GT34

Up until a few weeks ago, I was planning on getting a jdm fd for the spring. The interior was fine and it had everything that I wanted to get in a car. Excellent handling, lots of power and a cool look. But it was actually one of the guys on this forum hercules that was posting on the rx7 forum that got me thinking. He was getting rid of his m3 for an 8. And it was the top gear video that really did it for me. Something that's able to keep pace with a 350z and m3 is a real sports car and come with a great price.

I was sold on the interior too. Way nicer than the fd's. I've always liked the rx8's exterior looks but never thought I would get one so I stopped looking. But after getting a raise at work and reading about how the 8 it's a practical sports car (except mpg), I've found what I was looking for.

So tomorrow I'm going to test drive a used 04 black gt and I'm planning on driving it home. It's got 8600kms on it, and going for 26k CDN. I'll be able to bring the price down a bit but it's everything I wanted in the 8. So tomorrow when I bring it home I'll be sure to post some pics.

DarkBrew

Cool, and BTW, welcome to the club! Where about's are you located? (Please update your profile)

ucleadguitar

iTrader: (1)

Good choice and can't wait to see some pics!

EZZY

the 8 hasnt got that much more "useable" room over the fd 7.....
13BTT > 13B Renesis ;-)

WhiteDealershipRice

Except for the fact that I can take my wife and 2 daughters on a 300 Mile trip on the 8 with enough clothes to last us the week and travel comfortably.

I Dare you... ...I Double Dog Dare You... ... I DEFY you ...

...to try that in an FD

And if you do, please post pictures... It'd be hilarious to seehow you contort 2 people into the hatch, but please make it college buddies, and not your kids, Social Services wouldn't take to kindly to that

EZZY

no where in his first post stating he will be taking his wife and kids in the FD....
there are rental car companies out there for driving trips ;-)

WhiteDealershipRice

I know, I'm just poking holes in your comment about usable space
(and trying to use a quote from the old Sprite "Show them my motto" commercials which I thought were hilarious)

But Why would you rent a car you don't enjoy for a driving trip when you have a car that you love to drive that could take you there smiling all the way?

SlayerRX8

Just to clear one thing up - I think we've all seen the top gear video, and we know the 8 is not as fast as the 350z and m3. More fun? Maybe! Just keep that in mind though. The fd is faster and more mod-able.

EZZY

check the TG laptime board again.....

Phantom Menace

My 8's N/A but I imagine if you would drop a turbo (turbo guys correct me if I'm wrong) in an 8, you'd get the best of both worlds. The reliability and "practicality" of the Renesis and a new car and the nuts of the FD. Like I said, I'm N/A so I'm not all that sure about turbo 8s, but seems like the only thing the FD has over the 8 is it's nuts?

tiltmode43

iTrader: (15)

Come on now, this has been discussed time and time again. The Top Gear tests are not only a bit unreliable (different conditions) but the track is rather tight thus benefiting the 8.

Keep this in mind - the rx8 is more of a compromise of sedan and sports car whereas the rx7 is more of a pure sports car.

If reliability is a key part of this purchase, do not purchase the rx7.

AirlockRX

I'm a former FD owner. Blew it up twice with small mods.

The 8 is more fun to own, period.

Great choice with Brilliant Black, just don't forget to figure in some snow tires up there.

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

The 8 and the Z were tested on the same episode. Top Gear doesn't go out and test one car at a time as they come through the door. That'd be a grossly inefficient way to do the shooting-- instead, they're tested in batches. Notice on some TG time trials you can see a row of cars just barely on-camera waiting to be tested. Therefore there is a chance that the 8 and Z were tested on the same day with the same driver (why switch Stigs in the same day?) This of course doesn't apply to all of their tests, but perhaps it does for cars featured in the same episode.

And Top Gear never claims that their tests prove which car is faster on the road... just around their track, which likely did favor the 8 the same way VIR favored the Z in Car and Driver's "Lightning Lap." The same argument you're using could be reversed to use against the Z in that test.

AdRoCK3217

That does not make it unreliable. That only means YOU sir were an unreliable owner. Don't spread false word.

WhiteDealershipRice

I was easily able to put 2 suitcases (rollable, carry on type), a backpack, a briefcase, a portable crib and a umbrella stroller in the trunk (boot).
The only things we took with us on the passenger compartment were a small cooler for the baby's formula, and my 4 year old's special "Blankie" (and a couple of toys for them)

I don't have the optional spare tire though

AirlockRX

Nice stab, but you're wrong.

Never one to spread false words on cars, just pure honesty.
I purchased my '93 FD new. Treated it better than my 2 previous wives.
I have always had my dealers maintain my Rotaries. (BTW, I've previously owned 3).

My mods were merely a CAI and Cat-Back. The rest was bone-stock due to warranty concerns.

Mazda replaced defective Apex Seals, a leaking boost controller and malfunctioning fuel pump. Finally a loose Turbo flange toasted some electrical wiring.

Maybe I should have gone in-depth with my statement in clarifying that my mods were mild and not the blame for my FD's demise.

Believe me, I loved the car and took extra good care of it, but again I state that for a $52k pure sports car, it was not reliable even as a weekender.

Although only a few FD's had the severe problems that mine did, I remain faithful to the rotary and will always own at least one, even if it's not a 2-seater...

BTW: I have never flooded a Rotary.

boothguy

You sure about that $53k number AdRock? For that, you should have had TWO '93s.

I put ~100k miles on my '94 FD before getting my '04 RX-8, and to the original point of this thread, the '8 is a MUCH more useable car. Still miss that all-out performance wallop of the FD, but the rock-hard ride, crappy interior and minimal space for anything larger than a loaf of bread are just memories now.

boothguy

Um... sorry about the mis-identification above. Meant to address AirLock instead.

AirlockRX

I caught that, it's cool... name similarities...
Yup, $52.8 bottom line (I cheated, included taxes, financing, etc) to be exact, off the showroom floor.

My retired daily-driver FC (still running) has 210k orig. miles though.

dynamho

For now. It's been around longer than the RX-8.

rotarygod

I hate to say it but as gorgeous as the FD is, it's not a reliable car by anyone's standards. It is inherently flawed and very few of them have ever made 100,000 miles. Not even stock. The small twin turbos were very complex. With over 70 vacuum lines and numerous actuators to make them work properly, it didn't take much to cause that system to not transition smoothly. The vacuum lines are all rubber as most cars are and they get brittle and break, crack, etc... The engine bay of the 3rd gen is very hot and this happens fairly quickly. Let me quantify that by saying it may still take several years but they still get brittle before they would in other cars.

The small twins spin very fast. On prespool of the 2nd turbo, it can momentarily hit 150,000 rpm. The bearings on those go out fairly quicky. I've seen them gone in as little as 30,000 miles but mearly all with a very rare few ever making 50,000+ before needing to be rebuilt.

The engine coolant seals were changed from the 2nd gens. They proved to be unreliable. Mazda later added a small metal heat shield to their rebuilt engines and their over the counter seal sales. The seals would fail and water would leak. This was a huge problem with these cars as the miles go up and most of them will suffer this fate at some point usually well under 100,000 miles.

Those cars has inadequate cooling ability. They'd overheat in traffic in warmer climates. There is just no excuse for that! People that tracked them would really have issues unless this was worked out.

If you want a reliable FD, rebuild the engine with different coolant seals, dump the stock twin turbos and complete replace the coolant system with a better one. Until this is done, that is one of the least reliable cars you can own in the longterm.

tiltmode43

iTrader: (15)

Just commenting on the whole Top Gear lap times as mesurement of any cars performance but yeah, I'm sure the z and 8 were most liklely tested in the same conditions.

When it comes down to it though, the reason the 8 does well is because the track is tight (relative to many other tracks) Is this bad? No, its great for the 8. When comparing the times to other cars on this track, however, the 8 appears to do better than an 8 would do on many (if not most) other tracks. The rx8 is a bit low on power (as we all know) when compared to other sports models thus making any track with straights to be the 8's downfall (driver dependent).

Like it or not, most tracks are not as tight as the top gear test course. Because of this, the 8 may be outperformed by cars like the Z when they can stretch their legs. The wording stated above my original post make the rx8 appear to perform as well as the m3 and Z, I was just reminding that this is only so because the track is so tight, throw in a striaght or 2 and the times would most likely change.

AdRoCK3217

A very well-informed post.

AdRoCK3217

As true as this is, the RX8, in my mind, will never have the same mod-ability as the FD. The compression is far too high - 10.0:1 + boost = I would NEVER feel comfortable making much power. No matter who the tuner is, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable really hammering on it like I can while N/A.

The RX8 also lacks peripheral exhaust ports...which is just not as efficient for a tubocharged car. Much less direct-flow..slower spool..etc..