So I finally took the plunge and picked up a 2006 Shinka in copper red. Although I have a history of modified cars (400+rwhp Porsche 951, 300+awhp DSM) the plan is to keep the 8 close to stock for the forseeable future. It is replacing an 05 Porsche Cayenne-S as a family-friendly dad car (3 kids and counting). I can make the rare claim that my RX-8 is actually a step up in fuel economy.

These are just the crappy dealer pics of my car, I will get some more posted once I get a chance to take some decent ones. A guy at work recently picked up a new Cayman-R, I would like to shoot the 8 with that.

 

Welcome to ownership. What took you so long?

 

Copper Red is my 2nd or 3rd favorite color (toss up between copper and stormy blue...). Good choice!

 

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haha, so true. That's a "rare" claim.

But reality, there are other cars out there that have similar - or worse - fuel economy.

My friend - for example - just got a 2008 Dodge Challenger RST 8. Not my type of sports car - big, heavy, bulky, weird transmission shifting points, etc. - but it has over 400 horses. After all is said and done, that car gets pretty much the same MPG my RX-8 does - with twice the hp and weight. I would still rather drive the 8

Congrats on your purchase!!! You got a pretty nice RX-8.

 

I was living in Italy when I joined here, anticipating buying an RX-8 once I got back to the states. After moving back, it came down to the RX-8, an LS2 GTO (I forgot to mention that I had a bottled LS1 Z28 before my 951), or the Cayenne S. My wife and I felt like we needed the versatility of an SUV, so I went with the Cayenne. Over the past couple months I had been feeling like I wasn't getting enough SUV use out of the Cayenne, and it is pricey to be a pure commuter so that's when I started thinking RX-8 again. I was lucky that I had the Cayenne though, it handled well and definately had a muscle-car feel to it. I enjoyed the handling more than the brute muscle, so that steered me completely away from the GTO and towards the 8.

 

Beautiful 8, congratulations!

 

Why get an rx8 when you have 3 kids and counting? Just curious...

Anyway, welcome and enjoy the ride.

 

My wife drives the minivan, I am all by myself in my car 99% of the time, which is why the Cayenne-S wasn't worth it.

 

good choice. What small mods are you going to do to it? What are the specs?

 

Congratz! Sweeeeet looking FE.

 

Welcome aboard.

 

looking forward to inevitable cat failure, the plan is BHR coil packs, a high flow cat and Cobb Accessport. When things actually go bad (exhaust, suspension, etc) I will upgrade those as I go along.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Maybe add a turbo kit in there somewhere though

 

Congrats. Sounds like you've done your research over the lil time you've had

 

Same deal here. My wife drives the 6 passenger family hauler, and I am generally alone with my 8, with occasional kid drop-offs and pick-ups in-between. This is why the deal is, I can buy whatever I want within budget, but it has to have a backseat. The 8 was the perfect compromise short of a 2+2 Porsche.