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yellow paint on the rear hosing, oil pan bolts, eccentric shaft pulley bolt and flywheel nut were required. If the oil pan has yellow dots on its bolts its rebuilt.
yeah there are some yellow paint marks on some parts of the engine, like there’s one on one of the alternator bolts and another one on one of the lines and one more on the engine itself about 6 inches below the lift hook to the right a bit. But then some of the areas you mention don’t have the paint, maybe it got worn off? But yeah I think my engine is rebuilt then… oops
yeah there are some yellow paint marks on some parts of the engine, like there’s one on one of the alternator bolts and another one on one of the lines and one more on the engine itself about 6 inches below the lift hook to the right a bit. But then some of the areas you mention don’t have the paint, maybe it got worn off? But yeah I think my engine is rebuilt then… oops
Hard to say. We didn't have the alternator at rebuild. Didn't mark the hooks. Dealers mightve marked them as they installed them. It honestly doesn't matter though anyways. A compression test results matters most.
Bought my second rx8, an 04, last November. I had an 06 about 8years ago and just had to get another, as i have come a long way as a driver since then.
124k miles from original owner via Mazda dealership, after a good compression test result. Car seemed mostly stock with dealership maintenance trails all its life. Seemed to run fine as it was, so i added some basic parts. Midpipe, bhr coils, ngk plugs & wires were installed, Tein flexZ, ES arm bushings + flying miata based alignment, started premixing, and throughout the past 5k miles it just keeps getting better and better. Either I'm just getting used to it being slow(lol) or it's actually running more and more smoothly, becoming more peppy as i drive it. Perhaps all in my head. I've been driving it like i stole it. Love 7k to fuel cut. Will probably check compression every season or so.
Very encouraging to see others with higher miles on factory builds. I originally got the car thinking it may only last a few years before needing major work, but with the job turning remote and all, think it will serve me well for much longer.
Here's a clip of a typical weekend.
I just bought an '06 Sport w/180,000 miles on the original engine, from the original owner. He was convinced the motor had simply worn out and failed because, despite being properly maintained since new, the car started losing power and frequently flooded until one day it just wouldn't start at all.
It sat there for weeks, on the street in downtown San Francisco where it had died, with new plugs, wires, coils and cat (can't BELIEVE nobody stole the cat), until it had accumulated so many fines that he just had to get rid of it. He sold it to me for next to nothing.
It was towed 80 miles to my house and upon its arrival I immediately replaced the D585 LS2 coils, which were aftermarket & NOT Delphi or Delco, with the authentic ones I had purchased the day before on a hunch.
The car started right up and I let it idle for 20 minutes. It smoked for 5 minutes and briefly alerted me of a misfire because I had added some ATF to the chambers thru the access ports above the exhaust manifold.
I then shut it off and did a compression test. Here are the results:
Rear rotor Front rotor
To back up what has been said numerous times in this and other threads but usually falls upon deaf ears:
The RX-8's unfortunate stigma and reputation for being unreliable, in most cases, is the direct result of either improper maintenance or inaccurate diagnosis.
This reputation precedes the RX-8 unfortunately, and is perpetuated by the almost joyful willingness of people (most of whom wouldn't know the difference between a piston and a rotor even if they fell from the sky and landed at their feet) to jump on the bandwagon and badmouth the car at any given opportunity.
Even the original owner, who knew the car better than anyone else and had seen it through all 180k miles, was quick to go with the hype and chalk it up to "failed apex seals", which isn't even the RX-8's weak point.
Yes, for some reason this was a far easier thing to blame than the POS red ignition coils from Napol Performance ("NP Boosted") which he had installed less than 4k miles prior.
In fact, the price was so great that there was even a spare set, brand new in boxes, in the trunk of the car.
Out of curiosity I tested them and not a single one worked...at all. Just the act of bouncing around in the trunk was enough to render them useless. Good thing they come with a lifetime warranty, right?
So, the manufacturer of this POS product and countless others are able to thrive off of capitalizing on the RX-8's undeserved bad reputation.
Not to mention the thousands of these marvelous cars that have been dumped by the wayside after being given up on out of ignorance, only to be picked clean to their bones and then scrapped for their metal, when all along a simple fix would've been enough to keep them on the road.
So don't be afraid to buy an RX-8. Don't be afraid to daily drive an RX-8. Don't even be afraid of the costs associated with owning an RX-8...
DO be afraid of your own lack of education and every hack-job vendor of garbage "performance" parts waiting in line to rip you off because of it.
The RX-8 is an achievement in engineering, paralleled only by it's predecessors. And after nearly 20 years of being under attack, those that didn't get junked are still here...a testament to their constantly questioned reliability.
For those fortunate enough to own and appreciate an '8 it means an on-demand source of sheer exhilaration at the press of a button (or pedal, as it were). (And yes, I said it...sue me. LOL)
We who know it, feel it.
Last edited by sheeRXhilir8tion; 06-20-2022 at 05:34 AM.
Reason: punctuation
@sheeRXhilir8tion I agree the rx8 can be a great opportunity buy. Especially as the car transitions from a typical owner to a knowledgeable enthusiast like you pointed out.
But is the reputation wholly underserved? Would you call the Renesis robust or durable? Examples of engines loosing significant compression after even just one track day are out there. Definitely not scientific, but here is an example.
@sheeRXhilir8tion I agree the rx8 can be a great opportunity buy. Especially as the car transitions from a typical owner to a knowledgeable enthusiast like you pointed out.
But is the reputation wholly underserved? Would you call the Renesis robust or durable? Examples of engines loosing significant compression after even just one track day are out there. Definitely not scientific, but here is an example.
Not sure I would recommend the rx8 as a reliable daily car. Definitely a great, fun second car though.
Mine was a DD except for snow days for 8 years and about 87,000 miles.
With the exception of needing 3 batteries and 2 fuel pumps, it was very reliable until it finally wouldn't start anymore at over 102, 000 miles on the original engine.
I blame myself for it's short life because when I first bought it I ignored the fact it had a bad cat for 6 months and drove it until it began to misfire and bog down at high RPMs.
It had the CEL for a bad cat, but I assumed it was like a piston engine and didn't know how damaging a bad cat was for a Renesis.
It wasn't until I joined the forum that I found out how stupid I was.
I'm sure I shortened the engine's life because of my ignorance.
I just bought an '06 Sport w/180,000 miles on the original engine, from the original owner. He was convinced the motor had simply worn out and failed because, despite being properly maintained since new, the car started losing power and frequently flooded until one day it just wouldn't start at all.
It sat there for weeks, on the street in downtown San Francisco where it had died, with new plugs, wires, coils and cat (can't BELIEVE nobody stole the cat), until it had accumulated so many fines that he just had to get rid of it. He sold it to me for next to nothing.
It was towed 80 miles to my house and upon its arrival I immediately replaced the D585 LS2 coils, which were aftermarket & NOT Delphi or Delco, with the authentic ones I had purchased the day before on a hunch.
The car started right up and I let it idle for 20 minutes. It smoked for 5 minutes and briefly alerted me of a misfire because I had added some ATF to the chambers thru the access ports above the exhaust manifold.
I then shut it off and did a compression test. Here are the results:
Rear rotor Front rotor
To back up what has been said numerous times in this and other threads but usually falls upon deaf ears:
The RX-8's unfortunate stigma and reputation for being unreliable, in most cases, is the direct result of either improper maintenance or inaccurate diagnosis.
This reputation precedes the RX-8 unfortunately, and is perpetuated by the almost joyful willingness of people (most of whom wouldn't know the difference between a piston and a rotor even if they fell from the sky and landed at their feet) to jump on the bandwagon and badmouth the car at any given opportunity.
Even the original owner, who knew the car better than anyone else and had seen it through all 180k miles, was quick to go with the hype and chalk it up to "failed apex seals", which isn't even the RX-8's weak point.
Yes, for some reason this was a far easier thing to blame than the POS red ignition coils from Napol Performance ("NP Boosted") which he had installed less than 4k miles prior.
In fact, the price was so great that there was even a spare set, brand new in boxes, in the trunk of the car.
Out of curiosity I tested them and not a single one worked...at all. Just the act of bouncing around in the trunk was enough to render them useless. Good thing they come with a lifetime warranty, right?
So, the manufacturer of this POS product and countless others are able to thrive off of capitalizing on the RX-8's undeserved bad reputation.
Not to mention the thousands of these marvelous cars that have been dumped by the wayside after being given up on out of ignorance, only to be picked clean to their bones and then scrapped for their metal, when all along a simple fix would've been enough to keep them on the road.
So don't be afraid to buy an RX-8. Don't be afraid to daily drive an RX-8. Don't even be afraid of the costs associated with owning an RX-8...
DO be afraid of your own lack of education and every hack-job vendor of garbage "performance" parts waiting in line to rip you off because of it.
The RX-8 is an achievement in engineering, paralleled only by it's predecessors. And after nearly 20 years of being under attack, those that didn't get junked are still here...a testament to their constantly questioned reliability.
For those fortunate enough to own and appreciate an '8 it means an on-demand source of sheer exhilaration at the press of a button (or pedal, as it were). (And yes, I said it...sue me. LOL)
We who know it, feel it.
If you're being truthful, you're extremely lucky and an exception to the rule.
I maintained mine religiously after initially assuming for 6 months it couldn't possibly have a bad cat with less than 19K miles.
I drove it almost every day, and it was running and starting fine when I brought it to the dealership for the airbag recall.
Just out of curiosity I had them do a comp. check and was shocked to find out it failed.
It wasn't long before the hot start issues began, and yet I drove it for 2 more years before it would no longer start.
Very few experienced veteran members would agree with your assessment, and we all love RX8s.
Yes, lucky. For sure. When I got the car and found out that it not only ran but was HEALTHY as well I wanted to go buy a lottery ticket but figured that'd just be pushing it.
For the record: The last RX-8 I purchased had 99k miles and had been given up on as well. Nobody had attempted to start it in over 3 years. It was 150 miles away and I didn't have the option of having it towed. Knowing that once I arrived I'd have roughly 3 hours to get it running or be stuck there for the night I loaded everything I could think of into my buddy's car and had him drop me off. I pushed it close to the threshold but after about 2.5 hours it started and did not die while I loaded all my stuff into it. By the time i drove off the smoke had cleared and after about 15 miles on the freeway I stopped for gas. Shut it off, checked a few things, fueled up and it started up easy. By the time I got home it was idling very smoothly, with a normal temp.
Compression test proved to be within acceptable range but on the low side.
I spent a year fixing it up and making it purdy before selling it.
I'm still in touch with the new owner, who has had it for over a year now and uses it as his DD. No major issues to report so far.
Looking forward to my next find and hoping my luck continues.
The reason I questioned the integrity of your statement is you seemed to insinuate that people who think the Renesis is prone to problems is solely because of ignorance.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me the majority of members who have been here at least as long as I have for the last 10 years would disagree with your statements.
...you seemed to insinuate that people who think the Renesis is not prone to problems is solely because of ignorance.
What I was stating is: I feel that the people who believe the RX-8 is prone to as many problems as it's reputation suggests may change their tune upon further education on the subject. That those who have a limited understanding of it's, albeit unusual design, shouldn't go around opineing about it because when they do they are effectively perpetuating the negative (and false) aspects of said reputation.
People, such as long-time members of this community, would be the first to step in and (some more politely than others) shut down someone who is spouting off comments which stem from a place of ignorance.
Also, I was saying that it can prove to be quite costly to own an RX-8 if you don't really understand how it functions. One might waste an obscene amount of money by doing so and walk away with a bitter taste in their mouth, blaming the car in the end. This does not mean that owning one is certain to be a costly endeavor, destined for catastrophic failure for everyone who attempts it.
Not sure you meant for the word "not" to be in your comment, but it's presence makes the comment the exact opposite of what I was saying.
What I was stating is: I feel that the people who believe the RX-8 is prone to as many problems as it's reputation suggests may change their tune upon further education on the subject. That those who have a limited understanding of it's, albeit unusual design, shouldn't go around opineing about it because when they do they are effectively perpetuating the negative (and false) aspects of said reputation.
People, such as long-time members of this community, would be the first to step in and (some more politely than others) shut down someone who is spouting off comments which stem from a place of ignorance.
Also, I was saying that it can prove to be quite costly to own an RX-8 if you don't really understand how it functions. One might waste an obscene amount of money by doing so and walk away with a bitter taste in their mouth, blaming the car in the end. This does not mean that owning one is certain to be a costly endeavor, destined for catastrophic failure for everyone who attempts it.
Not sure you meant for the word "not" to be in your comment, but it's presence makes the comment the exact opposite of what I was saying.
Hope this clears things up.
Correct, grammar mistake, "is prone".
I'll edit it later, thanks for pointing that out.
I've had mine since 2008 (2005 model). It has been extremely reliable for the period I owned it. Apart from flooding it a couple times, and stalling out on me due to wires/plugs wearing out, never had an issue. Never been stranded. Always got me from point A to B. I have driven it around town and as much as 700 miles in a round trip. Multiple 300 mile jaunts. Engine, even though they say compression is a bit low, still revs and pulls well. Always keep up with my oil changes. Premix has been a godsend, I really believe premixing has added alot of life to this car. So far I have 79K miles on an original engine. The biggest issue I have right now is rust on the rear quarterpanels (getting it fixed early next month).
Already made the decision that if need be, i will swap out a new engine. Because where else can you get a car like this no longer made for $5,500.00 bucks. The only other car i would consider as a replacement is a Toyota 86 but thats a $30K expense.
@sheeRXhilir8tion I agree the rx8 can be a great opportunity buy. Especially as the car transitions from a typical owner to a knowledgeable enthusiast like you pointed out.
But is the reputation wholly underserved? Would you call the Renesis robust or durable? Examples of engines loosing significant compression after even just one track day are out there. Definitely not scientific, but here is an example.
Not sure I would recommend the rx8 as a reliable daily car. Definitely a great, fun second car though.
Thanks for linking the vid! I subscribe to his channel but hadn't seen that one yet.
It certainly was generous of him to sacrifice his motor for the sake of gaining fact-based knowledge to share with his viewers. But, compression loss/sacrifices aside...he DID drive that car home at the end of the track day. It didn't fail and have to be towed. An immediate rebuild wasn't necessary and with those compression numbers the car theoretically could've been driven moderately for another year or two.
I actually think the big moment of the video was kinda anticlimactic. At least he did measure some drop in compression, because if there hadn't been any significant difference then the video would've been totally useless in the end.
Now, let's think about this: it was planned out and diminished engine compression was the goal. So, drive it extra hard, extra hot, no resting if possible. Maybe don't change oil prior to hitting the track...?maybe don't even premix that day? The unknown variables could be extensive.
That being said, I would implore you to find any other car out there with over 90k miles on its engine and introduce it into an extra-abusive track day setting for however many hours he did, with failure as the primary goal. Then, when you're finished, go ahead and try to drive that car home!
If you had selected a Honda, Toyota, Subaru or MAZDA (LOL), you'd probably get home, no problem.
But, upon some in-depth testing, I'm betting you will find something noteworthy such as lowered compression, noisy valves, rod bearing play, exhaust smoke, etc. (And thats assuming you're not still at the track waiting for a tow.)
In conclusion, I believe that he inadvertently demonstrated how the RX-8 is one of the few cars that, with 90K miles +, you could take to the track on a hot summer day and beat the ever-loving **** out of it all day long and then drive it home afterwards. Maybe stop for some ice cream on the way!
Last edited by sheeRXhilir8tion; 07-05-2022 at 10:38 AM.
Reason: Punctuation
But, upon some in-depth testing, I'm betting you will find something noteworthy such as lowered compression, noisy valves, rod bearing play, exhaust smoke, etc. (And thats assuming you're not still at the track waiting for a tow.)
Not necessarily. Some engines just develop a reputation for being extremely durable under a wide range of stressful conditions like racing. The Renesis is not one of those engines.
Does that mean its a bomb waiting to go off? Depends on who you ask. The masochists around here are a bit jaded from past experiences. Maybe they have reason to be.
So far I would generously describe the Renesis as "sensitive".
05-27-2022 | 09:27 AM
