefully this year, I will buy a beater and begin the FI journey.