I am thinking about getting an RX-8 for BS, and wanted to know how reliable are they for daily driving and autoxing.

Thanks

 

I've rarely heard of reliability issues with the RX-8's. I've had zero maintenance issues with mine and it has been reliable to a fault as a daily driver which I use to pick up my two kids from Daycare/Preschool each weekday.

Maintenance items are also reasonably priced and it's easy to do the simple stuff yourself (e.g. oil changes).

 

its very relaible, the only problem i really had was fuel pump, and it is a known weak point, but watever XD.

 

only thing ive noticed after a run in the paddock the idle is rough as hell, but that prob has alot to do with the fact i just beat the crap out of the car

i autox and daily drive my 8

 

never had the odd idle issue after my runs. as far as i'm concerned i have full trust in the reliability of my 8. i also auto-x and daily drive mine. i'm in no way easy on my 8 in either capacity.

 

yeah maybe it wasnt as bad as i made it out to be, but i was running in a 90+ degree day and i know how some service bullitins note rough idle in high ambiant temps, whos knows, let her cool down and it was back to normal

 

The only real issue that I've seen is that the transmission in the '04-'08 models is rather fragile. Sipe fragged his second gear more than once. My '04 needed a new 2nd gear synchro after a couple of seasons of serious autocross and ProSolo use. I believe mwood's '06 had issues similar to mine, and another '06 had the transmission lock up in gear (clutch would engage/disengage, but couldn't move shifter out of gear) at a local event here in DFW a few weeks ago.

Aside from that, they can be hit or miss. '04s seem to have the most issues. My '04 has had several thousand dollars in warranty work (both headlights, both taillights, tranny, slave cylinder, coils, plugs, starter, battery, etc.), while other local '04s have had fewer issues. That said, if I were in the market for another one, I'd probably look for an '05 or newer car.

 

I AutoX'ed mine yesterday and it was 97 degrees outside, no rough idle for me.

 

In general with reliability of these cars, the people who have problems tend to be the people who "take it easy". I have never heard of anyone killing the engine by driving it too hard. The transmission does seem to be the weak link. My 4th gear is grinding, and I shift really easy. For serious Autocrossers seeking to lose as little time as possible by shifting quickly, second gear seems to be the main problem.

I don't autocross, but I do 5-6 trackdays a year. There are not that many cars that would be reliable under those circumstances, but the RX-8 takes it like a champ.

 

Cool

Thanks for the information.