Hey all!

Just traded in my TT in for a red RX8 '04 last monday! And WOW! There was a big step up. Amazing car. I did read almost al of the sticky notes before buying so I know what Im getting in to. I have already order myself a GTA Car kit, so i can connect my iPod to the stereo. One ting that I found out that I did not like was that the light dont turn off when the car is off. But i guess that is something I can find a fix for or something.
By the way, my name is Chris and Im from Norway.

 

Congrats and welcome.

I was actually looking at TTs as one of my options when I bought the 8 (previously owned a Jetta 1.8t that was a very good experience). Guess I made the right choice

 

Hey, congratulations on your new RX8. Welcome to the club! As you've already seen, this site is a terrific reference for RX8 owners. Good luck!

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome to the addiction.
When you have a moment can you outline the things you prefer about the RX8 over the TT?

 

What light doesn't turn off?

Headlight?
Foglight?
Tail light?
Interior Dome light?
Gauges?

BC.

 

Thanks guys! I will make a list over what's better then the TT, but the first I noticed is when changing gears! Feels great.

I meant the headlights. In Norway it's required to drive with headlight on all the time. Most of the cars have the lights to turn on automatically. That's not a big problem. But I would prefer that when I turn of the car, I wouldn't have to switch off the headlights to make them go off.. I'm not that good at explaining my self, but that's how I had it in my TT.

 

Automatic headlights was an option on higher trim RX-8's.
I'm guessing yours is a lower trim?

BC.

 

How dependable was that TT?

I owned 2 separate Audi's a 2001 A6 2.7t Quattro and a 2005 A6 3.2 Quattro that I leased brand new for 3 years. I could not wait to get rid of it. Both cars were in the dealership once a month and the 2005 actually sat in the dealership for an entire month because they could not fix it. God, I hate Audi now because of that experience.


Welcome to the Rotary world, give these cars some TLC, good maintenance, and some higher revs every day and it will love you as much as you love it.

 

Not in the 04's.

 

Nice to know you and welcome to the club.

 

I owned a 2002 Audi TT, Reeis, and although I haven't driven the newer ones, there's no comparison in terms of handling, utility and quickness (the 8 trounces the TT I had on all counts).

I am not bashing the Audi TT, and it's my understanding that they've made the newer ones more reliable (coil packs and electrical components were big problems), improved the chassis, and given them a lot more power especially in higher trim lines (the R spec is a beast), but the TT was never designed as a sports car up, with a platform that essentially shared with the VW Beetle.

I've also had really great reliability with my 8, only needing a starter motor in 7 years of ownership, which was covered at no cost by Mazda under a TSB.

You're new, so I'll tell you what I've told others here many times: I've test driven between 12 and 15 cars in the last 2 1/2 years when I thought of selling the 8 and getting something different, and none of them offered a better balance of handling, comfort, utility (the back seat is way more useful than any other coupe and the suicide doors are pure genius), and interior quality (I think vehicle quality, generally speaking, peaked in the 1998 to 2005 period, depending on manufacturer, and has largely gone down hill since then).

So, I'll be keeping my 8 for at least another 3 years, and possibly longer.

Mine is a 6MT and the brakes, clutch & stick, steering feel & handling honestly rival or best cars I've either owned or driven that cost 3x as much.

The power is linear and there's a lack of torque, but once you're in the 5k to 9k rpm band, which comes on quicker and more smoothly than in piston motors, the 8 is definitely not "slow" (it's no Evo X, ZR1 or Mustang GT500, but it's quick enough for me; faster than a VW GTI-- which I like a lot, too -- or the new Toybaru FR-S/BRZ twins, and the power delivery is smoooooth all the way to redline).

The main downside is fuel economy, but even there I average 280 miles per 13.5 gallon fill-up, so it's not as terrible as rumor has it.

Make sure you read the stickies on maintenance. The best insurance against motor issues is keeping your oil at the full line at all times, IMHO, and doing frequent coolant (with the correct % of coolant to distilled water depending on your climate) flush and fills, as rotaries are largely aluminum and generate a lot of heat (so never keep driving in a low coolant or overheating condition).

I love this car.

Congrats on joining the club.

 

Thanks guys! Such a warm welcome

If by higher trim you mean the one with the higher power, I do have that. 231hp.
Didn't have that many problems with my tt, but in the end I noticed that I had to change my suspension, timing belt and some other small things. So I said to my self "I want a car with RWD, four doors, and some more horses in the engine" and the 8 was a perfect match

I will read all the stickies on maintenance. Had my TT for 3 years, and I'm hoping the 8 will last me many years to come! And I know that some day I might get a big expensive repair bill, but I'm prepared for that.

One paper the 8 isn't that big away from my experience on fuel economy from my TT. I'll hope for the best

 

I made a similar move, from a 2008 TT V6 6 spd AWD to a 2007 RX-8. The TT was mistake, im my opinion. The throttle, clutch and brakes were like on/off switches. You couldn't drive it smoothlly regardless of what you did, so I got rid of it.

That's when I thought about the 8. I had Miatas and knew the 8 was supposed to be driving heaven, so I bought mine. It hasn't disappointed.

I funny part was my TT had the magnetically adjustable shocks. It rode like a buckboard on the base setting. Press a button and it rode like the suspension was welded to the chassis. It's like Audi said "the ride is crap, but it's not bad enough without this option." I tried it a few times and I may still have bruises in places I don't know about.

 

Sorry for going off track here, but that FC on your sig looks amazing. Could you say more about it? How did you get to the 450RWHP mark on that conversion

 

3 blown engines, lots of tears (and$$$) and the realization that you cannot drive a 450RWHP car daily. I will start a thread in General Auto about it in the next day or so.

Quick rundown, missing lots of details:
13B-REW brand new, aggressive street port, exhaust porting, port matched everywhere, throttle body 20% bigger, 720/1300 injectors, Motec M4, GT35R, 3.5" straight exhaust, Mariah cold air intake (headlight vent + box) entire fuel system swapped out. IIRC it has been a while @ 18PSI 473RWHP @15PSI 390RWHP @12 PSI 320RWHP <--- I run it at 12 PSI most of the time. @18 it is not streetable no traction through 3rd gear @ 15 it is insane @ 12 it is fun.

 

Welcome I do need one of those iPod things I can't stand cd and radio talk lol.. Where did you find if you don't mind me asking

 

Thanks all!

Ordered it from GTA Car Kits for iPhone, iPod, AUX and MP3 players

Shipped from USA to Norway in just one week! Haven't had the time to install it yet, probably gonna do it later today. And one thing I really liked about them is that they labeled the content of the package for 10$, so I didn't have to pay taxes on it when it crossed the border

 

Welcome to the club. As a previous TT owner myself, I think you made the right choice moving to the RX8. I used to think my TT's were cool, but I was in denial.

 

I have 04 high power with automatic headlights (estonia). So maybe it is software upgrade issue?

kaido

 

Interesting observation. My friend has an older TT, without the magnetic shocks, and it rides very harshly. I wanted to like it so much, but between the ride, the seats, the cramped interior, and the boomy piston motor, I just could never live with it.

The RX8 is like a luxury car by comparison...