I ordered mine from Bill Jacobs in Aurora, and just received a call that it is in. I am going to pick it up after work.
Anyone else order from there or another dealer this area?
Last week he said it would be another week or so. Pleasant Suprise.

I need to swing by there after work(59 and Dielh Road) and see what they got. If anyone in the Chicago area wants to see a couple different colors the Mazda dealer in Oak Forest has atleast 3. They have silver, black, and a red one in the showroom.

Congrats!

I ordered mine from Bill Jacobs in Aurora as well. I ordered it
at the beginning of May and I was told that in the 3rd week of
August it would arrive. When did you order yours?

Mine is winning blue, rear spoiler, GT package, rotary accent
package, etc... Who did you speak with? I spoke with Chris.

I picked mine up from Pugi Mazda in Downers Grove. Its a red, manual g/t. It was the first one sold out of that dealership. They have a Blue one, a red g/t with appearance package, and a yellow one. They will do test drives on the red g/t.

-Kurt

If I wasn't doing these monthly contracts and had a long term consistent job I would pick one up.

You boys are in the area, hook a brother up with a IT/IS job. :) Working one month and being off the next doesn't allow me much flexibility when it comes to cash flow.

I ordered my RX-8 first week in April. I did order it from Chris at Bill Jacobs and everything went very smooth. I got in at 5 and was out with the car at 7. The financing was fast and there were no problems.

The car is spectacular. I have owned a '91 Honda CRX, '93 Prelude VTEC, and a '00 VW Jetta VR6, after only about a day of driving the RX8 everything seems different. The only thing comparable is the Prelude, but RX8 handles so crisply, it is amazing.

FYI:

I stopped by Bill Jacobs (on New York street) last night
and I saw 3 RX-8s. 2 read and 1 black. It was at
night, but I think the black one was a 6-speed. It was
located in the back of the lot. One of the red ones was
an automatic and the other a 6-speed.

I've never seen an RX-8 except for pictures. After seeing
them, I'm glad I ordered one.

whats up guys?
i was just wondering how much the rx-8's are going for in IL? Actually Jabok82 i was wondering how much u paid for yours?? I want one exactly like urs, only in BLUE. I work at Wannemaker's right next store to Pugi and i have been waiting for the rx-8s to show up there.

Thanks.

I paid MSRP $31,300. It was the 6 speed red one, with the grand touring package. No other ad ons.

-Kurt

I don't know what they still have there, but I thought there was a blue 6 speed. Talk to Brad Esposito, that's who I bought mine from along with another guy on this forum.

-Kurt

Originally posted by Jabok82
I don't know what they still have there, but I thought there was a blue 6 speed. Talk to Brad Esposito, that's who I bought mine from along with another guy on this forum.

-Kurt

i'm the other guy that bought it from there, except i'm a little displeased with the service...getting a hold of anyone is almost impossible as all you'll get are voicemails...and even if you leave a message, they either don't get back to you until you actually go there or they call you back a week later...

oh, and they tried to rip me off an extra $500 for a 6 Disc CD changer that wasn't even there...

the first place that had the RX-8s that i know of is the Mazda dealership in Villa Park...if i had known better, i would have bought one there instead of waiting an extra 3 weeks, not being informed about the ETA of the car, and having 3 days to sell my car...

Yeah, I could see that. I called them a lot too but I usually got through within a day. You have to get him paged. My guess was that I was just a bigger pain in the ass than you were. If I didn't get a call back I escalated a few times and eventually I got my calls returned promptly. Brad told me there was a 6 disk in there, and there wasn't. He was misinformed. He thought it was in the Grand Touring Package. I'm debating whether or not I want to do a major overhaul on the sound system. It sounds ok, but I had a better custom system in my jeep and that had only 4 speakers.....I just don't know if I want to shell out another grand for a sound system I paid a ton for already. I really wanted the heated seats, moonroof, and stuff, I was hoping the bose system would have been better.

-Kurt

well considering i've left several messages, i'd figure they'd be decent enough to call back...and you're right, i've been way too nice to these people...i usually leave a voicemail every two days or so...

at first i did order the 6 disc but later had it removed once i found out about the MP3 player...Brad took care of it and told me it was off the invoice...when i buy the car, he tells the finance guys there IS a 6 disc in there and that i never had the MP3 removed...so i tell him to go into the car and check...he does and comes back saying there wasn't, but he also removed the $500 from the invoice...i look at the invoice and sure enough there's $500 sitting right there...i get pissed but the finance guy just looks like he knows nothing...

in the end they didn't charge me for the $500 that wasn't there...i just hoped to be treated better when buying one of their most expensive cars...and callbacks would be much appreciated too

Sounds like your experience at Pugi wasn't full of 10's. How do you like the car though?

Originally posted by Jabok82
Sounds like your experience at Pugi wasn't full of 10's. How do you like the car though?

the car is fantastic...i'd be a LOT more pissed off if it wasn't...i think i saw you one time on Warrenville road and 53 going onto I-88...i was in my 3000GT going to go show it to the buyer...

I drive around there from time to time. Usually when I am bored and don't want to jump on 88 right away.

I live in downers grove and i drive all around this area, so ill keep a look out for you guys. I drive a 5th Gen Black prelude that is modified. You can tell if its me by my back window, it says "TOP SPEED" for my shop i go to. Im going to buy an Rx-8 but i have to wait until the begining of March to buy one. Thats when i Grad from DeVry and will be able to afford the car. Hopefully they will have the bugs worked out by then. ;)

-Mark

i drive around downers grove quite a bit, along 75th street...i like driving up and down that street, it's nice, straight and not too many cops once you get more westward...either that or i drive along I355

I just passed 1250 miles on my car. I found a straight this weekend and took the car to 125 mph and it felt like I was doing 90mph. I had 3 people in the car so I was reluctant to take it much faster, but it was apparent it still had a lot of GO left. Its nice to be able to rev it higher now.

-Kurt

Originally posted by Jabok82
I just passed 1250 miles on my car. I found a straight this weekend and took the car to 125 mph and it felt like I was doing 90mph. I had 3 people in the car so I was reluctant to take it much faster, but it was apparent it still had a lot of GO left. Its nice to be able to rev it higher now.

-Kurt

contrary to all this "missing hp" controversy, how do you feel above 6000RPM? does it level off after 6250 like what most people are saying or is it still pretty linear? also after 7250, does it still gogogo?

IMO it seems like the car's speed is more controlled electronically at those speeds. Like if I punch the gas it goes at the same speed as if I just slowly put more pressure on the peddle. It went in modest increases but didn't race up to that speed. If the car didn't have that kind of hp I don't think we would be seeing the car going that fast and still have enough power to go to 145 mph easily. The seemed like it had plenty of power available. If I remember it was doing 125 at around 7k rpm, maybe a little less. I also had in addition to myself weighing 200lbs, probably another 350 divided between 3 other passengers in additional weight. I don't notice an hp problem and I don't see why these people keep complaining left and right about damn dyno tests. Who cares! The car is fast, I haven't been beaten off the line by a rice burner yet, and the women love it.

-Kurt

Originally posted by Jabok82
IMO it seems like the car's speed is more controlled electronically at those speeds. Like if I punch the gas it goes at the same speed as if I just slowly put more pressure on the peddle. It went in modest increases but didn't race up to that speed. If the car didn't have that kind of hp I don't think we would be seeing the car going that fast and still have enough power to go to 145 mph easily. The seemed like it had plenty of power available. If I remember it was doing 125 at around 7k rpm, maybe a little less. I also had in addition to myself weighing 200lbs, probably another 350 divided between 3 other passengers in additional weight. I don't notice an hp problem and I don't see why these people keep complaining left and right about damn dyno tests. Who cares! The car is fast, I haven't been beaten off the line by a rice burner yet, and the women love it.

-Kurt

hehe...so you've been egged on by ricers? if so, what kind and how bad did you beat them?

so far no one has wanted to race me at all...they've all just gawked in admiration with a big thumbs up or a REALLY long stare resulting in them speeding up to pass me and then turn their heads to either look at my headlights and/or rims...

but yea, there seems to be a lot of people that love the design and look of the RX-8

I'm not much of a car guy to know what they were, just civics with "these actually make my car go faster" decals. I don't think any of them were too decked out though. The best story I have so far is racing through traffic on 88 with a BMW M3, a porsche 911, and a Subaru WRX Imprezza. Just weaving in and out of traffic. It was cool, after I decided to slow down and a few of them got caught up in slower lanes, I got thumbs up from both the BMW and Porsche! That was pretty cool.

Originally posted by Jabok82
I'm not much of a car guy to know what they were, just civics with "these actually make my car go faster" decals. I don't think any of them were too decked out though. The best story I have so far is racing through traffic on 88 with a BMW M3, a porsche 911, and a Subaru WRX Imprezza. Just weaving in and out of traffic. It was cool, after I decided to slow down and a few of them got caught up in slower lanes, I got thumbs up from both the BMW and Porsche! That was pretty cool.

on regular day without traffic, the M3 and the Porche would leave our cars in the dust...but i guess since there was traffic, the smaller and better handling RX-8 can weave in and out of traffic much easier...i'm surprised that the WRX couldn't keep up?

I don't know if it was him giving up or keeping up. I wasn't concentrating on that.

-Kurt

I got a call that my RX-8 was in last Thursday evening. I went
to pick it up on Friday. Everything went really well and Chris did
an excellent job of reviewing the car with me. Also, he mentioned
about the horsepower and the options. My VIN ends with 103714.

What do you guys think of the new horsepower ratings and
how Mazda is handling it. Have you received letters regarding
this issue?

Hey any of you lucky RX-8 owners wanna get together for a Mazda Meet sometime before It gets nasty out? Im trying to coordinate between three forums... MSProtege.com Mazda6club and this forum. I dont have my mazda yet, because Im waiting for the 6 Hatch to be released, I have been toying with the Idea of getting an RX-8, but I dont drive stick all that well and would hate to have to get an automatic Sports Car.. anyways Like I said I dont have a Mazda yet, but given enough time Im sure my partner will be there with his Orange MSP.

"Hey any of you lucky RX-8 owners wanna get together for a Mazda Meet sometime before It gets nasty out?"

Lets do this. What do you think?

Originally posted by VR3


Lets do this. What do you think?

Well someone on MSProtege.com suggested meeting up at Culvers in Tinley Park (right by The Tweeter Center) cuz they have great Hamburgers... so that sounds like a decent Idea... My Ideas were meeting up at Dave And Busters..the one thats off of 355 I think near Army Trail Rd... Ive never been to either place, but so far they have pretty good recommendations... any thoughts or ideas?

Originally posted by Fuzzbear
Hey any of you lucky RX-8 owners wanna get together for a Mazda Meet sometime before It gets nasty out?

unfortunately i think it's too late for that =(

but go Cubs!

this week has some really nice weather...i just wanted to point that out...anyway i just bought my rx8 the other day in titanium with pretty much all the options there is aside from the cargo net and stupid stuff like that. i wanted to check out some of your guys' rx8's although i've pretty much seen every color with every option...just wanna meet the ppl behind all these beasts...

oh btw i bought my car at Mazda Autobarn in Evanston. Nice people and got a good deal on my 8. (if any of you go there, i traded in the 7 for the 8 and if you see it, give it a hug! haha)

Dan

I test drove one on Saturday at Pugi Mazda. I'm still debating whether I should buy the car or a house! I really like the car!! Argh......what should I do??

has anyone had their rx-8 in slippery conditions. Im 15 and the main issue i have getting my dad convinced that its a safe car is whether or not it will spin out in the winter or rain.

You want to be extra careful with a sports car in adverse conditions. Think about it, if was a totally safe car, then there wouldn't be any threads about driving in winter snow

With 50/50 weight distribution and DSC/TCS and the torsen LSD it has to be better in the snow than my 2xRWD pickup truck.

I agree on that but still a sports car with 18 inch performance tires. Don't get me wrong I love my 8 but I'll be extra cautious in the snow

Originally posted by blahblah
has anyone had their rx-8 in slippery conditions. Im 15 and the main issue i have getting my dad convinced that its a safe car is whether or not it will spin out in the winter or rain.

Haven't experienced snow yet, but on wet roads my 8 handles better than my other car, a Honda Odyssey. Any MT is safer than an AT on slippery roads.

Originally posted by TitaniumRX8MD
I agree on that but still a sports car with 18 inch performance tires. Don't get me wrong I love my 8 but I'll be extra cautious in the snow

What's wrong with 18 in performance tires? That said, yes always be extra cautious in the snow. You always need to watch out for others and considering their potential problems.

Originally posted by Kasia
I test drove one on Saturday at Pugi Mazda. I'm still debating whether I should buy the car or a house! I really like the car!! Argh......what should I do??

I had the same delimma, Kasia.

I would buy the house before the car if you don't own right now - definitely.

I own, but wanted a larger place.......and if I had found exactly what I wanted, I wouldn't be driving my 8. I love my car, but real estate takes priority both from a financial position and a satisfaction position. Hopefully you can find a way to do both!

blahblah-

ive been experimenting in the rain and its not bad as long as you are driving responsibly... keep traction controll on though, almost had a boo boo once.

- big thing though! im beggining to HATE the people by me, i get people flashing their brights at me thinking i have min on, i think. to my knowledge when people do this it means:
- turn lights on
- brights are on
- cop
this honestly pisses me off... when people have been doin this i just blast them back. theres never a cop, i have a valentine... and lights are def. on.... anyone else have this happenin?

THey think your brights are on cuz of the HID's... maybe the self leveling stuff isnt working and they are pointed up?

I know sometimes I flash my brights a people with HID's on accident on occasion..

Does anyone 8 owner have the following problems:
engine flood
oil pan defects
a/c cooling short cycle
first gear clang noise
engine seals (anti-freeze leaks)
thanks for your input in advance.
I am waiting for all bugs clean out on 8. Probably in March 04.

Im curious as to if any of our illinois 8 owners have had them out on the slippery roads we have had on and off the last few weeks.

Just had some Dunlop Winter sport M3s installed a few days ago (235/45HR18s) and they have been phenomenal in the slippery conditions as of late. The wider width and slightly taller height seems to fit very well without any clearance problems...this is on a stock RX-8. Straightline acceleration and braking are definitely improved but you still need to be careful around corners. Snow tires improved the overall confidence factor when driving but the traction issue isn't perfect...but then again I am coming from an allwheel drive eclipse with snow tires ;)

Mine handled well on the wet roads here in the St. Louis Metro East, but no personal experience w/ the 8 on snow & ice....yet (we're looking down the barrel at about 3" of snow forecast for tomorrow). There are, however, several threads around (Discussion & Lounge sections, as well as the Canadian Forum) stressing that when snow and/or ice is on the roads you have two choices: (A) get a set of all-season or winter tires for the 8, or (B) leave the 8 parked and drive something else. Those same threads also name 3-4 different possible "snowshoes" for the RX-8, which combined with the DSC, TCS, EBD, etc., allow the car to handle very well in winter driving conditions.

Originally posted by Fuzzbear
Im curious as to if any of our illinois 8 owners have had them out on the slippery roads we have had on and off the last few weeks.

Hello to other Chicago-area 8's out there.. I just picked mine up Saturday. I took it around the block Saturday night before the salt trucks made their rounds with the OEM Potenza's and it was basically useless over 5mph. I had already planned for that scenario and had some Dunlop WinterSport M2's shipped to my house before I bought the car. I had those mounted yesterday, and found a parking lot this morning with some snow and ice to see the difference, and it was amazing. Definitely the best handling car in the snow I've had, including my Explorer 4WD (with all-season wilderness tires). Here's some pics I shot this morning after playing in the snow:
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16670


Anyway- I drive quite a bit between Lake in the Hills/Algonquin/Crystal lake area and Schaumburg... I keep looking for RX8's out there, but have only seen one so far in the last few months (and I think he was taking a test drive :). We always flash lights/wave in the Miata world... I hope the RX8 community is just as cool...

-Sean

I live in Downtown Chicago so I thank god that I didnt really have to drive in the snow because most of the time the snow is plowed in the city. We should have an Illinois meet some time

Bet we could find a Mazda dealer somewhere that'd spring for donuts on a Saturday morning. Anybody know a dealership that would like to host a party?

I think I saw Sean drive by me on the way back from Gurnee on Saturday? Yes? Dan, I've been looking for you since we talked at the gas station in September. Where ya been?

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
Bet we could find a Mazda dealer somewhere that'd spring for donuts on a Saturday morning. Anybody know a dealership that would like to host a party?

I think I saw Sean drive by me on the way back from Gurnee on Saturday? Yes? Dan, I've been looking for you since we talked at the gas station in September. Where ya been?

That would be cool- sometime after the holidays would be great.

Nope- I was staying around my area this weekend... just making lots of unnessary trips to get some seat-time :P

-Sean

How about April 30-May 2? :)

http://www.revolutionmktg.net/Revolution/

Last year's event had 100 rotary vehicles in it's first year, this year we are shooting for 300+

Looks pretty cool- keep us posted as details are available... like pricing, hotels, etc.

Thanks!

-Sean

>Yes? Dan, I've been looking for you since we talked at the gas station in September. Where ya been?

Hello Megareds,
I have been busy with work, a ten month old, and lots of X-mas shopping. By the way, I have removed the bike rack so maybe that's what's throwing you off ;) . Other than that, the car also has snow tires. Let me be another supporter of nice tires by saying that the car handles extremely well with the snow tires. Most of the car's behavior is very predictable (i.e. the back end will slide when too much throttle is applied but very gradually with the snow tires). The summer tires were absolutely treacherous when the temps dropped below 40 degrees. I wouldn't trust the car in any kind of snowfall/ice.

On another note, I have noticed three other RX-8s during my commute from work to home. One red, one silver, and one black...the red I usually see on Atkinson/St. Mary's, the silver I see on St. Mary's and the black one is always going the other way towards I94. Anyone on this list?

Nice to see that you're alive and well, Dan. I've been looking for 8s on the road, but I've only confirmed one... yours.

I have not noticed the back end sliding at all, ever. I've also not noticed the traction control light coming on, but that may be the difference. It's also possible that it's the extra hp in your car, or just my old-man style of driving.

I broke down and bought winter tires yesterday, along with the strakes. I've been going out and driving most every night around 11 pm - midnight, and it is only a matter of time before I misjudge and try to stop too hard on ice at a red light. The brakes on this car are just so damn wonderful, it's hard to remember details like inertia. I think my shopping spree was also the result of the pictures Sean posted of his car out in the snow with the strakes shining. I like the clean look of the stock car, but I must admit that I like the strakes very much.

Who are these other Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin people? Stand up and be counted!

Good call Mega.. glad you "saw the light" and got the snows.

Ok, now for the counted... I'm in SE WI, with frequent trips to Chicagoland. I don't have an 8 -- yet. Give me until spring. :D

So I'm sitting with my son in traffic in Libertyville yesterday, on my way home from getting winter tires installed, and I hear this vaguely familiar rev rev rev... very loud. I'm kinda spaced and don't turn around thinking that it's just someone messing with me. Then this black 8 drives by. That's number two for me.

Oh yea, I also drove by a house yesterday and a girl screamed out to her dad -- "Hey dad, there's that car again!"

Cool. :)

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
Oh yea, I also drove by a house yesterday and a girl screamed out to her dad -- "Hey dad, there's that car again!"

You gotta love that...it would have made me grin for a few days. :)

i've procrastinated buying my winter tires for far too long, instead opting to buy Canzoomer's Stage 1 ECU for the lower price before it goes up...but after having driven in only 1 inch of snow i'd have to say this is by far the worst car i've ever driven in the snow (without snow tires)...i couldn't even pull into a parking spot! i had to turn DSC off because it kept trying to correct the spinning tires...

hopefully this weekend i'll be able to get some snow shoes otherwise it's far too dangerous to drive this car in snow

THeres going to be a Mazda meet this coming January 4th in Schaumburg at the hooters there at 1pm! everyone is Invited to show up.. I have a thread started that has the contact info for the guy organizing the meet.www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17330 (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17330)

I thought this was a classy car. Hooters? Please. Right next to the pick up trucks and trans ams. You should rethink the location just to save the reputation of the car!

Originally posted by Fuzzbear
THeres going to be a Mazda meet this coming January 4th in Schaumburg at the hooters there at 1pm! everyone is Invited to show up.. I have a thread started that has the contact info for the guy organizing the meet.www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17330 (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17330)

Sounds good... barring bad weather/roads, I should be back from Florida on the 3rd. Anyone else able to make this?

Thanks!

any other takers?

Originally posted by Fuzzbear
any other takers?

Bueller... Bueller... ? : )

Let me know if this is still on... can't wait to get back into the RX8 again.

Thanks!

[QUOTE]If Theres a Bright center to the universe, Im in the suburb thats farthest from[QUOTE]

You obviously haven't been to Lake in the Hills!

-Sean

I'm free on the 4th

Were still planning on going..

ok looks like the guy organizing the meet wants to push it back to a later date... supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow

It would be nice to take the cars somewhere we could get nice pictures for the forum; parked in front of Wrigley Field or on the Lake with the skyline as a backdrop, Bahai Temple - someplace with drama. I suppose the snow has to go before that can happen... this is the toughest time of the year :(

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
It would be nice to take the cars somewhere we could get nice pictures for the forum; parked in front of Wrigley Field or on the Lake with the skyline as a backdrop, Bahai Temple - someplace with drama. I suppose the snow has to go before that can happen... this is the toughest time of the year :(

let's wait til lake Michigan freezes up and let's all drive our cars into the middle of it...then take pics...we can get a gathering of owners from Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinoins, and Indiana...

j/k of course...

a big field of snow would be great...but yea, my car is black and thus is dirty everyday...winter is not a good time for pictures

Seriously- you might have something there... but of course not Lake Michigan. Last year I was doing monster power brake slides and donuts with both my Explorer and my Miata on Lake Geneva in WI last February... there were literally hundreds of cars on the lake (most fishing, but several like me finding the limits of our cars on solid ice). How cool would a picture of all of our 8's in the middle of a frozen lake look?! : )

-Sean

Did this already happen or is it still being rescheduled? Be sure to post a date/place. I don't have an 8 yet so I could be the photographer.

being rescheduled... no dates set as of yet... this weekends out for me Im headed up to Detroit for the NAIAS