Bell curves always have tails. That said, some tails seem more like tales than reality.

 

My 2010 GT which was well cared for with fully documented service work at Brown Mazda in VA. The 37K compression testing done by Whitney Automotive using the Mazda calibrated tester was: Rotor 1- 7.9, 7.9, 7.9 @ 299 RPM, Rotor 2- 7.9, 7.9, 8.0 @ 304 RPM. Si there's another piece of data on the S2. Since I've done every piece of maintenance item I can do from ignition, premixing, 93 octane, driving it as designed, 1000-1500 oil change intervals with N3R1 filter and 5W20 SN grade oil, engine air filters, MAF cleaning, etc. I intend on keeping this car even when the RX9 comes out in 2018+.

 

Man, do you know how many owners have told me how reliable their RX-8's have been and how they expect them to last to 100k with no issues? And then a year later they call me defeated and flabbergasted when they find out their engines have low compression despite the meticulous care they provided.

I always tell our new guys, if you can't afford an engine replacement, just get rid of it now. But sadly many of these kids are buying them without doing proper research and spending way too much. Some can't handle hearing the truth and get all pissy and think we are just being mean, but it doesn't take long for them to realize we are speaking from experience and just trying to give them real advice based on many years of ownership.

We have a local kid who owes $11,000.00 on a 2005. He **** when I told him that I would have sold him my 8 for less than that,

 

 

Excellent advice for the newly intiated - I bought the 2010 GT with a few years of rotary knowledge and knew full well what I was getting myself into - driving fast in a slow car that will need quite a bit of maintenance (that may not matter in the end). I pride myself on spending the money to do it right and when it's needed. I was also fully prepared to spend $5000 for an engine replacement once the warranty runs out. I had the compression done before I even left home to travel to VA to purchase my car. As a result I got what i paid for my $.

 

And yes, S2 Renesis definitely more reliable. We have had two local guys who had S1's and then bought R3's and both had engine problems and other issues with their S1's and no problems with their S2's. Both are in the 100k range now. I know a few other guys that own S2's that S1's and the consensus is that they are definitely more reliable. But it's sad that in the RX-8 world we praise being able to make to 130k,

 

Wow that's bad. For what I bought mine for I could do at least 2 more engine rebuilds before I'd end up "upsidown" when considering the car's current cash value. I did my research tho, and waited over a year to find one that would be a good project to tinker with. It is true, most people I see do no research prior to purchase.

 

For other readers, don't mistake this as meaning they are immune to the same problems. Mazda just remedied a few things.. and generally speaking they have increased reliability. My friend has an S2 that had it's engine replaced around 80k if I remember correctly (he is VERY on top of his rotary care/maintenance). It does happen, just probably not quite as frequently as those of us with the first gen of renesis.

 

Well, you have to realize there were more far S1 engines rebuilt than 2009-2011 RX-8's were sold. There were only about 4000 S2 RX-8's sold in the US from 2009-2011 (only 759 in 2011), yet the Mazda reman plant churned out 5000 remans in one year alone back in 2008 or so. So if that number stayed consistent every year, then they have rebuilt probably 6 S1 engines for every S2 RX-8 ever sold.

This quote is from an article about the VA Mazda Reman plant from a VA news paper:

 

I know I'll eventually need an engine. Until then, I'll continue driving it.

 

How does one go about getting a >$11k loan for a 12 year old car worth 6 grand in the book? Did the loan officer not bother to look up the value?

 

I have no idea, hell we had a guy like 7 years ago pay 12k for an 04' and we thought that was bad. My guess is the cars are bought at those sleezy self financing dealers.

 

That is the same way I bought mine back in August last year. I bought it knowing that it would need a rebuild soon, judging by the way it started hot.

I wanted one as a project, that's what I got. It's parked for the winter, soon to get a transplant or rebuild. It has a 135,xxx, pretty sure it's the original even though the owner stated it was replaced at 89,xxx.

I think I am going with Rotary Resurrection, I've rebuilt many piston engines and the rotary does not seem that complicated other then building the rotor correctly and making sure the irons are reusable. I just don't want to be in a situation where I do it all myself, go to start it and doesn't run right or not at all and have to tear it all back apart. For what I might save doing it myself, I don't think it's worth it. I would rather pay a little extra, drop it in, turn the key, waabamm she's purrs like a kitten.

 

Mine is a Rotary Resurrection rebuild. I am very happy. It runs incredibly smooth and starts within 1 second hot (after idling or after spirited driving). It's at about 8kish miles on it so far. I anticipate a reasonable life span out of it, even though it utilized used/B condition housings.

I have figured when the time comes for another rebuild down the line, I will have to go to new housings at that point, as these ones have had many miles on them. So the next rebuild will be a few pennies more :P

 

Adding to the stories... I have a 2004, 109k miles. I bought it with 50k on it, no engine replacement mentioned in the CarFax. So I'm assuming it's original. I've had ZERO problems with the car (other than a deer running into the side of it, still not fixed). I taught my son to drive a stick in it - big mistake, 4th gear synchro is pretty much shot. I'm just hoping the engine and tranny go at the same time - easier to do both at once. I started premixing at 63k, thanks to what I read on this forum. Runs like a top... about to take it out of winter storage in a month or so. I drive it like I stole it (sometimes at least) which I gather is the right way to do it. heh

 

Carfax doesn't show jack.

 

For starters, log on to mazdarecallinfo.com with your VIN to check if all of your recall issues were addressed.
I believe you can call MNAO to find out if your engine was replaced under warranty, but Idk if they can tell you if it was done out of warranty by a 3rd party.
There also is a blue tag on factory rebuilt engines.

 

MNAO
By Phone

M-F, 5:00am - 6:00pm PST
Sat., 7:00am - 3:00pm PST

(800) 222‑5500

 

There is a sucker born every day !. A little research goes a long way !. Some times people only look at the quirky body style and like it with out looking into any thing. I had a rough beginning because i also didn't really understand my 8 when i bought it but after spending more time researching than posting i began to understand the engine and the over all joy in driving it. There has been a lot of evoilution since the 2004 series one. I currently have 112,000 and change in miles , i bought it with 2 or 3 thousand miles on it so basically new..

As far as a 11k loan on a 12 year old car worth 6k , back to the research issue. There are many dealers who see a sucker coming and they have no problem getting a young kid up side down in the loan at the start of the loan , unfortunately it is a common practice today. I remember when the still on going debate on pre mixing was raging on a few years back . I a tribute my 112,000 miles to premixing 1/2 oz to a gallon of fuel , 2 sets of coils/plugs and changing the full synthetic oil every 3,000 miles like clock work. This isn't a car for every one.

 

Ive got 120km and still going Strong . Run some Pre mix and always give her the revs it was made to do and she will treat you well !!!!!

 

Afraid she's "gonna blow"? It's 2017. Any modern engine – properly maintained* – will last well over 100K miles. Been true now for decades.

*Note: most engines are not properly maintained.

 

A rotary engine is not a normal engine that you are used to getting to at least 200,000 miles. It uses oil injection to lubricate the compression seals. Too much oil or recommending mixing oil in the gas will cause it to fail emission tests when the engine was certified. The biggest problem is not being able to change the rotor seals without removing and tearing down the engine.

 

My engine just failed with 97k.

I'm past the 8 years.

 

They quoted me $8k for a new engine. Is it worth it all?

 

NO!

Buy a newer RX8 and sell this one to an idiot.

By the way, my engine died at 50K, 75K, 93K and just kept going. They were just flooding events. If you can get it to run try cleaning it out with Mazda Zoom and replace the plugs, coils and wires.