you try a new 412hp 5.0 stang w/ track pkg?

 

rx8 drivers are more intelligent. Some makes/models are ruined by the stupidity of their own community. I am surprised at the poor quality DIY instructables at some other car sites.

If I went more soft core, I'd get the Prius. The side walls are flat, not bulging, and less prone to dings.
The suspension is pretty stiff, not spongy / vomit inducing.
It is shaped like an M113 armored personnel carrier, with the slanted front and boxy sides. When I drive it, I can imagine that it has tracked wheels.
The interior feel is roomy, due to the boxy shape.
The digital dashboard is great, as is the rx8 digital dash. With its distant display, it feels unlike a normal car. The "unlike a normal car" feel is what an rx8 driver needs.

If I went more hard core, there are a few options in 2-dr coupe. All of them involve truck engines or some other uninspiring piston design.
But to tell the truth, I couldn't tell by feel if it had a carbon fiber drive shaft or magnesium steering wheel core. Those are merely the closest "terms" to describe the secret alien technology inside the rx8.

 

Nice write-up. Before I bought my 8 I test drove a Evo 9 & X, the new Sti, G35, and 370Z. All of those cars had more power, but none of them felt as good at high rpms, and the chassis couldn't come close. And the corners... I had a "crisis" during the test drive Love this car.

 

Nice write up.
Nice to see a really positive post after the steady stream of problem related posts lately.
I can see keeping my '04 longer. I'm really enjoying working on it myself and getting involved with the car.

 

[quote=nycgps;3710027]No you're wrong.Rx-8 is slow and ugly, its more like a car for pussies than anythingand the rotary? rofl **** blows up left & right. and it burns oil like there is no tomorrow. oh did I mention it has **** poor mpg like 5 or some **** ?k20a is the best ****, vtec pwn ur pos mzda ne day ~ /end sarcasm

 

I've got ya beat, though I dont see this kind of economy in Europe(MUCH higher avg speeds), when I was stateside I regularly got 22-23mpg mixed and have made 26-27 highway on long trips***. Of course it is just as easy for me to make sub-15mpg, especially when trailing convoys of porsches or exotics(@200-230kph) in Europe

HUGE agreement on the second statement. This goes OT in reference to all the wanna be FI guys... most of them have no idea what this car feels like making 250-300-350hp. I've driven 8's in that whole range, and although 300-330 seems to be the perfect range before it becomes a task to drive the car, even at around 250 the car is much more appreciable. FWIW around 300, the car is entirely transformed. all of the above opinion is of course considering how the power is delivered, smooth, peaky, etc

***only affecting mods are coils, catless, tune, and **** about MAF/wire/plug/etc maintenance

 

Sadly few that venture into FI ever end up with a car that even gets close to that level . Even though the information needed to do it is easily obtained on this forum .
Most make in the order of 240-260whp and then blow their engine and sell the kit to pay for the rebuild .

 

Facing the same problem- nothing really tempting to replace the RX8 bought in 2003. Only issue for me is it is tiring to drive in stop and go traffic.

 

I'm sort of at the same place you are now too, but I'm not looking for anything high performance anymore. I use the 8 as a daily commuter and after 4yrs I only put on 14,000 miles so far. It's a great car, but after 4 years, I have that new car itch going on. I don't have any place where I can really take it to and open it up and drive it hard. I'll be back looking at the Miata PRHT today and leaning toward this. Since I live in FL, it's the perfect FL car.

Looks like I made an oops in my cracked dash post...my 8 is phantom blue and the Miata I was looking at was stormy blue

 

I've come to much the same conclusions about finding a 'better, newer' car to repalce the RX-8 (can you keep a car forever?). It seems the "affordable sports car" segment is defunct (RX-8, S2000, Supra, old Evo, etc), and what's left to buy are the "rich guy's" sports cars (Caymen, Lotus, BMW 1 series).

Perhaps it has come to pass that the Japanese (maybe the world) have simply given up on 'affordable sports cars' as a segment, leaving a trail of dreams gone by, and instead have taken on the "Hybrid/green" car segmant as their ticket to salvation.

 

The is always the Toybaru FT 86 or whatever it will be called, late this year???

For me, I can never warm to Toyota, ANYthing apart from the FL or is it LF?..lol, Toys are just SO BLAND and BORING...

As far as Subaru goes, not bad they try and are OK, but apart from STI (BLAND), Nothing really excites me like the RX-8 or MX-5 (Because it is a 2 seat Convertible).

Nissan, another one that I just never consider, funny, I know they are not bad or any worse than Mazda really, but I have always thought of Nissan as 'cheap', I guess I remember the Datsun days too much and have never forgiven them.

I would take a MS3 over an STI.

 

Looks like my time on this forum is short-lived as I traded my 8 for a Miata PRHT Grand Touring today! Can't wait to drive around with the top down because tomorrow it's suposed to be in the 70s! Guess I'm off to find a Miata club now, but I was wondering if anyone here has had one in the past and how they liked it?

 

i need to clime in here.
I have 2 RX8's --an 04 model running the pettit kit and all the other kinda supporting mods. I do hit 365grams/sec air flow with it.
I also have a 2009 R3.
Now my Pettit car has the 09 trans in it. That means that i am at around 3200rpm at 70 mph.
I can get 25 mpg on the open road with it--np. Remember-- I am over 300hp to the wheels.
Around town and normal driving I get 17 or so mpg.
I think that is really good?
With my engine set up and my gearing set up--it is a totally different/better car for me.
On track a lot of other car drivers get very suprised---6th gear passing on the interstate is just a little blip of the throttle--car is much easier to drive really.
Now my R3, i can tell has twice the quality of my pettit car. After spending time with it, it is very obvious of the improvements Mazda made. Its a much easier car to drive, the lowered gear ratios really helps taking off and in passing--yet the gas milage is about the same. The cooling systems, the fuel delivery system, the engine/trans/diff, body and suspension are all MUCH better. It does need a little more power and that is the only thing it needs.
I have owned maybe 36 cars , and few trucks/jeeps/dunebuggies, motorcycles.
To me-- there is nothing like my 8.
I have had one since Dec 2003 and when I park it I STILL turn around to glance at it as I am walking away.

 

Well said mate...it is a very unique car, and like you have had owned/company cars as many as I, and yes I totally agree, for me the 8 outshines all, it is the perfect Balance in ALL departments, one thing does not dominate, like an overpowered engine.

Me too, whether my 8 is dirty or sparkling clean, I always turn and look back, every time...really It is kind of weird, as I have NEVER owned a car that has done that to me...I guess this is what Porsche or dare I say Ferrari owners sort of do or think??

It is like our car has a soul, I can even tell when it don't like something...gee I am sounding stupid ..... aren't I ??

 

i know what you mean------it is a little weird
It helps that Mazda made the car easy to work on also.
The only c/o I have is I wish they had made the interior wiring harness in separate pieces (the main one)--not all in one.

 

I pretend like I forgot to set the alarm so I can glance back at it as I walk away!

Every vehicle I have owned I have had for at least 9-10 years and.............(knocks on wood) this one shall be around longer than any of those!

 

Here's an idea OP. Go out and get you a 98-01 Jeep Cherokee (XJ), u can find really nice ones for 4-5k. They r among the greatest Jeeps ever. Relatively light, good torque n power and with nothin more than some aggressive A/T tires and its moderate off road ready. I bought mine 5 months ago n Love it. Thing is a beast. 4x4 is fun as hell in the snow n mud. Got mine for 2k but is 96. Best of both worlds, 4x4 rig for bad weather n the 8 for the good

 

op

Amen brother!!

 

In the middle of extensive revisions to my 8, a thought came to mind. With most cars I've seriously worked on, the feeling of "what the heck were they thinking?" popped up multiple times. This time, after a couple hundred hours of disassembling, fiddling, measuring, modding, and reassembly, that feeling has been nearly absent. Picturing Mazda back in 2000 or so, I can see engineers begging the boss to be assigned to the RX-8. Most every part I come across was put there, dare I say, lovingly. Beauty on this thing is way more than skin deep. A perfect example is the LHS trunk lid hinge is a work of art in its function. Compare it to the POS trunk hinges on the Genesis Coupe and you'll get a barfy feeling.

 

I have never kept a car for as long as I have kept my '05, but there are many things that can be improved on the 8...it sucks during the winter, so I fixed that a couple of years ago with my '09 Ram 4x4 with a 390hp Hemi. Also, the roof doesn't go down, so I fixed that too - just bought a '11 128i Cab

Point is, I've driven nearly everything that's come out, and the 8 still puts the biggest smile on my face as a drivers car...though an Exige comes close if it didn't look so silly.

 

I'm in the same boat as many on here. Looking to replace my '04 that I bought new, and really the only other cars that I am considering are the 370z and Mustang 5.0 and I doubt I'd get the Mustang just because of the "dime a dozen" factor. I want something more unique so basically I'm down to the Z or I may just upgrade my 8 to the R3. While my commute is rather long, the amount I have to spend on gas for the 8 hurts (and really is the only factor that is agonizing on this decision), but for as cheap as you can get them used, that more than makes up for it. That and used Z prices seem to be too high considering the market right now. I'd probably be looking at finding an '09.

 

While my commute is rather long, the amount I have to spend on gas for the 8 hurts (and really is the only factor that is agonizing on this decision),

Have you loooked into how much the mustang and Z are to insure?? I know when I was looking the 8 was quite a bit cheaper. In my mind that kinda makes up for poor gas mileage

 

Why not just buy a new R3? Seems like the obvious answer!

 

Apologies for ressurecting an old thread, but wanted to thank the OP for a very nice review. I feel the same way.

The problem is the RX-8 has ruined it for me when it comes to buying another sports car. My 8 is a little sick at the moment, so I've been shopping around just in case, and no matter what I look at I always find myself thinking, "Why bother? It's not the same as the 8."

Even a lot of the reviews I'm reading today for other cars mention the 8, saying things like "Handles well, but not like an RX-8" lol, or "none of the the cars in this segment can claim sports car reflexes, except the RX-8."

So appreciate your 8 while you can. It really is something special, and it's quirky and uniquely impossible combination of handling, comfort and practicality (only possible because of that tiny rotary) may never come again.