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Calling all OG/Old School Members - What do you drive now?
Life has certainly moved on from when I was deep into the RX8 ten years ago. It sits my sister's garage across the country. Hopefully in the next year or two, I'll be able to justify keeping it and keep the attraction by turning it into a track and weekend dedicated car.
The last time I drove it was 3 hour drive to Seven Stock 22 in 2019 with a giant stroller (Uppababy Vista) in the trunk and my 1 year old daughter in the back behind my wife.. Yes, we "managed" the long and hot day haha. The drive was tolerable with all-seasons and my KW V3 coilovers dialed to soft. Drone from the Greddy Evo-TT catback helped my daughter stay asleep.
I still daily drive my CX-5 and putting over 25k miles/year. I wanted to buy a Audi S5 in early 2019, but I couldn't justify it with the mileage I do. We our move Southern California this year, I have my eyes on a Lexus GS F. Albeit dated inside, the GS F is reliable, handles/rides as good as an M5, and the amazing 5.0L V8 is absolutely epic. I am also looking at a Honda Ridgeline as the work and family hauler. I think I can appreciate the comfort and practicality of the Ridgeline, but none the drawbacks of a body on frame "truck".
My wife drives a 2020 Accord 2.0T. We looked at other like the Mazda6, but the Accord is just that much better in every aspect. Not surprising that it can spank the RX-8 in the straight line while seating 5 adults comfortably and handles well. Its got all the modern amenities a $50,000 German "entry level" FWD luxo offers, but at 60% the price while being more reliable and less pretentious.
Where are the OG Old School members? Where's your RX8 and what's your daily?
Last edited by SayNoToPistons; 01-12-2021 at 11:58 AM.
RX-8 is in the garage, freshly polished, and back under it's indoor car cover as usual. Drove it to get smogged last week and finally broke 80,000 miles. Not to bad considering I've owned it since Sept of 2005.
The 8 hasn't been a daily driver in quite some time, probably close to 10 years now with that role being filled by a Ford Explorer, then a BMW X3, and now a 2019 Mazda CX-5 (2.5 Turbo). Truth be told it's hard not to love the creature comforts / tech in the newer cars such as radar cruise, cooled seats, android auto, etc so I am enjoying the CX-5 quite a bit and just today took it over the 30,000 mark. (purchased June 2019)
The RX-8 will always have a special place to me and every time I do drive it (even as infrequent as that is), it still gives me goose bumps to fire it up, blip the rev limiter in 2nd gear and taking a turn at much faster speed than the posted speed limit. It really is a fantastic car that I hope to keep for quite some time.
Might even get it out on the track later this year as I've been itching to get some seat time in.
After I sold my 8 and was able to save up some, I got into a 15 C7 Z51. It only lasted 10 days in my hands before a flood came and took it from me. I then got a 19 Camaro SS 1LE as a replacement. Both cars are pretty capable and I like how I can just drive the Camaro on the track out of the box, and it even has a track warranty. Have to give GM props for that.
I am currently in a Mazda6 2.5T. It's my friend's car but it's been sitting for a year so I just drive it around to keep it running while the Camaro hibernates and saves me a bit on insurance and gas.
Originally Posted by BigCajun
Who's an OG?
2012 for me.
No longer driving my '04 LY GT RX8.
Now driving a '04 WB GT RX8.
It's a cool way for cool kid s to say original. Ya digz mane?
2010 here, bought my '05 RX8 used at 52K miles in May of 2010. The 8 got a reman at 65K miles and now has 142K miles. Its my fun weekend car now. I daily drove it for 10 years until I picked up a cheap 06 Honda Civic from my father last year. The 8 runs well, but a recent compression test shows its just under Mazda spec. I'll probably keep it and drive it a few more years, but recently I have been eyeing the new Miata's pretty heavily. A 2019+ club is most likely in my future at some point.
2010 GT in awesome
Liquid Silver Metallic purchased in 2015 as a DD then moved to New England where the commute of miles x time created a new opportunity to get a daily commuter - a Honda Fit. Every chance I get - I take the RX-8 out for drives so it gets about 50-300 per week in the Spring-Fall.
So I created my account when the club was started. I was or had an Rx7 at the time. Is that old school enough? =) In 2004 I had a 85 GSL-SE and a 93 R1.
I didn’t buy my first Rx8 till 2013 though. I don’t think I count for old school... still have it though. Even added a few..
2009 R3 - made into a track car (purchased in 2013)
2010 R3 - imported from Canada in 2018
2010 GT - current daily driver
2007 E63 wagon - backup daily driver
2016 V60 T6 - wife’s car
Have all of my rx8’s and won’t ever let them go.. way too good of a car compared to other cars on the market. You can do better.. but you’re spending money. If I had to replace them it would have to be with semi current Porsche 911’s or a Cayman.
Joined back when the forum was brand new. Didn't purchase an RX-8 for a number of years later, but owned a number of RX-7's before that. Ended up with a perfect 2006 Grand Touring, that people managed to crash into 3 times while I was stopped. After the 3rd hit, the car just wasnt worth saving at that point.
I always felt that the RX-8 while the handling was amazing, it really could have used another 100HP. With that in mind, I started searching for something with handling on par with the RX-8, but with a lot more power. Ended up getting a 2012 E92 M3, with the intention of driving it until Mazda eventually released the next RX-7.
Ended up totally falling in love with the M3, and Mazda doesn't look like they will ever release a new RX-7. I've waited for 10 years and have given up hope. Ended up putting a supercharger on the M3, and am totally satisfied. M3 will be retired to a weekend car once covid is done with and I have to start commuting again, and the plan is to keep it for life.
Current plan is to purchase a FD once I have the garage space for it.
Have all of my rx8’s and won’t ever let them go.. way too good of a car compared to other cars on the market. You can do better.. but you’re spending money. If I had to replace them it would have to be with semi current Porsche 911’s or a Cayman.
Cayman GT4 is a very nice car from what I have heard, with some similar characteristics compared to the RX-8(high-revving, lightweight), but yeah, it's big money.
Originally Posted by hornbm
I always felt that the RX-8 while the handling was amazing, really could have used another 100HP. With that in mind, I started searching for something with handling on par with the RX-8, but with alot more power. Ended up getting a 2012 E92 M3, with the intention of driving it until Mazda eventually released the next RX-7.
Ended up totally falling in love with the M3, and Mazda doesn't look like they will ever release a new RX-7. I've waited for 10 years and have given up hope. Ended up putting a supercharger on the M3, and am totally satisfied. M3 will be retired to a weekend car once covid is done with and I have to start commuting again, and the plan is to keep it for life.
Current plan is to purchase a FD once I have the garage space for it.
Reminds me of that E92 M3 I saw on the road a few days ago. It had an aftermarket exhaust and just sounds so good. It sounded amazing enough that I told the owner how much I liked the sound of it at a stoplight.
It's a different note compared to the more coarse note of the Camaro SS and it suits the M3 nicely. Especially when you consider than S55 in the newer M3/M4 sounds like a weed whacker, you really have to appreciate the sound of S65.
I baaaarely drive any more, but when I do its the family 2008 Mazda 3. The 8 is sleeping in a dry garage until April.
I keep thinking about changing, but the 8 ticks all the boxes and is long since paid off. We will probably replace the 3 with a Volt or another electric/hybrid (MX30 for the all-suicide-door fleet), but not for a few years still.
Reminds me of that E92 M3 I saw on the road a few days ago. It had an aftermarket exhaust and just sounds so good. It sounded amazing enough that I told the owner how much I liked the sound of it at a stoplight.
It's a different note compared to the more coarse note of the Camaro SS and it suits the M3 nicely. Especially when you consider than S55 in the newer M3/M4 sounds like a weed whacker, you really have to appreciate the sound of S65.
Yeah, its truly amazing how awful the f8x m3/m4 sounds. The high revving v8 of the e92 on the other hand sounds amazing- nobody will ever make a car like that again.
I'm sure clean ones will be worth a pretty penny some day. The f8x on the other hand, I don't think will be worth as much. The sound just kills it, among other things.
I truly believe the E92 M3 is the next step up from an RX-8. It is the last "real" M car, that's for sure. The F8x M3/M4 does not drive as analog as the E9x and sounds awful as mentioned.
I considered the E92 M3 as the next weekender, however there are some redundancies while keeping the RX8. This began my search of an alternative, and I ended up falling in love with the Lexus GS F and its buttery NA 5.0 V8. The GS F still retain their value very well in the upper 60's for a low mileage one, which recently made me question whether or not to go with a big used GT like the LC 500 instead.
Yeah, its truly amazing how awful the f8x m3/m4 sounds. The high revving v8 of the e92 on the other hand sounds amazing- nobody will ever make a car like that again.
I'm sure clean ones will be worth a pretty penny some day. The f8x on the other hand, I don't thing will be worth as much. The sound just kills it, among other things.
Yeah, and I have heard there is no fixing the S55 sound. It just sounds bad on pretty much any exhaust.
Part of the issue with F8x, at least in my opinion, is that American competition has caught up to it, which also made it less impressive. When Corvette/Camaro SS/Shelby GT350 can match on the track, it just makes you wonder if that BMW badge is really worth that extra money. And yeah, turbo I6 just isn't that special compared to an NA V8.
There is also the E60 S85 V10. High-revving NA V10 sounds even more epic.
That said, I felt like trying out something a bit different from the revvy engine. That's why I ended up with cars with a Chevy small block.
My dream car in the '80s was the Audi Quatro that was winning all the rallies. Since then I've owned two
Audis, before swearing 'never again'.
I turbo'ed my '8 in 2009, and blew it's original motor, and I needed some wheels while it got replaced - looked for a three-year-old
Forester, the one with the good Sti 2.5 liter engine.
Such a nice engine to work on - one of the last cars made of 'pieces' instead of 'systems'.
I had worked it over in 2012, got a bigger turbo and various little go-faster tricks, but nothing serious.
The tuner did his best, and we got it to the point where the injectors were maxed at a 'safe' 93% duty.
So obviously, the first thing to do this time is double the size of the injectors.
Forged rods and pistons, so it can handle 'more powah' and an even bigger snail.
Three inch full exhaust, some Cosworth bits, and a morbigga intercooler and diverter/scoop.
Now the constraint is the MAF, and by the measured maxed out airflow, it's making 400hp.
Natch, a lot of that disappears in the 4x4 gear, but zero is wasted on wheelspin. Nothing can match it in the wet.
Finished off with some big disks and Sti suspenders, which lowered it two inches at the back and three at the front.
....and it still gets better average mileage than my '8.
Trade in the 2011 RX-8 Sport for my 2014 CX-5 in April 2013, and now have 80k miles on it.
It has been a fantastic vehicle for the past nearly 8 full years.
My wife still has her 2012 Abarth, which is not even remotely like the RX-8, and that one is only sporting about 36k miles, I believe.
The fun car is the 2015 Cayman that we custom ordered in Feb 2015, and was delivered in June 2015.
It has 58k miles, and I daily drove it to and from work on any day that the weather permitted (which here in the Denver area, is ALOT).
And when I need to go faster than the Cayman allows, I have a fleet of Ducatis in the 4th garage bay.
My 2008 848, my wife's 2017 Scrambler, and my just recently purchased 2020 SuperSport.
I'm still waiting for Mazda to make either a new sports car, or an electric car that doesn't look like a bastard child of an FJ Cruiser that had a one night stand with a Honda Element.
Though, I may plunk the money down when the new 6 debuts in a couple years.
Likes "doesn't look like a bastard child of an FJ Cruiser that had a one night stand with a Honda Element". Perhaps Citroen saw this and is now going to sell this C4 Cactus in NA:
TopGear said c4 see four TuTone "It's a car with a minor identity crisis"
I've been driving and restoring rotaries since 1999. I'll never not have one or more. I've owned 47 RX-7's and im on my 5th RX-8. I still own 3 RX-8's and three RX-7's.
I drive my Brilliant Black 04 regularly when the weather is good. I love the car very much. I have two more I'm working on restoring, the first being my Nordic Green 04 6spd.
Currently in the middle of restoring my Porsche 944. When spring comes I'll be jumping back onto the Nordic Green GT and then the Titanium Gray Touring.
In the summer I cruise my older rotaries, a 1 of 500 1980 RX-7 Leather Sport, an 85 GS with a 13B from a GSL-SE, and an 88 10th Anniversary RX-7
As a daily, I drive a 2018 Camry SE:
Last edited by mazdaverx7; 01-20-2021 at 01:58 PM.
Wow vert7, your SA is so clean!!! Takes me back at least 15 years and reminds me of my old Mazda parts driver buddy's 7.
Since I don't need to commute anymore and street driving just doesn't give me the pleasure it once used to (for many reasons), I'm selling my Speed3 to pick up an electric Honda or Toyota. I personally think the electric, hydro, etc cars are very cool imo.
After that, I plan to acquire either a Dodge Cummings or Ford F250 truck for hauling, 16-20' enclosed trailer and most likely a Star Mazda.
Wow vert7, your SA is so clean!!! Takes me back at least 15 years and reminds me of my old Mazda parts driver buddy's 7.
Thank you! This was the first RX-7 that I ever saw as a child in the mid 80's. Literally THE car. My mom would go to this drug store to pick up groceries and such and this car was always parked out far in the parking lot. I was drawn to the car and went and looked in it every time I saw it. Fast forward to 2004 and I while I was in the Army, I ended up home on leave and getting put in touch with a gentleman that needed work done on his RX-7. I agreed to meet him and give him a quote and low and behold it was the LS I coveted as a child. I serviced the car regularly for 13 years and the car was given to me as a gift by the gentleman that owned it. He bought the car new when he graduated pharmacy school and had enjoyed it from 1980 until 2017. It was such an incredible gift. I cherish the car. Here are a couple additional pictures of the car:
I had an 83 GSL, bought with 21000 miles in 1986. I will never forget that car. Wish I still had it. Your pic brings back great memories, esp the underhood pictures.
Thank you. Your car is so clean. Such a keeper.
just thought I would chime in on the M3 talk.
e90/e92 is hands down the last M-car with soul.
f80- can sound good if you get an equal length midpipe. It does from weedwacker/honda mower to RB/2J silky smooth. Check out some youtube vids, which don't do it justice.
@mazdaverx7 I would love to buy that T2 off of you. What a collection you have there good sir!
For myself, i still have my 04 Winning Blue RX8. I'm using it as my daily at the moment and will be "restoring" it to a street car. Main plan is to get some endless brakes on it. But when putting in the rebuilt motor, i installed the rx8performance oil coolers and oil pan, RE-Medy water pump and a Koyo Radiator. My Mazdaspeed front end was severely damaged so i put on another one i need to get repainted and install the foglight brackets on as well. Gonna install another rear bumper and mazdaspeed diffuser and just seeing if i should restore my current mazdaspeed side skirts or source another set while they've been through hell and back. Got some Advan GT's waiting to put on her as well and still need to install the mazdaspeed gauge pod i've been sitting on. She will be back to her former glory soon enough.
I also have a 95 FD that mainly is a garage queen though she does come out for meets and shows (well she used to before COVID). And i just picked up a 2021 GR Supra A91. I traded in my 2017 MX5 RF Club for the Supra... though i do miss my Miata....
@mazdaverx7 I would love to buy that T2 off of you. What a collection you have there good sir!
For myself, i still have my 04 Winning Blue RX8. I'm using it as my daily at the moment and will be "restoring" it to a street car. Main plan is to get some endless brakes on it. But when putting in the rebuilt motor, i installed the rx8performance oil coolers and oil pan, RE-Medy water pump and a Koyo Radiator. My Mazdaspeed front end was severely damaged so i put on another one i need to get repainted and install the foglight brackets on as well. Gonna install another rear bumper and mazdaspeed diffuser and just seeing if i should restore my current mazdaspeed side skirts or source another set while they've been through hell and back. Got some Advan GT's waiting to put on her as well and still need to install the mazdaspeed gauge pod i've been sitting on. She will be back to her former glory soon enough.
I also have a 95 FD that mainly is a garage queen though she does come out for meets and shows (well she used to before COVID). And i just picked up a 2021 GR Supra A91. I traded in my 2017 MX5 RF Club for the Supra... though i do miss my Miata....
Its a great car, nice sharp handling (i haven't taken it out on the track yet or do a nice canyon run) on the street, great acceleration on sports mode and when in normal mode, very nice and smooth. Though it does have electronic dampening, normal mode still is a bit stiff and jarring on pot holes though in sport mode, like mentioned before, its very sharp and precise but definitely a easy to oversteer when all DSC/TCS are off. The interior of the car is what you expect from a BMW, infotainment, seats, dash, everything is directly from the Z4 but i'm not going to say its a bad thing, definitely comfortable and premium. I do enjoy the adjustable bolstering on the seats. With the A91 package, you do have heated seats and the alcantara trimming helps glue you down to the seats. Steering is light and precise with giving some good feedback from the road. One feature i do find annoying is the lane keep assist, when set on medium, it can be very violent in keeping you in your lane. When first experiencing it, it was a bit frightening. Unlike the one in the Mazda CX-9 which is not as violent but still provides vibration and some resistance to get you back in the lane where it doesn't feel that the car is taking over. Another couple of gripes i have with the car is getting in to it, due to it being based off the Z4, the windshield and roofline are pretty low and on top of that, the roof curves over to the side (im guessing for added rigidity since they removed bracing from the bottom) and you have to duck and slide your way in to the car which can be a little uncomfortable. The last gripe is that due to having little space behind the cockpit before heading in to the trunk, you cannot recline your seats too far back as you come in to contact with the rear strut bar rather quickly. I have more reclining space in the FD than i do in the Supra though the Supra has more reclining space than the ND Miata so i guess that's a plus? Haha. The transmission is smooth as mentioned before and when you go in to sport or manual mode, it of course revs higher and "rev matches" during down shifts but it does have automatic transmission tendencies which it tries to hide like delays in down shifting where it does bog a little bit during some "spirited" driving as well as some lag during "spirited" upshifting. Overall, i'm enjoying the car, my lady is is enjoying more than i am as she love driving it around as well. It's a bit weird for me as a comfortable seating position for me doesn't allow me to put rest my hand on my door when the windows are down and the side windows are small as well as the rear quarter windows being completely useless. Rear view is terrible for the most part as well, with the A91 lip spoiler, it takes up another 15% of your visibility but due to it being a sports car and sitting lower than most cars, you can still see but its very narrow. Hope this gives you a good picture of the supra.
01-12-2021, 11:55 AM
