raksj04

I have been an owner of a 2nd Gen RX-7 for over 5 years now. And once I get back from deployment I am going to need a new vehicle. My 99 ranger which was a great little truck was just too small and not fun to drive. Before I left I was pretty set on getting an Avalanche or 4 door truck simply because we need the extra room. Then I found a Mazda 6 wagon with a 5-speed to replace the wife's aging Cavalier. Since my car is going to be a DD and for what trucks are going for I am in 09 RX-8 price ranges and MPGs. I have a hard time with living with an automatic. I use to yell at my wife's cavalier all the time for shifting at weird times.

When I was having a bad week I would go out and test drive a 8 to feel better. Untill I almost bought one when I really couldn't afford one. It told about 4 months or so to talk myself into the idea an 8 is a bad ideal, then I started to watch Youtube review videos and know I am hooked again. I am leaning towards a S2 because I like the looks of them a little better then the S1.(mmmm Blue R3) And during my searching a 2006 to 2008 is pretty hard to find. Any input in to why you bought your 8 would be great.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

I won't be much help, but I wanted a Yellow sports/muscle car for years & my LY GT appeared at a dealer near my house.
I liked it immediately, test drove it and had to have it.
The handling, ride, sound (both engine & quiet cabin) & 9k redline hooked me.
2 1/2 years now, BHR midpipe & ignition to solve 2 of the biggest problems with the Renesis, and love it more than ever.

ken-x8

I bought my 8 because I got into my 60s and it was time for a second childhood. That meant a sports car. Previous interesting cars (in my youth) were an Alfa spyder and a BMW 2002, so I had an idea what I needed.

Tried a Miata, but I was too tall for it. Tried a BMW Z4, but it was mushy - something to be seen in but not really a driver's car. Thought of a Mustang, but didn't want to grow a mullet.

Test drove an 8, and that was it. Like your test drives, I feel better every time I drive it.

Ken

gwilliams6

I bought my 2008 40th Anniversary edition because I am a longtime RX owner, having owned seven RXs since 1973. My last Rx before the RX8 was an FD RX7 . The RX8 isnt as fast but it has more room and is more refined while still a great handling sports car. It is in my blood, these rotaries ,which i have driven on the street and track for easily a million miles in 41 years.

fc2se

iTrader: (2)

I owned an FC for about 10 years and enjoyed restoring it and driving it. I bought the RX-8 after test driving one. Also, I sold my RX-7 and DD Subaru Impreza to buy it. The 8 fills both roles for me and is a pretty amazing daily drivable sportscar.

If I had it to do over, I would have sold the 7 sooner and never bought the Subaru. I was skeptical of the 8 until I drove one. Coming from an FC, I expect you'll be nothing but impressed. The only things I miss about the FC are it's better rear visibility and it's more spacious engine bay.

fc2se

iTrader: (2)

Oh, and it's nice that my daughter fits in the rear seats in a car seat and that 4 people can fit in a pinch.

SpaceCaptainSteve

I bought an S2 over the S1 only due to the added measures adopted to address reliability. You've probably read on the internet a few times that the RX-8 needs to idle before shutting off, can't make short trips (start-stop to the gas station, backing out of the garage for a wash, etc), but I can attest this is NOT an issue with the S2s. I was new to driving manuals and stalled repeatedly several times in succession and the engine has *never* flooded on me. Even in the morning when I cold-start and make a literal 60 second drive to the gas station 2 blocks away, it won't fail to start up again.

Take that with a hefty grain of salt though, as I live in Texas and temperatures never get too cold down here. Anyways, the point I'm trying to drive home is that if you do your maintenance research and buy an S2, I would not be worried or nervous about reliability with the car.

As far as driving goes I really think the RX-8 is simply awesome because of a usable power band. All these cars with insane horsepower have to be babied to 30% of their potential, where the RX-8's engine can be pushed to the limit daily while taking advantage of some of the best handling in a street car. It's not like it's that slow either, I think the manual can muster about 0-60 in 6 seconds. But yeah, the rotary high revs and insane maneuverability = awesomeness. Plus, it just sounds wicked.

Khurram

I test drove an 06 accord coupe V6 6spd and an 04 G35 6spd. I was leaning towards accord for reliability and gas mileage, but G35 was much sexier and classier. I had been reading this forum for like 2 years or so and still wasn't so sure about rx8 since I put on 70k kms a year on the car.

However, the unthinkable happened for me. I just test drove the 04 6spd Rx8 with 160k kms on it for the heck of it. Right there and then I was sold. The handling, the steering feedback, the exhaust note, how the light the car felt, butter smooth tranny, silk power delivery and jet like cockpit and center console. Man I bought my 8 on the spot asked the guy for compression test, now she sits at 267k kms still going strong no hot/cold start issues.. she is my daily.

My butt dyno feels that my 8 is much quicker than alot of cars on the streets and out handles even cars that are twice as expensive. on the track iv hit 0-60 in 5.9.

That red line though :-) Reliability wise, havnt had much of problems, coolant sensor, alternator belt, and regular maintenance thats all

all the best

gwilliams6

Hi Khurram, don't mean to rain on your parade or go off thread topic but a proper rotary compression test results in six numbers ;three numbers for each face of the two rotors. Unless you have all six numbers the test is not complete and correct. The numbers also will NOT all be the same .You can have one good rotor and a bad one and that will signal a failing engine. Post those six numbers and check the compression test chart on the forum to really know the health of your engine. Any 04 with high mileage is suspect for a failing engine and other issues including ignition and cat health, all critical for any RX8. Don't let your heart get the best of your head here.

I see you have been on this site for many posts so hopefully you have full good compression numbers and all used car issues have been checked out long ago. Cheers !

chukurific

Well, apparently he's put 100k kms on it since he got it so I'd say he got his money's worth!

Khurram

Gwilliams, I completely agree with you on the compression part. I received 6 figures 3 for each rotor.

I have put on 109k kms to be exact in 2 years of ownership.

Now the latest problem i discovered is, my coolant level goes low, and i see white smoke coming from tails when i start it cold. I am guessing one of my seals are gone and i need a rebuild in near future.

TamSE3P

I love my RX8. I get the advertised 16-21mpg, feels plenty quick (even in the low end), and it is usable every single day. I can't imagine my life without it.

I too was a long time FC owner. Having owned one for 7 years during my college years and post, I really enjoyed it but grew tired of how.... "mechanical" it was. I never really got to mod it much and became a restoration project pretty much it's whole life. I remember getting an oil change done on it at my local dealership (trust them with my life), and decided I'd waste some time in the used lot. I saw my 2008 and was really excited. It checked all my boxes; base, manual, no sunroof, cloth. I immediately had some services records pulled and was pleasantly surprised that it had all it's service done and immediately signed papers.