I'm at 122k in my 04 on the original engine and she's still going good for now, no hot start issues yet so I'm hoping to get another 20 or 30k before I have to rebuild

 

I have an 04 automatic purchased new ( I hear the groans guys!).

My first engine began to lose compression somewhere around 60'000 miles. Three days before the warranty expired, the slipped in another engine. While waiting for that week to pass, I began reading about pre-mixing...never had heard of it before. It was logical. I started pre-mixing this engine on day one with Idemitsu. Design flaws weren't keeping the seals in good shape without it. I've been prefmixing ever since and have about 40k miles on this second engine. Still going strong.

Oh I won't say it hasn't been costly to keep up...new motor mounts, plugs/coils, etc. Mazda made some short-sighted mistakes on the 04...the biggest was the software as its been re-flashed 5 or 6 times. But it's now 12 years old and still serving me. My dealership has been terrible.

All in all, what a great ride!

 

Will it be a new motor?

 

If it is replaced under your Mazda warranty (don't know if the op's reported 105k mileage is miles or kilometers) it will be a rebuilt motor from Mazda's rotary engine rebuilding facility in Virginia.

Sounds like the op is getting a motor rebuilt on his own ?

BTW, I am getting a reman engine (rebuilt) put in my RX8 at 64,000 miles, under the warranty. Tested low compression with two weeks left on the eight years since it was bought new on May 18,2008. Close call ,but my dealer says no problem, my maintenance records are perfect over the past eight years.

 

I have over 100000 runs great

 

That's what they all say until they find out a) they are not actually on the original engine and/or b) they rapidly begin having issues.

 

137,000 miles on the OG engine still running pretty well no hot starts, no power loss, compression test 6 months ago still had good compression original owner said it was the original engine and mazda verified it so unless he went through a 3rd party and lied about it I would say it is the real deal. I have developed oil leaks in the omp and front seal which may lead to this cars downfall unless I can find a decent person who works on these as the front seal is beyond my mechanical capabilities but I check oil daily and keep the trunk stocked lol.

 

Okay so i am new to the RX8 Rotory engine ive built a few cars with my grandfather and i respect every vehicle i own and treat it good, so i got this RX8 04' with 108567 miles on it, the guy had the Rotarys redone with a new omp line anyways will i need to replace the engine again?? Since the date it actually has about 68000 miles on it with no engine problems i check pil regulary and keep it maintained i usually let it.runs for about 5 minutes before actually going anywhere and before jumping RPMs i let the engine warm up more, my grandfather said if i run high RPMs in the rotary engine it actually helps with carbon build up. Im jusy figuring put if im keeping a good upkeep on it and should i expect anymore engine rebuild

 

Your grandfather is correct, but there is more to it. You should read up here: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

You don't really need to wait 5 minutes before going somewhere, just don't beat on it until it's fully warm. Since the engine currently in there has 68000 miles(or 108567? your post is not well written), whether or not you need a rebuild will depend a lot on how the previous owner maintained it. There are no guarantees with these things.

 

My 2004 6MT is on it's 3rd engine/rebuild... and it only has 84k miles.

Somewhere around 50k was the first, noted as a "replacement" in 2008 via carfax report.. (Date is documented, but not mileage, so basing off of the last/next mileage reading).

Second was a rebuild done about 2-3k miles before I bought it, so around 80k miles.


The latest rebuild was done by a reputable shop and has been premixed since then by myself and the PO. I am always on top of my maintenance so I'm hoping this will be it's last engine/rebuild for a very long time.

 

Ok I WAS looking at some 2005's but after reading this entire thread I would have to say bowing out with grace is far better than buying out a new Reman. I've owned 7's and enjoyed them but with the 04-06 problems and the way dealers want to price them far and above the avg price it just isn't in the cards to get back into a discontinued model line.

Where can you find the engine codes to check for a Reman vs original codes?

 

Emphasis on Mazda remans. Remans done by professional rebuilders like Pineapple or Pettit are a different story. Also buying from a dealer is, as usual, not the best price.

Mazda remans will have a blue badge on the front cover, sort of above the water pump with a serial number. Other than the presence or absence of that tag, I'm not aware of a way to identify an original engine or a reman.

I think the best startegy is to buy a whatever year car with a blown engine, for cheap, and have a fresh rebuild from a reputable builder put in. That way you have full control of the situation. Keep in mind also that often, it's not the engine that's the source of the problem, but the ancillaries: ignition coils, catalytic converters, radiators.

 

Thanks Loki. Advice taken into consideration. i found a few 10 and 11 models that have low mileage and are the better engines. Taking into consideration the price of obtaining a unknown 04-08 model and the newer 09-11 engines with 6 port and corrections of the oil injection/pressure relative to the old 7 models, buying a low mileage (30-40k) 09-11 is a better option and there are 2 close to my location and 1 about 4 hours away. The price works out nearly the same as old with new engine vs newer model with better engine.

Thanks for your input.

 

My friend has a 2004 RX-8 manual and he got the engine failure. We tried to diagnose the problem but I wasn't that much of a help. He got the car repo'ed and so he doesn't have to deal with that problem.

 

137k is pretty good for a lot of cars, good to see this.

 

I worked on a 2005 RX-8 on Sunday that had 40,000 original miles and it had a reman in it. The owner didn't believe it until I showed him the reman tag on the engine. It was a one owner car that he bought last year.

 

I had a compression test just two weeks before my 8yr warranty was to expire, and my engine tested borderline low compression at 64k miles. Mazda replaced the engine without any hassles (I had full dealer service records as original owner). Got 6k miles on the reman from Mazda and its does run stronger (did the 2k mile proper break in process).

It was my first ever low compression on any of my seven rotary cars, including my track cars ! So the Renesis is not the stalwart of the 13B ,even my turbocharged 13Bs. Glad you are getting such great life with yours, Cheers !

 

I would *far and away* prefer to have a cheaper/older car with a few issues and rebuild that engine to spec for the same money as buying a newer/nicer/lower mileage car and expecting the engine to last the same number of years and miles going forward without issues, and the money for the older car plus repairs is still likely to be less than the money for the newer low mile car.

However, if you are the type who wants to write a check and drive away, I can see how the newer car would be an attractive option. I still think you will wind up with less for the money, but I guess it depends on the market and availability in your area.

 

76k with 9+ compression on original engine? We scoured the block looking for reman tags. S1, too. Have been premixing and using mainly 91+ non ethanol if I can find it.

 

9's? We compression tested a then new 2010 R3 years back and it was high 8's when normalized. I have never seen one hit 9's.

 

hey Texas folks, what is the review of Rotary Performance (Garland, Texas, near Dallas) as an engine rebuilder ?

Rotary Performance

 

I'm waiting for the second test. I'll run the numbers through the foxed CA again, but IIRC at 250 RPM the car was running 7.3 on the lowest face on the rear rotor at 6034 feet. If I'm doing my normalization math correctly using the calculator that's 9's? I'll double check things, but I'm supposed to be having updated #'s from him sometime this week. In fact, if it's dry enough down there I'll take it out for a drive and take my wife through some of the canyons. I miss my 8.

 

I have tested dozens of rotary engines of all years and models throughout the years and I have never seen one test in the 9's when the test was correctly done at operating temperature and without any extraneous oil/fluid added to the plug holes. Most of the compression tests you see with these astronomical figures have had oil added to the chambers to artificially/temporarily raise the compression values, and as soon as the engine is started and the oil is burned out of it, the true compression goes back down to the 6s or 7s.

76k is more than 80% of the average lifespan of an S1 6 port engine. I would give it about a 1% chance that it's actually testing in the 9's and is the original engine.

 

Mine did, in '16, at 29K miles:

Rotor 1: 8.8, 9.2, 8.8 - 250 RPM
Rotor 2: 9.4, 9.3, 8.9 - 250 RPM

My Mazda mechanic - who owns an RX-7 - said those are nice numbers - better, in fact, than some new 8's show fresh from the factory. To be honest, I'm not surprised; Car and Driver suggested that rotaries get better with age in their very first long-term RX-8 test:

"Racers say rotary engines get faster as they age, the engine's best lap always being the last one. The RX-8 didn't disprove the theory after 40,000 miles, cutting its drag sprints down to 5.9 seconds for 60 mph and 14.6 seconds at 96 mph through the quarter." — Car and Driver, September, 2005

 

All rotary engines are hand-assembled, causing inevitable variation. I have seen varying numbers for even seemingly identical brand new rotaries. I don't doubt New Yorker or CelestialGryphon.