Cover my oil coolers and radiator so I don't have to make my car look ghetto by using products from Home Depot to cover those suckers.

Give me a real grill on the back end of the car, nothing worse than honeycomb grills that don't have holes in em.

-Rupes

First let me say that I just love this car. But, it is not *yet* perfect.
Interior fixes:
Center console needs a redesign for the cup holder and seat warmer switch locations. My center console slide cover always slides forward under heavy braking. It is also not very strong when closed (try leaning on it when reaching accross the console).

The plastic surrounding the gauge cluster is cheesy compared with the rest of the dash.

The trunk switch is too low.

Get rid of the perforated visor panels.

More brushed aluminum inside.

Exterior:
As the previous poster said, put a real screen on the rear or the Mazda Speed air flow style.

Clean up the rear lines: the car's a bit too busy. See the acura TL for a guide, but not quite that bland. The Infiniti G35C is another good example.

The car definitely needs a bigger fuel tank. It's just not big enough for a car that does less than 20 mpg.

For anyone worried about the extra weight - just don't fill it all the way up.

Memory Seats

- Fuel tank
- Memory seats
- Auto up/down windows with one touch remote key fob control (see Lexus)
- Bigger tank
- Taller 6th
- Relocate trunk release button - it's a PITA to find
- Insulate the trunk floor better - I'm tired of having to have my fiancee's bag ride in the back seat so her makeup, etc doesn't melt.
- Mini jack input for head unit
- pre-amp out for head unit, or stronger factory sub
- More power / low end torque - just for drivability

The car is awesome now, but with the above, it'd be hard to beat, and stealing sales from the 3 series and IS300.

Trany
 

I love this car more than any other I have owned. The one thing I would improve is the trany, get rid of that noise. It had the noise when it was new but with 3500 miles on it it is louder. It makes me feel like its going to go next time I chirp a 2nd.
On the subject of 2nd, It grinds almost every time I take the rpms past 8500. Has any one else had this happen?, and will mazda fix it? Every thing else I can live with, love it just want a more reliable trany.

04 rx8 Black, 1GT B/r int. with all the factory fixins.

Re: Trany
 

Hmm. I don't find the trans particularly loud as compared to any other car, and I am a little concerned about your "grinding"?? issue at 8,500 R's? If you are talking about shifting into gear at 8,500, well that wouldn't be too unusual, but shifting out at 8,500 should be as smooth as shifting at 3,500 so that would be a little weird. If you are talking about grinding without shifting then you really do have an issue because that isn't right. The latter issue would point to a bad gear and a total trans rebuild.

There have been some problems with throwout bearings and some gear problems with the transes. Do a search on this forum for information for grinding and "bad transmission" as search terms. Also take your car to the dealer immediately. I think that they should take a listen to it. Something sounds wrong in there.

There have been reports of Mazda doing full transmission rebuilds for similar problems.

Best of Luck, and I hope that it gets better for you.

H

T-TOPS
MORE POWER
AWD (option would be sweet)
Rear Windows should be electric...

i dont own a rx-8 but have driven one for about 15 minutes... and the A/C is weak...

Sorry but I disagree. Powered rear windows is totally useless.
More weight for NOTHING, and all the cars I've seen with this feature broke down all the time! Why open those windows....?

Don't know about the US but the climate control we get in europe is the best I've seen, no kidding!! :p

OK.. FIRST OFF I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY 8. AND WANT NO OTHER CAR ON THE MARKET... BUT I HAVE SOME SMALL COMPLAINTS AS WELL FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE...

1) GAS MILEAGE.... OH MY GOD!!! I DRIVE LIKE A GRANDMA AND STILL CANT BREAK 15 MPG..

2) THERE ARE 4 CUPHOLDERS IN THE DAMN THING. AND NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS CONVENIANT FOR THE DRIVER TO USE!!

3) ANYTHING BELOW 4-5000 RPM'S HAS VERY SLOW RESPONCE AND LOW POWER

4) THE A.C. BLOW'S LIKE A DISABLED OVERWEIGHT GRANDMOTHER.

5) THE RATTLE SOUND FROM THE ENGINE IN LOW-MID RPM'S OFF A QUICK START.

6) mod edit: this comment was not appropriate for this forum. Refer to the TOS you agreed to when you signed up if you have questions.

MY NAME IS IAN HALL. I PLAY DODGEBALL. I DRIVE AN RX8. I PIMP HO'Z.

After reading all the posts and driving my car some more, here are some more things I'd like to see changed...

1. Bigger gas tank
2. All season tires a no cost option for cold climate regions
3. UK spoiler available here

The basic car is awesome, I wouldn't change much. I would like a sub $25,000 6 speed stripper model, all the performance stuff, but with just a AM/FM Cassette player, no cruise, no power windows, locks, no TCS/DSC, no power mirrors, maybe some cheaper 17" wheel and tire setup. Maybe they could offer at the same current $27,200 base price, but with some more performance stuff, like a stiffer suspension, more aggresssive exhaust, light flywheel, just some stuff from the Mazdaspeed catalog. It could be like a club racer model.....but, who here would really buy one?

I would have...

Low End Torque
Horsepower
Turbo would be nice
Fix flooding issue
Better gas mileage

A simple request really--an MP3 player that can shuffle through multiple folders, and read newer ID3 tags.

BUMP

Factory or Aftermarket Turbo Option
Stonger Tranny
Stronger Dif
Lean this AF mixture - Get the Map corrected!
Better Flowing CAT
Header Option

Air Condition the Seats
Move Seat Heater Switches
Better Heat/Sound Insulation
Better Paint and Clearcoat - No More Orange Peal!

Who are those people who want more HP and MPG at the same time. :confused: Oxymorons. There is no free lunch

Good features :)
Digital speedometer
mpg as expected for a rotary with heavier gvrw

Negatives: :mad:
Small fuel tank
Keep the tach and other displays lite when starting the car
Cheap material and design visor panels.
Center console sucks big time
(move the shifter to the rear about 1-2” , skip/move the cup holders and make inserts for them, they currently interfere with your arm placement)
Lower back end for visibility and try to eliminate the blind spots
Ambient temp/radio readout too dim to see sometimes
Possible adjustable seat belt/height

Improvements

-More sturdily built center console lid

-Rather than a cheap plastic strap on the gas cap, put a little place for it to sit on the inside of the gas lid. I hate having it lean against my car!

-Stronger transmission

-Ditch the Bose. Get something worth paying extra for.

-Option for aluminum dash, a'la Mazda 6

-Cut down the weight. Stripper version all the way. Make AC an option.

-Protection for oil coolers, stock.

-Options for a grill, billet or mesh. Come out with something to surprise us.

-TRAIN YOUR MECHANICS. For the love of god, I shouldn't be afraid to bring in my car to a dealer. You take pride in being the only automaker to make rotary engines...now back it up by having someone who knows how to work on it. Its not even the engine, just the car in general that they are absolutely ignorant about. Have some type of dealer incentives to train their people better.

-Cup holders. Just like everyone else, I hate having them under my arm.

-Rotary accents stock. Come on guys...trying to charge almost $200 for them? And then having a dealer tell me it will be $35 for him to install them...THEY ARE TWO SIDED TAPE. To me, thats disgusting. Gouging is the only word for it.

-Orange peel. Charge an extra $500 per car and get a better paint job.

-Get rid of the stupid options "packages." Let us personalize a bit more.

-Radio readout - adjustable color/brightness? I'm colorblind, its almost impossible for me to read that thing unless its dark outside.

-Touchscreen navigation, rather than the rather touchy control panel

-As stated before, the doors never stay open. Very annoying.

-E-brake seems to suck. Had my car roll back TWICE on almost non-existant grades. Other people have had this problem as well.

All in all, I love my car, which is why I care so much about improving it :)

MORE TORQUE!! with out waisting that much gas...

If in fact there will be a new MazdaSpeed RX-8 that is turbo or supercharged, make it in a package so the old N/A RX-8 owners can have it installed at the dealer, that way we wont feel inferior. ;)

A Few Things
 

Most have been said before, but here I go:

1) Deeper drinkholders (so the drinks don't fall over when you accelerate).
2) Move the #$@ seat heater switches.
3) Glass headlight housings (so they don't scratch as easily)
4) Emergency brake handle that sits closer to the console (no, I don't need to hold onto it while I'm cornering).
5) A dash-mounted power/start switch like the '05 Corvette (lose the key, keep the remote).
6) Flush-mounted exterior door handles.
7) Easier access to the oil dip stick (don't have to remove cover first, and no hose in the way).
8) Better gas mileage and more torque (Corvette delivers on both).
9) Get rid of (or make smaller) the front Mazda logo, the rear Mazda logo. The back of the car is WAY too busy looking.
10) Offer chrome 5-spoke wheels as an option.
11) Shorter throw clutch. I have to put the seat really far forward to fully engage the clutch, and then I'm too close to the gas pedal.
12) A hook for the cas cap instead of the $#@%^& plastic 'string'.
13) Darker factory window tinting would be nice!
14) Lose the limiter on the top speed (not that I intend ever to go past 148, but it's nice to know that I could if a slow helicopter was chasing me:)!
15) Standard DIN stereo, go I can trash that piece of $#@% BOSE stereo, have MP3 capability, and maybe even satellite radio. This one almost kept me from buying the car!
16) Aluminum trim rings (A/C vents, center console, shifter base). Cheesy plastic.

I really enjoy the 8!! :D
Significant improvement over my FC.
I wish Mazda would consider these ....

1. Telescoping steering wheel …(leave the position of the gauges alone)
2. Larger gas tank 18-20 gallons
3. More HP 250-275
4. Sirius Satellite Radio for 2004 and forward
5. Move the front cupholders so I don’t hit my drink :mad: when I’m changing gears
6. Two trip odometers are a nice touch … let me see just the odometer when I want
7. Power passenger seat ... perhaps add memory too
8. Fix your dealers!! :eek: It is ridiculous that they are so poorly informed and or trained. Example: at the DC autoshow last fall … salesperson insists I can play a DVD thru the Nav :(

my 2 cents.....

1. Cupholders gotta move....
2. AutoDim mirror sensor in bad location, spoiler creates a shadow that prevents dimming when jackhole in his '79 dodge pickup decides to tailgate me. {This doesn't last long though.....hehe}
3. Gas cap holder, no string. My '95 integra had one...nice...
4. On illumination switch, be able to dim the "white" theme on the gauges at night.
5. Fog light bulbs should have at least white bulbs in them to better match the HID's.
6. TPMS, HID, all the bells........and no climate control.......come on....
7. More leather options than just black and black/red.......how about blue/black, yellow/black??
8. How about a remote feature that closes all windows on the car when you arm it.
9. Power side glasses {back doors}.
10. Gauge cluster looks unbalanced.....how about a voltage gauge on the right pod.

release mazdaspeed superchager or turbo or watever can make the engine output more torque.
just release that. and.. we can take the opion from the mazda dealer. so we can keep our warranty.

5 Speed AT!!

There's nothing I want more than a little bit more power, more than likely a supercharger, and a bit more grip. I believe the RX-8 could benefit from a lower weight as well. Imagine, 330 supercharged rear-wheel horsepower, to compete with the big dogs, 0.98g of lateral acceleration, and a 2,500 lb curb weight. See you in hell 4th gen. :D

I would also like to see an on-board diagnostic system that is more than just a CEL, TPMS, or any other light. I suggest an input for a laptop with software available for tuning, maintenance, etc. Pipe dream. :rolleyes:

5 speed AT!!