mwfpolska

If anyone will be so kind as to give me the specs of the rx-8.

A stock rx-8. things such as 0-60, 0-100, top speed, fuel consumption. highway and city. what type of stock wheels, are the brakes effecient, does the engine respond well if you tap on the gas, steering. stuff like that.

Im 16 years old and looking to buy a car. Something not higher that $15,000. i saw the rx-8 and i liked it. ALOT. If anyone has any suggestions about a car thats nice!! something that is not expensive, sporty, reliable, good engine response, easy tuning, and just amazingly awesome and you like it. well any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

thanks
Michal

RX8 dood

iTrader: (1)

If this is you're first car, I'd say it has PLENTY of power for your experience, but as far as specs and everything edmunds.com kbb etc. The handling, you're parents will be jealous haha and I think its amazingly awesome. But in reality YOU'RE 16, I cant imagine how bad *** it would be if I had an 8 when I was 16 lol damn.. Take your parents and go test drive one, it's a BLAST! I know I walked into the dealership with a budget of 15,500 and walked out spending 18,000 after I drove and sat in it...

DarkBrew

Read through the stickies at the top of the forums and sub forums because there's lots of good information there for you. But if you want my opinion, the RX8 isn't a good first car unless you're use to high performance driving.

RX8 dood

iTrader: (1)

^^Now hes REALLY going to want one

SilverHokie

iTrader: (1)

Until that one time he turns traction control off and slides into a gaurd rail. Not saying I've done that...but have come close. BWUAHAH...

4me2

Michal> girl >auto

WAR CRUNK

go with a civic SI for your first car. If you feel the need to have more power. Save another 7 to 8gs and buy a g35

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

the rx8 isnt a very fast car, it'll do a 14.6 1/4 mile. but its an excellent drivers car. every auto journalist loves it.

if you want power, get a dodge srt4 or a chevy cobalt ss.

i average 20mpg. stock 18" rims (or 16s if you get the base automatic). brakes are excellent. engine response is excellent.

whitebeau

If you live in cold climate weather (aka 30-40ish in the winters) get used to engine flooding .

Motor is temperamental. it is nothing like a conventional piston type motor, so you will have to be diligent with maintanance. This car demands the work hard play hard attitude, so keep ontop of the oil changes, and topping off since it uses oil by design, and make sure it never over heats.... you'll be fine

but if your definition of reliable is... going 2-3k more without an oil change, not checking the oil every 2 gas up's... or making sure the coolant level isn't low etc. then I agree with the others, you should get whats considered a daily Driver. (s2000, 240sx, anything honda (Caution timing belt ) I believe the new focuses are pretty swift.... or if you can source a 91 Suzuki Swift GTi that thing is awesome... there's a turbo out there to get it up to 220hp, and will let you smoke alot of cars since it weighs about 1600lbs?

well either way, sign up for an Advance driving course at your nearest track. There's typically a school that do events for around 300$ for the day, you'll get good drive time on a closed course.


Have a fun new years!

Juice

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't agree with that at all. Just let the engine warm up before you shut it down. Its not rocket science. Do that and you will have no problems flooding.

As far as maintenace the only thing I do that I didn't do with my other cars is check the oil once a month and add any if necessary. I don't consider this engine tempermental one bit. Different yes, but tempermental not so much. My car has been nothing but reliable for the 2.5 years 20k miles I've had it.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

i live in a cold are during the winter (CT is colder though) and i dont worry about flooding at all.

i flooded my engine once when i first got the car (in may) did the deflood procedure (crank for 10 seconds, etc etc) and i was fine. never happened to me again.

its very simple to not just start it up, move it 5 feet and shut it down. now i just floor it around the block once. how can i object?

dothackRAVE

I'd recommend that you NOT get an RX-8 for your first car unless you're prepared to put up with all the little nuances the rotary has. Like, redlining it often, and checking for oil.

I can see you crashing the car the moment you try to redline it, and you probably don't want to deal with the frequent oil checks.

Why do you want an 8? Coz it looks sexy? Sorry, behind all the sexiness there's a lot that you as an owner have to do to keep it in pristine condition. Make sure that it does not end up a rust bucket, and read up on rotary ownership FAQs. Love your car, and the 8 will repay you in bucket loads.

Forget your oil fill up, and prepare to have a busted engine not very long into your car's life.

Also, do not drive it like your mom's SUV, and for god's sake, don't embarrass yourself by trying to drag race someone on the streets.

Overall, I recommend getting something else, like a 240SX/Eclipse if you want a sports coupe. Hell, even a 350z would be a better choice. Doesn't have as many quirks like the rotary does, and you'll find more shops willing to do piston tuning than you would for rotary tuning if you're gonna get into that whole tuner scene.

Oh, and please don't come back 1 month into ownership whining about torque or gas mileage.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

oh god.., how is a 16 year old gonna handle redlining it often enough?

the whole oil deal is overrated. by the time you need more oil, you need an oil change.

dothackRAVE

Really? I'm not sure about daily driving, since I race my 8, but I've filled up on oil more than once already.

Still, there is no denying that there are a lot of quirks to the rotary. What's worse is that he may be taught stuff that only applies to pistons.

I should also emphasize that redlining it often is not something you should do for your first car. 232HP is not a joke for a 16 year old.

Get something else kid. Come play with us RX-8 boys when you know you won't swerve and crash whenever the tach goes beyond 5000rpm.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

How old are you?

I only ask becuase in another thread you said your parents bought you your 8.

dothackRAVE

Me? 19. Turning 20 in 2 days.

whitebeau

I must be in that 'other bracket' then

I have an 04' i just picked up in August that had 70k miles, old battery -=original i'm sure=- (I just replaced 2 days ago with a Red Top Optima) and new OEM plugs.

From a 06' TSB i noticed the newer rx-8's i'm guessing 06+ get a beefier batter (Stronger cold crank rating), and a stronger starter. the ROM flashes aside, I wonder if that new starter and battery resolved a majority of the morning engine flooding if it stalls on initial startup?


sorry everybody i'll take this offline. I replied/quote to provide the details of my car as a perspective of issues i'm getting as of late. Since the Shopper here seems to have found a car in the same price range i got, it's a good guess it has high miles also


ah and juice, yes i let it warm up completely.. i never start stop it.. my daily drive to work is about 1 hour one way. 1st occurance was when it was starting to get chilly outside (40ish) stalled after 1 second of startup to idle.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

your danasoft signature is dead wrong about every single thing it listed.

:P

Juice

iTrader: (1)

Yes the new battery and starter did help, I think they started putting them in mid 05. I haven't had any problems with my car in warm climates just shutting it off without it being fully warm. Up north I let it warm up and it has flooded once when someone moved my car out of the driveway so they could get out, so it wasn't really my fault. I don't let anyone drive my car now! You should probably check your coils as well as those seem to help starting alot if they are fresh.

And to DothackRAVE: You aren't as young as I thought you were, but I still don't think that you should be calling anyone a kid when your parents bought you your car. Its like the pot calling the kettle black. I'm not trying to be a dick or anything but I don't think you have any room to talk. Anyways, have a good B-Day!

dothackRAVE

I wasn't even referring to who's buying his car. A kid's a kid. I don't think you got what I meant.

I only happen to have come from a country where cars are a tad more expensive than it is in the USA, hence my RX-8 (I was shitting myself over how CHEAP cars are here in the USA). Otherwise, I'd be rolling around in some rust bucket.

I'm the first person in my family to have come to the USA, and the first person who bought out a sports car of any kind (car's titled to me). $20,000 was my reward for doing well in college, which bought me the car.

EDIT: That, and I'm insanely meticulous about caring for my car. Do you know how many times I've waxed my car for fear of salt in the winter in the past..., oh, I don't know, 3 months?

3 times (non-abrasive wax, of course). By hand, because of the off chance than a machine may scratch my car. And some of the guys at the campus car club are shitting themselves over how much I wax it.

In fact, for my birthday in 2 days, I'll be washing the car, and giving it a full clean out when I've just done than 3 weeks ago.

Why do I drive safe? So the car is safe. Couldn't give a damn if I was driving any other car.

Why do I race in legitimate races? So I learn better control of the car and won't crash it.

I remember what I was like at 16. Highschool and other social stuff would've kept me from caring for this car like I do now.

I really don't give a crap who buys who what. All I care about is that IF an RX-8 gets into his hands, it gets cared for like an adult who loves his car would.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

Sorry if I offended you, it just seems that you are young as well and your comment seemed harsh, well, harsher that it should have been for someone that is as young as you (I'm not much older, so you know, but I also didn't make the comment ). I know what you mean about an 8 not being a good first car and I agree with you fully on that.

EDIT: I'm the same way with my car, the snow here sucks. Its supposed to be rainy/snowy for the next week. Also, I can see how you would want the car to be in good hands. It saddens me when I see an 8 thats dirty or badly modded.

daisuke

No one should get a sports car as their first vehicle, no one. Unless they're nigel mansell's son or someone who has been racing since they were 12. You have to learn to handle a car first, then you can learn to respect the power of a car. If you must have a rotary get a first gen rx7. I'd say start with a lower powered car like a civic, something you can upgrade cheap and easy to higher power levels as you learn to drive. Save up as you go and when you know what to expect buy a higher powered more respectable car.

As for the rx-8, it's drop dead sexy, has 4 seats, the engine makes an amazing sound and it's a very comfy car to cruise in... for a sports car that is... it's also one of the more forgiving higher powered cars out there when it comes to handling.

It's NOT tuner friendly, you can tweak it, but you have to do it right or you'll blow the engine and finding a person that knows what they're doing with it is not as easy as it would be with a piston engined car.

If you want a fast-ish car that looks cool and on top of that gets good gas mileage and is reliable I'd have to say go for a toyota celica, the GT model in red is what I would get. The GT-S is probably not for new drivers. I don't know how mod friendly it is, but I like it personally.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

I disagree that noone should get a sports car for their first car. I believe noone should get a NEW sports car. All I've driven is sports cars/sporty cars!!

I had a 91 prelude which was a sports car in its day, not so much when I was driving it though . I also had a 95 240SX which was a great entry level sports car. It was also good to learn RWD with, and a very fun car overall.

dothackRAVE

No, no. I wasn't offended. I fully understand differences in our cultures.

Here, your property is your property, and your parent's property is theirs. We're a little more commie, so my parents property are sort of my property too. Plus I've been raised on a "you earn it" system. I one day asked for a car, and my parents went, "Sure thing. It's time anyway. How was your grades?".

One thing led to another, and I ended up with an RX-8. My dad would give me pretty much anything within reasonable limits so long as I work hard, and that it serves to improve my life and studies. A car takes me to school and such, and I promised good grades for this semester (which I delivered). So he was like, "Okay, here's $20,000. Find whatever you want".

He once offered to buy me a brand new Pontiac GTO, because "when in America, buy something AMERICAN!". I was like..., "No, it was 400+HP. I'll kill myself."

The amount of money I paid for the 8 would've gotten me a Corolla at best back home. Again, I was shitting myself over what I got. Paid higher than KBB, but heck, still a great deal.

dothackRAVE

Don't really agree that NO ONE should get a sports car for a first car. I mean, he's not looking for a 401HP Corvette, which would've killed him first night out. RX-8s aren't great first cars, but if you're well informed of the consequences, and are willing to care for it properly, why not?

I faced significant resistance from the car club when I said I was going to buy an RX-8. They tell me all sorts of things that's bad about the RX-8.

Well, I read around myself, and boom, I have an RX-8. Loved every single moment I was in this car. There was never a single second when I felt that it was inadequate. Never have had any negative feelings about the car.