Ike

My first project car will most likely be a 2nd gen/ MR2, if only they weren't so damn hard to work on I would have no doubt. It's also pretty hard to find a good one. I pass one every day with a few dents a few times a week on my way to work, I've thought about leaving a note many times asking if they were interested in selling.

Ike

All I have come up with thus far is a boxer 2.0L 4 cylinder from 1989 weighed 286lbs. Exactly how much has changed with the engine and weight of it I don't know.

budwei

I was in same situation and at last decided to wait. I think the 8 is a beautiful car but it isn’t yet ready to be sold; The renesis engine as it is sucks in terms of reliability and performance compared to other engines on the market. It still needs much development IMO.
And Mazda’s policy to use customers as guinea pigs is not for me.

SpacerX

You sound pretty angry, Bud. Your tone makes it difficult to believe that a car could elicit such emotion. Sorry to see such anger during a Holiday weekend...

budwei

No anger at all Spacer , honest ! My tone may give the wrong impression since English is not my native language...

The rest is exactly what I think of the 8 as today and Mazda as customer policy.

I have a 2001 Miata and very happy with it despite the lower power issue it had when new; And I bought a new Acura RSX TypeS to wait for the 'better' RX8 to come out sometime

Peace

-=Zeqs=-

Minor dents and dings on the body isn't a big deal...paintless dent repair can usually fix that and make it look good as new. I would have to say finding one that hasn't been badly abused is harder...I see too many of them with salvaged titles around where I live.

-=Zeqs=-

I can understand you don't want to buy the 8 because it's still new on the market, but you also have to understand, it does not matter what car manufacture, most of the time, the first year sales of a particular model is the guinea pig model. The Celica GTS has gone through some exhaust piping changes between the first few years, nothing major, but it's there. The Civic Si and RSX Type-S have a super restrictive fuel map from the factory, but Hondata can fix that. Lancer Evo...had some tranny problems? Suburu...stupid street racers kept blowing out the first to second gear synchros. Every car is with their quirks and hopefully all of them get the majority of the issues worked out during their generation of sales.

rabinabo

Some problems aren't found out until it's been driven by customers. Like the problem with the BMW M3 engines was that the cheap gas sold in the US caused engine parts to wear down faster than the high-quality gas that BMW used during testing.

-=Zeqs=-

Gas is gas, right? Spending more is simply buying the brand name to brag about :o

Some people just don't get it..."Gee...ever since I switched over to 'USA" gas, my car seems slower and I hear a sound like rocks pelting against my hood when I floor it...oh well, it'll probably pass with time...but I saved one dollar on a full tank of gas!"

Gord96BRG

Nope. In North America, gasoline has tended to have much higher sulphur content than in Europe, where all refineries have been upgraded over the last 5-7 years to meet new standards. Some refineries here are already low sulphur (ie they remove more of the sulphur present in the crude oil), some have recently been upgraded, and most will be upgraded over the next 4 or 5 years. However, the difference in fuel quality, specifically the sulphur content, has meant some differences - for example, BMW held off on the introduction of aluminum block engines in the 3 series until 2001 because of concerns. In the 5 series, in 94 and 95 BMW sold 3 litre and 4 litre V8s made of an aluminum alloy called Nikasil. They were fine in Europe, but in North America, the high sulphur content in the gasoline meant accelerated wear of the cylinder walls, and BMW had to replace very many engine blocks under warranty. They eventually substituted another alloy (Alusil) that wasn't supsceptible to the sulphur corrosion to eliminate the problem cause by the North American gasoline.

Regards,
Gordon

budwei

The thing with Civic Si and RSX is true but it's not a problem, it's a Plus!; The cars deliver what they promise. Hondata is just an aftermarket ECU reflash that gives you abput 20 whp for $600. There is no big issue going on with these cars and power is indeed underrated. you can check www.clubrsx.com

And Yes there are a lot of teenagers blowing trannys and engines on Evo's, wrx's, civics and rsx's due to mishandling (Eg. a kid on a RSX missshifting from 3rd to 2nd instead of 4th at 8k and engine going BOOM )

The combo that bothers me more in the Rx8 is the "LowerMileage@LowerPower" "that claimed by Mazda". They know very well that most ppl are too good to return their car so they take advantage of that and sell a motor that still needs development.

Ike

Actually I want one with minor dents... I consider that car a possible good one, it looks bone stock is a MT and doesn't hace the heavy T-top. Most of them I come across are either highly modded or autos. Minor dents don't bother me much since the MR2 would be primarily used as a track car.

Ike

Also, you can add the M roadster and other BMW roadsters (Z3, and I believe Z4) to the list of cars with RWD and 50/50 weight distribution. The older M versions are even rated at 240hp and weigh almost exactly the same as the RX-8.

-=Zeqs=-

Funny...the RSX Type-S that raced me when they first came out..couldn't take me...

I was running a 2000 Honda Civic EX on 75 shots of nitrous, 17" rims, suspension, header, and exhaust of course...

Reason why I say it couldn't take me is that 99-01 unmodified Integra Type R's could slowly inch away from me. The Type-S was slowly losing to me.

Reason I say this...Civic EX, stock...127 bhp = 100 whp.
99-01 Integra Type R, stock trim has 195 bhp = 148 whp.
RSX Type S in stock trim is suppose to have 200 bhp, with a six speed tranny which should yield less drivetrain loss than the B18C5's tranny...but it didn't perform as well.

On another note...30 / 35 MPG on my Civic Ex...never happened. More like something along the lines of 20 / 25 the way I normally drive, but never got anything better than 28 MPG highway miles with the cruise control set on 70 MPH. However...nobody seems to be bitching and moaning about that...

-=Zeqs=-

True. I never see anyone use them for anything other than a driveway trophey around where I live though. Such a waste.

red_rx8_red_int

Please people don't quote Ike's post. I, like many, have put Ike on my ignore list. The only person thus relegated. But when people quote him, I'm subjected to his trollness (He even admitted to posting just to stir up ****, and referred to his trollness on another forum). This forum would be much improved if the ignore function would also ignore quotes of ignored persons. I'm all for free speech and all that, but I'm also all for the ability to block speech resembling oral diarrhea.

RX-GR8

i didnt quote his post and i know he's playing a game.

Ike

You guys are nuts... put that in your quote!


Zeqs, it's pretty true what you say, though the M version are certainly owned by more enthusiasts and I seem them out at autox and track events more often even though there are a lot more of the non M versions.

RX-GR8

posting on the forum of a car you don't even own and getting banned. now thats nuts.

Ike

This new fangled internet thing is probably pretty new to you and all but it's pretty commonplace. :p

RX-GR8

nope not new to me at all.

-=Zeqs=-

That's because a lot of people want to look like they know how to auto cross and as if they participate in track events when they really don't even where their gas tank release latch is :p

O.R.A.

It doesn't help that the very own BMWCCA won't allow convertibles at their track events.

Gord96BRG

I think they do allow convertibles, but only if they have approved rollover protection installed - ie 4 point roll bar. The double hoops on the Z3s, Z4s, M Roadsters (and Boxsters, and S2000s) do not meet SCCA regs for rollover protection, so anyone wanting to run one of those on a track usually has to have a real roll bar installed. Many Miata owners install proper roll bars to do track sessions - I imagine far fewer BMW owners are willing to do the same.

Regards,
Gordon

cruzdreamer

I have had a few problems but figure they will get worked out and to me the car is worth it!! I figure it's best to wait a year and see how they work out some kinks.