Some questions before I buy a RX-8...
 

Hi there, I really love the way the RX-8 looks and its price is pretty appealling as well, so I am considering buying a used model but I have a few questions. First off, after about 50,000 miles or so, how does the Rotary engine hold up compared to traditional engines? I drive a good ammount and I just need some info before I plop down alot of cash on a car that will be having problems after 50,000 miles or so. 2nd , how hard / expensive is it to modify the rotary engine? I love the horsepower the RX-8 gives right out of the box, but I love turbo engines and would like to modifiy it with a turbo, cold air intake, custom exaust, and so forth. I am not familar with Rotary engines so I am clueless when it comes to this subject. Which leads me to my next question: How difficult is it to find someone that knows how to work on an Rx-8? In case I do have problems, I would like to know if its going to be a pain in the butt to find a repair shop that actually knows what its doing with the engine. Course I guess I could just take it a Mazda dealership....
Next question, how much room do the 2 back seats offer? I have alot of friends and I love the fact that the RX-8 has 4 seats compared to the 2 that the RX-7 offers, which was one tipping point in me wanting an RX-8 rather than the 7. Final question: how fun is the car to drive? My current car, a boring FF automatic drive car is just no fun to drive. I want something where I actually feel like I am in control and have a great time driving place to place. Thanks for your time, I love the site.

Uh oh...

I'm waiting for it...

Here comes Mugatu...

Look if I broke some sort of "rule" because I just wanted a little info from other drivers experince, forget it. Lock the thread if you want. I just wanted the opinon of other drivers. Oh, and rather than replying with "uh oh " or "im waiting for it" , why not post your opinion on the car and my questions rather than posting a 2 word phrase or a 4 word sentence....its not contributing AT ALL to the topic.

Your questions have never been asked before.

I have over 76,000 miles and my 8 runs great and is a blast to drive still. I also have put about 50 hours of track time on my 8. The back seats are better than most sports cars, but I wouldn't want to sit in it for 8 hours. Once you start adding Turbos the reliability is based on your skills. Mazda did a great job getting the power it has now. This is not an easy car to mod so if you do mod it your on your own. The Super Charger kits should be out before the end of the year. I plan on seeing how they are and might get a lower power one. As for fixing it once my warrenty ran out I got a code reader. If you know what is wrong you should be able to fix most issues. otherwise I will try a rotary shop 1st, then the dealer last.

The 8 is one of the most fun cars to drive period. This has to do with the engine and mazda's gift of engineering. When you start factoring price, brands, people, and more... then it gets cloudy (and has led to many arguments on this board). But, as many people will say, go out and test drive one and you'll like it... rarely do they don't.

The taller the people are, the less accomodating the back seats become. I'm 6 foot 3, and no one can sit behind me while driving. However, I have fit 4 people a few times, by letting my shorter friend drive, and I take the passenger seat and scoot it up some... that gives some room in the back. 4 medium height people can fit fine, but just for short city trips, nothing major and probably not any road trips.

The Rotary has the legs to last it for a long time. Since it's still only a few years old, many people have only put 25-50 thousand miles on it, and it runs great for them. As long as you take care of the engine, watching the oil levels, it should take care of you. (also, that means, redline whenever you can, it's actually good for the engine)

The engine makes enough power for my taste, but I don't drag or race. If you start adding forced induction, that could be another matter entirely for longevity and fuel consumption. Also, if you're worried about finding a good technician /mechanic, try checking the regional boards located lower down on the main page.

hope that helps,
michael

With proper maintenance there should be no durability issues vs. a piston engine.
this car uses oil, you have to check it frequently, you have to keep the revs up to prevent carbon build up. It requires more love and attention than a every day 4 cyl.

Depends on what you want it to do. the stock suspension is very good but has a little body roll, with about 500-1000 dollars you can put it on rails. getting any additional power out of this rotary is going to be tough. expect little gains with any add ons, with the exception of a supercharger or turbo, thats going to run you a few thousand.

depends on what part of the country you are in.

for anyone under 6' it's good. anything over you are going to be pushing it. it's a great grocery getter and will haul the kids musical equipment or whatever, just dont expect an SUV

extremely as long as you are not a stoplight racer. it doesnt have alot of low end torque. get it on a curvy road and it'll take a few hours to wipe the smile off your face

Bottom line, you should use this site for research, make sure you know what you are getting into. this car commands a relationship, there are quirks that go along with owning a rotary that are different from the piston engines you are used to. but the handling and 9k redline make up for the boredom of the everyday beater. And, if you do decide to buy one, i'd reccomend a Manual transmission.

I was a member of this forum for 1 month before I bought my car and I probably spent at least 2-3 hours a day for that month reading and seaching these forums. With the wealth of information availible here, almost ANY question you could possibly have will be answered.

My advice to you is to take the time to sift through ALL of the sticky threads first, then individualy reasearch anything that you want more specific info on. It will take a little time, but you will know everything you want to know about an RX8 before even driving one if you do the reading.

After all of my reasearch I was convinced I wanted the car, and I still love it 10000 miles and alot of mods later. It drives like a dream, with a little suspension work handles like it has claws, and is a very practical car vs. a s2k or 350z or something of the likes.

Do some homework, then you'll know. Good luck, and enjoy the forums.

I think that's what people are trying to say when they tell you to search. You came here to do reSEARCH right? Then do just that...

What he said.

But yeah, you probably should of just searched up whatever you wanted to know. It's not that hard to do, I mean you registered for this forum. If you can do that, you can certainly search up stuff.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I apperciate the tips on searching. i have no problem doing that, its mainly the sarcastic responses like " uh oh " ect that add nothing to the conversation that annoy me.

Well maybe it irks others for people to post questions that have already been answered but just didnt take the time to search for it. The whole search thing has been done to death. So instead of them telling you to "Go search", they make a sarcastic comment about it to keep it light hearted.

Ummm, Yeah... No offense bro, we just get this kind of post every other day and just keeping it light hearted like Rems has stated. But yeah, search, buy it, and the people here are great as well, very helpful.

These two statements are generally contradictory when it comes to rotary engines, even if the turbo install is done by professionals. Naturally aspirated rotary engines are very reliable but turbo engines are all across the board.

Have you installed a turbo before, or at least done some major engine rebuilding? If not, you should not attempt a turbo install on an expensive car, you need to practice on a beater first before you will make several mistakes before you get it right.

Finally, you will get very minimal gains out of a CAI, exhaust, or other "easy" mods. The Renesis engine is already heavily tweaked coming from the factory. If you want a louder or a different sounding note from the engine then an exhaust or intake might help, but don't expect any simple HP gains.

ding ding ding! congratulations!!!!

you are the 10,000th board member to NOT search for the answer that is so very available had you only searched. rather than fill this board up with endless repeated questions asking the same exact thing, how about you search the threads where board members have taken the time to properly answer?

here, let me help you:

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=72229

Simply put, this post is the reason for FAQ's. Sigh.

THERE IT IS!

And there you have it, CB_Epyon, this is what everybody was anticipating at the beginning of the thread. Mugato believes that 10,000 posts of the same-old question are anathema, but 10,000 of his same-old replies are somehow a breath of fresh air. (and notice that this time it comes well after the OP had already had searching recommended to him and said that he was glad to do so).

just think...if people searched in the first place, you wouldn't have to hear me TEN THOUSAND TIMES. but the fact that this board has some of the laziest members I have ever seen where the answer clearly can be found by a simple search is unacceptable.

:bootyshak

There should be a huge sign when you first sign up telling you to search first before posting a question.

Just think if everybody searched, we would never get see the huge search button.

If not for the same questions being asked over and over, there would be nothing new to read on here..hello!!!!..the car has barely changed in years...get off your high horse all you "go search" finatics. If it bothers you so much, go on to the next thread! Why do you have to be such a$$holes to people writing on here for the first time???? Good Lord, this has to be the most sarcastic group of elitest there are. Get over yourselves!

If there were no "Go Search" responses then there would be no one to tell to get over themselves...