compared to working on an fc, how is the rx8? for example, performing basic maintenance to going turbo. I'm just going for a basic idea, because im dead set on owning an 8.

-is the engine bay cramped?
-is there alot of plastic that takes forever to take off?
-is the battery under the hood or relocated to the trunk? [alot of cars are doing that now adays]
those are what i can think of at the moment, i'm just looking for a basic idea of how easy it is to work on a Renesis.
thanks for helping

 

It's very easy to work on an rx8. Changing the spark plugs or the oil takes around 30minutes without a lift, as an example.
Compared to most modern cars our engine bay is pretty empty and easy to work on and all you need to perform most of the jobs are just basic tools and a jack stands

 

to me, yes, its cramped. but not as bad as some other cars I've seen. at least its "do-able"

Some GMs I have seen required you to spend like 15-30 minutes just to take the battery out.

Some do some don't

I want to know which production car actually have the battery in the trunk, at least I know most if not ALL Japanese cars and Mercedes are not.

 

2007 Chrysler SRT8 300 comes with the battery in the trunk

 

I dont know which models for sure, but i have seen several 3 series bmw's with the batteries in the trunk.

 

Mitsubishi puts the battery in the trunk in many models, Chevy puts the battery in the trunk in several of their cars now, Honda moves the battery to where ever it seems to fit from what I've seen.

The engine bay is maybe a little more cramped then a FC but less cramped then a FD. It's really not bad to work on at all and if you remove or relocate items the engine bay can be opened up, esp in front of the engine.

There is a snap in plastic engine cover and battery cover, easily removed.the other 2 covers (fuse box and computers) should prob be left covered :p

Other then the oil filter, servicing the car is a breeze, Mazda did a decent job making normal maintenance items accessible.

 

I'll echo others in that the RX-8 is very easy to work on, in fact so much so that I've modded mine far more then I ever intended. Some areas are cramped, e.g. around the coils and oil filter in the S1, but in general very well laid out for maintenance and modding.

 

The Miata says Hi.

 

sweet, i was thinking it was going to be super cramped inside. i'm hoping to pick one up soon.

-are they're more than 1 series of rx8? [like the fc has the s4 and s5]
-are there certain years parts are slightly different?

 

Yes, 2004 - 2008 = Series 1
2009 & 2010 = Series 2 (as we know 2011 will be the last model year and presumably similar Series 2 as well).

The most significant reliability upgrade was the return to a 3rd metered oil injector on the Series 2. Some other smaller mod's in addition to the exterior 'facelift', e.g. a relocation of the oil filter to the bottom of the engine.

Of course regular use of pre-mix in a Series 1 promotes reliability.

Parts are pretty much the same throughout with the aforementioned impacts of course.

 

Keep in mind that there aren't any turbo kits or tuning tools available for the Series 2 and may never be, if you plan on going FI in the future.