Well, not exactly with the RX-8 but last week picked up my new daily driver and it's a 2019 Mazda CX-5 AWD with the new 2.5 turbo engine.
Man, Mazda has REALLY upped it's game since I bought the 8 as the build quality and interior is way ahead of where they were 10 years ago.





Brought it home and now I officially have an All Mazda Garage.






not sure what mod I'll do first but you guys know me, I can't drive a stock car for very long.

 

Congrats on the CX-5! Surprising how it's at the end of its life cycle, yet the CX-5 is still at the top of the game.

First "mod" shall be debadging the rear. CX-5's look so much cleaner without the rear badges.

 

The burning question ...................... Is it quicker than the 8 ?

 

Mazda is going upstream so that's expected, but honestly, I don't think my 8's interior is too shabby given its age and the fact it's a sports car with some GT aspects. Try a Nissan 350Z and you will appreciate the 8's interior, LOL.

And how much boost can you turn up on this engine? Pretty high compression ratio at 10.5. That's higher than our 8's 10.0 and our cars are NA stock...

Nah.

I have a buddy who has a 6 2.5T, and data shows that it's about as fast as my 8 even on 91. It's beefier in the city with 310 ft-lb of torque available low-down, but at the same time, it runs out of breath at the same RPM where the RX-8 comes alive, like most turbocharged family cars I have driven.

With stock Falken tires, the 2.5T with an open diff FWD will not grip when floored in 1st gear, period. My friend is actually so annoyed by that, he is going to get new tires at less than 5k miles. As a side question, is it me or do all Falken tires suck? My Fk 453 is terrible for a performance tire at Autocross.

Oh and the 6 is like 400+ pounds heavier too.

Now they might have made it a touch more powerful for an SUV and AWD will grip better, but the sheer weight of an SUV will slow it down by a lot.

 

Congrats!

First mod(s) should be a tune from ovtune: https://ovtuned-ph.com/?fbclid=IwAR1...9VrAvuxlZ1cOsU

followed by:SkyActiv Oil Catch Can Kit [SKY-OCC] - $185.00 : James Barone Racing, Aftermarket Performance

After that depends on what you want to do with it.

 

Edit: even though I only copied that, it wasn’t very reflective of the new-man Team. So you get this instead:





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Team and I discussing Boost levels for the CX-5.

 

I like the new kinder gentler Team.
Though at times I do miss OG Team.

 

filled up for the first time today. 28.3 mpg.

 

That's pretty decent.

My friend's 2.5T 6 gets about 21 MPG, but he drives a lot of city trips, and he takes after me when it comes to flooring the gas pedal. Spins his tires on a regular basis.

 

First mod: remove the front license plate

 

Love an all Mazda Garage! Welcome to the club!

 

unknown: probably helps that I'm babying the crap out of it right now since I'm still in the engine break-in period. Mazda recommends taking it easy the first 600 miles so once I do 750 or so we'll get that lil turbo spooling up and see what the mpg's drop down to.

xero: first thing I did when I got home.

MS8V2: if all goes according to plan, there'll be a 3rd Mazda joining the club by year end.

 

Yeah, I told my buddy to also take it easy in the first 600 miles or so. He has 4k miles now so he can floor it all he wants. I also informed him that for a turbocharged car, he should idle it for about 30 seconds at the end of the drive if he drives it hard.

 

Another recommendation: Curt 13315 Class III 2in Reciever Hitch; RockAuto $123.79+shipping