Hello RX8club.

My name is Matt. As my thread title says, I am a newb here and I am shopping around for an 8. Rotaries have always fascinated me. I am not completely new to rotaries as I have had a 2nd gen RX-7 a few years ago. Had to sell it due to some unfortunate circumstances, though. So I'm trying to get back into the rotary scene by getting an 8 this time.

Anyways, I have been combing through the "new and potential owners" thread and the common problems that seem to arise so I will be taking the knowledge from that while I shop around for a car.

I look forward to finding a good car and getting involved here.

 

What kind of questions or concerns do have about rx8s?

 

Off the top of my head, I can't say that I have any questions or concerns I can think of. Most questions I have had have been answered by searching the site.

My main purpose for the car will be having some fun at the track with it. I've mainly been looking up information on mostly keeping the motor semi reliable so I can hopefully prevent frying an engine. I realize **** happens, though. Haha.

 

Actually, one question I have would pertaining to my search for a car is what would be considered as acceptable mileage?

Example, I have come across a few cars that are in the 110k - 160k miles range and are still on the original motor.

Hypothetically, if they kept up on the maintenance, properly dealt with replacing things when they needed, and compression numbers were still "good", would it still be an acceptable car?

 

You probly already know but the main thing is maintaining oil and not to use synthetic oil

 

We're in the same boat. From what I can tell, it's a lot of the same concerns that are common with the FD RX-7. Mostly related to inadequate cooling and catalytic converter (or pre-cat/downpipe in the FD) issues. The FD has an overheat exhaust warning light which I guess could protect the engine a bit if you noticed it, but it's on the center console under your arm. The water temp gauge also wouldn't move until the car had basically already overheated. I've read the same of the RX-8. Do all the reliability mods and it's probably almost as reliable as any other Japanese vehicle. History repeats itself and somehow Mazda managed to have similar problems all over again.

Good luck in finding the right car.

 

Welcome to the forum.

We have seen low mileage cars with failing engine such as at 30K for that matter.

As long as you buy a car from someone who knew what they were doing then you should be fine.
Compression test is a must, at any given mileage it would sort of paint the picture for you.

In my opinion Mazda ditched the forced induction in the favor of reducing heating issues in Rx8.
I havn't had any overheating issues with my rx8 other than my belt snapping on the highway and once the coolant hose had a hole in it.

Make sure you get a compression test and maintenance history and for the most part rx8 is pretty reliable. I daily'd mine for 2 years through out snow storms and heat strokes never had any issues.

All the best with your search :-)

 

Hey OP, don't listen to this guy. I'm sure you already know what you need to maintain, and which oil to use.

 

Oil discussions are subject to debate.
Saying the main thing is to not use synthetic oil is an opinion not based on fact.

 

Thanks for the input. I was planning on doing mainly reliability mods. Along with some gauges to monitor everything.

 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. When I go to look at one, I'll check and see if they're comfortable with getting a compression check if they don't have a current read out.

 

I've read a few threads on here already and the RX7 forums on the debate between oils. I ran synthetic when I had my FC turbo2, but I was also premixing on that motor.

It was my assumption that if you were premixing that using synthetic oil was acceptable. I can't say if I was right or wrong, but it worked for me.

 

When I get my oil changed, they always tell me that the manufacturer recommends to use standard 5w20 oil and that they cannot use synthetic cause it doesn't burn as well

 

You're spreading misinformation. Do some research and know what it is you're talking about before you give advice.

 

Dino vs. Synthetic discussions probably started when the first '04s had their first oil change.
Our U.S. manuals 'recommend' 5w20.
The Japanese use the synthetic.
I don't remember the reason, it was 3 years ago when I switched to Mobil1 0w40. Probably 30k miles so far on synthetic.
I also premix with Lucas semi-syn 2 stroke now.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here.
When I first started premixing I was using Stihl synthetic JASO certified 2 stroke oil, just because an agricultural supply store near me carried it.
If they use synthetic oil in their own high dollar power equipment, doesn't it make sense that it burns?

 

I have used Syntheic on my previous 8 for over 50k kms

On my current rx8 after previous owner a good friend of mine had the engine rebuilt and ported.
The rebuilder told him to use Synthetic to Mobil 10W 30 or 10W40 to be specific.

The rebuilt motor has about 18k now and is still super strong.

The issue with 5W20 is the oil is too thin, it helps bump up the fuel economy just a little bit and if memory serves me well Mazda made a few changes for North American cars due to the emission requirements and etc.

Again, Synthetic or Not is upto owner's discretion. Whatever you feel comfortable with.

What matters the most is, that you keep your oil clean, feed your motor fresh and clean oil :-)

 

Ok. So I managed to make time to take a look at a car today. Asked most of the questions in the potential owners thread.

Some info on the car:
2005 model year
130,xxx miles.
original motor.
all stock still.
catalytic converter replaced 15k miles ago.(passed smog this morning)
All regularly scheduled maintenance done on time(fluids, coils, plugs, etc)
Doesn't have the updated starter.
Clutch pedal is original, but has been reinforced.
Car was already warm when I arrived and it fired pretty quickly.
Unsure of cold start since it was still warm(claims to have no issues, though).

He managed to go in for a compression check today and I am unsure of the numbers. Here is the read out.




Is this a little on the low side?

He had the test done at Neptune Speed in Huntington Beach. They're all fairly reputable from the reviews of the RX-7 guys. They said the numbers were ok, but not great.

Drove the car and it felt good to me.

Asking price is $4700, but he said it's negotiable due to the "ok" compression numbers.


Any advice is welcome.

Thanks.

 

The front rotor is below spec. Rear rotor seems almost to good to be true.

 

So I got the chance to check out another car today. It's an 04. Has 155k miles, but the engine has 45k miles on it. But it was done by the previous owner so he didn't have any documentation of it on him. He didn't have a compression numbers or maintenance records on him, but says that Tripoint Engineering has taken care of everything for him and has always been on top of everything. He welcomed me to call them and ask about his car. The car looked like it was in awesome shape and it felt pretty good when I drove it. I am leaning towards buying it. Anyone think I should have him get the records from Tripoint for peace of mind? He's asking 5500 for it, btw.

 

Only you can know what piece of mind is for you. No point asking strangers.

What you do need is to get the compression numbers. That has been suggested here on multiple occasions

 

True. You are right. My apologies for asking a dumb and obvious question.

 

Service Request Number 1-228277192

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Mazda.

With regards to your inquiry, the RX-8 Engine is designed to consume oil and as a result only conventional motor oil should be used. Please use only 5W-20 conventional oil. Synthetic or Synthetic Blends can damage your engine. Should you have additional questions or feedback, please contact me at the number below and reference your Service request number.

Sincerely,

Jose F.
Representative, Customer Experience
800.222.5500
Ext. 1180

[SR Number: 1-228277192]

 

Sir or Madam,
What did you expect a U.S. Mazda rep
to say?
"Yeah, we said to use 5W-20 in the U.S. owner's manual, but that's a bunch of B.S., you can use synthetics."

 

Hello again, everyone. It's been a bit since posting in here. My search for an RX-8 has lasted most of the month. I've been rather picky on the cars I've looked at. Pretty much all of the ones I looked at had failing compression numbers.

But I finally found one that I liked. It's an 04. One owner(still had the original window sticker). 75,xxx miles on the chassis. 3500 miles on the motor(had all the paperwork). New clutch and flywheel. New coils, wires, plugs. Racing Beat intake and Magnaflow cat-back. Tires recently replaced. Lowered on Tein springs.

Picked it up this morning. I'll be sure to post pics later. Only downside was the paint is fading, but I'm ok since it's in pretty good shape mechanically.

Next weekend, I intend to do all the fluids. I'll probably do a few things mentioned in that "Congratulations, you got an 8" thread. And even though the coils are fairly new, I'll probably upgrade to BHR coils fairly soon as well.

 

Welcome to the addiction.
What color and trim?
Mine's a '04 LYGT.
Have fun!