RX8Toronto

Hi Everyone!

I am a long time browser of this forum but haven't needed to post because my car has been running smoothly for 13 years . I have an S2, 2010 manual R3 that now has 141k miles (228k km). I bought it new. I have followed the owner's manual exactly with regular plugs/wires/coils. The only repairs that it has needed in all this time was 1) a starter replacement and 2) and AC belt replacement. I want to keep this car forever.

The car still runs perfectly fine but now I have had a check engine light flash for a few days (resolved) and a bit harder to start recently. If there is any power loss, I don't notice it while driving. I took it in to the Mazda dealership and they told me it needs a new/rebuilt engine ($12k CAD) due to compression but didn't actually test compression. They said they could tell with a road test. We have one rotary specialist in Toronto and he did a compression test. The numbers I got were:

Front Rotor: 80 PSI, 83 PSI, 85 PSI
Rear Rotor: 80 PSI, 80 PSI, 80 PSI
RPM: "A little over 200" (had to ask)

When I compare those numbers to the compression test chart that has been posted, I think my car falls in this category: "6.5 - 6.9: Officially failing. The engine doesn't have all that long to 'live'. Compression loss is accelerating due to blow by".

This person says it's better to do a rebuild rather than wait until the engine blows. A cost of around $6000 CAD but will know more once he opens it up. I do trust him, but hard to justify doing a lot of work on a car that runs well overall.

My questions are:
1) Have I interpreted the compression test correctly and do you agree that it is time for a rebuild?
2) If you had to choose, would you rebuild my current engine or get a new completely rebuilt one from Mazda?

Thanks everyone!