ihadamr2T

first post!


let me start vy saying ive been looking into getting a Rx8 for about 2 months now and if i do decide to get one it will not be for another 3-6 months.

bottom line...

ive been trolling around the forums for a few days and today i joined!
i just want to know if the 8 is a reliable car that can be driven 7 days out of the week and about 40-100 miles a day. ( i still travel to school and work).

I have been asking a lot of people about them and they all tell me the same thing, they burn oil ( i know they are made to), the apex seals dont last more then 40-70 K miles, tranny's are horrible, go through spark plugs a lot and they are $$$ to replace. no one can work on it besides Mazda, you have to let them warm up and cool down or the engine will flood...etc etc etc

NOW i want some facts from the guys how actually drive them. i am very interested in buying one. Moding it will be the last of my concerns.
the only mod i will do up front is a radiator swap.
under insurence its labled 4 cyl 4 door? (thats a question)

i should put that i have owned two 91 Ls integras, a 91 Mr2turbo, 1994 integra.

please help out a guy in need of some HONEST info.

tell me the good the bad and the ugly. thanks!

New Yorker

Yes, definitely. And you've been given a lot of mis-information. Let me guess… you've been reading this forum! If you're trying to get a handle on 'reliability', that's a bad idea…

Not true.

Nope. Not true.

Nope.

That's probably a good idea.

Nope. All you have to remember is to let her warm up a few minutes before turning her off. (And for the last couple of years, with the more powerful starter and battery, you can even start her up—cold—turn her off right away, and still probably not flood. Flooding hasn't been an issue for quite some time.)

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

welcome to the club.

-the RX-8 can be very reliable if you know how to treat it well. Don't start it and turn it off before it gets warm. (new PCM flashes were supposed to address this but better safe then sorry)
- Yes, insurance companies are oblivious to the fact that this is a sports car. most classify as a 4 door, 4 cyl, sedan
- Apex seals last a long time. Expo1 is over 100,000 miles on his car with NO major issues
- tranmission has been an issue for some members but nothing that shoudl keep you from buying. (they have a warranty for a reason)


On a final note: the answer to ALL of those questions could have been found by using the search button but I was in a good mood.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

damn it NY, you JUST beat me... multi-tasking FTL

ihadamr2T

NY, where in NY are you.

Im in Dutches County.

MrCairo

Welcome to the Forum!

Pretty much New Yorker and Jedi summed up the issues with reliability, etc. The only thing that I would mention especially considering your commute distance (between 40 and 100 miles daily) is that the RX-8 is not the most fuel efficient car. If you drive her like a granny you might get between 20 to 23 MPG (This equates to about 310-340 miles per tank). Of course, if you drive it like a granny you wouldn't be getting the full enjoyment of the RX-8 as a sports car!

So, based upon your commute, and your driving style, you will likely be filling up the 15.9 gallon tank about twice a week.

While fuel economy is an issue, my real complaint lies in the price of the fuel :-)


Cheers

Rems31

Hi

rglbegl

mr22na nub?? is that you?
Or Freddy maybe?

musclecarconvrt

Welcome.
I put about 95 miles per day on my 2004 RX8 and have 79000 on it now.
Truth - I did worry a bit last year that the engine was going south.
Truth - All of my problems went away when I quit babying it and trying to get the best gas mileage possible. It's meant to be revved high and often and a few tanks of cleaner and a heavy right foot put the smile back on my face and cleared the throat of my carbon fouled friend.
Truth - My mileage isn't really that bad anyway. I get around 20mpg highway and 18mpg thrashing the living wee out of my Wankle.
Truth - In three years, I have never flooded my car.
Truth - I bought my RX8 knowing exactly what I was getting. I test drove it and several other more powerful cars and I'm perfectly happy with it. Many people who malign this wonderful car expect turbo hp and V8 torque with Honda gas mileage. It's just not going to happen. Know what you want and buy what you want. It just makes everything so much better.

ihadamr2T

yes it is...mr22na

ihadamr2T

good advice! my current car gets about 22-28 depending how i drive it. i forgot to mention i have a SV650 also that i do use when the weather is nice

rglbegl

Stick around here man. These people have REALLY good advice. You can search just about any topic.
And the Rotary community is the best!!! We have the coolest,nicest, and most knowledgable people anywhere on the web.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

- I drive it everyday, sometimes 100 miles a day
- Tranny feels good since day one, well fine, day 2
- Apex going ? U can say that for 13B-REW, but if "someone" tells you the Renesis die in those miles. Bring him to me, I have my baseball bat ready.
- Spark plugs is just a regular maintence item, yes its more *often* when you compare it to a piston engine. but its not so bad imo
- Most garage does NOT know anything about Rotary engines, that is true. Mazda knows best about Rotary engines, that is ALSO TRUE. BUT ! Mazda dealerships is the best place to fix Rotary engines? I do NOT think so. Hell I probably know more than most dealerships about rotary engine.
- I drive her out, wash, drive her back in. 2 years + ownership, no flood, NYC weather, yes I see alot of snow and below freezing point weather. no problem.

Razz1

Welcome

93rdcurrent

Welcome from here too.

So did you have a na or turbo MR2? What year is/was it?

I had a '91 MR2 we had built up to about 575hp at the crank. I loved that car before a new shop got a hold of it and killed it. Oh well, what do you do?