..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Hey,

Thank you for the post, that was quite helpful. Right now I am looking for an 2004 RX-8 unless I could get a newer one. It does not really matter as to what kind of model like a Shinka or anything. I have been looking on craigslist and a few other places all over the net (even here).

Preferably, I want it to be a manual transmission, around 100,000 miles. Would be nice if its under bc of warranty. And as long as it is not pink lol jk jk.

I think for what I would be willing to pay I would be able to stay away from bad title vehicles (or at least I hope haha). But ya as soon as I get back I am planning on paying CASH. Because I totally agree with you. I do not want to make payments on a depreciating item such as a vehicle. Thanks for your help. I will be looking forward to hearing from you. Nice to hear someone else in boiler country.

Best Regards

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

O and also, travelling would not be an issue to me. I considered getting a RX-8 here in Texas, but out of state fees bother me as well as putting the extra mileage on the vehicle. Although my internship would pay for my gas back home

Also, do you think it would be wise to buy from here compared to Indiana where RX-8's are more popular? The cars here are are somewhat not as bad on price because the depression was not as bad here. But I thought I would get a second opinion. Thanks man!

robrecht

Notre Dame!

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

I had actually searched for mine all over the internet for about 5 months before finding the one I wanted. Rx-8s are very rare in Wyoming (I think I usually only see one about every 4 months). Eventually found my Shinka in Los Angeles with 36k miles for $9,000 on Ebay. I flew out there and the guy selling picked me up from the airport then I piddled in Los Angeles rush hour trying to get used to the gearbox with the stop and go.
Eventually I made it out of LA and headed to Las Vegas and of course I had a make a pit stop . After Vegas I head to Western Colorado and had an insane amount of fun on the mountain roads. Then eventually I made it back to Wyoming and bought my first mod as soon as I got home lol.

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

And I'm making payments to answer the other part of the question.

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Hey, thanks for the reply. That experience actually helped for what I am looking for too. That helped a lot as far as knowing how it would work for when the time comes. I can only imagine how rare them 8's are in a place like WY. Glad to see that you got yourself that car. Is that yours in your post? If so looks badass. Not bad for 9k lol.

Silver6

9k for a 36k mile shinka? That is a really good deal. Seems like CA has a lot of good deals. I always find cars out there that I want but am never willing todrive to get it. I only had to drive 3 hours for mine. Be careful getting ones out of warranty. Check for the compression for sure then. Good luck finding one. A lot of people complain about 04's but I have one and never had an issue with it. Good luck finding one. I would say you are looking at finding one in good shape around 8 thousand. Prob a little less.Just to give you a realistic comparison I got an 04 with 60,000 miles for 9 grand. And that was a good deal. I think Gitfiddle traded his soul or something to get that deal.

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

Haha, I just was really patient. Waiting for 5 months constantly checking ebay and whatnot paid off.

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Hahaha I hear ya man. It is so hard to wait. I pretty much told myself that I would wait until I get back home to wheel and deal. Here in TX it's much harder bc there are not as many places other than Houston that I am near. That alone with no transportation in the first place is hard lol. There in Indiana at least I have Chicago, Indy, Cincinnati, Ft. Wayne, etc.. But man o man a Shinka would be nice. Yes Silver, you are almost right, I am looking to get one 7k cash or maybe a little bit more. I would like to get one with less than 100k miles. I think I can. But ya, I have been checkin on here a lot. This seems to be the best place as far as realism is concerned to getting a RX-8. Damn dealerships are always boosting the price way above normal. I also want a pure stock RX-8 (no mods). I know it would be better that way. Keep up with the good info guys you def have helped me out mentally at trying to proceed in finding myself a RX-8. Hopefully will not be long and I will be in one .

Best Regards

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Also, if you all could be totally honest with me as I know I will probably get some biased answers on here but I would like to get some opinions on some car comparisons on another car that I have been looking at getting as well. But an RX-8 is def my number one pick of these 2. I have been looking into getting an Acura RSX Type S. Would you still pick your RX-8 over them cars from what you have heard or seen? I know some of you might be like "well ofc the RX-8 lol" but I know some of you might have not even driven one let alone really compare the 2. Just a thought. Give me some words of wisdom if you can Thanks all for your help and considerable hospitality.

Silver6

One of my good friends had an rsx type s. All around it is a good car. It is definitely more reliable. However the handling isn't very good at all. The biggest reason I would never choose a type s over my rx8 is the rwd vs fwd. After I've gone to rwd I can never switch back and be happy with my car. It just depends on what you are looking for. An rx8 with almost 100k you are prob going to have to work on it occassionally and you will get to know your car a lot better. If you want a car you never want to pop the hood on then i would say get the type s. The rx8 is more of a drivers car though and i think you would enjoy driving it so much more. However you should test drive both and see what you think

Silver6

Btw i have actually driven his type s lol.

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Ya I hear ya man lol. Being under the hood at the car is no problem for me. I just wanted a nice sounding and smoothing running machine. I guess all in all, I hear the RX8 is a nice car even though you have to do routine maintenance. But the RSX Type S is a car that runs damn good. But ya, they were both comparable and wanted to ask. I appreciate your response. It was very helpful. Although I am really hoping to get under the 100k mark on the car. As soon as I get back in 2 weeks I am going to go car searching big time.

I also have another question. I was actually going through some links for the RX8 and saw that sometimes the 04 can flood. Is this really a problem in the RX8 community at all? I mean I have no problem wrenching on the car, but would hate to have to keep replacing the engine even though it would still be under that 100k mile warrenty. What do you think? Do any of you (including Silver6) have this problem? Could you tell me anything as far as maybe a daily, weekly, monthly basis problem that you might be having on your car? Is anything an over hassle? I am not talking about oil or gas or anything but maybe problems that bother you. I just want to see the REAL perspective of having the vehicle before I actually purchase. Thanks guy for all your time.

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

I personally have only flooded my car once, and that was because I was trying to start it on a very cold morning (like 20 below) and the engine was turning over slowly because of the cold. I was eventually able to deflood it with the deflooding steps and while charging my battery -.-.

Flooding is actually pretty rare, most of the 2004s have already been equipped with the upgraded starter which all but eliminated flooding issues. You should be able to check the part number of the starter on a RX8 that you're looking to buy to see if it's had the starter put on. However, even if it has an upgraded starter, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure as they say.

Theres just a few simple rules for rx8s, they sound like a pain if you dont own one but after a week of doing it then its no big deal.

If you are needing to move your car from say.. one side of the driveway to the other, then try not to shut it off cold. Either take it for a drive around the block or go inside the house for 5 or 10 minutes and leave the car running, then go outside and shut it off. I believe that I've heard somewhere that the injectors actually inject more fuel during the warm up stages but I've never actually looked 100% into it.

If you get one, look into a BHR ignition system... they're $500 new or around $300 or so used. They'll make your engine healthier and make better use of the fuel you're burning. Chances are if you get a used Rx8 you'll be wanting to do a spark plug change anyways, and the BHR system is a better choice and comes with everything you need.

Then just some general rules to help keep the engine healthy..

Most people when turning off the engine like to rev it up to around 4k rpm then cut the engine - this also helps with preventing floods.

Then theres a saying in the rotary community - A redline a day keeps the carbon away. Once a day when you're driving, try to redline the car while pushing the gas pedal all the way down to the floor (and of course making sure the engine is warm before you do it). This might require a small change in your usual driving route if all you have is 30 mph speed limits since 1st gear in the rx8 redlines at 45 mph, unless you don't mind speeding a little.
This will help with carbon prevention which is the main culprit that kills rotary engines. Rotaries dont like to be babied, they like to be driven.. hard.

But like I said, it sounds like a pain but after a few days of doing it they all become habit.

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Hey man, thanks for the reply. That was rather helpful. Normally, I know with just about any car letting the car warm up is ideal. But I can totally see why the RX8 would definitely be the biggest culprit of having this accomplished because the oil has to circulate throughout the entire engine. As to the part of whether the car uses more gas when it is started, it DOES use more gas because that is the toughest time for a car to run especially in the winter. Or at least I am told. I would not see why not.

But as to all the stated problems above. Eh, the might be a slight pain in the ***, but not bad at all. Especially considering every car should be let to warm up or cracking the engine is going to be on the way. As to decarbonizing the engine, we all have to admit redlining the car is almost impossible because we sooo want to lol. But that is not bad at all. I know once I get this car, I will definitely want to take it on drives to enjoy having it.

On that note, I also heard that during the winter the oil can turn a milky color, but assured me to not be alarmed; that it was totally normal. With that being said, do you guys buy your oil straight from Mazda or get oil from stores? The only 8 owner that I have talked to said he gets his straight from Mazda. Is that the better route to go?

I apologize for all the questions fellas. I am just excited to go out and get one. And do not mind talking about the 8's as they are an interesting and unique type of car to have. Thanks for your time once again.

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

Yes that about the oil is correct. Also every Winter I get foam in the oil which is slightly annoying because is makes getting an accurate measure of my oil level next to impossible. I do know that there's a kit out there somewhere which remedies the problem.

Also there is a thread with like 6 million pages of oil discussion you can read to decide what kind you want to use. The Mazda book recommends 5w20 but I personally use 10w40 castrol GTX. All I can say is don't start a new thread asking about oil, that's a one way ticket straight to flaming on these forums .

Silver6

Gitfiddle basically said it all. I have an 04 and only flooded it once but that was because I did some maintenance on it causing it to flood. Just make sure you have all the pcm flashes and upgraded starter. And yes it does run rich when the engine is cold. And you never want to floor it when the engine is cold. With how our engines are designed they are very temperature specific and if you redline while cold it could crack a housing or break a coolant seal. As for the oil I always get mine done at a shop because it is easier to keep records of it that way. If you do your own I think any trusted brand will be just fine. As for weight everyone has their two cents about it. You can either jump into the massive oil thread and find your own opinion on it or just use the Mazda recommended weight. If I recall correctly the milky substance will not appear as long as you run it hard. I have never had that issue but I know the guy that owned it before me did. Keep lokking for that perfect 8 though. You will love it when you have it. GL with your search

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Hello All,

After reviewing your responses, I just wanted to say thank you for your time and help in trying to understand the mechanics and nature of the RX-8. It has been rather invigorating and I hope to cherish come this late summer a new RX-8. If you would like I could keep you posted and perhaps we could get together sometime. (Keep my fingers crossed lol)

As to an inquiry with Silver6: I noticed you were from Ft Wayne and was wondering from what part? I lived in Ft Wayne and then moved to Decatur, IN (20 mi. South of Ft Wayne). I went to Franke Park Elementary and Holland Elementary. Then moved on up to Northwood Middle School. If I had stayed in Ft Wayne I would have probably went to Northrop. Sorry for the life story lol, I thought I would name drop as it seems like it is a small world between you and me. You live in Hillenbrand? That is pretty cool, I lived in Wiley my freshman year and now live right behind the Neon Cactus in SugarHill Apt's. Anyway man hit me up sometime if you would like. I will keep you posted.

Anyways, once again thanks for all of your help.

Respectfully

Silver6

Yea keep us posted on this thread. And i went to glenwood park elementary. Then blackhawk Christian for the rest. Yea I was an ra in hillenbrand last year but this year I couldn't continue since I only have one semester left. So I'm living in hilltop this year. There are several of us at purdue this year though. We should all get together sometime

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Indeed man! I will let you know.

I know exactly where you went to school. I knew the Blackhawk Christian school pretty well. I think we even played you guys in baseball. Good stuff. But ya, I hope to see all of you, and we def should get together. Have a good one man.

Silver6

Nice. I played baseball my freshman year. State champions lol

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

Well I'm finally in Lafayette. I Spotted a Gray rx8 this morning on Kodiak at about 8am, then somebody has an 8 for sale on the side of the road with pinstripes. Thats the most other rx8s ive seen in the past 3 months.

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Whats up!! I actually got back myself into Lafayette on Friday. As soon as I have been here, I have been looking out the *** for one haha. You say you saw one on Kodiak? Where's that at? I am going car shopping today too. Just have to get motivated. Nice hearing from you.

I hope to keep in touch.

Gitfiddle

iTrader: (1)

Yessum there's one on Kodiak just south of Sagamore, it looks a little molested tho. Its white with 2 red pinstripes, rims, and It looked like it was dropped some. Price was $13,000.

So today I look up on google if there's any white castles in town.. google points me to one white castle by the mall. So I drive there and see a orange and yellow painted building in the shape of white castle called the breakfast nook . That's like the entire reason why I came to college in the east. Time to drop out and find a college town with a white castle

..::FueL::..

iTrader: (1)

Haha. Thx man. I never even saw that one. But ya, I know there are some white castles. Just not near here. I know there is some over in Greenfield, IN by Indy. And I know they are scattered throughout lol. If in doubt , I know the store has some stuff from White Castle .
Btw, I saw a badass blue one parked at the Speedway on 26. I had to wonder if that was you GitFiddle lol. It pissed me off, because it was like putting chocolate in front of a fat kid. I seem to find many that other people own but none of the dealers have them lol. The only one that I have seen in the area is this 2009 RX-8 that has like 3,000 miles on it and they are asking $28,000 for it. Right now, I am just trying to stick with craigslist until I can find one around here lol. I have a buddy looking in the Ft Wayne area for me too since I am from there.
Hope all is well with you guys. I will keep ya updated. GitFiddle I hope that you find your White Castle craving soon haha.