I've been lurking here for quite a while and will be looking to purchase an RX8 hopefully sometime this year. I had two FC RX7's as DD's and currently own a project FD RX7. My question is this, is the Series II worth the extra money at this point versus buying a Series I and modifying it. I only plan to modify the suspension, brakes, etc...The car will be a semi-daily driver, autocross, track day vehicle. I really like the R3 and by next year it should be in my price range. Are the Series II RX8's that much better overall than the Series I and therefore worth the extra money?

 

If you have to get a loan, then the Series 2 is the better option. The only way a series 1 is a better option (in my opinion), is if you have to pay cash for it. Even the shortest loan terms will last longer than the Series 1 engine warranty at this point.

 

For the series II, the warranties last until at least 2017 provided the mileage limit of 100k miles has not been exceeded, correct ?

 

Also, did the 2008 RX8's receive the engine modifications or chassis updates that the Series II received and reliability wise would this be similar to purchasing an S2 ?

 

8yrs 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, from date of first purchase. This can vary CONSIDERABLY from car to car, especially for series2 cars. Plenty sat on dealer lots for a long time.

My 2005 wasn't first sold until Sept of 2006, pushing back the date quite a bit, as an example.

All 2004-2008s are essentially the same. There are only a very few minor updates that 2008s have that 2004s don't, and where they showed up changes. Like the crankcase ventilation hose routing changed in 2006, the starter changed in 2005, the tail lights changed in 2005, the keys changed in 2005 and 2006, the radio changed almost every year, etc...

For 2009, they changed quite a bit about the car. They seem essentially the same, but a few people that have dug into each have found a ton of tiny changes. The main chassis change was a suspension geometry change, and the main engine change was the addition of a 3rd oil injector, which required ECU changes, a different OMP, different lines, different housings, etc...

None of the S2 specific changes existed for 2008.

 

I didn't know the warranty is valid from the sell date not the model year. I read somewhere on this forum that the 2008 40th anniversary RX8 had some of the updates that the Series II got but at this point, it seems the S2 is what i should be aiming for. Thanks for the response.

 

Yup, this is true of every car manufacturer out there, any lots of non-car manufacturers too.

 

I might be wrong now, but the ECU mod space on a S2 is kind of empty. Not sure if there is an easy tune path. I have an 04, 126,000 miles, 90K or so on the engine. The tune made the most difference of all my mods.

 

The S2 is tunable now, through MazdaEdit (which will also work with S1s). You have to have a laptop for MazdaEdit, and you don't get a piece of hardware to mount in the car to monitor things, but the lack of that hardware does make MazdaEdit quite a bit cheaper than an AP ($250 for personal vs $500)

 

You also need the tactrix cable that sells for 170. Even with the cable its a better price then a new accessport

 

Is the MazdaEdit ECU just as good as the Cobb accessport for the S1's. I know the MazdaEdit is pretty new, but what kind of tuning ability does it have in comparison. 04Green, I am also located in Central Florida