enforcer

Not all...just one...and as for being young...or stupid...or childish....we all grow up.

We became more mature as we start to gain life experience....and as time goes by this experience grows and deepens. We get older.

But do we get more serious? Probably yes, because we all have events and things happening to us that will make us think and reflect.

And perhaps change the course of our lives. But will we really grow 100 percent?

Thats subjective....!

Gomez

Asked my leasing company to chase me up a quote on another RX-8 today.

I added "Do not seek a quote from City Mazda, Melbourne" in the notes box.

takahashi

add another setence... "or you can call them and have a laugh afterwards"

erx8s

[QUOTE=Gomez;2027281]Asked my leasing company to chase me up a quote on another RX-8 today.

Gomez ,............ do you know if Mazda has rectified all the problems that been apparent in the earlier models of the RX8 , the issue with the oilmetering pump , oil injectors gearboxes , catalyctic converters engine failures ,overheating problems , fuel comsumption etc etc etc

Frankly i am suprised that you are so keen to buy back into these issues , maybe you know something we dont and have the confidence to go out and re- purchase .

Ben

auzoom

So we had all those issues here?

timbo

G'day Lock

enforcer

We haven't had all of these issues....and even with some of the 'cons' outlined I say the pros far weigh out them.

If it were up to me (and my bank) I'd do the same thing again....

Gomez

Hahaha, well spotted Timbo. Your continued inability to quote properly and the cat issues you've posted about give you away, Lock. For the benefit of people new to the site, I'll answer your question.

Rightio, let's lay our cards on the table here. This may get a little long-winded, I apologise in advance.

First up, let me point out that I had none of the failures that you mentioned in three years of ownership. You will recall that I joined this forum in the weeks leading up to the purchase of my RX-8. I did that to learn about the car and to enhance my ownership experience. This forum has a wealth of experience and technical information, and I wanted to tap into it. I'm a sponge when it comes to this stuff....I can't learn enough. The RX-8 in itself is a wonder of innovation and technological know-how. It's "shock cone" bonnet, virtual "B" pillar, rotary engine, brakes, powerplant frame, DSC, handling and weight distribution etc.........all world class or even world firsts.

Mazda have a passionate group of engineers who (for forty years now) have developed the rotary engined car to reach this point. Delve down deep into this car and you can see the effort and appreciate the lengths they've gone to. Did you know that the engine computer carries out a full sixty step test of the oil metering pump every twelfth start??

Back to the problems you mentioned. As Auzoom pointed out, we haven't had the same issues that others (namely, the USA) have experienced. There are complex reasons for that, some relating to their driving habits, their EPA regulations, their fuel grades, their weather etc. The fact that the car is so cheap in the US means the average 18yo can afford one. This invariably leads to gearbox and clutch failures.....you remember being an eighteen year old hoon, right??

Still, Mazda have learnt from their US experience and we all benefit from it. The gearboxes now have improved shift forks, the engine programming had been modified a number of times, new engine mounts solve past problems...heaps of parts have be upgraded/modified.

I don't see the fuel economy as an issue. This car has small V8 performance and uses fuel accordingly. People need to get your head around the fact that a 1.3 litre engine can use V8 quantities of fuel. I prefer to look at it this way....you have V8 performance coupled with go-cart handling. My other car is a V8, it ain't no go-cart.

There are five thousand RX-8's on the road in Australia. In all my time here I've seen less than a handful of engine failures reported (I personally saw one of these drivers chirp the tyres going into third on a cold engine...), maybe two gearbox failures and less than five cat failures (mostly related to incidents of flooding....now sorted). I can't recall any OMP or oil injection issues here.

This is a bloody reliable car. It'll be even better in it's 2007 guise. Nothing else in it's price range touches it for handling, performance, style or diversity of function.

I too toyed with the idea of buying a third generation RX-7. I needed it to be an everyday driver.....an FD is to mechanically fragile to perform that role.

Cheers.

enforcer

Guys...don't believe everything you see on the Internet...

erx8s

What took you guys so long i am not interested in getting into a bum fight over the durability of the RX8

A Local Mazda mechanic that i spoke to who has seen around 6 engines failures in 3 Autos and 3 MT said that hes dissapointed at the workings of the RX8 after a long conversation me quizzing him he let down his guard and told me that the car dissapointed him he expected better from Mazda most of the failures were attributed to inadequate oil metering and oil injectors , broken side seals , malfunctioning overheating engines .


My engine failed after 66,000 km with low compression on the first rotor over 100 Kpa difference between rotor 1 and 2 on 2 out of 3 chambers

I dont abuse my car , regular service every 5000km , change spark plugs every 20,000 km .

Even with all the ECU UPGRADES MAZDA still has not been able to get this car right .
I am not trying to scare you from buying another one because even i am considering it YES they do represent good value and have some great features , but unfortunately Durability is not one of them .

Ben ...better known as LOCK

enforcer

Micahel I can think of a better way of getting busted...

auzoom

Let me just start by saying I hope your opening wasn't a freudian slip bum=bun

Not saying its an excuse, but there is a saying that I first saw on ausrotary that went along the lines of "if the rotary engine had as much R&D in its 40 years as the piston engine did in the same period imagine where we would be". Mazda are the only manufacturer commercially researching the wankel engine. There have been a few others who have manufactured (Citreon and Merc') but they didnt last long and didnt add much.

As for the 6 failures that this mechanic has talked about, it appears the majority (if not all) are attributable to the OMP miscalculation. And interestingly it appears in the hotter half of the country.

Andrew

erx8s

By trying to extract every bit of power from the NA RX8 Mazda may have indirectly caused extra problems for itself as we know the intake ports were increased by some 40 % this seems to have caused a durability problem .

Both the sideseals and corner seals are being hammered by the closing edges of the intake ports .

My car showed no real signs of a imminent engine failure , no knocking or rattles or huge loss of power the only previous problem were with my catalyctic converter .

Most likely i will once again be banned , because no one likes to hear the hard negative facts..... and if you rock the boat you get busted


Mazda in its silence knows the reality of the faults and engineering weaknesses of the RX8 and one thing they excell in is keeping it from the buying public

Cheers

erx8s

Trevor

Does Your avator needs enforcing ?

Gomez

Hi Lock. For starters I went AWOL here for a good part of this year so I missed the bulk of the posts you made under this new pseudonym... .

I'm sure a number of the six failures your mechanic refers to were operator induced. What were/are the compression figures for your engine...was it replaced?

Your car is a very early 2003 model, you're aware that we've had a decent number of PCM flashes since then. I think we had two software upgrades between your car and my Jan 2004 build, IIRC. Yours would have been a "D" on delivery, mine was a "F".

Your cat failure wouldn't have helped your engine much, either.

Gomez

You'd do well to take some detective tips from Timbo, Trev.... .

erx8s

Gomez

My car is not under warranty i am trying to find out the best and most cost effective way to get my car back on the road Mazda wanted $12,000 for an Engine rebuild and they showed very little interest in doing the job .

Most Mazda service centres couldnt rebuild an engine they send them away to get done .

I can source the seal kit from Mazdatrix for $1400 US ,getting someone who actually has rebuilt RX8 engines thats a different matter .

Do you know of seal kit suppliers in OZ ?

My compression test were as follows .

Rotor : 1 2
690 790
670 760
700 760

As per the RX8 Manual anything under 680 Kpa and a difference of over 100Kpa between Rotors your engine is F#$ed .

Guess you are going to tell me it was my fault for not getting a compression test every 10,000km

I totally disagree with your statement that the Engine failures were induced by operator failures .

As i said earlier i will consider another RX8 but only if i can be reassured that the ongoing problems of the RX8 HAVE BEEN RESOLVED and i get a 4 year 100,000km Warranty .

For $53,000 on road its a good buy


Cheers
Michael

erx8s

Wrong Trevor was a gentlemen he knew from the onset it was me but he choose to PM me and not make it public .

David hicks spent less time in Guantanamo prison then the time i have been banned from this Forum .

What are the Moderators and Mazda so afraid of one person speaking his mind and telling the truth

Michael

enforcer

Thanks for the compllment Michael...I agree wholeheartely and I stand by 100% with your valuable input into this forum.

The whole point about having a RX-8 forum is not to knock the car but to generate positive and constructive critcism which hopefully one day Mazda may take some notice and improve what is potentially, one of the best motor cars in the world.

What matters is the depth and value of our knowledge, and not by some who only judge on face value, and don't appreciate a discussions real worth.

At the end of the day there are many who appreciate your contribution - and for that I respect you.

BTW - I can always get my wife to take her top off in my next avatar change, but I don't think the moderators would appreciate it...or would they...!

DrewMan

^ nor would she!

auzoom

Michael, if I remember rightly, the last time you were banned wasnt for your opinions on the reliability of the RX-8. Not sure about previous to that.

As for your problem, When a second hand engine costs $2500 and a rebuild is $2600 for a non RX8 13b (http://www.mazfix.com.au/engines/rebuildengines.html), I cant see how it can cost $12,000 to repair. I would be going and speaking to Archie. I wouldnt trust most dealers to rebuild an engine anyway.

Cheers

Andrew

Gomez

Hi Michael, I'll address the above quote starting at the bottom and work my way up.

I never said your engine problem was operator induced.....check my earlier post.

Checking your compression every 10K will do nothing. It's not as if a comp test will magically fix a knackered engine.

Now...onto your engine problem. Why did you check have it's compression checked? Did you have a fault code?

timbo

I couldn't agree more, and I think if you go back through history as represented on this forum, that is exactly the line most of us have taken. One, however, took a different line .... from his very first post!....

Sometimes in life, people complain about "bad luck"....when luck wasn't even an issue

timbo

and..

In the immortal words of Charlie Brown: "Good grief...!"

auzoom

Michael, browsing Ausrotary..http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.p...&highlight=rx8