Tweeked86

And so I shall!

Hi my name is Dan and I live in Burnaby BC. Canada.

I work as a mechanic, and after having done a custom alignment on a customers 2011 rx8 and taking it for a rip around the block I just had to have one! So 6 months later I did, after reading on here the pros, cons, and what to expect.
I just purchased an 05 GT fully loaded, Ugly nav and all. It's sitting at 110,000km with the black/brown leather interior.

I've never owned a rotary before, having driven mostly VW, Audi and dabbling in honda for a bit, So Oil consumption is normal to me I just can't get over the sound and feel of this thing revving out.

The car I purchased is stock other than some horrible 20" staggered chrome rims (which are coming off tomorrow I swear!) and what looks like a horizontal chrome grill, which appears is just screwed into the stock honey comb one.

My immediate plans are sparkplugs, coil packs and wires and an oil change as it takes a second or two for the car to catch when cranking. And of course, wheels.
After that I intend to do the 2cycle oil injection mod which I plan on reading up on more and seeing where I can purchase one, as well as getting an aux input into the 6 cd changer stereo.

The car will be my weekend fun car as I live quite close to work and can simply ride or walk most days, and I plan on doing some autocross as many of my customers and friends keep trying to get me into the local club.

That's about all from me, and the only picture I have of the car at the moment. Been too busy driving it to give it a proper wash and take a good picture.

Stephen T

You sound far too sensible, good on you!! Enjoy your toy.

ken-x8

Welcome! Doesn't take long to get addicted, does it. When I had my test drive, I was not done with the list of cars I wanted to see...but I knocked them off the list without a look.

That second or two to catch may not be a problem. When you crank, there's a slight delay before the injectors start to squirt. It was pretty noticable after I got one of the flash updates on mine. But it's still a good idea to freshen the ignition. Especially after rescuing it from someone who thought those wheels were a good idea.

Nice color.

Ken

Tweeked86

In total it takes about 5 seconds for the car to start. I'm just not sure what's normal, watched a couple of youtube videos and it doesn't seem too far off. It's just reading that every 60,000 miles is a good idea and the car sitting at the km's it is at is pretty close to that if my Mechanic math is right. lol

I am planning on stopping by the mazda dealer and getting a vin check for service history and see if the ecu flash has been done, and then maybe getting a compression check to ease my mind, or start saving..

I've been around a lot of forums Stephen and I can appreciate the community you guys have built here, I'm 27, had my fair share of cars to play with and do it as my career and as a hobby.

I'll take that compliment, Just hope I can keep up with that first impression.

I am also very happy with the colour!

monchie

Welcome!

kops

iTrader: (1)

The sound is something else. You really appreciate it the more you drive it....and the more you drive in other peoples' cars. I'm still not over it :p

Rx8 Dave

Leave it to a Canadian to be well mannered on introduce yourself! Welcome! [I'm a Southerner (USA) and we have good manners, too]. Have fun with an unusual car. Saw a article in a auto magazine, and the Rx8 was listed as one of the five cars folks wished was still produced. With its quirks, I love the car and rationalize that it will eventually increase in price as a collectors' item. Best Dave

rotarydude92

nice going man enjoy your 8

Tweeked86

Thanks for the welcome guys!

I didn't end up getting the wheels off yesterday as I had to arrange to sell my old crx, but I have a set of loaner factory rx8 wheels to use while I sell the 20's and find my own set of factory, or other fat 5 wheels.

An idea of the chrome grill I was talking about. I'm hoping that it hasn't damaged the stock grill, and I'll have to purchase a new plate mount as unfortunately I'm required to run front license plates in BC. (the oil spots are from my old crx, haven't had a chance to put the rx8 on a hoist yet to see if that's leaking anything) The rear looks sagged out as there is some stuff in the truck, ie the only wheel I can fit back there lol

And yes it does get a little cold in Vancouver :P

G_ man

iTrader: (2)

Nice and welcome to the club, I'm in Ontario and it's -25c right now(friggin freezin)

Tweeked86

And here I am complaining about -2! that's in the morning, then it warms up to a chilly +8c

G_ man

iTrader: (2)

You live in part of our country I've yet to see and would love to visit.

But I think I'll wait until it gets a little warmer.

Tweeked86

I spent a few hours at the shop after work today to get some stuff done to the rx8. Oil change, Transmission and diff service with redline fluid, spark plugs, and removed the chrome grill and got the tires switched around. The 20's are at least double the weight of oem.

Unfortunately nothing really helped any of the issues that I am having with the car. Still have a 4th gear grind and it's not starting like it should. after seeing the plugs though I'm definitely going to be replacing the coils and wires. The car feels fantastic now over 4500 rpm, but I'm noticing a stutter at about 4000-4500. I'm just waiting until I can get it in for a compression test at the dealer next week so that I can decide if I want to go full pull for bhr coilpacks or just go oem if I'll be buying a new engine in the near future..

I can't believe how expensive the plugs were, almost 40.00cad each my cost! They sure are a fancy looking things though aren't they.

ken-x8

Should have warned you about the cost of plugs. They're $16 to $20 US apiece from Amazon, Rock Auto, Autozone, etc. Three times that from a Mazda dealer. Look like you found a place in between.

Yes, they're unique and fancy, but artistic impression tends to be overpriced.

Ken

Tweeked86

Much better!


These wheels are just loaners for now. Have to sell the 20's and buy something from myself. Either the stock wheels, or maybe series II wheels.

Anyone want a chrome grill and 20" wheels?

G_ man

iTrader: (2)

Much better

park68k

Stock wheel looks best

Tweeked86

So I just got my car back from the dealer, and I really should have followed my own advice before I bought this car and had it done before hand. The compression test is a fail, just barely, but still a fail. Numbers are as follows:

Rotor 1: 6, 6.1, 6 @250rpm
Rotor 2: 6.8, 6.7, 6.8 @250rpm

The sheet states 6.9 as the minimum and that correlates with the fancy sheet I saw kicking around on the site here that someone made up.

They suggested I decarb the engine and throw some new coils in it as they still are original to try and help my hotstart before I condemn the engine. It's never not started, it just takes longer than I'd like. The numbers don't seem too far out that it may actually be possible to bring some compression back with a good engine cleaning. But that's probably me being hopeful.

I picked up a can of mazdazoom cleaner and will try it out this weekend. I'll report back with any differences in starting times. I will also have new coils and wires on the way shortly.

gwilliams6

For the money get the BHR coils and wires. They outperform the oems and will last the life of the car. So (heaven forbid) you need a reman engine you will still need coils and wires. BHR are the best aftermarket ones for your RX8. If you do go the oem route, be sure you get the latest "C" coils, they are better than the originals.

Tweeked86

I seriously considered the bhr coils, but they priced out to be about $300.00 more expensive. These coils lasted 100,000kms and if I can get half of that out of another set It will probably last longer than I will have the car. I understand the price, but at this point in time I can't quite justify it.

gwilliams6

Yes your costs for RX8 parts in Canada are certainly more than in the US. Get the best quality you can afford. Though I am not sure which brand coils you mean "lasted 100,000km" .

Tweeked86

The oem coils that are currently in the car are still original. Of course they probably stopped working at their peak a long time ago. I will probably only put about 10,000 km's a year on this car.

gwilliams6

The oem coils are only good for 30,000 miles. Along with the plugs and wires they all need to be changed together. Running with those worn out coils ,wires and plugs would easily have contributed to your engine's demise. Rotary engine internals are extremely sensitive to poor ignition.

Tweeked86

You are probably right. Unfortunately I didn't purchase the car until it already had 110,000km on it. Coils and wires are in the mail and I replaced the plugs the second day I had it. Will be doing the mazdazoom clean tomorrow.

I wish I would have saved myself the trouble and had this car compression tested to begin with but the rest of the car was in such nice shape that I ended up impulse buying it.

gwilliams6

I know RX8s are easy to fall in love with right away. You will find many 2004 and 2005 RX8s for sale now as their 8yr/100,000 mile engine warranty has expired. Without a compression test and knowledge of how they were maintained , all these engines would be suspect. The heart of any RX8 is that motor and without a "good beating heart" you can be in for expensive repairs or replacement. You aren't the first one who bought an RX8 without doing a compression test first, and you won't be the last. You did the right thing in joining this forum and coming here. Let's hope a decarb will bring you back some compression. Believe it or not ,even though you replaced the plugs the second day you got it, the poor coils and wires and possible bad seals allowing blow-through of unburned gas and injected oil may have fouled the new plugs already if you are driving on them now. You will certainly need to at least clean them properly or even replace them once you have installed the new coils and wires.

Don't beat yourself up to much over this. We are all here to help you move on and try to make the most of your situation and your car.