http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/16/mazda-rx-8-reliability-tested-for-third-time-at-24-hour-enduranc/

^Wow, that thing about 40 records of 130 or so mph for 3,100 miles is impressive.

nice find 6speed

And yet we have all the whinner in the world on this forumn.

Yeah, I mean if anyone bothers complaining about their 8 making a sound like marbles in a blender they must not have read this article.

I've never doubted the car was reliable, but what racing shows is why cooling is so important, both water and oil, for performance and longevity.

A single oil cooler on any rotary engine is absolutely stupid to me, regardless of climate. virtually every rotary "issue" can be traced to cooling or heat issues. take care of cooling, and your engine will outlive your car.

Yeah, I mean if anyone bothers complaining about their 8 making a sound like marbles in a blender they must not have read this article.

What's that supposed to mean? :squint:

I've never doubted the car was reliable, but what racing shows is why cooling is so important, both water and oil, for performance and longevity.

A single oil cooler on any rotary engine is absolutely stupid to me, regardless of climate. virtually every rotary "issue" can be traced to cooling or heat issues. take care of cooling, and your engine will outlive your car.


I'll be getting a 2nd oil cooler here shortly, but as of now I go so far as to run the heater for the last minute of my drive home (if I've been running the car kind of hard). Haven't had the fans kick on after turn-off yet this summer. I'm a cooling nazi :).

ohh thats wat that was.. I was driving the 8 two months ago for ~ 30 min then after I shut it off the fan keeps on running. But i was waiting for a friend at the time so I was staying by the car and the fan stayed on for over 20 mins, got me alittle worried, guess its normal

ohh thats wat that was.. I was driving the 8 two months ago for ~ 30 min then after I shut it off the fan keeps on running. But i was waiting for a friend at the time so I was staying by the car and the fan stayed on for over 20 mins, got me alittle worried, guess its normal


I had the same thing happen to me. I drove it hard for about 30 minutes in very hot weather and then went and took a spin in my friends black fc. Came back saying to myself it wasn't nearly as quick or as impressive as the 8. While I was gone, I had another friend waiting on us near my car. When we got back after 15 or so minutes he said the fan just turned off.

What's that supposed to mean? :squint:
It was in response to the guy that complained about this forum having all the whiners. I was trying to be clever or sarcastic or something to say that just because the car wins a race doesn't mean that everyone here who whines is just doing it for the fun of it -- some people have real problems with itheir their 8 and get no help from their dealers.

My fan came on after I parked at work one day. I started walking away from my car as a man was walking past it. He told me I forgot to turn my car off!!! :rofl:

Good find, thanks for the post!

They may be entering it into another 24 hour race but according to a new internal bulletin by Mazda, the results don't matter! ;)

^^
:yelrotflm

My 8 (6MT) now has just about 59 000miles (93000km) on and still going like a bomb.
I drive long distance at a time (between 3 and 3500 miles per month) and short distance as well, no problem. In hot summer days with hard driving the fan does come on but not very long, now in winter time, by us, if it comes on after shutting off it basically goes of in a few seconds. That is if it comes on.
I agree, oil temps is a big big isue on a rotary, keep oil temps as low as possible and water temps at normal and it will last a life time.

Philip
go RX8

the original thread abotu the first run withthe 40 records in October 2004

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=41846&highlight=energizer+bunny

and me making the suggestion to do exactly this in September 2002

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?p=6663&highlight=energizer+bunny#post6663

should have asked for payment when i submitted the idea- or at least public credit. s'okay i dont mind tooting my own horn:D:

I can't help but wonder if Mazda really and truly knows their driver usage profile to the extent that they should. Let me elaborate, at my employer we have what is called RWUP (real world usage profile, diesel truck and engine company). This means that we design an engine based on what the owners will use the engine for. An engine can be designed for all out redline power for endurance racing and yet fail in stop and go traffic. I have owned both generations of RX7's (currently own a 95 RX7) and feel that it is unacceptable for Mazda to require the rotary engine to properly warm-up in order to avoid flooding. If the engine is truly and alternative to a piston motor then it should be able to do everything just as well (if not better). There were flooding issues with second gen RX7's as well, I just feel that it is time that Mazda got the flooding issue resolved. Please realize that I truly love the rotary engine more than most but there are some things that piss me off about Mazda.

Anyone who's concerned about cooling should try Mazsports fan controller. My coolant temps with a 90 degree ambient temp in stop and go traffic are 170deg F right out of the radiator. Before that mod they were around 210. IMO, its probably the single best mod you can do to a rotary for reliability.

Got a link for the fan controller? I have searched, but no luck.

-Kabong

Just call Scott at Mazsport. 1-800-538-9989.

I would like to see a real world applied durability test, one that involves long periods of idling and stop&go driving in gridlock traffic with A/C on high blast in 95+ degree ambient temperatures, for hours on end day after day... Now that would be a true test of ENDURANCE.

Looks like all three RX8s in the 3rd 24 hour race not only finished but performed very well.
http://rotarynews.com/node/view/685 :)

This is a great thread.

Lets keep it near the top.

Completely agree. So, here's another good link to read about the results. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/202720/britcar_24_hour_race.html

... and a quote from the article

"Last weekend's Britcar 24 Hour Endurance Race at Silverstone saw all three Mazda RX-8s that finished last year's 24-hour race complete the round-the-clock marathon of flat-out racing for the second consecutive year.

The Mazda RX-8’s rotary engine proved its durability as the three production cars could completed the 24-hour endurance, covering a distance of 1,597 miles without missing a beat.

Fifty-two cars started the race at 5pm on Saturday with thirty-five making it to the finish at 5pm Sunday including all three Mazda RX-8 Race Cars."

My '04 MT RX8 has 56,000 miles on it and is still going strong. No new engine needed from the recall either. My head is not in the sand, but the truth is, My car has proven very reliable and I love it.

Good results in that race. Must not have been in Las Vegas.

The reason why the rotary does well in endurance races is because the small amount of moving parts. It's designed to rev high and as long as it's lubricated well it'll perform well. The problem is none of us owners drive endurance races. We sit a lights, in stop and go traffic waiting to get into the Lincoln tunnel for hours on end, days on end. I don't think the rotary is the best engine for this appliclation. It seem to be designed for wot. It definitely is not in its element when it's 98 degrees.

I feel that I drive it like an endurance, I drive long distanceat time.
Start on the long road, get to speed and keep like that until there.

Mine is going for the 100 000 km service tomorrow. (60 000 miles)
now on 99 650 km.

Lots of old school rotary guys told me a rotary must turn not stand, its not good for the springs,(at the seals) oil and carbon if it stand. its best to drive it.

Philip