So I've been looking into buying an RX8 and got the compression test back from the people I'm buying from

#1 = 6.7/7.1/6.9
#2 = 7.1/6.9/7.0

I've read in some places that anything 6.9 and below is basically already terrible, but when I drove the car it hot started fine 3 times and drove fine. Is the car doomed? I've heard so many varying things I was hoping someone here could just give me a straight answer.

Edit: I normalized the psi using http://foxed.ca/index.php?page=rotarycalc and got these updated results(rounded down)

#1 = 7.1/7.7/7.6
#2 = 7.5/7.3/7.3

 

It's low. Borderline failing. You could attempt some decarbing, better coils and plugs, and a starter from an S2 so it spins faster on start up. Decarbing might help getting some of the gunk between the apex seals and off the rotor faces. Ultimately the car will need a rebuilt engine. They all do.

 

Yeah, I knew it would need a rebuild at some point, I was just hoping the numbers would be higher, this probably varies wildly based on the exact condition of the engine and how well its taken care of from this point forward, but is there a rough estimate on how long the engine will last? Are we talking a few months or a few weeks?

 

No clue. Really. You can search for it, there are people who've driven low compression engines another 30k+ miles and then there's those where it ***** the bed the next week. Unless it's a Daily Driver, enjoy it as is if you've already purchased it and just treat it like a classic british car - it'll stop when it wants to, but once it's rebuilt it'll be reliable again.

 

The bigger issue is that who wants to drive a sports car with 130WHP?

 

Yeeeeahhh. That might be the more pressing issue, if I'm honest.