Low-Flying FA22 Spotted Near Chicago!
 

Well I'm probably not the newest, but I finally made the plunge into sweet, blissful rotary heaven 2 weeks ago! I bought a beautiful brilliant black RX-8 at Community Mazda in Oak Forest with S-Plan pricing, and I couldn't be happier! She's gorgeous, quick, and everything I hoped she could be. I know there are a lot of people mulling the thought of abandoning piston engines too, soooo...

First Notes:

-Almost got tempted by a Nordic Green baby in the showroom, too bad it had a slushbox. That color is far better in person for sure!

-Just about to cross 600 miles and I have to say I wasn't exactly the nicest to her during the break-in period. Hopefully this won't bite me in the butt too hard later on. That break-in period is impossible to follow...it's just too damned tempting to let 'er rip! I've only beeped twice though, but I've come near it more than a few times.

-I'm averaging 15mpg over 3 tanks so far. A little less than I expected, but I expect that to go up once it breaks in further and I take things a little easier. ;)

-Oil level is at halfway after 600 miles. Again I expect that to get better as time goes on.

-Tailpipes get dirty VERY quickly. "Eat my dust!" has now become "Eat my soot!" :D

-Bose stereo is so-so. Sounded great at first, but now is a little less appealing now that I've listened to some other CD's on it. Wankel's Wonder is the sound system to beat in this car though, so I usually have the stereo off anyways. :)

-As stated before, this engine sounds fantastic! Even more impressive is how smooth it is too.

-Lack of torque concern is no more. This car pulls all the way to redline and you'll be illegal before you're aware of it.

-First time stick driver and I know that my clutch isn't too happy about that either! I have driven a few other cars before and this is transmission is one smooth operator. The shifter seems a bit notchy but not worth complaining about at all. I was concerned about how I would get along in legendary Chicago traffic with it and so far it hasn't been a problem at all. Of course I'm saying this before construction season, stay tuned.

-Do not get the automatic! This should be common sense, but I don't see how it can wear the same model name as the manual version...two completely different cars! Trust me, this is one easy car to learn and drive stick on.

-Flooding issue (the big scary one!) has been a non-factor. This car has started up every time with less than 7 seconds cranking every time. I believe the longer cranks were due to the fact as to how cold it's been here. Even if I'm not completely convinced that the car isn't warmed up properly, I just have to hold it at 3k rpm for 10 seconds and shut it off. No big deal.

-We've gotten a dusting of snow up here this past week and I've driven my RX-8 to work every day without slipping or sliding at all. Frankly I'm amazed at this considering the tires. She will get snow tires before next winter though.

-Handling and ride are where I expected them to be...very, very good that is. However I'm noticing a bit more understeer than I remembered from when I test drove it months ago. Not a terribly huge concern though as it is one of the most neutral cars I've ever driven. I'm sure that it's far less than the 350Z anyways! :D

-Car HAS slipped a couple of times in some very wet conditions (we've had some really crappy weather up here lately), but I'm amazed at how quickly the DSC and TCS snap this car back into line!

Overall, one of the finest cars I've ever driven yet...and this is coming from a former porter at a Mercedes/BMW dealer (BMW M Coupe is still the car to beat for dynamic ability though...M3 included). I reeeaaalllly hope I can keep this car far beyond the warranty, but I may have to trade it in if things start going "boink" under the hood. Fingers are crossed that I didn't do too much damage during the break-in period! As for the low-flying FA22 comment, I had a co-worker point out that it looks a lot like the FA22 Raptor stealth fighter. In black, the similarities are striking, no? :D Maybe I'll make a license plate out of it...

No pictures yet as it's very dirty (crappy weather, remember), but as soon as I get some decent scenery and a clean car I will snap away and post them in the multimedia section. I have some ideas in mind for some great pictures with this car, one being near the Shedd Aquarium along the lakefront, so I'll be sure to post those as well.

I think I'm like the 567th black RX-8 in the Chicagoland area...maybe we should start a club? :eek: We could drive up and down LSD, doing Blue Angel-like formations, hehe.

Congrats, man.

Which S-Plan partner you work for?

Well I'd say but we work on a lot of high profile contracts for the government so I'm going stay mum on the name.

It's a very large construction management firm. Think Microsoft if they built things...yes we're just as evil too.

I'm not exactly sure how we're a Ford Partner, but hell I'm not going to complain. :D

Almost forgot to add!

I took my RX-8 on a date last weekend...and it passed the test with the ladies, or at least the one that mattered that night!

She got in and went "Woah, this...this is really hot!". Not sure if she was referring to the fact that I had the seat warmers on for an hour or the car's red/black interior, but hey I'll take it. :)

I guess it's settled...chicks dig Wankel. :D

Next test is to convert one of my female friends. She's said on record that if I bought a 350Z she's dump her boyfriend and jump on me in a heartbeat. Don't worry, I'll show her the light. ;)

In the meantime, I'm going to find a place that rents (or at least a nearby dealer) 350Z's and make her the butt of a really cold joke. That'll teach her!

Cool! No prob on the partner. Just wondered if we worked for the same one. Don't think so. :)

Congratulations and good luck.

Also bought on S plan back in December. Funny thing, after all the talk and yes hassle (S plan is supposed to be hassle and haggle free, right?), the dealer never even took my PIN #. They must have just discounted to the plan price.

Did your dealer do the S plan paperwork?

Glad to see you have already noticed the + and - of the 8 and won't be a whiney poster about how you are disapointed in this or that and that you are accepting this beautiful machine as it is and is meant to be. Welcome to the Forum, hope to hear good things from you.

Congrats, welcome to the forum, and hello from Black Chitown RX-8 club member #144 : ). Also purchased on the S-Plan- made it the easiest transaction I've ever had.

I agree with you on the Stealth fighter comment- I considered a customized plate with something along those lines too (just got my [R XLR 8] plates in the mail today actually).

Poke your head in the MW regional forum when you get a chance- we've been discussing a get together in Schaumburg soon when the weather gets a little better.

Re: Low-Flying FA22 Spotted Near Chicago!
 

OoooOHhhHHhhhh...don't get me started!

But this time I won't fall to the temptation as there are numerous other threads on this subject. Suffice it to say we all have our reasons for buying this car and transmission choice falls into that category. For most of us, the mundane driving 99% of us do 99% of the time the A/T works just fine...but there I go - I got started. Darn!

And I'll chime in here with Katchoo. There is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED to go dissin folks who chose the "high torque" version. We had our reasons, the car suits our needs.

Congrats on your ride. Glad you like it. Enjoy.

mm

PS to Katchoo - Keep 'em honest. Good work. Also, I admire your taste in color! :-)

Buying under the S Plan was awesome, completely hassle and haggle free! They had the S Plan price already printed on their information sheet for the car, so I didn't even have to break it down for them. They did ask for the PIN number though.

They had an E Plan price on it too that was another several grand below the S Plan price. I guess that's reserved for Mazda Elite dealer employees, but Community Mazda was too new to be an Elite dealer.