3dartist81

Hey guys...

I'll be honest, I'm a bike guy. (infact i rode a few hours today..) I drive an '93 honda with 225k kms during the off/winter season. I don't totally need a new car but I got what, in canada is a GREAT deal on a RX GT, 2004. It's manual tranmission, fully loaded with under 20k kms.

I was VERY skeptical after I heard about the engine being very unorthodox, but the car also came with a full, bumper to bumper warranty until 2011. I was sold.

I didn't do any research until now. I figured if I was totally dissatisfied I can just resell it and make profit. (yeah, the deal was that great) I'm not happy reading about the poor mileage on the reviews, or having to use '91+ octane. Also, I read on one of the threads that the 2004 "AT" has the most problems?... what's at? Auto?

BUt there are many things I am liking to hear. ie. Revving the engine every drive or so, sounds nice. Reaching 9k+ rpms is very normal for me since I ride bikes.

Are there any obvious things that I should know, as a new owner? I understand the oil burning issue, I understand to use only 91+ octane gas..

I'm trying to look through the forums and read as much info as possible. Sorry for the repeated newbie questions!

j67345

welcome...definitely do some searches because pretty much any 'noob' question that you can think of is answered somewhere on this site.
sorry to burst your bubble, but it's not likely you'll be able to make a profit if you decide to resell it though...

Huskyfan23

Yeah, AT means Automatic Transmission. MT = Manual Transmission.

I have an 04 GT MT. Never had a problem with it mechanically, except for flooding it once.

As long as all of your recalls have been done, you're in the clear and are going to have a very reliable car.

Some quick tips:

- Check the oil every other fillup to begin with. The 8 burns oil like crazy, so until you know how long you can go without adding more, every other fillup is a good starting point to checking it.

- Take it up to redline once a day if you can. The rotary is not like a piston engine....taking it up that high will not have any adverse effects on it.

- Have fun! While it is not the fastest 0 - 60 car out there, it is one of the best out there for handling. Probably the best car in terms of excitement under 40k IMO.

Huskyfan23

oh yeah, and do you live in an area where the temperature can get to under 30 degrees farenheit? If so, and it gets that cold, do not turn the car on and then off without letting it warm up (like when you have to move it to the other side of the street, etc). Let the engine warm up to operating speed and then shut it off. If you fail to do so, there's a good chance the engine will flood.

3dartist81

Thanks Husky. I read those details and will be following them. I'll take it into Mazda to check all the recalls as soon as I pick it up. (which isn't for a few more days)

I'm used to checking/filling oil on my ugly-*** honda. It burns lots of oil. Does it take regular oil? The engine doesn't ask for any specific brand, does it?

I live in Canada, so yes it gets insanely cold. I always let my vehicles warm up during that type of weather anyways.

Huskyfan23

Glad I could help!

No special brand of oil is needed, but make sure you put in 5w20.

3dartist81

Sounds good, I have no issue with that.

What's with the premixing? I used to own a 2 stroke dirt bike, so I get the deal.... ..but do a lot of you guys do this EVERY gas tank, ritually?

And how are people going through 3-4 engines so quickly??? Is this the norm? That is nuts!!

Huskyfan23

lol, not the norm. Not the norm at all. Most RX-8 owners have no issues mechanically with their cars whatsoever. Some do, and seeing as how this site is the largest 8 community out there, of course they all come here to complain.

Most of the time people have to have their engine replaced due to failing a vacumn test. If you've had the most recent recall (4206F), they tested the vacumn in your engine. Most engines were fine, some needed replacing.

You should have no issues. Most are fine, but of course all those who are not post here. If everything was fine and dandy, most people would never post anything on this site.

As for premix info, check this thread: https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ghlight=premix

lot of good information.

DarkBrew

Congrats and welcome to the forum!
Please add location to your profile..

I love the high RPM and high powerband because it reminds me a lot of a motorcycle.

3dartist81

Thanks mate! I just did.

p.s. Guinness is my favourite.

DarkBrew

Cool! Drop by for the mega meet and we'll have a couple.

Old Rotor

Most people in cold areas are able to run reg-87 gas til it warms up over 60F or so. If the savings is not important run mid or prem all the time.

shaunv74

I ran on 89 for the first 3 years I owned my '04. I got 21mpg on the highway. search for TSBs on the forum. You'll get a link to a list of items. Bring it to the dealer and tell them to check for everything and fix it. You'll be all set. Also definiltey rev. it to redline once per drive after it's warmed up. Guys that track the car a lot premix but it's definitely not a requirement. Search on it and you'll find some interesting threads about fuel filters clogging. Oh and congrats and enjoy the ride! Prepare to become a rotorhead!

636

yes... another biker to join our ranks

CarAndDriver

Stop feeding misinformation.

You can put in 5W-30. Many people do b/c it is specified everywhere but the US and Canada.

Mazda recommends dino oil and not synth, but many people put synth in. Read the threads and make your own decision.

3dartist81

Darkbrew - sounds good!

636 - Do you own a kawi 636? I've owned several bikes, GSX-R's, Ducati, several bandits.. I currently have a bandit 1200. It's going to be very weird not doing the service on my own vehicle.

Regular gas up here is 89 Octane. I think medium grade is 91. I know the last owner only put premium. I'll keep it at 91 and if I can score 18 mpg, i'll be a happy camper. Perhaps in the colder months I'll attempt weaning it back to 89 octane.

My first plan is definitely to head to the dealer to see if all the recalls are done. I'll just ask him to do it before I pick it up.

Thanks everyone for the welcome. I'll be visiting the site more regularly. This site seems excellent for information!!

StewC625

3d:

Most of what everyone has said is true, but like usual, mostly overstated. I've had an '04 since July of '04, bought new, now have 35,000 miles. GREAT car. A few things:

Oil Consumption: I wouldn't say the RX-8 "burns oil like crazy" which would imply that you'll be leaving a greasy blue cloud behind you like some clapped out old Dodge. But it does consume some oil by design - because the engine crank runs through the centerline of the engine, there's no "piston crown" effect that you have with a conventional engine to squirt oil up under the pistons and keep the cylinder walls lubricated. Instead, the crankshaft has strategically positioned oil journals bored into which then force oil into the eccentric lobes, and through the rotors out to the apex seals, keeping everything lubricated and "tickety-boo".

Therefore, it does, BY DESIGN, consume some oil. I check mine every other fill up, and it will usually need a half-quart of oil about every 1000 to 1500 miles - mine consumes just about a quart every 3000 miles - seems to be about average for most other RX-8s.

Oil Type: 5w/20 is specified PURELY for fuel economy - light oil equals less parasitic drag in the engine. I've run 20W-50 during the hottest part of the summer for better protection, 10w/30 or 40 interchangeably with 5w-20. Also, while Mazda specifies "dino", feel free to use synthetics, like someone else said. Premixing is a BAD idea - it will foul up a LOT of things in the engine, according to every mechanic I've talked to. Totally not necessary.

Oil change interval - use your discretion, but I go 5000 miles usually.

Fuel: Runs fine on '87. Don't believe the bullshit - you won't hurt ANYTHING by running 87 octane, although I do use a good brand (generally BP with occasional stops at Exxon, Mobil or Shell), and you will not feel any performance difference whatsoever. Even Mazda says so. The premium gas is a reccomendation only.

Flooding: I have an '04 and I've never flooded. Make sure all engine updates/recalls/CPU Flashes have been done, and this will likely never happen to you. That said, Rotary engines ARE very unique animals - you don't have to warm it to operating temp, but if I have to start my car to move it - like from one side of the garage to the other, I just that as an opportunity to take a quick drive around the block! I've convinced my wife that dire **** will happen if I shut it off ... LOL. That said, there's been plenty of times I've started it cold, moved it 10 feet and shut it off - no harm. I've found that if you let it run until the idle falls to 1000 RPM, things will be fine - and blip the throttle before you kill it - 3000 rpm, then shut off. No problems.

Redline: Husky implies therapeutic benefits for the CAR for redlining "once a day" ... no, the therapeutic benefits are for the "grin factor" - yes, the car LOVES to rev - stretch its legs! Hear the beep!

Have fun - PM me any question you have - this is my 4th rotary powered car, and the 5th rotary powered vehicle - I even had a Suzuki rotary motorcycle back in the day. I think I know them quite well. Please take what the folks with 20 or so posts say with huge conviction with a grain of salt and seek out guys like me, some of the forum moderators, CarandDriver and some others for real advice.

StewC625

StewC625

FYI, your car will run with no difference at all between 89 and 91 - at all. But, if you do a long-term fuel consumption test, you'll notice that the car will get SLIGHTLY better fuel performance on the lower-octane stuff. A petrol engineer friend of mine says that's because the octane-raising additives displace a bit of the energy content of the gasoline.

Old Rotor

My first 20K It ran fine on reg-87. Then I started geting pinging on HOT days and now run 89-mid no probs.

StewC625

Sounds like a bit of carbon built up in there.

Suggestions:

1) Run several tankfuls of 93 through there, and give it a number of WOT runs - that will help cut the pings.

2) Buy a product called SeaFoam - it's a fuel additive for cleaning out carbon in fuel and combustion systems in marine engines - and works marvelously in automotive applications. Just like brycream, a little dab will do ya ... I think the ratio is 1 oz per 5 gals of gas - so in a tankful, about 3 ounces - do this several times and it WILL make a huge difference.

Huskyfan23

5w20 or 5w30. Whatever. The car would run fine on both. The manual says 5w20 and so does the gas cap, so why go with 5w30? What is the possible advantage to putting in a different weight? Why not just do what the manual says?

Huskyfan23

I never said anything about the benefit of redlining once a day, what I did say is that it wouldn't hurt it like taking a piston engine up to redline daily.

New Yorker

If you love bikes, you'll love this review of the 8…

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=75

…and yeah, the 8 does NOT have an "oil burning issue". Yes, it does burn oil but, as others have said, that's totally BY DESIGN. Simply saying it has an "oil burning issue" makes it sound like there's a flaw with the engine that causes it to drink oil, and that's not the case. And yeah, it doesn't drink oil—it sips it.

Have fun!

3dartist81

THanks for all the info guys. I very my appreciate it! I look forward to driving it!

He just told me that he took it to the dealer last month, and he has all the recalls completed on it. He said that around 20k kms, I should get the brakes checked out...

One other quick question. How many of you use the dealership instead of a personal mechanic for routine service?

I have a full warranty until 2011. I am also under the knowledge that I can take it to any mechanic for regular service, such as this... as long as I have paperwork to prove to the dealership that I did the routine service, I should be ok.

StewC625

Easy there Seabiscuit ... I wasn't knocking you ... I was just saying that the benefit of redlining the engine is for the driver ...

How long have you had your RX8 for?