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Hello everyone, I searched for this question prior to asking since I’m aware of how forums generally operate and I am seriously considering the purchase of an 09-12 RX8. With that being said I am set on an Auto Transmission for personal reasons r/t commute, driving habits, family, etc... With that being said I eliminated the 04’-08’ model years as researching this topic has suggested they had the worse S1 type transmissions. I could be totally wrong but my question is which model/trim offers the most reliable Automatic transmission for the RX8? I don’t necessarily care about HP as I prefer these cars for the handling and overall fun factor and have already experienced high HP cars. So which year and trim would be the best version of an RX8 if that makes sense? Thank you!
The R3 is the best version of the series II RX8, however I do not know if they made autos for that trim. I would highly suggest not getting an automatic, but its ultimately your choice.
For a daily driver I think GT/Grand Touring would be better, but that's me. R3 is manual trans only.
And yeah, manual trans is highly recommended for a full experience. What is the driving habit you are speaking of?
Automatic transmission for S2 is identical regardless of trims. I believe later S1 (06-08) 6-port automatics have the same gear ratios so they could be the same.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; May 17, 2020 at 12:11 AM.
Awesome replies from you guys I’m excited to really learn as much about rotary engines as possible and get into the Mazda culture as a whole. As far as driving habits I’ve had many 5 speed civics/tiburons and driven GTI’s and personally it gets tiresome living in south FL with the heavy traffic in my area and my daily commute to school is about 30 min highway with heavy traffic and stop n go is just the worst having to constantly press the clutch and go from N to 1st repeatedly. I know theirs a lot of “methods” to make it less annoying but ultimately coming from my last car a challenger I just feel an auto makes my life easier and I still get pleasure in driving the car since I don’t track/drag my vehicles. I get my adrenaline out through GoKarting for that in all honesty. I really just enjoy the mechanical side of maintaining and working on vehicles and the auto trans would just be more appropriate for my personal driving habits. So from what you guys have posted so far the trims don’t really make in a difference in regard to the automatic transmission’s gearing, it’s more the model year. Between 09 -12 is their a particular GT trim that was best known for reliability overall? Thank you for the advice.
Awesome replies from you guys I’m excited to really learn as much about rotary engines as possible and get into the Mazda culture as a whole. As far as driving habits I’ve had many 5 speed civics/tiburons and driven GTI’s and personally it gets tiresome living in south FL with the heavy traffic in my area and my daily commute to school is about 30 min highway with heavy traffic and stop n go is just the worst having to constantly press the clutch and go from N to 1st repeatedly. I know theirs a lot of “methods” to make it less annoying but ultimately coming from my last car a challenger I just feel an auto makes my life easier and I still get pleasure in driving the car since I don’t track/drag my vehicles. I get my adrenaline out through GoKarting for that in all honesty. I really just enjoy the mechanical side of maintaining and working on vehicles and the auto trans would just be more appropriate for my personal driving habits. So from what you guys have posted so far the trims don’t really make in a difference in regard to the automatic transmission’s gearing, it’s more the model year. Between 09 -12 is their a particular GT trim that was best known for reliability overall? Thank you for the advice.
I don't really think RX-8 is a good car for this kind of daily driving. You gotta rev it out once in a while. Sitting in traffic can speed up carbon buildup and RX-8 is a much more lively car at higher revs.
GT is the trim, there is no more submodels below that. IIRC the only option is the rather useless navigation. This isn't a Chevy where there are millions of trims and just as many options and packages. Japanese car trims are usually pretty simple with minimal options for each trim, they are very streamlined for mass production.
Powertrain-wise, Series 2 RX-8 are identical for a given transmission.
09 Series 2 has 4 trims, at least in the US(Sport, Touring, Grand Touring, R3), while the latter years got rid of Touring. Sport is entry level, Grand Touring adds luxuries and R3 enhances handling further.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; May 17, 2020 at 11:19 AM.
Agree with jinx, I wouldn't go with an RX8 for the purpose you are describing. The autos suck, the gas mileage sucks, the reliability is sub-par. The RX8 should be a fun vehicle, and one that's driven for driving experience. This is coming from someone who daily drove one for 8 years. I wouldn't do it again. I'd get a cheap DD and keep the RX8 for weekends and fun driving.
The rear end of my unibody has an inward bend at the bottom latch for the trunk about 3 inches. I can't seem to find a unibody diagram for my '04 rx8 anywhere to know the structural integrity because a couple methods ran through my head for a DIY fix, and curious to know what others think can be done to pull it straight and pass a safety?
