rael

Hi guys,

As you may be aware in the UK we are still waiting for our 8's which may arrive in November. In the meatime we are scanning all reports especially coming out of the States were there have been a number of negative issues being; power loss. a/c problems, heat in footwells.

In general are you all fully satisfied with your cars. Also what accessories did you find worthwhile and which a waste of money.

Thanks,

rael

DMRH

All rotary powered cars run HOT exhausts.

Spare a thought for the previous generation with twin turbos. They made the foot well hot.

I know my JC Cosmo (20B) gets hot under the drivers feet from the pre-Cat.

Its a dull heat, turn on the AC & it goes away.

Part of the cars character I reckon

msydd

OK, I'm not just happy... I'm delighted...

Power loss - I don't know what they are talking about... this car flies... it is by far the fastest car I've ever owned...(I've owned a TR7, MR2 and MX5)...

A/C Problems - I've just been setting the climate control and forgetting... it hasn't been really hot here yet (just warming up now), but the A/C seems to be working fine...

Heat in the Foot Wells - I haven't even noticed any...I've even put my hand down to check (after reading the threads) and on my car... no issue.

Look this is a great car... if you drive it hard it is thirsty... other than that I can't fault it.

sco

Power loss is two issues... one is Mazda overstated hp because they didn't take into account the emission requirements. Second issue is that the ECU goes into a safe mode when it is on a dyno because it sees the engine going flat out and the front wheels going nowhere.

Australia as Climate Control whereas the US has on/off A/C.

Heat in the foot wells doesn't bother me... the US guys sit on the opposite side anyway, which has a bigger footwell so less heat for the driver.

The US guys should stop whinging... they pay about US$25K for their cars = about AUD$36K using a .7 exchange rage. Base price here is $56K.

I've had my car for a month now... and I still love it. Rotary engine is great, handling is awesome, construction quality is excellent... this car is great fun to drive. I find myself taking "the long way home" just so I can spend more time in the car.

When my biggest complaint is the Climate Control initially sets the air to "fresh" when you turn it on" which I hate because I usually turn on the climate control when I'm sitting at the first set of lights on the way to work and get a lung full of fumes. So I turn Climate Control on and immediately hit the recirc button... big deal. This should put things in perspective.

All the negatives in this forum will be a distant memory when you're driving your '8 after breaking in and you're redlining and drifting and cornering like you're on rails.

My only accessory so far are floor mats. given the odd shape of the driver's side, you'll struggle to find a set that fits well on both sides. The factory mats fit perfectly and don't move... they're a must.

Kev

The car is brilliant, just be careful on you colour choice for matching

I'm not certain how your cars come equipped, but we have an option pack that contains leather, power drivers seat, climate control A/C, fog lights, xenon head lights, 300w Bose 6 stacker and headlight washers. I went for that...

The strakes are expensive for what they are, but they do change the car's looks, it makes it more "retro". The front and rear crests are nice too.

The scuff plates look quite nice, and so do the door handle bezels, but I've noticed a few after market carbon fibre interior trim upgrades that look very nice in the pictures - I wish I had waited in respect to these.

I didn't go for the sun roof because of the amount of headroom it pinches, (I've got a 7 foot person's body and a 4 foot person's legs). If it wasn't for that, the sun roof would have been in.

External aero bits are really personal issues. After having the car a few weeks now, I'll probably fit the front and rear aero bits, but not the skirts.

I got the rotor tyre valve caps - but you have to point them out to people :D

I'll probably do something with the car's breathing (intake and exhaust) down the track, but after I've got 5k on the clock and I have a better feel for it - hopefully by then the "aftermarket" will be really alive.

zerohour

This is the only car that has ever truely made me happy.

8_wannabe

How can you be Austalian and not be happy? Might as well ask a llama if it is furry! :D

labrat

I'd second SCO's remarks. If you drive it, you'll love it. What Australians say about the car must have some weight in the UK context, because essentially we've got your car. The Australian market is so small (and right hand drive) that it made sense to do it this way. The power spec. downgrade was explained to us before we got delivery. Big deal. It's a really great car. One disadvantage - you're going to get sick of people drooling over it. It's nice to hear the compliments, but it can take up time!

Lock & Load

The rx8 rocks its everything you have hear read and more i have owned 24 cars in 31 years and the rx8 is the one that has come the closest to car heaven .

There is a lot of missinformation on this forum some of the so called members i believe are deliberately tryng to discredit the rx8 for their own reasons .

Kev

I'm sitting here in my RX8 t-shirt, having just taken off my RX8 cap... (never even wore my Audi TT tie pin! Usually hate branded clothing!)

Just got back from the repairer that's going to fix my egg damage anyway... it'll be new again soon, and they'll do the rear spoiler too :D

Non stop people coming up and looking at the car - saying how fantastic it is - and I'm talking real car enthusiasts.

Not just the outside, swing the "stage doors" open and people wow'ed at the inside too!!!

You know the car has made a mark when stangers start telling you what colours they saw in a particular suburb on a certain day...

And surprise of surprises - I saw a yellow one out and about and it looks fantastic ... and here I was nervous about getting red. Sheesh!

sco

labrat is right... my last 5 minute fill at a garage (talking pommie speak here) took 25 minutes as I got asked about the car by an RX-7 owner who thought there must have been two shades of red. My red looked maroon under flouro's at night.

timbo

Support all these -- I've run over 6,000ks now and every one of them a pleasure. 12.3 l/100k fuel is fine with me given the performance.

Climate control seems fine but will await really hot weather to offer full judgement.

No coat hook, but can cope with that.

Digital speedo is a gimmick -- thank goodness for cruise control.

I have the lower spec Australian model -- cloth seats, regular halogen lights, 100w stereo, saving about $7K, and am not missing anything in the higher spec

Timbo

Kev

I hear ya timbo...

But the one hi spec feature I must defend is the power adjustment in the drivers seat. It is really nice to be able to make minor adjustments safely on the go...

I don't believe there's any difference in the performance potential of the standard A/C v's the climate control version - just the set and forget ability.

I saw the cloth interior in a black rx8 and it looked really good.

timbo

yeah kev, I would like the power seat!

All Australian spec cars have climate control

Timbo

Wildcard

You'll love the car. It looks great from every angle, inside and out. Sometimes it is hard to hide your grin when you feel everyone looking at you. The 300W stereo kicks ****. Don't even dare listening to it a full volume for long unless you want to go deaf!

The only things I have added so far are floor mats and window tinting/paint protection. Rotary crests for the bumpers are also on order. I'd really recommend getting the darkest window tint you can. It really adds to the tough look of the car. Zoooooom!

takahashi

Speak to KAS about a week ago... he was not very happy then.

japfan

I also have a base blue one and it is great. The thing I really liked after the first week was looking at all the angles forward of the windscreen. Bonnet has that many curves and headlights seen to change shape depending on where you stand. If you look at it front on from about 20 metres away I think it looks like a Ferrari 360, mainly the air cooler holes.

Relax, your in for a great ride if you ever get them delivered. You can only drive it generally at under 80 miles per hour on normal roads and it is great at all normal speeds.

I just feel lucky to have one. Stuff the rest of the **** people seem to dig up.

Aussies have been bought up on a diet of Japanese cars and apart from my S800 Honda from 1966. I cant think of a better car that can carry the kids (save Skyline GTR which you cannot get here from a dealer).

Maybe we just get on with life and enjoy it judging by the posts so far.

Count the days.

rael

Kev,

Noticed on the previous 'happy' thread that you were a TT owners. I'm giving up my TTC 225 and wonder how the 8 compares to the TTC in performance and quality of build.

many thanks,

rael

Hymee

iTrader: (1)

I'm delighted.

I can't believe the amount of noise from the US - but the population is so large, and a small percentage of owners is still a noisy number.

I went for the Red with Cloth trim and dark tint. The tint really sets it off - especially with a beautiful coat of Swissol wax.

I continue to be more delighted every time I drive. And like sco, I ALWAYS take the long way! (Although I haven't been drifting yet )

And Kev - didn't you get a RX-8 tie pin? :p

Happy? You better believe it!

Cheers,
Hymee.