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Just over a week and a half ago I bought this beautiful RX8 R3 From Chris Stavropulos, He's kept the car in immaculate condition inside and out. I intend to keep it this way, and coming spring (or the soonest thaw / warm-up) I'll be hand washing the exterior, and polishing it by hand. As a 19 year old guy who's just spent every penny he's ever saved, I do not plan on drifting, launching, (i.e Hooning) the car as I'm still a relatively new driver and knowing my luck, I'll end up wreaking dream car!
Congratulations! That's a lovely R3, a very special one as well. Lots of people sought after the Canadian-exclusive white R3s.
Hopefully, you have read the New Owner sticky, especially if it's your first car(kinda sounds like it). Do all the maintenance if you can. Having a clean car is important, but having it running well is even more important!
Looks like you are missing the battery and engine cover. You can probably find them in a junkyard if you want them. I recall there is a red S2 RX-8 in a junkyard in Ontario last time I was trying to get some parts from wreckers.
As for driving it, don't be too stupid, but don't forget to have fun, either. These cars like being revved hard and hate staying below 2500 RPM. Don't be afraid to rev to 9000 RPM as long as you keep the maintenance up, and they handle corners very well with proper tires.
Congratulations! That's a lovely R3, a very special one as well. Lots of people sought after the Canadian-exclusive white R3s.
Hopefully, you have read the New Owner sticky, especially if it's your first car(kinda sounds like it). Do all the maintenance if you can. Having a clean car is important, but having it running well is even more important!
Looks like you are missing the battery and engine cover. You can probably find them in a junkyard if you want them. I recall there is a red S2 RX-8 in a junkyard in Ontario last time I was trying to get some parts from wreckers.
As for driving it, don't be too stupid, but don't forget to have fun, either. These cars like being revved hard and hate staying below 2500 RPM. Don't be afraid to rev to 9000 RPM as long as you keep the maintenance up, and they handle corners very well with proper tires.
You're close to the mark, but I already have a 2008 Hyundai Sonata as my first, and I actually do have the covers! Although I'm interested in this scrap s2 r3, where is it?
Pack your rear wheel arches with heavy grease. They're susceptible to rust in salty climates. In fact, check it for rust there if it has been winter driven.
Understand you don't want to hoon it, but its recommended to wind the engine out regularly to get cycle all of the upper rpm range intake valves and arguably help self-clean the engine. These don't do well with granny drivers
Read up on regular maintenance and things to watch out for and welcome aboard.
Will wind it out once and awhile, and pack the arches I'll grab you guys some photos. It has been winter driven according to service records (tire changes and climbing kms between oil changes) but nothing seems Rusty. No compression test, but my father whos been a mazda technician for over 20 years checked it over and drove it, ( he's been working on Rx8s since they came out, and knows what a failing motor drives and feels like) He's pretty confident that the motor is strong and healthy.
I'd just get a compression test, just to get a general idea on how healthy this engine is.
Cookstown Auto has a 2010 RX-8 lying around, or at least parts of it.
Oh, and don't forget to premix. Put a bit of good 2-stroke oil in your gas tank every time you fill up. Half ounce per gallon(for us metric folks, that's about 4 mL per litre) is a good concentration. I use Idemitsu Premix, but those are pricey and hard to come across(I have to order them from a shop in Alberta). You can use something else that's available in Canadian Tires or other auto stores.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 02-18-2018 at 01:19 PM.
I'd just get a compression test, just to get a general idea on how healthy this engine is.
Cookstown Auto has a 2010 RX-8 lying around, or at least parts of it.
Oh, and don't forget to premix. Put a bit of good 2-stroke oil in your gas tank every time you fill up. Half ounce per gallon(for us metric folks, that's about 4 mL per litre) is a good concentration. I use Idemitsu Premix, but those are pricey and hard to come across(I have to order them from a shop in Alberta). You can use something else that's available in Canadian Tires or other auto stores.
Err, wouldn't oils in the fuel system clog it up? And burning that much oil sounds like it might be harmful to the catalytic converter... ?
Err, wouldn't oils in the fuel system clog it up? And burning that much oil sounds like it might be harmful to the catalytic converter... ?
The key word is 2-stroke oil. It doesn't contain metals that could poison you catalytic converter, and its made to be dissolved in fuel. Whether or not it any effect or if it's something you want to pursue at all, you can decide after reading the the hundred-page long discussions on the forum.
I use Lucas Semi-Synthetic 2-stroke oil. You're looking for an FC or FD rating.
And obviously the ratio matters. We're talking about 100:1 to 150:!. So a cup per fuel tank.
Regarding a compression test... I'm sure your dad is a good guy, but feeling isn't a replacement for data. It's 2018, so if you have a 2010, this is your last year to get an engine replacement for free if it's below spec. Depends on when the car was first purchased. If you have a 2009 sold in 2010, the warranty would still apply. It could run fine and be below spec, so I don't recommend skipping a proper test.
The key word is 2-stroke oil. It doesn't contain metals that could poison you catalytic converter, and its made to be dissolved in fuel. Whether or not it any effect or if it's something you want to pursue at all, you can decide after reading the the hundred-page long discussions on the forum.
I use Lucas Semi-Synthetic 2-stroke oil. You're looking for an FC or FD rating.
And obviously the ratio matters. We're talking about 100:1 to 150:!. So a cup per fuel tank.
Ahh, that makes more sense. Mind you this motor is original @147,000 kms (91,000 ish miles) I believe that the tertiary oil injector Mazda added to the series 2 has fixed some problems, and that premixing may be a bit much to do considering that the car wont hit the road till March or April, I wouldn't want the oil sitting in there too long. (Mind you i do start it up 2-3 times a week right now, warm it up, thaw it out ect.
Ahh, that makes more sense. Mind you this motor is original @147,000 kms (91,000 ish miles) I believe that the tertiary oil injector Mazda added to the series 2 has fixed some problems, and that premixing may be a bit much to do considering that the car wont hit the road till March or April, I wouldn't want the oil sitting in there too long. (Mind you i do start it up 2-3 times a week right now, warm it up, thaw it out ect.
Yeah premix when you drive it. I don't recommend warming it up and thawing it out like that. That means you're running the engine cold and rich for nothing. Just let it sit in deep freeze until spring. It's metal, it won't die.
The oil injector thing is a good improvement, but it still doesn't address the side seals, which is where the Renesis tends to lose compression. And an improvement doesn't imply immunity. That's why premix and compression test.
Good 2-stroke oils shouldn't leave much behind as they burn and they don't harm the cat.
As for ratio, 4~5 mL of premix per litre of fuel is what you should aim for. 1:100 premix/fuel ratio is actually a bit high. If I am going to AutoX this summer, that's the ratio I would aim for, but for daily driving, 1:200 or 1:250 is good.
At 90k miles, I'd definitely get the compression checked. My car only had 69k km when I bought it, and it also drove fine. I still got a compression test as it's the most objective data you can get to tell you how healthy the engine is.
How old is the fuel? If it will be sitting for more than a month, I would add a bit of fuel stabilizer.
Also got me some top up oil.
Fuel is only half-ish old, we had to drive it about 260 kms, and i'll have to give it a quarter tank of hi-tes from the thaws I've done to remove stuck-on salted snow & ice. Chris had put some stabilizer in it already, although it'll be only a month and a half to two months before it goes on the road as my summer car.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. The inside of the wheel arch is where problems start. You've got a spot of rust in the middle picture that you want to investigate before it spreads. Also the pocket formed by the plastic skirt at the bottom of the arch is where problems can start. It won't soread while in deep freeze, but once it warms up, check and remedy all that. I'm dealing with the results of letting it go too far myself right now :/
I'll check it when get home, service records say it's been rust proofed since day one, and the previous owner Chris didn't drive it during the winter. So I'll order a touch-up pen and paint from mazda for the odd spots.
02-13-2018, 01:16 PM
