With 130k on the ’95 Saab 9000, I’ve been waiting until just the right time to jump in. And, with the $2,500 rebate or zero financing (if I read the L.A. Times advert correctly), maybe now’s the time.

I’ve been watching and waiting for the RX-8 for a couple of years (ever since a Mazda manager pulled some prototype pictures out of his briefcase when we were seatmates on a commercial flight), and Mazda has hit my demographic perfectly: 40-something w/ two kids....The RX-8 has a more ample backseat than any other cure for a midlife crisis since JLo.

So, just a newbie here, a couple of questions that I didn’t notice answered while I lurked about:

Any experience with synthetic oils?

Not that it’s underpowered in the least, but wondering if anyone has put in an after market turbo charger.

Baby seat (front facing) looks like it will fit in the back w/out problems, any experience?

With the backseat, will insurance classify as a sports car?

The twitch is great to buy, but wondering what enhancements are anticipated for year 2.

Cost of car cover?

RX-8's seem to be in good supply. Noticed on ebay some dealership near Milwaukee had about 30—got to hurt. All the dealers in So Cal that I’ve dropped by have a bunch. Great car, fair price, why aren’t these flying off the shelves? And, regarding flying out of state to buy, I'm guessing that California emissioni standards will be met anywhere, or am I being optimistic?

BTW, I’m liking the red w/ the black and red interior. God this is a great car.


Thanks for any advice, and sorry if these topics have been covered and my cursory search missed ‘em.

Any experience with synthetic oils?
Can't go wrong if you stick with what they recommend, natural dino oil. Oil get's burned as part of the rotary cycle so you do want it to break down..
Not that it’s underpowered in the least, but wondering if anyone has put in an after market turbo charger.
Nothing really has hit the market yet. One or two have actually done an entire engine coversion to a 20b wankel.
Baby seat (front facing) looks like it will fit in the back w/out problems, any experience?
The back seats have hooks for a baby chair. Trail and error to find one that "fits" properly. Some threads on this, try a search.
With the backseat, will insurance classify as a sports car?
You won't get bent over on insurance, seems to be fall into the 4-door sedan area in terms of insurance. Get a qoute from your company, tell them you are considering this car.
The twitch is great to buy, but wondering what enhancements are anticipated for year 2.
Just speculation, possible japanese 5 speed version. Better tuned engine, maybe more HP out the box.
Cost of car cover?
I bought an early version from Mazda, I think it was around $150? From what I hear they have changed the design a little as the original fit snug over the car, those with rear spoilers may have had problems with them. That has been probably corrected by now.

Welcome

I would look closely at the fine print on that ad, I bet the RX-8 is excluded but give it a shot anyhow. The Milwaukee guys are sweating I bet considering the temp is near freezing here and snow is on it's way. I wonder if it's the dealer I test drove at. As far as I know all the RX-8s in the states are Cali emissions legal.

Originally posted by IkeWRX
I would look closely at the fine print

Yeah, duh, too good to be true. The picture is of the RX, the fine print is for the 6. Oh well. Still wondering why these aren't selling like hot cakes, are my instincts really this far off?

Originally posted by Rambling Man
Any experience with synthetic oils?

Great car, fair price, why aren’t these flying off the shelves?

I've used synthetic - Castrol Syntec. If you believe Mobil, Syntec isn't a real synthetic oil anyway, it's just an ultrarefined dino oil ;). The RX-8 owners manual only specifies oil that meets API spec SL, there's absolutely NO mention of dino or synthetic.

I've got free oil changes from the dealer for the warranty period as a result of the earlier HP rating confusion. There's a trick to oil changes, though - the regular drain/change filter requires 3.7 litres, yet the oil capacity is 7.5 litres. Only half the oil gets changed during an oil change! So I plan on letting the dealer change the oil every 8000 km (5000 miles), and I'll change the oil in between dealer changes at 4000km.

Flying off the shelves? Hmmm... Mazda projected sales of 2500/month, or 30,000/yr for the first year in US. So far, sales are slightly ahead of that projection. Mazda's intention was that they should not be in short supply in the US, so they want stock on dealer lots. In the US, sales are going very well, worldwide they're great - Mazda is producing RX-8s at maximum capacity. Nothing wrong with that!

Regards,
Gordon

Thanks for your generous and helpful feedback.