Hey,

Just some minor rants about my rx-8, i guess its a general rant of japanese vs euro cars

- how come the tilt steering isn't telescopic? it just goes up and down
- why do we have to latch the hood open, its a light hood to begin with so why can't they design it to stay up on its own?
- paint chips so easily - couldn't they have added a few more layers?
- gas tank cover is loose

like i said minor things, but these are all designed into an entry level Golf even ... of course the Golf doesn't have 240hp, perfect handling etc etc

but u get the general idea, why can't they (japanese automakers) add these minor changes? does it cost that much more?

 

- telescoping steering adds weight
- simpler is better, plus lighter weight
- thicker paint = heavier
- ???

boy you're really nitpicking on little things now aren't we :D

 

Weight at a whole 15 pounds with all those things will not make this car a fatty and would not have affected performance- should have been included. But I was surprised to find heated mirrors though. I still think it's a bargain nonetheless.

Oh yea I'd take the freestyle doors over any and all of those things and then some.

 

Let me add, an oil dip stick that is hard to get at and remove which is bad since the oil has to be checked often on a rotary. I hav'nt had any problem with chiping paint. A couple coats of good wax should help toughen the paint and prevent chips.

 

Yeah, about the dipstick thing... There's nobody making a longer one? Hhmmm, sounds like a money making opportunity.

 

You have contradicted yourself. If you added more coats of paint... the hood wouldn't be so light.

 

I believe making a different COLOR dipstick would be an even better money-making opportunity. I can't read the thing even in broad daylight!!

 

Yes! Yes! Yes!

 

I turn it towards the sunlight and look for the reflection on the dipstick. That's the only way I can tell.

 

Wasn't there an update on this with a new stick to make reading the oil level easier? Seems to me this occured in 2004, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Or, you could do what I did and spraypaint the upper handle of it florescent orange so I can see it down there.

then I brush painted a ring of the same florescent orange paint around the top of the tube so I can find it in the dark.

I have a florescent hand-held flashlight that makes that paint positively glow - just shine it in the general vicinity at night and WOW! Also most "under the canopy" lights at gas stations are florescent and cause it to glow.

Easy mod ...

 

-telescopic steering wheels add more weight, believe it or not.
-once again, that would require hydraulics of some sort...adding more weight here.
-my paint doesnt chip...but maybe thats because its winning blue???:D
-the cap or the cover? maybe with excessive jarring it will. mine doesnt.

 

yes the updated dipstick is a bit easier to read :D

 

Hmm, guess my 05 did not come with this updated stick. I guess I will be doing something similar to StewC625's mod

 

I had my RX-8 for about 2 weeks now and here are some observations..

First with minor rants...

*CD skips when road is bumpy, isn't there suppose to be anti-skip feature?
*Ditto with dip sticks, it's hard to reach and awkward to put it back without a light
*Hood is so light it doesn't close when I drop it So I have to push it down.
*Cannot keep the console to stay partially open since it slides forward and shuts when braking.
*AC is not cold enough here in FL
*Accelerator pedal is positioned too close to the side of the dash board
*I keep kicking seat adjuster on the bottom of seat with the back of my foot when I get out.
*Seat is uncomfortably shaped when laid all the way back to sleep in the car
*rear view mirror is tiny
*lacks a place to store CDs in the easily accesible area from the driver seat when cupholders are being used.
*car locks itself too quickly when left unlocked

But there are some pleasant goodies...

*blue illumination on dashboard when you open the door
*red illumination on key ignition switch area
*You can see traffic lights through perforated visor
*You can switch the Gauge color between black background, bright white letters and blue led illumination with red letters by adjusting brightness
*Almost all switches illuminate at night
*car locks itself if you forgot to lock

 

What I did was just buy a small flashlight that I keep in the car. That at least solves the problem of being able to find the dipstick and the dipstick hole and all. But the stick itself is still damn hard to read, even in good light.

 

you sleep in your car often?? :D


MrJynx

 

The dipstick should never have been so short. There's no reason they couldn't have brought it up above the hoses and beside the engine cover. I'd like to see them or someone come up with an extender and new stick or replace the tube and stick.

By the way. Did any of the 8's have lights on the outside mirrors that shine down on the ground or on the door? I thought I had read someone's comment on that once and there seems to be a plastic plug on the underside of my mirror that may be a spot for something like that.

 

the walking lights under the side mirrors are an option in Japanese and European market RX-8s, we don't get them here

 

The installation manual for the CD (and MP3) player says: "Harsh vibration due to rough road or similar will cause the sound to skip". So there's no anti-skip built in. Suppose you could install a cassette player

 

lol I thought that was a funny rant as well. The only other person that I 've heard complain about that is my my girlfriend who said the plastic rotors in the seats are hard to sleep on. - I say who cares their looks outweigh their utility.

My cd/mp3 player only skips when the road is really harsh.

 

I notice that the CD player tends to skip quite more easily than my 2003 Mazda Protege's CD player. Of course, the suspension is stiffer on the RX-8, but I think the CD player is also more skip-prone.

 

I've got the 6-disk and in almost 2 years of ownership driving over all sorts of crappy roads, I have yet to hear a skip. Is this is a problem with only the single-disk units?

 

Could be a problem with single disc CD players. The single disc units are made by Pioneer.

 

I've never understood the oil-checking complaints. After the first couple of times you figure out how to reach the stick without removing the cover. It's not particularly difficult.

The visibility thing is legit -- there should be an under-hood light in any case, on general principle. On the other hand, I'm usually within range of some lighting at some point. I've yet to be in the wildnerness with a sudden need to check my oil. :p

If you have a hard time reading the level in low light, try a piece of tissue or paper towel. Chance are you already have it handy for wiping the dipstick. Just lay a small piece, or the corner of the sheet on top of the flat part of the dipstick. As the oil soaks into the paper you should be able to see where the level is.