iZoom

Hey everyone, I just bought a 2004 RX8 GT 6-speed - every option including navigation. I have read many blogs and seen good and bad reviews - any advice welcome on things to look out for. I love the car - just nervous about it. Should I use 93 octane gas, is midgrade fine? Is it better to drive at high RPMs, will being stuck in rush hour traffic in Atlanta be hard on the car. I know of the flooding issue, bad gas mileage - I considered those 2 things and still went for it - good move? Any and all advice, tips 'n tricks would be greatly appreciated.

mmats69

A simple search will yield DAYS of reading on all the topics you are asking about. Welcome to the cult.

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

Congrats and welcome! Next time, do a bit more research before you buy a car, but just between you and I, I think you did well. You'll get different opinions on most of your questions so weigh the responses and judge for yourself. The MT alone means you won't get beat up too badly on the boards. I specifically did not get navigation because I'm a guy and guys don't need to ask directions.
Have fun!

iZoom

Thanks man, glad to be here...will be posting some pics real soon!

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

Oh, yeah, and get some clear corners. Adds 20 hp.

mmats69

i also wish i would have known ahead of time you were in the market. I do believe my car would have been what you were looking for

New Yorker

Be sure to read the FAQ: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/rx8-faq-new-owners-116484/

Mine didn't come with navigation either. When I bought the car I wished it had it. But now I'm glad it doesn't—the factory nav is looking a little ancient compared to what you can get in the newest portable GPS units. (Particularly with what's coming with smart traffic update capability!)

Razz1

93 Octane

Welcome... and please read the stickies in the tech section.

DarkBrew

Congrats and welcome.
Use premium gas and keep the revs up!
Redline often. Follow the maintenance schedules

jquigley

I just have to say I'm in the same boat as iZoom and you guys are awesome.

Thanks for all the help.

tajabaho1

congrats man, you came to the right place, there is everything you need on this forum, everything

Rems31

Congrats!

onephatguy

Welcome to the club

SideOfBacon

welcome

½mv²

Welcome.

Unlike 99% of the people here, I find the search function to be of no use due to the 1000's of threads you'll get when you search for commonly-asked questions like gas/oil/maintenance, and there are enough sticky threads and FAQs here to keep you reading for weeks before you'll stumble upon the answers you were looking for.

I'll do my best to answer your questions:
As I'm sure you've learned on your own already, RX's seem to come standard with souls. The car will talk to you. Very rarely will you be caught off-guard with a mechanical failure. When your car starts displaying symptoms, tell us about it, and we'll tell you what to tell your dealership.
There's very little moving in a rotary engine, so if something is wrong, you *will* know it. Very rarely is a rattle, squeek, hiss, whirr, or grumble anything other than a simple rattle, squeek, hiss, whirr, or grumble.

Like I said, just keep your ears open for anything your car might "tell" you and you'll be fine.

It's different for every car. Some people get more power and better mileage using 87 while others can't even run 89 without violent idles. You won't know until you try, but most people here would recommend 93. After all, it's only $0.20-$0.30 more per gallon, which is only a buck or two extra each time you gas up.

Think of it this way: before you play *****-to-the-wall in any sport, you should do some simple excersizes to warm up followed by stretching out. Well, when you drive your 8, go easy on her until she's warmed up (stay under 4000RPMs until the thermostat needle is slightly left of straight up). When she's warm, get on the throttle whenever you can and slowly "stretch" out the revs (shift 1000 or so RPMs higher each time you go from a stop). Once she's stretched out, drive her like you stole her - she'll love you for it.

The car certainly won't like it, but what car does? As long as you give her a good run every once in a while and don't ONLY drive her in stand-still traffic, you'll be fine.

As long as the temperature guage is just slightly left of center when you turn the engine off, this wont be a problem. It's when you turn these cars off cold that they tend to flood.

There's nothing you can do about it. You're going to burn a lot of gas and a lot of oil. You *can* baby the car and get 20-something MPG, but the money you save on gas won't be enough to cover a new engine when your carbon build-up blows a seal.
In all honesty, if you drive this car right, the money you spend in gas more than pays itself off in the end. If you redlined every gear every chance you had and floored it after every stop sign and red light in an Evo, STI, S2K, 350z, or Mustang GT, your engine would be completely F**KED after 60,000 miles. In this car, if you redline every gear every chance you get and floor it after every stop sign and red light, your engine would be running stronger and cleaner after 60,000 miles than it did when you bought it!

Only time will tell. Unless you've got a grand or two lying around at all times I'd strongly recommend reading as much as you can. You *can* go the "I'll figure it out as I go" route if you want, but just remember, when you've only got a handful of moving mechanical parts, *any* problem is an expensive one.
These cars have a ton of intracacies, but aren't very complicated when it comes to taking care of them.

1 - Remember to keep the revs low until she's warmed up
2 - Once she's warmed up, drive her like a race car. The harder you drive her, the longer she'll live.
3 - Check the oil frequently. Rotary engine + low oil = instant death.
4 - Read. Take some ritalin if you have to. The more you read here, the better off you'll be.
5 - Don't do anything without researching first. Even small stuff like the type of motor oil you use can make a big difference down the line, and the typical "tuner" mods that all imports seem to love like intakes and exhaust don't always go over well with the Renisis. Research First
6 - As much as the search function and sticky threads may suck, always make the effort to find information on your own first.
Asking newbie questions without trying to find answers on your own first = flames & more flames.
Asking newbie questions after trying to find answers on your own first = flames & some answers.

johnnywfg

""Think of it this way: before you play *****-to-the-wall in any sport, you should do some simple excersizes to warm up followed by stretching out. Well, when you drive your 8, go easy on her until she's warmed up (stay under 4000RPMs until the thermostat needle is slightly left of straight up). When she's warm, get on the throttle whenever you can and slowly "stretch" out the revs (shift 1000 or so RPMs higher each time you go from a stop). Once she's stretched out, drive her like you stole her - she'll love you for it.""



- Spot on man. Rotaries for life.

perfect brake in stretch from cold, 71degrees outside nighttime, gives the tires a minute to warm up.... hold on

nonconfrontational

Make sure your engine has been tested under the recall!! If it hasn't and is still under warranty - take it in. And if you get it back "just fine, it passed" and it ISN'T just fine, take it back for more testing!

I have an '04 and the engine was replaced - not under recall - but after it passed the tests and came back with a bad idle.

I love my 8 but it is a fairly high-maintenance vehicle. It's worth it to make your passengers cringe when you take turns like you mean them...

j67345

I have to disagree...it's not that much more maintenance than any other car.

Shini

If your car ever has problems with idling rough, turn the A/C off, if the eratic idle stops then you definitely need to take it in ASAP. That's the problem I was having for awhile and it ended up getting me a new Engine.

So just like some others said, if you notice anything not in the norm with the car, then give it some attention.

Since you have an MT it makes you less likely to have a problem like that, but not completely exempt from the rule

nonconfrontational

The only reason I say it is is because for about three months my poor little car was in and out of the shop for stupid crap. I not only drove a rental for two weeks while my engine was replaced, but I swear that woman at the service center cringed when she saw me pulling up again and again.

I had my visor replaced twice (I know they've supposedly fixed that problem now, but still), my center console cover replaced along with the ashtray cover, tail lights replaced after some nasty moisture buildup, and a guy that I had doing body work on the damn thing flooded my engine! My heater/ac **** went out so it was always set to heat, and my a/c really doesn't work below 3k rpms (you ever been at a stoplight without good a/c during a Florida summer?). My windshield cracked all by itself (I've only seen that happen in an Acura CL-S but I know it happens) and my differential is on its way out (there's this amazing clunking sound sometimes when I go into reverse after being parked a day or two).

Of course, as mentioned, my engine was replaced. The dealership implied that it was run dry and that's why it had issues, but that wasn't something they could prove, or really fussed about. You have to check the oil constantly - I take mine in for changes every 2k miles and they still tell me it's a bit low.

I'm not saying I don't love my car - I would go through it all again in a heartbeat. I actually really want to upgrade to one of the new navy models. I'm just saying that you have to be on top of maintenance for the rx8 and make sure anyone else you might allow behind the wheel knows about its diva personality.

Shini

2k Oil changes? I do mine like every 5k-6k, the engine burns oil so if you don't fill it up between the last oil change and the next one of course it's going to be low, every other fill up you probably need to check the oil and fill it up a bit. That's why it's low when you go in for a change.

I'm in the same boat right now with the engine have to be in this crappy rental car for 2 weeks. And I had my Visor break on me too. Had problems with the A/C for awhile, but it works fine now. For awhile it was a real gritty/rough feeling whenever you turned the ***, but after awhile that went away and it works fine and smooth now. I'm getting my center console fixed, the little button broke off, so it doesn't lock/unlock very well now. And my tail lights have been replaced too. My A/C does fine at low RPM's though so Nyah :P

And I would do it all over again too, love the car. Just the 04's have some kinks in 'em that you have to get fixed.

Car doesn't require a lot of maintence, just the 04's require a lot of attention until all the bugs get worked out, then the only difference between the 04's and the rest of them is just the build date of the car

Good luck with yours iZoom, you'll find quickly that even though it might be a PITA to take it in for recalls and things that need to be fixed you'll find it hard to hate the car for it, they're really do change the way you think

iZoom

Man you guys are awesome! Fender strakes are now installed and still waiting on the front splash guards. Week 1 of driving has been awesome and so far so good. Many thanks to everyone for sharing pics and comments on the RX8 - it has been very helpful.