Hi All,

I posted earlier when I was planning on trading my S2k in on an RX-8 for the fact I needed back seats for my soon to be born son.

I ended up with a Red with black/red leather seats and all options other than the GPS. I decided against the GPS because I have a Garmin Street Pilot 2610 which I love so I couldn't see putting an extra 2 grand into the price of the car.

Here are my observations(and forgive me as I tend not to put a positive spin but call them as I see them):

Pros:
4 Seats!
Great Stereo
Lightweight
Rotary Engine
Nice Interior (I just love the red/black leather)
9k RPM
Quiet
Comfortable
Even distribution of power (and yes I know it goes up at highers rpms)

Cons:
Soft handling
No real PEP ( My former cars were three turbos and one S2000)
Poor Gas Mileage
Quiet (I listed this as a pro too)
Great transmission (manual)

These are my initial impressions and might change over time.

One question for the more experienced RX-8 owners:

WHAT DO I NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR?? ANY GOTCHAS?

I know to keep an eye on the oil since it is a rotary engine.

Thanks in advance,
Dean

 

It's recommended that you keep a spare quart of oil in the trunk.

 

Welcome to the Club!

Ditto keeping a quart of oil. I keep mine in a zip lock bag in the trunk. Only needed is once so far.
Find out if your car has the M-flash. This will help the mileage among other things. You can read about it in the Tech Garage.
Follow the break-in period.
Change the oil on a regular basis. One of the keys to rotary engine longevity.
The AC is on when you have the vents set to send air to your feet .. yes even if the AC is turned off. It's in the manual but you could easily miss this one and hurt your gas mileage.
Did I mention change the oil.
I like your color selection!

 

Congrats and many happy miles!

I'll reiterate...resist the temptation to blow off the break-in.

One question about you impressions...why is "Great transmission" a con?

 

Forgive my ignorance but what is the M flash? I assume this is some sort of ECU firmware update? If so, is this a free upgrade from Mazda?

Thank,
Dean

 

Why do you feel the handling is "soft"?

And, like that last poster, why do you list "great transmission (manual)" as a "Con"?

 

break in ...smake in...have fun with the car now. the manual says..."no special break in is necessary...don't drive constantly at 7000rpm for EXTENDED periods of time" The dealers and mazda say to drive the car hard. instant gratification

 

My dealer drove the car himself first. Redline shifts at 9000 rpm and chirps in 2nd and 3rd gear!!!

 

Dean go to this thread ... Polak gives an excellent summary of the series of ECU flashes that Mazda has issued in this thread:

L & M Flash info

Try this thread in the Tech Garage about the M-Flash:

M-Flash info/questions

This is one of the sites where you can find Service Bulletins. (Click on the RX-8)

Finishline Performance site

You may want to spend some time searching the RX-8 Club site. There is an enormous amount of info available.

Enjoy your 8!

 

I keep my spare quart (Castrol 5w20) in the pass-through compartment in a couple plastic bags along with an emergency stash of diapers, wipes, and a pacifier.

I haven't updated the flash since I haven't had any problems with the car (mine was manufactured in Feb 04).

Other things to keep in mind:

• Don't shut off engine when its cold (if you must shut it down before it's warmed up, rev to 3k for 10 seconds and then shut it off).
• The 18" rims are easy to damage. Avoid potholes and watch for curbs.
• Don't drive in snow with stock tires. They also lose some grip at low temperatures.
• Bug guts can eat through the clear-coat quickly, especially when baked by the sun. I got some permanent yellow stains in less than a week.
• Interior plastic is easy to scratch.
• Watch those downshifts (a frind of mine dropped from 5th to 2nd by mistake)
• when parking, put it in 1st gear (should be common sense, but surprisingly enough, a lot of people don't do it). You can use the e-brake too, except when it's really cold out.

 

Welcome. Drive it like you stole it B4 kid arrives. All the above is good info.

 

Sorry guys, I messed up on that point about the manual.

I meant to say the manual is great and put in a con that they sell it in auto. As for the handling, it is soft compared to my s2000. The S2000 made you feel every part of the road. The 8 feels more like you roll over things.

I will shift at 9k everytime just like I did in my other car. The downshifting is easy as the RPMs are close for downshifting.

Dean

 

BTW, I asked the service department (and the so called expert on RX-8) about M-Flash and he has never heard of it. He said it had to be aftermarket because Mazda doesn't have any firmware upgraded.

I think I need to find another Mazda dealer to service my car.

Dean

 

Where are you located?

 

Oh My God! For the love of your car PLEASE seek an enlightened Mazda dealership.
Uninformed and/or careless dealers have to be the biggest achilles heal of the RX-8.

 

I am in Winston-Salem, NC. I will have to call another dealer in the area in Greensboro, Charlotte, or Statesville.

Dean

 

I called the next nearest dealer this morning and they were quite familar with the M-Flash. She looked my VIN number up and said I had the M-Flash done on June 4th for this car.

I have found the dealer I am taking the car to for service!

Dean

 

what a liar the dealer is....


Dean2900:
"As for the handling, it is soft compared to my s2000. The S2000 made you feel every part of the road. The 8 feels more like you roll over things."

and thats a bad thing???

 

since you have owned both which has more get up and go ? and if the s2000 came out with back seats would you switch back?

 

8,

The S2000 would easily smoke an RX-8 stock for stock. I have a run of 13.685 in the 1/4 mile with slight mods. (VAFC, CAI, EXHAUST).

The cars are more than a second off where 10 of a seconds or gold.

Don't get me wrong, I like the RX-8 but the S2000 is much more fun and much faster. However, they really are apples to oranges. The RX-8 is nicer inside and drives smoother but there is no way on earth I would take my stock RX-8 to the track and race and S2000. They have too much more in usable HP and handling. However, the RX-8 is more better as a daily driver even though the gas mileage sucks as I am finding out

TODreamer,

The "soft" vs "hard" handling is different. The idea car would have a switch. At high speeds, I prefer the "hard" handling because I feel like I am more in control of the car (whether real or imagined). As for driving in daily traffic, it sure is nice not to feel every bump in the road to the same degree.

Dean

 

dean2900, if you were to modify the RX8's suspension, you could significantly improve its handling (and since you prefer a harsher ride, why not?)

The S2000 is awesome, but for me it's too impractical to be anything more than a toy. The RX8's driving dynamics are closer to the S2000's than any other 4-door I've driven (despite the RX8's softer ride).

 

Deslock, I agree completely. The reason I got rid of the S2000 is because of the impracticality. Two seats, no airbug cutoff, no space, new tires every 8k miles. The reason I got the RX-8 because it is like the little brother of the S2000.

I am actually leasing the RX-8 so there will be no mods. I don't think changing to an x-brace style suspension makes sense on the RX-8 anyways.

Dean