Love & Driving :: 2005 RX-8 (Finally got one!)
 

My apologies if this is long winded. . , as I am new to the the site, probably only a few hours logged in browsing, and this will be my first post. . . .

In 2003 I was traveling to a family reunion with my dad and we decided to stop at a mall on the way to shop. Inside the mall there was a raffle going for a new RX-8. This was the first time I had ever seen the car in person. Instantly I felt attracted to the vehicle.

Im almost finished with college now; finishing my last course via correspondence while working ful time. Im lucky to have a very nice job, working with great folks; one of my co-workers turned out to be a very knowledgable rotary engine fan, as he had owned several RX-7's (found this out the day before I bought the vehicle).

Ive always driven trucks. There was a moment, an entire fifteen day period in which I had a Honda Prelude. . . lets say it ended. . . rather abrubtly with screeching metal and broken glass. . . (wasnt my fault but I dont like to talk about it). My first vehicle was a Bronco, and the past six years Ive been driving a 1998 Dodge Pickup.

This past monday I had some major coolent issues; it cost me an arm and a leg to get it running again (new radiator, water pump, gaskets, thermostat, belt and tensioner). The mechanic also advised me that my front suspension was very fubar and would cost me a lot more money to fix. I didnt particularly like my truck, but I had a lot of good memories with it and it was a good vehicle with this being the first major auto work Ive had done since I bought it. Even still, I hated pouring a ton of money into such an old high mileage vehicle (~94K miles). So I went car shopping.

It began at about 9am and ended at 10:30pm. I drove off the dealer's lot with a new 2005 RX-8 Grand Touring 6SP with the aero flares/dams, rotary emblam kit, rear spoiler, six disc changer, moon/sunroof, xenon lights, and maybe some other stuff I am forgetting.

My baby is pearl white on black leather. Not only is this only new car I have ever had, it is also the first manual Ive had. I had learned to drive a stick on a standard H, 3SP with reverse, on a 1940something Massey Furgeson 50HP tractor. I also had some time in a few big diesel pickups with manuals. Needless to say the clutch is a little bit different on a sports car to say the least. However, I picked it up rather quickly; within an hour during my first test drive of the RX-8 the day I went shopping for it at the first dealer I stopped at (I had also test driven other sports cars in the past; Integra and SRT-4).

This car has made me fall in love with driving. I used to dread going anywhere, having to drive my truck; boring and it had many quirks that annoyed me. Since I purchased the vehicle last Tuesday, I have spent virtually all of my free time driving. Today I realized that I really needed a radar detector as my previous one had been stolen along with my truck (truck later recovered). So I stopped and picked up the best Escort I could find (Valentine is nice; but I dont need to know where the cop is; just that there is one).

I hope that my newfound love for driving wont go away anytime soon; I find myself to be more social now that I enjoy going places so much, a great side benefit to going into debt ;)

In any case I just wanted to share my experience with everyone and say that I love my Mazda RX-8. A very good friend of mine pointed out the best thing about the car; its mine, the note is mine, the insurance is mine, the title is in my name, and I paid/am paying for it. Ive been working since I was 17 (24 in a a couple months), through high school and college. I am so incredibly proud to have this car. I cant help but feel selfish and want to show it off to everyone, both when parked and on the road.

I would like to thank RX8club.com and its user base for being a great resource for this wonderful vehicle. Within hours of discovering the site I gained valuable information; things that I wish the dealer would have told me. For instance, I was not informed that rotary engines injected oil to lubricate themselves and required topping off between oil changes. The salesman at one dealership even introduced me to the service manager who told me that all I needed to do was to change the oil every 3000 miles; no mention of this precious tidbit of knowledge which probably will save me from ruining the engine.

I have many, many questions for everyone but I will hold back, as my questions and many others I have not thought of yet have undoubtably already been asked and answered.

Again, a big thank you to everyone for everything!

PS/BTW:: I live in Houston in the Galleria area, and commute to downtown everyday. I hope to see fellow '8 owners on the road and possibly get to know some of you to better understand how to maintain/possibly modify my vehicle.

I hope I have time in the future between work and driving to become an active member here as well! =)

Well, welcome aboard. Just don't listen to me or Dazy about how to modify your vehicle...

Lol, Slim and I take the road less traveled by when it comes to modding the cars... I honestly wish you don't have to take it. :o

Great write up! Welcome to the club (or better known as the cult)! Hope to see you soon!!

With your location your in luck... The Houston club has meetings nearly every month at a location in or near the Galleria like Barry's Pizzza (Richmond) or Freebird's (59 and Sheparrd) and a few other various spots.

Keep an eye out here in the section for Houston threads or sign up over at www.houstonrx8club.com to get direct email reminders and find some local conversation.

Great story! Glad you're enjoying your new car. :) And, welcome to the site!

Welcome to the site, you'll have FUN!!!!

Don't feed me.
I'm serious.

Congrats on the new car!

Sales-people are generaly very stupid...

Congrats!!!

Thanks to all for the congratulations! Everyday my appreciation for my RX-8 grows.

And yes, I agree, car salesmen can be downright ignorant.

One thing I did not expect when I purchased the RX-8 was how much attention it would draw. Ive noticed on several occasions pedestrians intently stare at my baby, and tonight when I drove to a local bar it turned a number of heads as I drove into the parking lot. Im not used to this much attention! (Not that Im complaining, of course ;) I guess I am just now beginning to appreciate how unique this vehicle is compared to everythig else on the road.

I loves my '8. Loves it. =-]

I just picked up an 05 white sport package myself... came from a 4.5 year stint in an 01 ext cab Z-71...

The RX as described in words is magic. Magic compared to anything in its price range

It will only get better from here. Hope to see you at the next club meeting!!!

did a similar deal myself, went from wannabe "sport truck", to a true "sports car", I'm not sure i'll ever own a "normal" car again after driving this thing, it is an awesome experience and I am so grateful I get the privilege of owning an 8 :)

I continue to love my RX-8, and as each day passes I learn more and more not only about the vehicle but also how to properly drive and handle it =)

Today I washed my baby for the first time! So proud, seeing it sparkle like new after getting rid of all the dirt and crud that had built up on it on a week; I had to drive it around last week in a short but nonetheless very wet Houston drizzle. . . and it collected a lot of nappy mud stains all over the side flares and pretty much the entire rear of the car. Nice and clean now :)

Now, time for my first question that I am posting on the forums. . . .

Today when I was cruising around town I had a 300Watt Jenson DC->AC convertor going. . with both a cell phone charger and a charger for my Apple Powerbook. While driving I think I experienced a backfire, as I heard strange exhaust noise, combined with significant power loss. All this was, of course, accompanied by a flashing CEL. . .

Now, I plan to take the car in and have it looked at, but as this is the first time it has happened and things were different as I was drawing a decent amount of current from the vehicle, could it be possible that my DC->AC convertor caused what I experienced?

I know that the owner's manual says if you experience a flashing engine light to pull over and have it towed to a dealer. . . but as this was the first time this has happened and it has not happened without the extra electrical drain. . . is it still safe to drive? I am going to take it in to a dealer, but would really rather wait until Friday afternoon or this weekend due to a massive amount of work I have to do to, well, be able to make car payments. . hehehe.

What do you experts think? =)

Thanks in advance!

Oh, and the CEL went off within 30seconds and everything returned to normal. . . Thanks!

I think you need to drive that baby up this way in September!!

For real, I'm not sure what that means. I'd take it as a good sign that the CEL went off, but I'd stop by the dealership when you get a chance, just in case.

As long as it is still not on you should be fine. I would check in with the dealer as soon as you get a chance.

Congrats on the 8 dude, i dont own one, but i have fun drving my bro's..LOL

Well as far as what you experienced, you were probably draining the bat/alt too much.. i bet that it almost felt like you hit a wall for a sec or something.. just try to keep the accs to the minimum when asking for all that power on the dc conv..

Again, thanks to all for the congratuations and the advice!

Ive had my '8 for just over half a month now. I have noticed in the past week or so that the performance hasnt been what it was when i originally purchased the vehicle. So, after a routine fillup I checked the oil level, as I have been trying to do at least once every 2 or 3 fillups.

She had just enough oil to be over the low mark. So, a short drive to a local auto parts store and a funnel and a few quarts of Castrol GTX 5w20 in hand (Ive used castrol with good results in all of my previous vehicles, and it seems to be fairly liked among the '8 crowd. . .) I topped her off.

Wow! Running like new again =] Its amazing how much added 'spirit' the vehicle has with the correct amount of oil. Thanks again to rx8club! (I didnt know you had to top off rotaries between changes until I started reading on the forum; the salesman and the service manager forgot to mention that. . I would have found out eventually when I hit oil change time by looking in the owners manual. . . but that might have been too late).

I LOVE MY RX-8! ;)

I love your enthusiasm Coredata. I've had my 8 for about 2 years now and still get the occational thumbs up as well as people coming up to me at the gas station. It's a great feeling to see others enjoying their car as well.

great post coredata. i'm in the same boat as you are, only i'm in still in the process of searching for the perfect 8 for me. going to dealship tomorrow! i found this website a week ago and haven't left it since. i have accumulated so much data about this car from this site its unbelievable, talked to the sales rep on the phone and he told me I can teach him about the car when i come over to test drive, lol. anyway still don't know if i'm going to get one from a dealer or a used one that already has some upgrades, i'll let you all know and deff post pictures!! :D