Socket7

If i wanted a 4 banger mated to an RX-8 transmission, I'd buy a Miata.

JRichter

I don't know what's worse: you wanting a 4-cylinder RX-8 or the fact that you believe in Global Warming...

Jest97

livinin the seventies? Wouldn't it be a RX818 with a 4cyl. RX3 / 808

& no I like spending all my hard earned on petrol for my toy / baby.

JRichter

No it wouldn't and I don't think Mazda is worried about keeping up with 350Z sales. They are happy just having a (the only) Rotary powered car on the market regardless of the volume they move. Some people just don't get it.

Shoafb

How do you know?

You don't......

They don't care how many cars they sell? Thats classic.

robrecht

I think they were originally hoping for much higher sales, which would have allowed them to bring out the 2-seater rotary much sooner. Check out the quotes from Bob Hall (father of the Miata) in my signature.

champi0n

iTrader: (1)

It may be a possibility that the only way they're keeping the rights to the rotary engine are to keep it in production...

Symbioticgenius

I think the real question is... would you have bought the RX-8 if the Miata came with a Renny Also?

robrecht

That's the real question, but unfortunately it is not his question. He wants an RX-8 wannabe with a 4-banger so he can get better gas mileage but still look like he's driving an RX-8. That said, a Miata with a Renesis (RX-5) would get better gas mileage because it's lighter. I can't wait until they make a 2-seater with the 16x ... but not because of improved gas mileage but rather because of improved performance.

daisuke

if I wanted something with a 4 banger in it I would just buy ANYTHING else other than an RX car. I wanted a reliable rotary and the 8 was the only option I had. It also looks better than most other cars in existance.

Why settle for a 4 cylinder anyway, if you want speed AND good looks AND decent gas mileage then forget some crappy 4 banger. Get a corvette, they get 33 mpg on the highway if you're nice to them and can still outperform an 8 in many ways.... AND... it's a frickin vette!!!

speak of which, I want a vette with a 26B in it and modern suspension while we're talking crazy.

wait a minute... put a vette engine in the 8, ruin the handling... but you'll have a car that looks great, sounds great, goes fast in a straight line and still looks like the 8, and gets better mileage than a miata when cruising

robrecht

Hard to believe, but IIRC someone put an aluminum LS1 in an FD and said the engine was only 15 lbs heavier. Of course it was mounted higher and more forward, but still.

cmr333

Rx= rotary experiment, its been that since the rx cars were built, my car is only going to have one badge and ill be biting of of mazda a bit but its going to be SR-X ,for sr20 experiment.

JRichter

You don't either and we won't because it won't happen.

A lot of car makers are willing to be less profitable on a niche/top of the line car just to keep a reputation for innovation/engineering or whatever intact that can do more for its place or name in the market then huge volumes of sales would. The more practical/economical and no doubt higher volume car sales are there to help fund such cars. Think about Porsche's 911 w/ the engine still in the rear. They tried to replace it with a more conventional front engined 928 which didn't work and the 911 carried on building that following even more while the 928 died a slow death. Porsche wouldn't exist today (or be buying up VW) if they had killed the unconventional design of the 911. Or a totally different example on a bigger scale would be VW producing the Bugatti Veyron at an extreme money loss on everyone sold just for the bragging rights of fastest car or to showcase their engineering capabilities to the world. I think the Japanese manufacturers gained a reputation for bland appliance like cars that no one could distinguish which brand was which when they were first getting underway in the US so each one has tried to do something to establish there name. Best way to do this is to go back to their heritage. To anyone that knows anything about cars Mazda has always been know for it's rotary engine and innovative sporty cars. It's obvious in all the literature or media I've ever read on Mazda that they always want to sell a rotary powered car and continue to develop it. They went to Le Mans w/ a rotary powered car and are still the only Japanese manufacture to win there. Though they didn't make immediate money off of it you can bet it helped make the Mazda name stickout in the crowded auto industry. Sure they could plop whatever engine into whatever and probably get some sales but I still believe most of the RX- following is attributed to the fact that it is different and it is powered by a rotary engine. A 4-cylinder RX- would not be called RX- and the RXis instantly recognizable to most car enthusiasts which is exactly what Mazda has established throughout the years and it is all based on pervious rotory-powered cars. If Mazda released the RX-8 w/ a 4-cylinder engine they would instantly loose a lot of credibility which would obviously hurt the company in the long run and I believe the RX-8 would sell even less. Look at the goddam thing. It's got rotary influence all over it from the hood to the gearshift to the backs of the seats so on and so on. I think they could sell a Kurbura type car easily w/ the 2.3 T to compete w/ the upcoming Toyota/Subaru RWD coupe and Nissan RWD coupe both of which will be powered by a I4 along side a rotary powered halo car which would serve people that don't want or desire a rotary engine. And classic? What's classic is seeing someone who consistently posts negativity on the rotary engine in every related post because their's failed. This is the reason I say some people just don't get it.

I applaud any car maker that doesn't bow down to the bean counters and sticks with their gut on something different and not mainstream. As an auto enthusiast it would be a very dull and boring world if every car maker did they same thing and sold the same car. Lots of 4-cylinder cars available if thats what you want but I don't.

Thanks robrecht. Yeah I've followed the development from the inception and realize the RX-8 was intended to appeal to broader group of people w/ its 4 seat design strictly for sales purposes but never with anything but a rotary engine. A 4-cylinder RX-8 would have done nothing for a later 2 seater rotary car but I see your point. I'm sure Mazda new there was a good chance at weak sales w/ this car.

cmr333

very well said..

alfy28

good post richer. it almost made me tear up

dshiznit1489

wut wut in teh butt.

ShinkaTeen

:: Standing Applaud::

nvrfalter

iTrader: (1)

consider yourself lucky and move on with your life. most of us get much less. sorry if this is a repost post, but i didnt feel like reading this garbage thread

delhi

someone got royally owned for posting stupidity. Good comments JRichter!

To those who get it, gets it.

See my sig for Mazda's position with the Rotary technology. It would be a cop-out way to raid the parts bin for a new model. I applaud Mazda for resisting such cheap way out. Instead they built a car from the ground-up just for the rotary engine. Without it, it would just be another Miata, Z-car, Honda whatever....

Shoafb

You spent an entire paragraph defending yourself and then .....


Thanks robrecht. Yeah I've followed the development from the inception and realize the RX-8 was intended to appeal to broader group of people w/ its 4 seat design strictly for sales purposes but never with anything but a rotary engine. A 4-cylinder RX-8 would have done nothing for a later 2 seater rotary car but I see your point. I'm sure Mazda new there was a good chance at weak sales w/ this car.


do a 180 and admit they intended to sell more.

this isn't an exotic, its a 30k car and comparing production numbers to Porsche 911's and Bugatti is nuts.

delhi, how many miles on your car now 200k? 20k? 10k? carefull now... it's complicated.

robrecht

I think his main point that we can all agree on (except perhaps the OP) is that it would be a huge mistake to put a little 4-banger with 150 hp in the RX-8. Mazda has not and will not make this mistake. It would destroy the dynamics of the car. No, it's not a Porsche or a Bugatti, but it is unique and Mazda does deserve credit for building it and continuing to invest in R&D for the rotary even with the presumably disappointing sales of the RX-8.

Shoafb

I agree, 150hp wouldn't be enough. The MS-3 setup would make it pretty interesting though. Honestly, you wouldn't even test drive it to see?

Design1stCode2nd

If the 8 was offered as it is now along with an MX8 with a 300-315hp turbo 4. I would gladly put money down that the MX8 would outsell it 3 to 1.

The MX8 would be less refined/smooth and less agile but would be faster, have more torque, get better mileage and not be prone to flooding.

I think Mazda would sell many more units if they did this. The rotary is part of Mazda’s heritage but I don’t think it will ever be a commercial success for them.

Do you honestly think adding an aluminum 4 cylinder will all of a sudden make it handle like a Mustang?

JRichter

Your still missing the point. No 180 that I see. It's obvious that my main point is to show that Mazda would not want to jump ship on their rotary design just to cash in on a higher short-term volume of sales. I'm not comparing the RX-8 production numbers to a Porsche or a Bugatti's production numbers. That is obviously clear in my entire post and I think you and anyone else that reads it really sees that point, your just trying to twist my post to discredit it as much as possible. Those are just examples of a car company doing something beyond caving in to the mainstream just to get some short-term sales and make a name for themselves for the long haul. It happens all over the auto industry in different ways and Mazda w/ their rotary, VW group w/ their engineering power, Porsche w/ their unconventional design are all examples of this.

Agreeing that the RX-8's design was intended for higher volume of sales in no way agrees with your statement that it would sell as much as the 350z with a 4-cylinder engine. My point there is that Mazda would rather have weaker sales w/ a rotary engine and trail the 350z then produce a 4-cylinder RX-8 just to match Nissan. That's not their only goal. Mazda never, ever intended the car to have a 4-cylinder. No **** they want to sell as much as possible but they want to do it with a rotary engine! That's their goal. Anyone can sell with a 4-cylinder. Like I said before, I sure Mazda would introduce a 4-banger car along side (or perhaps a proper MX-5 coupe) before they would throw one into a RX-8.

neXib

I think your question would rather be, does most people in the US really care if it handles like a Mustang as long as it's faster?

Over here where the roads aren't as wide but have more curves we like fast cars too. But I don't think I've ever seen so many people complain about the speed of a fast sportscar as in the forums here

I love the wankel, and I think they'll continue making it for a long time.