PLEASE do not flame my newbie booty.

I'm smitten by the RX-8 but am sadly ignorant of rotary lore. I've spoken to a few locals who RAVE about the old rotary's dependability, "You'll see any problems early, and once you're clear of the break-in period with no glitches you're home-free. The thing is a solid as a rock."

Some of these folks love the engine.

On a practical level is it hard to find folks who can work on it? I often have used the Jackson Racing garage in Westminster, CA for Hondas and our Miata, would they typically be able to handle a rotary or am I locked into dealer work?

 

In my experience, for more than regular maintenance, you do have to find a mechanic who is familiar with rotary engines. It's not like they are sooo different that a competent mechanic cannot figure it out, but alot of mechanics out there don't bother.

As far as performance mods (since you mentioned JR), it's really no different than any other car. Even with piston engines, you need to find a mechanic or shop that knows how to do what you want to do, and if they aren't familiar with your setup, is capable of figuring it out. For example, Toyota MR2s are pretty straightforward cars mechanically, but for serious tuning, you should go to someone who is familiar with those cars.

---jps

 

You likely won't have to do much more than regular maintenance (coolant, oil changes, etc) with the RX-8. Performance upgrades follow normal logic: throughput - intake / exhaust freedom = > HP.
There are many rotary shops out there - you just wouldn't be aware if you've never had a rotary engine yet. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Racing Beat originated somewhere out west. In my opinion, it will not be any less reliable than any alternative powertrain you may be considering, and there is a good chance it will be more reliable!

 

I've got a 91 RX-7 with 205,000 miles and recently had my first problem with it (redline is 8000, but I was losing power past 6500 rpms). It was a minor problem that I finally fixed myself (sort of).

As to mechanics who don't bother learning about rotaries: As a non-mechanic kind of guy I tried fixing it initially myself (plugs, wires, filters) and couldn't, not quite sure what the problem was. Took it to a local mech who cleaned injectors, etc, still no joy. Braced myself for a trip to a Mazda mech, who accomplished nothing, so I went to the internet. Within 10 minutes I had my answer and was able to alleviate the problem in half an afternoon. So help is out there, it just wasn't in the Mazda shop that day.

It's a good, reliable, and fun engine, from a car company that seems to enjoy driving for fun as much as I do. I just hope that the Mazda mechs become more knowledgeable about their rotaries.

 

Some places it is dificult to find decent rotar shops (Rhode Island), but since you live in Long Beach CA there should be plenty fairly close by. So with a little searching and a few phone calls you should be able to find a decent place.

Edit: Try talking to people who have had experience with that shop and get some feed back.

 

You won't get much, if any, benefit from adding an aftermarket intake to the Renesis. The multi-port/multi-runner intake system is already resonance tuned from the factory.

Oil changes are critical in a rotary. Be prepared to be religious about checking the oil and adding a quart or two between changes.

There really isn't much that can go wrong with a rotary, either, aside from injectors and housing seals. When the housing seals start to go, start thinking "rebuild."

 

A quart or two? Magazine articles (hardly gospel I know) are putting consumption at 1 quart per 10,000 miles. Even if it's not quite that good IRL, the porting changes and the new oil management system and injectors should reduce consumption a lot over previous rotaries. Less oil burning should also mean less carbon buildup and better emissions, the latter probably being the main driving force behind these improvements.

 

yup, the changes were to try and control HC emissions... but where most of the emissions came from on the older exhaust p-port types (the 10A, 12A and 13B for example) the unspent HC's would collect around the face of the trailing apex seal, only to be dumped staight out into the exhaust system as the leading side of the rotor passed over the intake port...