Hello everyone. I am 16 and was thinking about getting an RX8 as a first car. My previous thought was to get an STI as a first car, so I asked over at NASIOC and got a friendly welcome. Then I thought to my self, huh, what would be a sexy, fun, able to carry 4 people, car? I was thinking, and then thought, well maybe I could get a two door car. Then I came to the RX7 idea. I thought, "hmmm, this is a nice car... I wonder what the 08 version lookes like?" Then I realized, "jeebus! an RX8! Why didnt I think of this before!?"

Now I'm here. Any advice as to whether or not I should get one?


Thanks

 

If you have the money, and can afford the ongoing gas and insurance costs, sure. Besides being really cool and a dream to drive, it has great safety ratings. Make sure you get one with TSC and DSC.

On the seating four part...how tall are you and your friends? If you're all six feet, the back seat will be tough.

Ken

 

that kind of decision is entirely yours. only you can truly judge your personal taste, your financial status, your automotive needs, etc etc etc

 

Yeah an RX8 as a first car is pretty sweet, idk if im the only one on here thats actually 16 and got one for their first car i believe... Its really a awesome car, whether is auto or manual, granted manual is alot faster but who cares... its a 8 and we bought this car for handling.

The 8 was my first car and i love it even being a 4-port auto, its attractive and the ladies love it... i get so many complements about it. Get it man, enjoy it, theres nothing better than hearing that rotary engine get above 7k rpms, even if it is a auto, then somewhere along the line you realize this car is different than any other car, PM me if you have any questions!

 

Financial situation is all good. I was going to go with a used one with low mileage. I am 5'10, most of my friends are around my height as well.

Oh and manual for sure.

Glad to hear that people liked this car and think it would work well. I was entirely thinking I would come here and get my *** handed to me.

 

lol nah dude, an 8 is an 8, but only get a manual if your really into cars etc. it would be a shame to see you get a manual then get rid of it because you hated shifting, i got mine for free as it was from someone in my family, but i cant hate because it was for free...

 

I LOVE shifting. my mom lets me shift whenever we drive somewhere.

 

then have fun, and grats !!!

 

Sweet, thanks. Any advice as to what year I should go for?

 

all the year models(04-08) are basically the same, but i reccomend '05 and up to anyone who asks me. it just saves you the trouble of checking into the PCM flash history of an 04. If you can get it, go for the 09. some big improvements were made, it didnt get faster or anything, but design improvements...

 

manual doesnt really matter, as for a auto go 06+ because it has a 6 ports instead of 4

 

you're thinking of the rx7club lol,

all joking aside though, do you have any driving experience? I've seen bad things happen to a few of my friends little brothers who started off in a RWD car. Be wary of entering a corner too hot, RWD isn't as forgiving as say a FWD. Although thats just my 2cents. I started out with a 91 rx-7 when I was 16

 

I don't think any sports car or fast car is appropiate for a first time driver.

 

No joke lol, RWD is entirely different than a FWD car

 

What about me Razz??? ive done fine...

 

I'm surprised you haven't been flamed more - this forum is usually pretty hostile to the high school crowd. Anyway, you should be fine, just realize that this car can be a little more difficult to drive than the average economy car. Take it to an autocross, learn how to drive it properly, and let it get all the "fast and furious" out of your system (everyone has it at 16). You'll be fine as long as you respect the car and never forget your limitations as a driver. Accidents happen when you drive beyond your capabilities.

 

Just know it requires much more maintenance and TLC than any other car. Don't abuse it and don't run it when it isn't warmed up. This isn't a quarter mile car so don't buy it expecting so. Being my first (owned) car I love it. RWD is a whole new world from FWD so be careful especially with the stock tires (they are easy to cut loose). All being said about taking care of the car, the car is meant to be driven and the motor is built to be run so drive it accordingly. Just be safe and always aware of other people on the roads. Manual FTW, an automatic sports car just doesn't make sense. Good luck with whatever you choose but know what you're getting into. Good thing you decided to post here instead of just delving in like most people that end up ruining their cars because they don't know how to take care of it. Stick around if you buy it and you'll love your car as I have grown to love mine!

 

I think you should be okay, as long as you are reasonably cautious don't overestimate your driving ability on public roads. Although the 8 isn't as powerful as some other cars, it is still VERY easy to get yourself into trouble.

Go to an empty parking lot when it's raining and mess around a bit to get a feel for what happens when you give it too much gas in a turn, and how to recover. Trust me, you don't want your first experience of getting the tail out to be unexpected and on public roads.

 

True however, of all RWD cars out there, the rx8 is certainly a great choice to learn rear drive characteristics.

If you do end up getting an rx8/RWD car, or any performance car for that matter, I certainly suggest you look into autocrossing and/or performance driving class.

WTBRotary! - there have been other sixteen year old forum members...

Driving stick is not difficult, you get used to it incredibly fast!

Don't let any haters get you down - regardless of whether it is your money, your parents money, etc; one way or another you are in the position to potentially purchase this car and if you feel you will be able to respect it for what it is and understand the potential danger (that goes for all cars) then I say go for it. I would definitely recommend this over an sti as a first car! Don't cry when other internet forums knock on you for having a (relatively) *slow* car

 

Also, don't let maintenance scare you. The only few things are allowing it to warm up entirely (Allowing some time after the temp guage is up!), check the oil every few fill ups (carry an extra quart in your trunk for easy access if you need some), and do not turn it off before it is warmed up (or follow proper procedure of bringing revs to 3000rpm for 10 seconds -> let revs fall to idle -> shut off).

The only major difference IMO is the need to allow for warm up before shutting off - aside from that it is not difficult to maintain whatsoever. In fact, the car is very easy to work on!

 

It used to happen all the time then there were all kinds of debates about who was at fault the noobs or the elders yelling at the noobs, and now it just cant be avoided with how cheaply you can pick up an 8 nowadays....

 

my 8 was my first car.. and it's been great to me. enjoy whatever you end up getting!

 

Thanks everyone for the info. I was reading about the whole starting the car, and turning it off immediately afterwards floods the engine, or something like that. I dont know why I would do that. Only scenario I could see needing to do that would be putting engine mods on the car, which I dont plan to do after a year or so getting used to the car. There are a lot of empty roads around houston, so maybe I can get used to the car on there.

couple more questions:

How fun would it be to take this car on dirt? not rocky/mountainous areas, but more like dirt roads?

Assuming I do get an RX8, would this car be fun to drive without flooring it and taking turns really fast? i.e, would I enjoy driving to a friends house, and back? Would it be economical?

How much should I be expecting to drop for one of these?

I really don't want to many mods to the car, at least nothing exterior, like adding some ricer spoiler, or some exhaust with a hole big enough for a football either, but how much could I lower the car? I love the look of a car when its low to the ground.

edit:
but not too low where it looks bad.

 

Nah. We'll hold off on that until you ask what kind of oil to use.

Ken

 

Best thing you can do is read this, this should take care of alot of the questions your gonna be asking... https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/new-rx8-owner-faq-1-25-09-a-163824/
And alot of the other stickies that are at the top of each section...