That Alfa is a pig but it sure is purdy.

 

I haven't really detected any hate so much as a lack of an expected level of respect. But then I've gotten used to that.

In my teens the new Porsche 914 was all I wanted. On my 20th birthday I had enough coins to buy the last red 2 liter 74 model off the lot. Very quickly I recognized that 911 snobs considered me a VW owner.

After that the 924 came out. OK that one deserved to considered an Audi with rear wheel drive. After all, the engine was at the wrong end of the cockpit.

A few years later I ran across a really sweet deal on a Lotus Europa. It was one of about a dozen that had been fitted with the German Ford 2.7 V6 like they used to put in the real Capri. Also had the Hewland Mk 9 crashbox - non syncho. Absolute rocket and unlike other Lotuses, it ran most of the time. However most other Lotus owners turned their noses at the club meetings. It wasn't a Lotus (despite having been built that way by Lotus).

Along the way I've also owned a Lotus Esprit (the big one) and a 928, even a 1988 Fiero. They all turned out to be Rodney Dangerfield cars. No matter I enjoyed them all. I have to admit both the Esprit and 928 had a habit of swallowing cash everytime I inserted the key.

The most enjoyable car I've owned is the RX8. In fact it took about 2 miles of a test drive and I was hooked. It had the road manners of the 928 although it lacks the brute force torque and doesn't require a $1000 deposit everytime I turn the key.

I've also owned a few RX7's Type 1 & 2, and driven a type 3 at Motorsports Ranch. Great car, ultra quick, stiffly sprung, and not as predictable as the RX8. Might have been the tires but I think it was just the nature of the car.

I'm glad Mazda built the RX8. While the rotary is novel, I think they would have sold at least twice as many had it been powered by the 2.3 Turbo.

 

^ if they put a 2.3 turbo piston engine then it wouldnt be an rx car.

 

Just yesterday while at work, another worker noticed me surfing this site. Asked me if I was a Mazda Fan. I said yes, owned two already and looking into an 8 now. He then proceeded to tell me how he has a Speed 6 and only reason why he didn't get an 8 was because he didn't fit ( tall and big guy ). He also stated he had worked for a Mazda Racing team that dealt with Rotary engines a lot. I just cant recall the name he had given me. He talked about the rotary with so much passion and had a lot of respect for the rotary engine and always boasted how they could handle high revs while they raced them.

That there made me want one even more. The test drive I took the first time in an 8, I was instantly in love with it. It may be that people just dont understand the 8, and like many have stated here, may be to young to understand or just naive to learn about the 8 and what it has to offer. I personally dont think its ugly. I have wanted one since day one and now that I can afford one I am vigorously looking for the right one.

 

I guess I've been lucky so far, I haven't had anyone bad mouth my 8 but I think thats because almost no one knows wtf it is. I can't even really explain the rotary to most people that ask.

If you get all technically they don't get it. The only way I can explain is it doesn't have pistons it has rotors that spin like an airplane propeller. Such as bad analogy but people seem to understand the spinny nature of a prop over saying anything else.

Or I don't hang around car people....

 

The only time I've heard a negative comment about my 8 was on my 16 day roadtrip. I came out of a gas station in Texas to some kid looking at my car and talking on a cell. I saw his riced out civic (park bench, fart cannon, bad fitting non-painted front bumper) running behind my 8. I didn't think anything of it but heard him say in the phone "yeah they look good, too bad they're so f***ing slow!".

I just got in and headed towards the interstate ramp. At the light before the ramp I see him pull up behind me. Light turns green and I did my daily redline up the ramp (while loaded with 2 ppl, camping gear, food, etc) for 1st and 2nd and saw him falling wayyyyy back. About 15 seconds after got to the speed limit and set cruise he goes flying by me doing about 85 or 90. My passenger and I just started laughing.

 

The only guy that bad mouths the car around me is someone who calls it a "U-boat engine" and always asks if it's broken down yet. *sigh* I'm so glad I tell him every time that "It's running flawlessly."

 

I only get irritated with my boss bad mouthing my car.

Because his entire complaint is that "it's tiny and unsafe" compared to his mid 90s Mercury Sable station wagon....

I offered to show him the crash test difference between the two, but he declined.

 

you are right... i say put a RE or a 20b that is what mazda should have done

 

Answer - Because we are too defensive of a car that needs no defending.

 

Ik this post is old but I felt like responding anyways, From what I've heard in the Sacramento area noncar enthusiasts love the RX8, minus the gas mileage and inevitable rebuild part, And generally car enthusiasts take it as a meh kind of car. The majority of people I met liked the styling of the RX8 and really were only turned off by the stories of engine failure and how you would have to treat an RX8 differently from a normal car. However, when you actually explain things to them it tends to change their minds about the negatives after a bit of thought. Another thing is gas mileage, your not gonna argue about that. MPG is pretty important now and considering that the rotaries get less than optimal gas mileage makes people think of it as a car they should avoid initially until they're financially stable, but then tend to make theirs worse than an rx8 with all the mods they put on their car anyways. I can say from experience alot of people who "Hate" the rx8 tend to dislike either the car or the owner for immature reasons. Also if you did want to increase the power, you'd have to work on the engine in ways a lot of people are too afraid to do to their own cars at a much earlier stage. (Doing it right of course) Personally I love the looks of my 8 and am thinking about buying another one before college. There's a workaround for each issue but people tend to dismiss those and look only at the negatives. J brush them off, those guys are too immature to give any real feedback and I wouldn't ever consider them a true car enthusiast if they can't accept the existence of every car in its own different way.

 

You don't buy an RX8 for speed..Its fun, nimble, quiet AND its a 4 doors sports car, unique.

 

A blast from the past.
Like any thing, over time people either become nostalgic or that immature jealousy pang wears off. Hey I see alot of love returning even to cars like the Chrysler Crossfire and old Saabs.
Been watching some youtube videos and there are alot of positive comments on the RX8. That said, owning any rotary engined car is not for the uninitiated nor faint of heart.

 

So true and funny you said this. 6 months ago I sold my 2017 Vette (Anticipation of getting a C8) but picked up the Rx8 and a Chrysler Crossfire vert and saved $$$.. Love the style and classic feel!

 

Any car has it's share of haters and negative stereotypes. The most important thing is if it brings a smile to you. As long as you are not being obnoxious to others, no need to let others bum you out.

 

Exactly, it's just misunderstood. When the car initially came out it had reliability problems due to lack of adequate lubrication and cooling. In addition, the emissions laws forced Mazda to try to make the rotary engine "cleaner" at great cost. People ended up ruining their cars and Mazda had egg on their face.

Today, these flaws are known and solutions are now out there. The car is now very inexpensive to buy and for the money you get a fun, balanced and practical sports car.

 

Exactly - people don't like something different; every car has trade-offs. If someone has a car that is perfect - let me know. My requirements led me to cautiously to the RX-8 and I accepted the trade-offs. I also own a Kawasaki KLR650 (ooh a thumper that's too heavy for off-road use) and live with the Tradeoffs (it's a 2000 that I've owned since 2005).

 

new owner here. i guess i’m one of the younger guys who owns this car and i definitely care a lot about power. here in ny the highest speed you can really go is 55 not to mention the constant traffic here. my rx8 is the first manual car i’ve owned and i love it. i don’t get to the track really with it but to me the highway is just the same after midnight. this car tears it up!!! the handling on the car is insane (100k on the stock suspension) and when i go over bumps i barely feel it. to me this car has a decent amount of power but i definitely need more. a turbo kit should fix that along with a nice rebuild (porting, upgraded parts) should do the trick for me. besides that. this is the nicest stock car in my opinion. everywhere i drive it turns heads and people always come up to me and say i love it man it looks so sick. as soon as i got this car i fell in love with how good it looked stock and how nice it drove and HOW HIGH IT REVS. dudeeee. all my car club friends with stis and evos and **** all love it and said it’s real fun to drive. no one has called it slow yet. not to mention if you remove the cats it shoots. and did i mention STOCK

 

I haven't seen anyone talk about how the rx8 has multi side port. Thats what i dislike about the 8. I'm a huge N/A guy. I love all motor engines and because the ports are on the side of the plate and have water/cooling jackets extreamly close, you just can't port the engine much. Unlike it's older brother expesualy the exhaust ports. Also they cut a few corners for ridiculous EPA regulations. I mean it's a rotary engine, they burn oil lol. Only so ego friendly they can get. I'm sure they had to do most of these things so they could sell in the state's but i see most of these as big drawbacks just filling the engine and exhaust with carbon leading them to shorter lifes. I still love my 8! Spent a lot on the car and would do it all over again.

 

For me, I like the way it is stock with a few mods. I never thought this car was slow. If I was into racing like a lot of the long time members I would select a different car. For street applications its perfect. I dont beat but I can at least keep up with other "fast" looking cars. The handling is astonishing and the best part about the RX8. The ease of the way it corners I haven't seen any other car do at this price point. You may not beat people in the straights but you make up for it in the bends.

 

Because they don’t own one.

Porsche dreams WITH an RX-8 budget.

 

Just got my rx8 running right, so I pulled my wife's project rx8 up in the yard and gave it a bath yesterday. Went to fire it up today, and the security system decided it did not like the idea of starting up. Immobilizer kicked in, car battery is down, and remote battery is dead. I'll replace the remote battery tomorrow and hopefully it'll let me reset the security system. Then on to chasing a short in the wiring harness on my truck. Oh the joy of older vehicles, lol.