Ometta

You bought your 8 around the same time I did. The dealership I bought mine from had the car listed as a base model and it was in fact a GT model. The salesman even flooded the car right in front of me and I had to fix it for them lol. Needless to say I got my 07 GT for the price of an 07 base model. Welcome to the community.

Blacknightz

Geez... u guys are lucky to be able to buy the car so damnz cheap over there...

Over here, with all the taxes... an 04 or 07 will set u back around $50k - $60k no matter how well u negotiate...

Ometta

Oh wow where are you from? I'm from northwest Indiana and here you can get a used 07 GT with 45k miles for about 13-15k. Mazda 3's with the same mileage go for about 15-18k. I have even seen a few Mazda 3 sport models go for about 19k with 80k plus miles on them. People are dumb to buy those cars at those prices. That's why I never buy sports cars brand new cause most of them never hold their value. Those of us who bought our 8's used got a heck of a steal.

wcs

iTrader: (2)

Whoa ... wait
What kind of currency are we all speaking here?

100,000 Russian Rubble's is not a lot of US dollars and even less in British Pounds

edit -- ok it looks like Blackknightz is from Malaysia

Sorry dude no dis-respect but the Ringgit currency 3 to 1 USD ... dude do the math

WarningxKayla

Thank you so much.

I have been looking for as much info as possible on this car and this was it and so much more.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

WCS, you aren't accounting for the tax, duties, etc...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysi..._import_duties

Looks like the base price at the 3 to 1 exchange for a $8,000 2004 is $24,000 in their currency.

Then a +30% import tax bringing it to $31,500

Then a 75% excise tax (as it's less than 1,800cc, this % goes past 100%, based on motor CC) brings it to $54,600. And you bet they are both passed on to the customer.

And lets not forget the sales tax for another 10%, for a total of $60,600.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Glancing at the chart, a $40,000 Corvette would be:

$40,000 x 3 (exchange) = $120,000
$120,000 * 1.3 (import tax) = $156,000
$156,000 * 2.05 (105% excise) = $319,800
and sales tax brings it to $$351,800

wcs

iTrader: (2)

^ LOL well ok then

I've been pwnd

Colin1337

Whats goin on guys? Just got my 8 like 3 months ago. Crossed over from an SRT-4, loved that car, but was looking for something with a 6spd and RWD.
Picked mine up with 40k miles, for $10k. Its a 2004, but for the mileage, I couldnt pass it up.

Been reading a lot on here about what to do, what not to do, and what I want to do.
With any luck, Ill buy some coilpvers, a cat delete, and a CAI in the next few months, with the ultimate goal of eventually boosting it.

EricB

iTrader: (7)

i wish you luck in the turbo build. Expect to drop 10k just for turbo'ing. Stick around, read and go drive the car stock to see what its capable of.

Colin1337

Haha, ya kinda bums me out at how ridiculously expensive it is to turbo these cars.
I put a .50 trim kit on mt SRT for $1500, and that was including fuel mods and a tune.

My plan is to buy a used kit off the forums, have the turbo rebuilt, buy the fuel mods, get an accessport and a tune, then call it good. I'm not looking for insane crazy HP numbers, I just want to break 300whp, which from what I have read, is completely doable.

(obviously i'd get supporting mods like gauges and what not)

fio07

iTrader: (1)

Great thread, read every post, subscribing..

wcs

iTrader: (2)

every post?

wow that's awesome

fio07

iTrader: (1)

12 hr night shift: I sit around at work a lot.. it took hours trust me. I did take a few breaks of course.

I have one question: my engine has a very excessive and annoying whine that is constant. High pitched and builds intensity as I accelerate through every gear. Sounds just like this:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ferrerid=23589
I'm guessing this sound is normal and I should just forget about it? Or is there any way I can lessen the noise without reducing air flow? Keep in mind everything in my sig is current.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Added to the end of the engine description section in post #5


Want more technical information from Mazda?:
Here is a PDF page from Mazda regarding some of the more specifics, including the engine limitations of the various configurations, and how the intake runners work:
https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1337777701

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Great Data!

I love the part where the variable intake valve opens at 7,250 rpm to enhance MID-range torque.... Not your typical mid-range rpm......

Nile

Interesting thread, great read & very informative. I've been moderately interested in Rx-8's ever since I bought my used Protege a few years ago. Recently I've seen a brilliant black driving up and down my street and has sparked my interest once again. Been researching heavily for the past few months around this forum, but this thread was definitely the most helpful.

I'm not sure if this question is answerable or not, but is premixing in a pre-2009 model about the same for lubrication and reliability/longevity as having a post-2009 model with the added oil injection nozzle on each rotor? I'm not sure if having a 2006-2008 rx-8 and possibly having to replace/rebuild the engine sooner would actually be cheaper than ponying up for a pricier 2009-2011.

Also, am I correct in assuming that the pre-2009 reman engines DO NOT contain the extra oil injectors?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Correct, the series 1 engine only has the two side injectors. It is not really known if the 3rd center is really a substitute for premixing or not yet. However, premixing has been shown to 'soften' the carbon deposits vs no premix.

Sashimi

Hello,

I am thinking of buying a brand new RX8 (it is still being sold in my country). However, since the production of RX8s have stopped, will it affect future maintenance (e.g. getting replacement parts, etc.). If I'm getting the RX8, I was hoping to keep it for a long time... over 10 years... What do you guys think?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Production of parts will likely continue for many years. There is some debate over if there is US / Euro law dictating that parts must be produced for X years after the end of production.

However, if the end of production is a worry to you, I recommend looking elsewhere. This is also not a car that you are likely to keep for 10 years. Possibly, but not likely. We are only 8 years after original production, and the number of original owners is fast dwindling. You can count on at least 1 engine replacement needed unless you don't drive it, but more likely 2.

rex25

I have a question relating to this post. I'm looking at buying a used rx 8, most likely a 2005. Most I've looked at have between 80,000-120,000 km. Now, assuming I get a compression test done and the results are fine, and also assuming that the engine has never been replaced, am i buying an engine that's just waiting to die? What if the engine has been replaced in the last 3-5 years, is that just delaying an inevitability?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

This is an impossible question to answer. Seriously. depends on compression scores, past life, oil system, carbon buildup, cooling efficiency, etc.

I personally believe that overheating and carbon buildup are the two biggest engine killers. One you can work to prevent, but a hidden event can kill it. The other you can only hope to mitigate. The better the compression scores, the more life you can expect. Random events still lurk.

Never buy one hoping you will avoid everything. The attitude will introduce owner error that will contribute to killing it. You HAVE to prepare and expect problems, and work against them actively. You will probably then be fine, IF you maintain the attitude. You still could get caught, but ...never fear...you prepared, right?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Updated post #3 with:


Importance of Ignition Health:
************************ READ THIS!!!! ************************

One of the most often overlooked or ignored parts of RX-8 ownership is the health of the ignition system. This includes the ignition coils, spark plug wires, and spark plugs. They fail. Often. So often as to be critical parts of regular maintenance.

Before I detail why, check out the first post of this thread here: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/impact-old-coils-wires-plugs-234383/ (owner's post here: https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=189)
The owner's power dropped from 199whp to 172whp JUST from failing ignition. That's a 13.5% power loss!

Do I have your attention now? Good.

Mazda officially lists the plug wires and plugs as part of regular maintenance, but not the coils. Many dealers STILL don't know how easily the coils can fail. And they fail about the same time as the wires and plugs, which is about every 30,000 miles. Some can last longer, some shorter, and it's more related to your total RPMs than it is to your mileage. Highway cruising is easier on the coils than spending a day pounding around a race track.

When coils fail, they don't suddenly shut off. They start producing weaker pulses scattered among strong ones. The rate of weak pulses slowly increases and pulses start getting dropped entirely, which is where misfires start. All of this means that you aren't burning all the fuel and aren't using all the air that the engine pulled in for that combustion, and it unburnt fuel and air gets dumped into the exhaust, where it happily ignites with the presence of plenty of heat. This saturates the cat in both fuel and heat, and will rapidly kill the cat (A $1,300 USD replacement). Continuing to drive on a failing cat will add other problems such as engine damage and vehicle fires. I am not exaggerating, this can happen with just a single cat failure!

Plug fouling and wire failure is largely the same result, since all 3 pieces are needed for a complete spark. Foul the plug and it doesn't matter if the coil and wire are good. Break down the wire and it doesn't matter if the coil and plug are good.

Symptoms of ignition failure include: Power Loss, mileage drop, unstable idle, bad idle, inability to idle, shaking at idle, unstable high rpm, misfiring, flashing CEL, coughing engine, glowing cat, flooding, inability to start, inability to pass an emissions sniffer test, and just about anything you can think of where a weak or missing spark causes problems.

And if one fails, it will cascade to the other trio on the same rotor. A plug that can't fire will start fouling the other. A coil that can't fire a plug starts wearing out rapidly (if you want to test this, just unplug a wire from a plug and run the engine for a while. The coil will rapidly fail. Not unique to rotary engines)

Why do coils fail so easily?

This is largely because Mazda opted for cheap coils because of RX-7 owner complaints about how expensive their coils were. The RX-7 coils lasted much longer though. So Mazda went cheap, and so we have to replace regularly. And you can't compare to piston engine coils. A piston engine with the same setup of 1 coil for 1 plug has an average RPM of about 2,500rpm and the coil is firing every other revolution, so the coil is firing about 1,250 pulses per minute. Our rotary has an average RPM of more like 4,000rpm, and each coil fires every revolution, so about 4,000 pulses per minute. That's a bit over 3 times more. Even a piston max RPM of about 6,000rpm vs our 9,000rpm makes the difference 3,000 pulses per minute vs 9,000 pulses per minute, or 3 times as fast.

If our coils would last about 3 times longer, you are talking an average of 90,000 miles.

So keep your ignition healthy!

wcs

iTrader: (2)

Nicely done RIWWP

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yet another of those moments that I have practically smacked myself in the forehead with: "And why hasn't that been there all along?"