mlfarrell

EDIT: new questions that are unanswered {
*how often should I do a compression test, and how much should I expect to spend each time.
}


I bought this two days ago

http://www.lexusofeaston.com/VehicleDetails/1083994004

and I freakin love it! Just did my daily redline today with the sports-shift in 2nd and it ruled. After a 1995 buick regal, its one hell of an upgrade.

final price 16,7xx

and I tacked on a 5 year, 60,000 (on top of existing 20) full gold-plus warranty.

I've been reading on here quite a bit while waiting to get approved for membership and I had quite a few fears but after driving it today they're mostly gone.

I checked the oil today at fill up (with premium) and she's right at full. I'm not super car-saavy but I figured it out with minimal effort, just gotta make sure I don't burn myself on those tubes above the dip stick on a hot day. I've decided to go with castrol gtx 20 weight until next summer where then I may upgrade to 30.

brakes are squealing but the lexus dealer I bought it from agreed to do a free inspection and replace them if they're low.

almost zero problems after first 200 or so miles.

Only thing is sometimes the wheel will pull me left only for a brief period and when I'm hitting the brakes at a very low speed - i hear this is normal. And sometime's she's slow to start, but never more than a few revs. When I test drove it, I started it up and shut it off right away, cause I didn't know better (neither did the salesman) and it didn't flood at all. It'd a been funny if it did cause I would have thought the car was busted and wouldn't have bought it.

I plan to check on all the recalls but I may employ an "if it aint broke don't fix it" attitude.

Lastly, I may ask the dealer to go ahead and pre-solder the harness for the power steering if not done already, cause that issue scares the hell out of me.

I plan on keepin the car during my entire loan period (4 yrs) and maybe a little longer if I have no probs. Any more advice is welcomed!! thanks!

DaRotary

why the hell did you buy automatic.....

gl with it..

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

you'll find the people here are very elitist when it comes to automatic transmissions due to the fact that autos have 40 less horsepower. you can get most of that back with a racing beat reflash or a cobb accessport, but your engine has less intake runners as well, only 4. where the manuals have 6.

its ok though, as long as you enjoy the car. you have the sexiest color.

make sure you rev the absolute hell out of it. rotaries like to rev. and yes, the oil dipstick is in a stupid location, the 2009 rx8s are better placed. fat tires will tug if the road has bumps, the fatter the tire, the more tugging. i think my previous car ran on 185s or something, so 225s was quite a difference. 245s (that i have now) have a fair bit of road tug.

the it aint broke dont fix it doesnt work. really, you just wont notice its broken until your engine loses total compression. at 30k miles make sure you replace the spark plugs, ignition coils and wires.

my recommendations:
start using castrol gtx 10w-30 in the engine
swap the transmission fluid and differential to redline mt90
put toyo t1r 245/40/18s on it
enkei rpf1 rims
get clear corners
lower it
cobb accessport engine management
revi ram air duct

that should keep you occupied for awhile.

mlfarrell

will any of these void my extended warranty?
aaand are those tires good in all seasons?

oh and remember, I'm not all that car saavy, so I don't expect to be doing that many mods.

whats the going rate for a compression test too? and how often do you guys do them

briann

Whered the RX-8 badge go?
Congrats&welcome
You did your research on it before you bought it right...?

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

tires are not good in all seasons. they do well in the wet and fantastic in the dry. they do NOT work in the cold. get a set of winter rims, trust me on this. get any old blah 17" rims and get bridgestone blizzak ws-50s for them. you'll be passing subarus (if they have all seasons) in the snow. all seasons just suck for all seasons. as soon as the temps drop to below 40, my snow tires go on. the rubber is built for freezing temps so they dont get rock hard. you have better traction at 25 degrees F on snow tires on dry pavement, than you do with all seasons on dry pavement at 25F. depends on the tire too though, generally.

none of the mods will void your warranty except maybe the cobb accessport. check with a AP retailer about that though.

mlfarrell

damn, so you're saying if I keep my current tires on once it gets cold here, even without snow i may wreck :-(

I live in an apt complex so I don't really have anywhere to store rims or tires. It also has me a little nervous that I'm 1 hr from the nearest mazda dealer. I live in athens, ohio.


To the other guy: I did adequate research, though I may have missed a few minor things.

YaXMaNGTO

Wow, man. Welcome. You'll need friends in this board, so don't **** anybody off. Just listen to the senior members and be cool. Thanks for playing.

mlfarrell

I don't intend to. As long as nobody yells at me too much I should be okay :-). I'm openly stating now that I'm NOT a sports car guru. So I may need help from time to time.

I'll drive to parkersburg (an hour away) once it gets cold and see if any of the tire shops can store my tires for me. If not I may have 4 big *** tires sitting in my apt living room.

I don't think I can afford to switch rims or store them though, I may have to keep the stock ones on. Would that be a complete disaster?

fahrfegneugen

^your stock tires will be a disaster in the snow, you can get really expensive low profile snow tires though. If there is no snow, you can survive, just don't drive fast and make sharp turns. But listen to kersh and get some winter tires, you can find some $100 17" rims somewhere and it would be cool to have your wheels in your living room, come on! hahaha

Congrats on the new car.

lilring

iTrader: (11)

welcome to the club.. enjoy the AUTO... i love my auto and it doesnt matter if people hate on them.. its still puts a smile on you everytime you drive it... Happy MODDING!

simplyphp

Welcome, ignore the douche who made the automatic comment. He's got a chip on his shoulder from doucheyness.

mlfarrell

haha. I'm sure he has his reasons. I know the AT has problems but I hope my warranty will save me from most of them. Even if the closest dealer is far from here

Along with my les paul guitar (not gibson), peavey tube amp, this car is one of my favorite new toys :-)

DaRotary

i love my rx8 i just asked why you got At only reason was cuz they got alot of problems but its ok you got WaRRENY AHHAHA

gl bro

DaRotary

Warranty**

chrism

good luck with an 04AT....those have the most issues....read the stickies and dont drive on those tires under 40 degrees....in the snow you will crash.....no ifs ands or buts

simplyphp

Yea like there aren't plenty of issues with the manual version, and issues which both have in common. Some people here are on their 3rd engine, and they have a manual. Sounds so much more reliable, now doesn't it..

DaRotary

simplyphp you are right but the thing is manual wont die like at would thats the only add on problem i can think of.....

mlfarrell

Also to the guy above

are you /sure/ that using w 30 oil won't' void my extended "fidelity warranty services inc" warranty.

Also if the dealer gave it to me with 20 weight oil, should I change it like right away? or can I just start topping it off with 30 and wait until the next oil change is due

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't change out my dealership 5w20, it's pretty good oil.

Each time you change oil, you'll only be changing half, because the other half stays in the coolers and lines, so make sure you change regularly.

Use what they say until warranty is up.

S

04RX8man

welcome to the addiction even though it is the automatic haha

ken-x8

Welcome to the world of no pistons.

I live in Virginia, where we only get a few snow days a year and I have a beater for those. I might go with all-seasons when the beater dies. But if I lived in Ohio, I'd definitely get a separate set of winter tires and wheels. Check out Tire Rack's winter tire/wheel sets for the RX-8. Get 17 inch. They've got wheels starting at not much more than $100, and 17" tires are surprisingly cheaper than 18". They'll also be better in the snow.

Ken

mlfarrell

So how much altogether would it cost to get these winter tires and rims?

edit; I just read online roughly $1000.

I wasn't prepared for this much... I guess I'll have to do it though

titesilver8

i live wa. and my dumbass rocked toyo proxes fours for the last 2 winters. last winter they were just about treadless. needless to say tokyo drift didnt have **** on me. i drove out my passenger window if there was snow on the ground. there isnt a whole lot of traffic on my way to work. but it never left base with snow on the ground.

Shinka_MJR

Gratz on the purchase. your link is broke though. post pics!