Dear all,

Thanks for reading my post. My name is Matt and I live in Birmingham, AL. I am currently in the process of taking possession of a 2004 Mazda RX8 Turbo. He is beautiful! I do not know the history of the car aside from what shows on Carfax, clean and clear. The current seller said he bought it, but could no longer afford payments on it. The car itself has 37,500 miles on it. From what I can gather, it apparently has the Greddy turbo kit installed w/ intercooler. I have been reading all over this board, love it by the way, and have taken heed of many warnings and suggestions for turbo 8 owners. My questions are as follows, and any answers would be GREATLY appreciated before I drop $15k on her:

1.) What should I specifically look for while inspecting the car? I am told the transmission, engine, turbo etc. all run "great." Thus, I do not expect any problems what-so-ever; but, better safe than sorry.

2.) I have heard these engines are like cigarettes, you smoke and smoke em, and then you get a new one lol. How accurate is that? I have always been one to absolutely baby my vehicles: oil changes every 3k without fail, detailing engine, checking fluids, even changing differential fluids every so often. I understand that, by design, these engines burn a little oil. And, with mine being turbo charged, i'm expecting a little more than usual; however, could Mazda really have developed a mass production motor that requires 1 whole quart top offs between oil changes??? I'm shocked if that is true, bad engineering :)

3.) As far as driving one, I have never done so with a turbo. However, I have owned a turbo Civic ex, and 2 buick grand nationals (my babies!!!) So, I do know some about turbo's and boost. Gotta love the GN's that came factory with 15 psi lol. Our last one ran 20 all day long on pump gas and the stock fuel system. As far as the 8 though, NO CLUE what to expect. I have no idea if the motor has had the apparent required Mazda recalls or not. What should I expect during my test drive?

4.) The current owner said the turbo is set at the lowest setting, which is probably where I will want it to stay for a good while until I do my fare share of research. This is somewhere between 5-6 psi i'm assuming. Now, this car has no boost guage (MORON move if you ask me, that is the #1 gauge I feel you need on a turbo car to make sure your not overdoing it). That will be the first addition to the car once I take possession.

I guess, basically, I would appreciate someone explaining to me, as a complete NEWB in the 8 world, what to expect out of this car. Any tips, pointers, advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

UPDATE: Also, the CEL light is currently on said the current owner caused from the Turbo. This is not a problem; however, IS there a way to fix this from happening, cause I do not like lights lol. I know on my 02 GT Mustang, I got some little resistor thingys to hook in line where the oxygen sensors were to when I put an X pipe with no cats on it it didn't throw the code. Please help with this also.

Thanks

1.) What should I specifically look for while inspecting the car? I am told the transmission, engine, turbo etc. all run "great." Thus, I do not expect any problems what-so-ever; but, better safe than sorry.

Get an engine compression test done. It'll cost around $100 and will tell you if the engine is in good health or not.


2.) I have heard these engines are like cigarettes, you smoke and smoke em, and then you get a new one lol. How accurate is that? I have always been one to absolutely baby my vehicles: oil changes every 3k without fail, detailing engine, checking fluids, even changing differential fluids every so often. I understand that, by design, these engines burn a little oil. And, with mine being turbo charged, i'm expecting a little more than usual; however, could Mazda really have developed a mass production motor that requires 1 whole quart top offs between oil changes??? I'm shocked if that is true, bad engineering :)

It's inaccurate, but there are flukes where engines fail due to no fault of the owner.

Requiring oil isn't a design flaw. It's done by design because this isn't a piston motor and it has seals to lubricate.


4.) The current owner said the turbo is set at the lowest setting, which is probably where I will want it to stay for a good while until I do my fare share of research. This is somewhere between 5-6 psi i'm assuming. Now, this car has no boost guage (MORON move if you ask me, that is the #1 gauge I feel you need on a turbo car to make sure your not overdoing it). That will be the first addition to the car once I take possession.

That's where you have to worry. If he's not taking proper precautions, who knows what else was or wasn't done with the car.

It could be perfectly fine though. I can't tell from where I'm sitting :)

Need more info about the CEL like - what EMS is he running?

Check out the turbo threads in Major Horsepower upgrades.

And Kiss your weekend goodbye because there is a LOT of reading to do in order to get an idea of how the Greddy Kit (and all of its variations) works; and problems to look for.

BTW - The oil thing - www.rotaryengineillustrated.com; oil is used to lube the housing - not bad engineering.

Welcome!

Thanks so much for the quick replies as I am going to pick her up on Monday. As far as the drive ability of the car, i've heard the boost can drop off at certain rpm ranges, which doesn't necessarily mean something is "wrong" just needs to be "fixed" lol. I don't mind doing small to average maintenance/mods to her, I love it, its fun. But, i don't want to have to tear into the engine to do serious repairs $$$$. I am having to fly down and get her, so time will kind of be an enemy; however, i am not willing to spend big money without my own satisfaction first. If given an hour to 2 hours to examine, drive, and inspect the vehicle, where would one start?

Thanks so much!

Matt

I think mysql101 said exactly where you should probably start!