Hello all. A month ago I started doing heavy research on the rx8 and rx7 thanks mostly to this site and rx7club. The information has been wonderfully helpful and informative and I plan on utilizing it and going through all the steps in the new member forum. I know how to use search and most of the issues I have currently I have already searched and won't bother including because I have found the answers.

Simply, I wanted to create a thread where I can show the car I bought, air some general concerns and some basic buying the car/safety and etest sorta questions, along with a couple of specific ones.

First things first.

Name: Darien Schettler
Education/Work: Honours in Biology with a minor and math and most of the way through a second degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Nanotechnology.
Location: K/W (Waterloo) Ontario, Canada.
Age: 23
Interesting Fact: This is the first nice car I've ever bought. All my others have been fixer upper beaters.

Secondly!

I recently scored a very good deal on a Diamond Grey Mazda RX8, 2009, with 230000 kms (A LOT I KNOW!! :P), in pristine condition. It just had a compression test done and was great, and it has always been serviced at Mazda with a full record up to my purchase date (I will include photos further down). It's the GT model (sunroof, leather, heated, etc), and it's standard.

No mods except HID fogs, and eibach lowering springs.It came etested but not safetied (my only concern really... but take risks to gain rewards).

Has a couple small scratches and scuffs and it needs a new windshield but nothing major or at least apparent, and it still looks beautiful to my eyes.


FIRST MAJOR CONCERN/QUESTION

So I was an idiot and didn't research the buying process as well as I should, and in Ontario, when a car is bought it isn't the purchase price that tax is paid on, it's the wholesale price. My purchase price for the vehicle was 6700. I paid tax on something around 15000. That's more than 1000 dollars extra in taxes. I found out almost immediately afterwards if I get an appraisal done then they will accept a lower purchase price and tax amount.

My QUESTION: Can I, since the car isn't fully registered (temp right now), go get it appraised and somehow get some of the tax I paid back either back into my account or as a tax credit? Also I realize not many people will be familiar with Ontario Driving Law but I'm just curious if this has happened to anyone. I searched and didn't find anything. I will call MTO (Ministry of Transportation Ontario) first thing tomorrow and ask either way. I'm pissed at myself but I had no idea
I should have done more research and I accept that fault as my own.

Second Question!

This may be dumb, but, can someone point me in the direction of the thread that deals with how/when to shift in an rx8. I've driven for about 3 years, standard. I'm not gunna say I'm the best but I get by and I've never demo'd a clutch or anything. I rev match and do all the normal things good drivers do.

The rx8 however has much different rpm points, and I'm not sure when I should be in 5th vs. 6th (never had a six speed), and I'm not sure how long or how high the rpms should go for each individual gear. I don't need it to be exact but I'd like to extend the life of my clutch/tranny as long as possible or at least treat it with respect and get better as a driver. Sorry if there is a thread for this I honestly looked but only found super basic, general driving tips.

Third VERY unique question

I understand the topic of tall drivers has been addressed numerous times. I am in fact 6'5 and have short arms, decently long legs, and a loooong torso and a big head and weigh in at 205.

I manage height wise (hair brushes the roof), but to fit my head in I have to lean the seat back, which puts my arms too far away from the wheel. If I then move my seat a bit closer to get my hands in a more natural position my knee bumps into the side of the center console.

I have read all the threads on different brackets (for height and orientation), different seats, and even reupholstering the seats and changing around the padding.

My question wasn't so much what to do in general, so much as it is which do you believe would be the best option for my particular scenario? I'm thinking getting brackets that can let the seat be an inch lower will allow be to straighten the seat a bit which will let me move the seat back a bit. But I'm not sure. I can post this question in the dump questions thread later if need be with pics of how I fit and where I'd like to be if that helps..

Last Question

I got in the car literally as soon as I pulled away I noticed the engine light come on. I HAD OBDII tested the car literally in the driveway the night before and it was clean. I went back and he said it was probably that I had both keys in the car and because they connect wirelessly or whatever, if one of them had low battery it can cause the engine light to turn on. Does anyone know if this is true? I also took the key out as soon as I got home and it hasn't cleared yet. Although I'm fairly sure it takes a full drive cycle anyway to clear. Although I dunno... Please help. Either way I'm getting it presaftied by Mazda tomorrow to see what it needs and the new windshield goes in on Monday. Thanks!

Now here are a bunch of pics! Sorry that 90% are night pics. I just got her home and that's all I could do.





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And here are the pics of what I believe is the Etest, and the service record...






That's about everything. I hope I didn't violate any rules or regulations. I look forward to completing all the "First Mods" to get her up to speed and me up to speed on maintenance. Let me know if anyone has questions/concerns or can think of anything I should check or be aware of. I probably am missing some super obvious stuff.

Also I am very aware that it is a high kms engine and therefore a high risk situation. I can do almost any job myself, and I put aside about 4-5000 just in case it needs an engine/tranny.

 

Welcome to the show and thanks for the intro.

Afraid I can't be of much help on the tax and height questions. Except that it is difficult to believe that book price for a 2009 with that mileage is 15000.

However for the last question you need to know what that check engine light is for, get it scanned. A key battery will not cause that, it's not a check your key light

When you say compression test was great, what were the results?
I'm going to assume you have read the New and Potential, but you should if you haven't.

 

Just to add to the key thing, while the keys won't cause the check engine light to come on, they do have their own separate light for when the battery is low.

It's a red light shaped like a key with a line through it.

Also, it depends on how you feel like driving, but nice driving, I shift around 4, goofing around is 6.5-7, and then real fun is redline.

Btw, congrats on your find!!

 

Welcome to the club sir. Lots of links in my sig to get you started. As far as shifting goes, I find on my S2 im shifting between 4-5. Honestly this is a 'feel' car, meaning your transmission will really tell you how it likes to be shifted. I have driven some 8's that liked a low rpm shift while others didn't mind a higher rpm shift. Just do what feels right. For what it is worth, when you get into the details of our our injectors (primary and secondary) engage, gas mileage is moot when deciding on when to shift on a normal day to day.

 

Tax thing sucks, I just bought an 06 with 150kms on it. I am also in Ontario. I paid 5000 for it but had the seller make a receipt for 1500 along with the one for 5000 and brought that to Service Ontario and only paid like 190 bucks for tax. Not legal I know but the tax is ridiculous. The check engine light would definitely scare me though, the fact that it turned on right as you were leaving has me think that he cleared it before hand. As another stated, what were the compression numbers?

Thanks,

 

welcome...

For shifting, think of it as if there are 2 engines in the car. The first one runs about 2,000 to 5,000 RPM. Us that one most of the time. the FUN engine is 6,000 to 8,500 RPM. Make sure you use that one occasionally. That is the one that installs the smile on your face.

Search for the "you can lower the power seat" thread on ways to get more headroom..

I also suggest the threads in my signature.

Mike

 

Awesome! Thank you so much for the replys fellas!

The compression test is average/below average as far as 2009 rx8's are concerned I believe.
But as far as 234000 km rx8s it's good.
The date on the compression test was September 20th.

IN KPA
Chamber 1: 720, 750
Chamber 2: 710, 739
Chamber 3: 723, 733

And I did do an OBDII reading to the car in the driveway. It read nothing. I only have a cheap one but it should have picked up on a clearing. Also with a successfully completed etest done on the 22nd of September wouldn't the engine light have HAD to have been off for that?

IN AMAZING NEWS

I called the MTO today and they said I have 60 days to submit an appraisal for a full refund of the difference value which takes 8-10 weeks to mail out. So in other words: I can get my money back in half a year.
That's amazing news for me as I never thought I'd see it again.

Pre-safety is scheduled for this afternoon to see the bare minimum required to safety her. Windshield is going in for 180 including the windshield on Saturday. After that is done I will take it to a local/GTA maybe Rotary Mechanic (I'll look em up, no what's the best thread necessary..) and see if there is anything else that should be immediately addressed. After that... hopefully at the start of the next week... I will begin with the first mods (the new buyers start here thread mods (first 100$))

Thanks again to all the welcoming! I appreciate the environment and it makes me excited to read and learn and be a part of the community.
Cheers!

 

SIDE NOTE

I have the oppurtunity to buy a 2005 rx8 with 100000 kms that comes with hsd coilovers and stop tech sport package brakes (ss lines, pads rotors), it also comes with a couple other extras. It's about 3500 and I'm thinking of buying it simply as a parts car especially if there are multiple things that need to be replaced on my car. Plus I can swap the coilovers and brakes over.

I do most work by myself (up to and including tranny and clutch swaps), and don't care if it takes me days to do something if it's done right.

Would this be a good idea or should I buy new or look for used series II only parts?

From the symptoms page it seems as though I might need a couple smaller things.

That along with the windshield and aftermarket may make it worth it.

It also has aftermarket rims and he's including vinyl.

I would rip it apart and part it out after getting a compression test done to see if the engine is good (to make it easier to sell). It's the GT model so lots of leather/sunroof/good ****.

Let me know opinions and thoughts

-3.14159

 

Congrats on the steal deal.. You got lucky I was supposed to go make a payment on this car first week of Sept lol I had to go out of town for work.

As far as Shifting goes, normally 4-5k as mentioned. City Driving mostly sees 4k rpm in 3rd gear
But don't forget to hit that cherry at 8.5k rpm every once a day.. I normally do it in 3rd gear 8.5k rpm at 135ish kms..

Most of the parts from 05 will be useless for ur 09 In my opinion.

Your compression seems good, mine is in high 6's at 255k kms and its an 04.. So you got plenty of life left.

All the best.. Have Fun