What to look for when buying an 8
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What to look for when buying an 8
I'm an enthusiastic, inexperienced, 19 year old kid who wants a cool car to show off to his friends. And I'm generally really interested and passionate about rotaries. There are a couple of 8s spread across where I live. It's Serbia so they're not that common. So what should I pay attention to when buying one. Keep in mind that there are not a lot of mechanics here that have experience with wankels.
Sorry if I missed the section, I'm new to the site, and thank you.
Sorry if I missed the section, I'm new to the site, and thank you.
Read this thread I'm linking.
A rotary specific compression test is a must.
You really shouldn't buy one without it if rotary specialists are scarce.
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/
A rotary specific compression test is a must.
You really shouldn't buy one without it if rotary specialists are scarce.
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/
REW Club
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 254
Likes: 31
From: Belton, TX
You’re definitely on the right track. When i was 19 i still wanted to modify a camry to make it fast..
Definitely compression test, look for rust and feel out the transmission. Shift through all the gears.
Definitely compression test, look for rust and feel out the transmission. Shift through all the gears.
Smoking turbo yay
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,119
Likes: 674
From: BC, Canada
I'm an enthusiastic, inexperienced, 19 year old kid who wants a cool car to show off to his friends. And I'm generally really interested and passionate about rotaries. There are a couple of 8s spread across where I live. It's Serbia so they're not that common. So what should I pay attention to when buying one. Keep in mind that there are not a lot of mechanics here that have experience with wankels.
Sorry if I missed the section, I'm new to the site, and thank you.
Sorry if I missed the section, I'm new to the site, and thank you.
If you can't do your own maintenance or minor repairs, this car can quite easily bankrupt you since most mechanics won't know what the heck they are doing when it comes to the engine. Don't be fooled by the cheap asking price of the car. That's not to mention the gas mileage. If you have a buddy with a Mustang GT, you can probably get a good idea about the gas mileage and cost.
If you are going ahead, I am going to repeat that a rotary-specific compression test is crucial. It has to have 3 compression numbers and a starting RPM for each rotor to be meaningful, as rotary compression varies with starting RPM, whereas this is not the case for piston engines.
Otherwise, rx8help.com has some good ideas. Some of the advice can be a little out of date, but it still generally has some good starting points. You can always ask here if you are not sure.
Mid-size Sedans with the high-end engine option(V6 Camry, V6/2.0T Accord, V6/2.5T 6) can easily curb stomp an 8 in straight line. That's not to mention the parts, mods and tunes are all cheaper than an 8 due to bigger economy of the scales(there are way more Accords/Camrys out there than the ever-dwindling number of 8s). RX-8 is also very close to its limit when it comes to engine power optimization from the factory, while these family Sedans have way more room for improvement due to their more conservative designs.
Short of slapping a turbo on an 8 or doing otherwise major mods to the engine, there isn't much room to make an 8 faster in a straight line.
REW Club
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 254
Likes: 31
From: Belton, TX
IMO you should buy something more mundane before you dive into an 8, just to get some hands-on experience wrenching on something more common.
If you can't do your own maintenance or minor repairs, this car can quite easily bankrupt you since most mechanics won't know what the heck they are doing when it comes to the engine. Don't be fooled by the cheap asking price of the car. That's not to mention the gas mileage. If you have a buddy with a Mustang GT, you can probably get a good idea about the gas mileage and cost.
If you are going ahead, I am going to repeat that a rotary-specific compression test is crucial. It has to have 3 compression numbers and a starting RPM for each rotor to be meaningful, as rotary compression varies with starting RPM, whereas this is not the case for piston engines.
Otherwise, RX-8 Help has some good ideas. Some of the advice can be a little out of date, but it still generally has some good starting points. You can always ask here if you are not sure.
Except nowadays, that's easier than making an 8 faster in a straight line.
Mid-size Sedans with the high-end engine option(V6 Camry, V6/2.0T Accord, V6/2.5T 6) can easily curb stomp an 8 in straight line. That's not to mention the parts, mods and tunes are all cheaper than an 8 due to bigger economy of the scales(there are way more Accords/Camrys out there than the ever-dwindling number of 8s). RX-8 is also very close to its limit when it comes to engine power optimization from the factory, while these family Sedans have way more room for improvement due to their more conservative designs.
Short of slapping a turbo on an 8 or doing otherwise major mods to the engine, there isn't much room to make an 8 faster in a straight line.
If you can't do your own maintenance or minor repairs, this car can quite easily bankrupt you since most mechanics won't know what the heck they are doing when it comes to the engine. Don't be fooled by the cheap asking price of the car. That's not to mention the gas mileage. If you have a buddy with a Mustang GT, you can probably get a good idea about the gas mileage and cost.
If you are going ahead, I am going to repeat that a rotary-specific compression test is crucial. It has to have 3 compression numbers and a starting RPM for each rotor to be meaningful, as rotary compression varies with starting RPM, whereas this is not the case for piston engines.
Otherwise, RX-8 Help has some good ideas. Some of the advice can be a little out of date, but it still generally has some good starting points. You can always ask here if you are not sure.
Except nowadays, that's easier than making an 8 faster in a straight line.
Mid-size Sedans with the high-end engine option(V6 Camry, V6/2.0T Accord, V6/2.5T 6) can easily curb stomp an 8 in straight line. That's not to mention the parts, mods and tunes are all cheaper than an 8 due to bigger economy of the scales(there are way more Accords/Camrys out there than the ever-dwindling number of 8s). RX-8 is also very close to its limit when it comes to engine power optimization from the factory, while these family Sedans have way more room for improvement due to their more conservative designs.
Short of slapping a turbo on an 8 or doing otherwise major mods to the engine, there isn't much room to make an 8 faster in a straight line.
Yup even slow cars are fast now, but I wanted handling. You can sure make a civic fast but its going to be a real challenge making a civic rwd...
and i have a 2000 camry i4 with 135 horsepower. Its a slug but the engine will probably outlast 3 renesis or equivalent rebuilds. If i had the cash to buy a new Accord 2.0t, I would probably just REW or turbo II swap the 8 and pay for a smog...
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Sep 18, 2013 09:29 AM