Zolty.J

Hey RX-8 Owners!

My name is Jim Zolty. I drive my "New" 2004 Silver RX-8 Grand Touring in the North Georgia hills. It is an absolutely perfect vehicle for me and how I drive. My drive to and from work is 12 miles of winding, hilly, back roads. I used to have 20 minutes of fun in my 1992 Miata, but the drive has turned ecstatic in the RX-8! I rarely have a car in front of or behind me, and I'm never in a hurry. Neutral is my favorite gear. I use a hybrid rotary/gravity drive method where I slingshot the car up to speed and have fun coasting silently down and up the undulating hills. My RX-8 will coast forever! Zoom-Zoom-Woosh!

I bought my RX-8 unintentionally. The RX-8 was on my theoretical list of possible vehicles, but I was not hell-bent on having one, nor did I believe it to be in my budget. I was replacing my 1992 Mazda Miata, which has served me up to 220,000 miles, and my wife will still be driving for a few months, until she has a new vehicle as well. Pondering a rotary Miata after then... Anyway, I was on a quick hunt for a fun manual transmission car, preferably 6-speed. My New list included the Subuaru WRX, Volkswagon GTI, Mazda Mazdaspeed3, Miata, or RX-8, and the Mini Cooper and Cooper S.

Before hitting too many new dealers, we visited Carmax. I knew they had several Mini's with 6-Speed Manual, some with Superchargers. The salesman did a search on 6-Speed, and up came the Mini's, a BMW Z4, and a 2004 RX-8.
We drove one Mini, and I thought I could be happy owning one. Then I drove this beautiful practically flawless low mileage RX-8.

Sitting in the RX-8, I was able to dial-in a seating position more comfortable than any I've ever had. Loved the revs, loved the shifter, my wife loved the looks and the smile on my face. I was instantly blown away. I liked the price, the performance, and the looks. I did not like that it was a 2004. We tested a Mini Cooper S, newer, cheaper, and theoretically faster than the RX-8. I thought it was going to be my favorite, and I was totally disappointed. I left that dealer with the RX-8 slightly ahead of the much lower priced Mini (not S), but thinking I would get a GTI or WRX.

Next stop, Mazda dealer. Drove a Mazdaspeed3, and hated the torque oversteer on the FWD, and that it seemed to be trying so hard to be cool, whereas it is effortless for an RX-8. They had one RX-8 in stock and available for sale, so I drove it as well, and determined that the differences between it and the 2004 were minimal compared to the price difference of 50%.

We walked out and called our Carmax salesman to inform him that we would be back to buy the 2004 RX-8. Drove it again, loved it more, signed on the line.

Then I found RX-8 Club and other communities. I wasn't a rotary-head before I bought my 8. I am a total fan now. I love the way my Rex drives. I intend to put 200,000+ miles on this one just like my Miata. I've read posts here and elsewhere for the past month before joining in.

I am aware that the 2004 models have had some issues and recalls. The original owner had this one until 2008, so I hope that the things that needed to be done have been done. I am coming up to my 3000 mile oil change mark, and have crossed the 30,000 mile threshold. I intend to take it to a dealer with a Master Rotary Tech for a fluid change - oil, trans, diff, and inspection, as well as ECU Flash to the latest and greatest. I am prepared to replace my plugs, coils, and wires, if needed. I will also have them inspect my motor mounts as well, and replace them myself if they think I need them.

My gas mileage has been around 19 mpg with mixed back roads and highway. When I've settled in a bit, and stop thrashing it so much, I hope to get 22+ regularly.

My planned upgrades include lightweight underdrive pulley kit, lighter flywheel and clutch (when it needs replacing), maybe lighter rims. I'm also open to intake and exhaust mods. I'm willing to put in a little money and work to make it run a little more responsively and get a little better fuel economy. I think Mazda has done a good job of producing a great driver's car.

I promise to ramble more on the appropriate threads.

ATL-GP

Welcome to the addiction!!! A few guys on the GA site are going to meet up at Andretti Speed Lab in Alpharetta, GA this Sunday @ 1:00. Come on out if you can.

Dirt_Nasty

iTrader: (2)

Welcome. And allow me to be the first to say pics or it didn't happen...

Also don't expect that mpg to Settle down, because hopefully you won't settle down, driving the 8 the way you are now is so much more enjoyable.

Keep the dirty side down.

Zolty.J

@ATL-GP - Thanks. Sunday sounds fun, but I can't make this one. Maybe a future meet, Sunday is my free weekend day.

@Dirt Nasty - Pics - There's an app for that! I've attached iPhone screen shots of my first month of RX-8 driving.

I know these numbers are higher than those posted here by people who complain about their mileage. My better numbers here involve a lot of coasting... but now I've been reading that the Renesis is a pig at idle, so I'm not sure if I'm helping.

Just based on my driving patterns across these numbers, there will be a time, when I am just doing 10% less intense driving than any of these tanks - just my 12 mi run to my store and back. The 20.4 tank was mostly work runs and local driving. The 17.x tanks are mostly highway driving in light to medium traffic, lots of smooth sailing in 6th gear in the Car Pool Lane (with a +1). Most of these tanks include one or two trips into Atlanta (100 Mi Round Trip) 95% Highway. Most of the highway driving was at highway speeds, but a couple of the Atlanta trips involved rush-hour returns to the northeastern hinterlands at creepy-crawly, and the worst tank (17.1 mpg) included the day we crept along the I-285 to I-85N, a 3 mile an hour epic (for an hour) due to an accident.

Additionally, the 17.4 mpg tank on 9-3 involved highway, city, back roads, and a third passenger. Sept 9-13 was also considerable highway and city, with a third passenger, and those days are 18.6 - 19.7 mpg. The 20.4 tank was probably 70% single passenger.

One of the low mileage tanks includes an adventure where I decided to drive "around the block" on my 7.5mi "relaxation" course of straights and twists in 2nd gear only, cruising at 40 and peaking with occasional beeps. To anyone who complains about the RX-8's lack of torque doesn't spend enough time at 50mph in second! I have done this course other days in 3rd only, 4th only, and "mostly 6th" as well.

I am driving a 3rd Owner 2004 with 32K miles, previously registered to two owners in Cumming, GA.
No idea what the service history is, but the car still looks immaculate.
Seems it rarely had a front passenger, and never anyone in back.
I don't yet know if it has had recall work or even plug replacement.
Based on how it runs, I think it is probably tip-top. I can get it to move like a scalded cat. Although, it would be mind blowing to get some more goose and mpg from new consumables - plugs, wires, coils, and the ECU updates.

My previous daily driver is a 1992 Miata with 220K miles that got 29-30 mpg regularly when I drove mostly work runs. When I would did these same Atlanta drives I have been doing recently in the 8, the mileage would drop to about 20 mpg, with the little 4 cyl screaming along at 4500 rpm... giving it's all and crying for mercy. In daily driving similar to mine, my wife rarely gets more than 24 mpg in the Miata.

The 8 makes me feel 100x safer in ATL highway traffic - I know there is always plenty of power available in a lower gear, at any speed.

3rd Gear @ 65mph = HYPERSPACE!!!!

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

www.fuelly.com

and he meant pics of the 8

Zolty.J

Here's a shot of the odometer just now.

Exterior and Interior to follow.

Zolty.J

Shiny! Just a few of the exterior photos.

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

same color as mine, i like it. just a couple heads up. theres a fog light rewire if it hasnt been done yet. You can also replace the fog light bulbs to kinda match yoru headlights, and soon I will have the LED picked out that matches the headlights best and is the brightest. Right now I have a 65lumen one I will probably post as the best match.

Zolty.J

Leather trim.
I vacuumed after this photo, no more shoe crud on the mats.
Also found the Floor Mat Hook and installed the mat properly.
Thanks to this forum.
The door sill shows the most wear of anything.

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G1721...8&sr=1-8-spell

this will help with your door needs. Esp if it has the door handle inside scratches.