ShadowDragon78

iTrader: (2)

So I have been looking around for an rx8 r3 ever since I sold my last rx8 and found a 2009 rx8 r3 with 29k miles and 1 owner.
I asked the dealership to do a compression test and these are the results.

Rotor 1
7.4
7.3
7.4

Rotor 2
7.5
7.5
7.4

Rpm 268

Any advice on this would help me decide if I should go for it or not. Still has warranty until Oct 9 2017. Service tech said it would be higher if it was ran longer.
Thanks!

Love_Hounds

The opposite is true, which is why you start have hot start problems as the seals wear down. The rotor housing expand with heat and the seals, having worn down, don't make good contact any more.

Williard

iTrader: (18)

It does take time for the seal to wear their groove into the housings and irons and seals. That's why a fresh motor needs to be "broken in" for X amount of miles. Once that milestone has been reached you slowly start to go down due to the expansion of metal and the seals inability to bridge that gap anymore.

However that break in period is WAY before 20k+ miles.

More like 4-5k

If it were me, I would keep looking.

That's just me.

Travis

Love_Hounds

Also this is the chart, if your numbers aren't in the green, you don't have a healthy engine:

ShadowDragon78

iTrader: (2)

Here is a link to the car.

http://auto.com/cars/Mazda-RX-8-R3-2...990402042#info

Thanks for the responses. I just miss having an rx8 lol. After selling my 2004, I figured I should go for an r3.

Love_Hounds

Maybe the dealership did it for pictures(?), but its missing the battery and engine cover under the hood. Also, I personally would pass on this one.

ShadowDragon78

iTrader: (2)

Ok. Well looks like I will keep looking then. I am in no hurry anyway, I want my next rx8 to be perfect.

Thanks again everyone.

gwilliams6

Just remember this is a six year old car with marginal compression numbers for $17,000+. I would pass on this one. Also unless you are a person of very average build, those recaro seats will become very uncomfortable on any long trip. (A few of my R3 owning friends have grown to hate those seats)

ShadowDragon78

iTrader: (2)

I don't mind the recaros, I didn't feel too tight last time I test drove one. But I can see how someone larger could have a hard time with them.

Love_Hounds

I think this car has already been asked about -> https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...esults-258979/

ShadowDragon78

iTrader: (2)

Interesting. I guess that was the other person looking at it that they told me about.

gwilliams6

It is not just the tightness of the side bolsters, but also a couple of R3 owners have told me that the seats themselves don't have much comfortable bottom support and NO lumbar support for anything beyond a short drive. On paper these seats seemed a good idea to go along with the suspension tweeks on the R3, but folks buying them also need them to be comfortable as daily drivers, unless you are buying a dedicated track car. One used R3 owner I know has had one driver seat side bolster become loose from the previous owner brushing against it getting in and out. This R3 owner loves pretty much everything else about the car, and he wanted all the improvements and advantages of the Series 2, but he wishes he had some lumbar support and some more comfort in the seats. This R3 owner is of average build.

mariohardleft

Yep, I'm the other dude who was looking at it, and I posted about it separately.

Not happy with the way the dealer handled everything. First, they insisted that the car was not under warranty. I told them it did, and Mazda even called them and explained it to them (which was some seriously awesome customer service from Mazda!).

But the dealership didn't call me back after all that (to say, "yep, it is under warranty, do you want to buy it"). I guess they figured I was a potential pain in the *** customer, so they didn't want to follow up with me!

Anyways, moving on. Hopefully I'll come across one eventually with that kind of mileage but better compression — and from a dealership that knows the warranty on the RX8 and knows how to do a compression test properly.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

And they will just sell it to some other poor sap. I hate dealers.

Jastreb

iTrader: (1)

Hah, good luck with that one. No dealership is going to know about the engine core warranty on an SII unless they've recently done a warranty engine replacement on one (which doesn't happen often). There's something about how Mazda set it up where it doesn't show up when they do a VIN lookup. And unless you get a rotary owner salesman/ service rep, they're not going to know the intricacies of compression tests either. Ignorant as they are, they probably assume that everything gets better when you warm a car up (which is usually true for most cars). You just hope they have a tech that knows better, or at least follows the workshop manual to a tee.

But I agree that you should look for an RX-8 with better compression.

ShadowDragon78

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the replies, hopefully I find one preferably 2009-2011 R3 in velocity red. Until then, I will be patient and keep looking.

leetrx8

Good luck finding better compression on a R3. All the R3s I've seen tested are like that or lower. You won't get any issues until compression drops below 6 anyway. Nothing wrong with those results IMO.

MikeTyson8MyKids

iTrader: (1)

Except that it is...nearly failing?

leetrx8

Failing? If you mean by Mazda's 6.9 standard then yes however I know a few rebuilders in the UK and they say that R3s have lower compression than the S1. They have tested many. Also, ported S1 engines with only like 8k on them can be as low as 6.9. I've seen a S1 with 20k with 6.9 results, no issues starting hot, 1-2 seconds.
If I had that R3, with regular oil changes, beeping and premixing, it should be good for at least another 30k-40k. It would take me more than 10 years to do that mileage.

MikeTyson8MyKids

iTrader: (1)

All the engines use the same compression specs. R3 is no different than any other S2 as they use the same engine. Same goes for the S1.

I would not touch a nearly failing engine for that money.

leetrx8

They use the same specs but that doesn't stop the fact that on average S2s test lower than S1s. This is coming from multiple reputable rebuilders who have tested many R3s. That engine still has lots of life left in it. In no way is it is almost failing other than the Mazda standard of 6.9 @ 250 rpm. It won't show any issues or symptons until compression drops well below 6. Then you could say it's almost failing. Still seen plenty of mid/high 5s running without any issues starting hot or in performance.

That said, R3s go for about the equivalent of $9,000 or less here and a ported rebuild is about $4500 so there's less at stake.

As I said, good luck finding an R3 with much better results than that. That car will be fine for a long time with proper care.

Love_Hounds

Not to hijack the thread, but please tell us about these builders.

leetrx8

Sure. What do you want? Links to their websites?

Love_Hounds

Yeah, that would be fine.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Please stop spreading bullshit.