New RX-8 owner long time rotard
11-22-2016, 02:30 PM
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New RX-8 owner long time rotard
My wife and I just recently traded in her DD Chevy Cruze for a Chevy SS ( don't worry if you don't know what a Chevy SS is, no one does ). The SS has to hibernate for the winter. So I went on the search for a winter beater.
What I wound up finding was a 60K mile sweety of an RX-8 that had been a little mistreated. The owner thought the engine was blown and had consequently messed up the battery wiring trying to fix it I guess. Long story short, I corrected the battery wiring de-flooded it and it runs like a gem. I never saw myself buying an RX-8 to be honest but it is growing on me and I like that it is something my wife and daughter can enjoy with me as well.
There are a few pesky problems that need to be fixed. The first and worst problem is the clutch slips like Mario Kart running over a banana peel! It's just plain wore out (someone probably rode the clutch) and needs replaced. Straight forward enough.
The second worse problem is that the EPS does not work, seems like this one could have me chasing my tail for a while based on what I have read so far. I have tried once to clean the intermediate harness to no avail. I will try again and see what happens, I may resolder the pins too.
The only other 2 "mechanical" problems is the SRS light is on and the key fob doesn't work. Hopefully these will be simple to fix.
The rest is cosmetic, a couple broken/missing trim pieces and some badly plasti-dipped wheels that need to be cleaned up.
On a side note, I have a couple TIIs. After I popped the 13BTs in those, one car got the 20B treatment and the other got the LS1 treatment. I also have an FC chump race car. So I am no stranger to Mazdas or rotaries.
What I wound up finding was a 60K mile sweety of an RX-8 that had been a little mistreated. The owner thought the engine was blown and had consequently messed up the battery wiring trying to fix it I guess. Long story short, I corrected the battery wiring de-flooded it and it runs like a gem. I never saw myself buying an RX-8 to be honest but it is growing on me and I like that it is something my wife and daughter can enjoy with me as well.
There are a few pesky problems that need to be fixed. The first and worst problem is the clutch slips like Mario Kart running over a banana peel! It's just plain wore out (someone probably rode the clutch) and needs replaced. Straight forward enough.
The second worse problem is that the EPS does not work, seems like this one could have me chasing my tail for a while based on what I have read so far. I have tried once to clean the intermediate harness to no avail. I will try again and see what happens, I may resolder the pins too.
The only other 2 "mechanical" problems is the SRS light is on and the key fob doesn't work. Hopefully these will be simple to fix.
The rest is cosmetic, a couple broken/missing trim pieces and some badly plasti-dipped wheels that need to be cleaned up.
On a side note, I have a couple TIIs. After I popped the 13BTs in those, one car got the 20B treatment and the other got the LS1 treatment. I also have an FC chump race car. So I am no stranger to Mazdas or rotaries.
11-22-2016, 04:54 PM
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****, for a second I thought you bought the red one from a guy who was trying to sell his with a blown engine for dirt cheap, but his was an auto. Welcome into the 8 fold. It's a ton of fun in stock, really no need to mess with it. 8's come with a few slightly different challenges, I know you're no stranger to rotaries but RX8's can be a little... finnicky to put it nicely. I'd go for new coils if it's running OEM ones, uprated through BHR, SBG, etc. Really, that and I'm guessing you have a compression tester so I'm assuming it tested healthily. Beyond that, welcome to the fold. These cars are a blasty blast, and very easy to drive fast.
11-22-2016, 07:07 PM
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Thanks for the welcome. The CAN communication setup is definitely different. At the moment it is starting and running fine, we'll see how it goes it could get an upgraded coil set and starter.
I do have a compression tester. I wasn't able to use it before I bought it since it wouldn't crank. It seems to run fine so ignorance is bliss at the moment.
I do have a compression tester. I wasn't able to use it before I bought it since it wouldn't crank. It seems to run fine so ignorance is bliss at the moment.
11-28-2016, 03:31 PM
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