Fujin11

OK so I know you Guys are probably going to flame me for this and I may get banned but I've read through the site and I have some opinion question for all of you.

Firstly: Would you recommend the RX-8 as a first car for a teenager? would you get one for your own kids?

Secondly: In your Opinion, is the RX-8 a decent car to learn to drive manual on?

Thirdly: Apparently the rotary engine eats oil and you have to add or change oil; ever couple fill ups; is this a labor intensive or expensive process and can you give me some details on it?

Fourthly: The cold start issue; can it prevented by simply turning your car on and letting it idle a few before driving or is there some trick to it, or is it as simply as driving the car for more then a couple minutes before turning it off?

Thank you for your time and I apologize for the questions. I hope to get my hands on an 8 by July or august, So I wold like to know what Im getting myself into.

funspork

8 is not for kids.
6 speed not for kids.
Oil not a problem. ( pre mix is fun )
Start is not the issue, turning off is. ( rev to 3000, then turn off. )

DarkBrew

You really should search for the answers!

Short answer
No No
No
No Open hood, Pull off cover, Check oil, add oil as required, replace cover: No tools.
Yes, no, yes.
No problems

Ever Hernandez

No teenagers are at the top of fatal CRASHES (not accidents) would probably buy my kid a truck first.

To learn NO, unless you want to fork out expensive repair bill for abuse on the drivetrain, if you aren't a quick learner. The 8 is a blast to drive once you have experience

3rd question was already answered quite well

4th question, uhmm you got it or hold revs at 3k for 10 secs.

CarAndDriver

Ford Taurus Wagon

StewC625

My answers:

Firstly: Would you recommend the RX-8 as a first car for a teenager? would you get one for your own kids?
>>>NOT IN A MILLION ******* YEARS!

Secondly: In your Opinion, is the RX-8 a decent car to learn to drive manual on? >>> Depends on if it's yours or someone else's

Thirdly: Apparently the rotary engine eats oil and you have to add or change oil; ever couple fill ups; is this a labor intensive or expensive process and can you give me some details on it?
>>> Oil procedure: Check the dipstick at every other fill up with gas. When the oil gets half-way down the dipstick "safe zone", add a half-quart. Repeat as needed. Change every 5000 miles. Couldnt' be easier. If you don't know how to add oil to a car, you shouldn't be driving a car.

Fourthly: The cold start issue; can it prevented by simply turning your car on and letting it idle a few before driving or is there some trick to it, or is it as simply as driving the car for more then a couple minutes before turning it off?

>>> There is no cold start issue. The only issue is early versions of the car could flood if you started the car and then immediately shut it off within 30 seconds or so. That's been solved.

Thank you for your time and I apologize for the questions. I hope to get my hands on an 8 by July or august, So I wold like to know what Im getting myself into.

Gambit

Firstly: Would you recommend the RX-8 as a first car for a teenager? would you get one for your own kids?

No, it's too much car, can't drive in the snow, small trunk, bad fuel economy, requires maintenance, and will be expensive to repair when it is crashed. Get em a POS for their first car.


Secondly: In your Opinion, is the RX-8 a decent car to learn to drive manual on?

As long as the student learns fast and well. This was my first manual car, and I was fine within a week.


Thirdly: Apparently the rotary engine eats oil and you have to add or change oil; ever couple fill ups; is this a labor intensive or expensive process and can you give me some details on it?

You just open the oil cap and pour. Mine uses about a quart/1000 miles. Oil change is only kind of a pain because of where the filter is located.


Fourthly: The cold start issue; can it prevented by simply turning your car on and letting it idle a few before driving or is there some trick to it, or is it as simply as driving the car for more then a couple minutes before turning it off?

By cold start issue, I assume you mean cold shutdown issue. You're supposed to let it warm up before driving and make sure it's warm before shutting off. If you MUST turn it off before 5-10 mins of running, the DVD Mazda sent out says to rev @3k for 10 seconds, and then shut the engine off.

Razz1

^^ What they said.

Get an old beater. Learn how to drive safely not fast and crazy.

j67345

+1
And use the search button. All of your questions have been answered no less than 1 million times.

NoTears316

chrism

and dont forget to eat pie

CarAndDriver

Camry

delhi

350z is the standard issue for all college kids.

½mv²

Woah, woah, woah! Someone mind explaining to me what happened in the past 10 days? I wrote a mini-rant about teens an RX8s and everyone seemed to agree that of all the sports cars you could get a teenager, the RX8 was probably the best choice...


(BRB - searching for thread. I'll append it to this post when I find it...)


Even if you buy your kid an old, used, econobox car, there are enough aftermarket "racing" parts available at McDonald's-wage that your teen can turn any "safe" car into their "import racing" car. The RX8 has no such aftermarket line. It would take a summer and a half just to scrape up the money just to get exhaust. If your teen is into that scene, the RX8 is a laughing stock among that crowd, and is a sure-fire way to see to it that they are henceforth excluded from all of their friend's "street racing nights."

The Renisis is a low-torque, low-power engine in the low revs, which means that your teen wont have a car they can "show off" in. The two most popular things to the street racing scene are drift & drag. You need torque for both of those, and the RX8 just doesn't deliver in that category.

The DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) system is one of the best on the market today. While computers aren't advanced enough yet to save people from crashes, this is about as close as you can get. I threw the backend of my 8 out in HEAVY rainfall on bald tires so badly that as soon as we started to slide I turned to my girlfriend and simply said "I think this is it!" (We were going to crash into the median). DSC buzzes in, the car shakes violently, I counter-steer as best as I can... *chirp*! The tires regrip less than a foot from disaster and slingshot me saftely back in course.

As I said, most parents like to go with the older more economical cars for their teens like 99-02 Civics, Corollas, Cavaliers, Accents, and other small sedans/coupes. Most of these cars come with only 2 airbags: driver & passenger. The RX8, while smaller than all of these cars, offers much more in terms of passive restraints. Let's be honest for a second; what's the only thing worse than being told your teen died in a car accident? Being told that your teen, and all of their friends in the car were killed in an accident. The RX8 has reinforced side impact beams, front & back side curtain airbags, seat-mounted side impact airbags, and the standard driver & passenger front airbags as well. The frame of the car is also designed to buckle OUTWARD under pressure, rather than inward like most cars, so that hard front and rear impact will bend the car away from those inside, rather than crush them.

And if your teen decides to drag and drift and be a dumbass with the RX8... well... the car is a tattle tail! RX8's are a no-fuss date. You WILL hit the redline, you WILL take a turn fast, you WILL maintain grip at all times. You will NOT burnout, you will NOT dragrace, you will NOT try to throw the backend around, you will NOT forget regularly scheduled maintenance. If you break any of these rules, this relationship is OVER. Your teen will quickly learn the meaning of one of two words: "Responsibility" or "Public Transportation".




Now, all teens are different, so you will still have to use your better judgement in the end. I was a speed freak when I got my license. I was 16 years old and thought I knew everything there was to know about driving. I would pull stunts all the time and drive like such a dick in cars that I didn't have a PRAYER of recovering if my luck ever ran out. Then my mom got a new car and gave me her old RX7. It was an '89 non-turbo model. Much like the RX8 it had NOTHING to offer in the speed department, and lost a drag race to my friend's 250,000 mile-worn '85 Camry. Slow, Slow, SLOW.
...but it handled beautifully. I got cocky and started to use the handbrake around every turn I could. I kicked the backend out around every turn. I drove it like an *******... less than 2 months later the suspension was shot, the tires were bald, the tranny was blown, and my new hot-**** sports car was a beat-up junker. I got online, did some homework, and learned A LOT. $4000 later (thank GOD my parents gave me a second chance with that car) the RX7 was up and running. I got in it, and for the the first time, drove it like I cared about it. I realized how lucky I was to have a collectors item at such a young age, had taught myself to respect the car for what strengths it did have (rather than tear it apart while attempting to make up for it's weaknesses), and became a much more responsible driver almost overnight.

The RX8 in my mind is a perfect "test" car for a teenager. It'll really show you what kind of kid you have. After a month of ownership, all the stupid things a teenager does in the car can be seen with just a glance. And if they keep up unsafe driving habits for too long, well, the car takes itself away - no need to ground them. When their 2nd gear locks up and their engine starts overheating hopefully it'll get through their head that "hey - I'm a dumbass for always driving like that!"

brillo

see my FAQ post

swoope

iTrader: (5)

link bitch!!!!! duh.

beers

saturn

First, your first car probably shouldn't be a 200hp+ sports car with rear wheel drive that some say looks like a Ferrari.

Second, from what I'm told the clutch is extraordinarily forgiving in this car making it great to learn on. Many people on here have done so. However, there's a chance you'll do some damage in the learning process which is something you should probably do on an old junker.

Third, it's not expensive (you can do the math) and it's not hard. Also, you're probably safe if you check it every 1,000 miles especially if you don't live in a hot environment and/or drive it like you're insane.

Fourth, it's not about a cold start -- it's about a cold shut down. You can't shut it off if it's cold. You can rev it for 10 seconds at 3k if you must shut it down cold and that seems to help a lot. Also, new plugs and battery that are on 2006+ and retrofitted on older models when needed help to de-flood the car if it happens. No guarantees that this will work though.

Fifth, pwn n00bs in the twisties.

eforer

I don't know how a teenager could afford to buy this car let alone put gas in it. While I can imagine worse cars for a teen, any rwd sports car is going to get them in trouble. Then again, teenage boys are young dumb and full of, well, you know. Chances are whatever they, buy or their parents buy for them is going to end up in a junkyard within a year. I think something FWD would be a better way to go.

MazdaMonkey

my kid is getting a shitty station wagon for sure

CarAndDriver

Taurus wagon.....

marieBolton

No Don't recomend for teenager. Would be easy to train on the maual tx. but again not good idea for teen. I'm 43 and I have a difficult time driving the speed limit. The rotary doe use a bit of oil...I check it every time I refuel. It has lessend (oil consumption) a great deal after the first six months of driving. Great car!

TheBoneFletcher

Only if you start making your son go on this site everyday.

But seriously, it really depends on what kind of person they are, I'm in high school but i don't speed too much(+10 above speed limit generally) nor do i do burnouts/drifts even though I know many friends who do that.

KoHC

If it's your own hard-earned money (no, allowance don't count), then yes. Anything else, no. I will not give my kids any car worth over 5k. They want a better car, they can buy it with their own money.

Yes. But will I teach anyone how to drive stick with my 8? Hell no. I won't even teach people how to drive stick with my beater Civic. If you want to learn, rent a car, pay for driving school, but don't use your own car to learn.

There's detail instruction in user's manuel. And if you can't read user's manuel, you shouldn't be driving, or breathing in that matter.

Read above.

If your parents are buying you a car and you want something to show off, get another car. 8 isn't fast on straight line, and I don't want my insurance to go up.

myriadshalaks

iTrader: (1)

whoever said you can't do donuts and drift in the 8 hasn't a clue how to drive his car. i can do a complete 360 on a dime and easily drift around those tight on ramps that spit you out the other direction. this car is DK -- well, maybe DQ. but add some nos and watchout. does no one else play Need for Speed. it's pretty realistic as far as the car's capabilities go even though the game limits the top speed to 135 which is less than actual.