Hello,
So I just bought a 05 Rx-8 with 8,000 miles. It's the sports package I already read the new rx-8 thread and other, but I want to know more details about my car. Can anybody tell me more about maintenance and how to really drive my Rx-8, or any other details that you experienced with yours?

 

first read the owners manual.. then read the stickys in the different areas that you are interested in..


beers

 

Yup, the answers are in both places Swoope mentioned. If there's something more specific you're looking for answers to you will get better answers.

already broken in = fun from the start. Hit at least 7k rpm once a week or so, helps keep the engine healthy.


Welcome & congrats on the 8. pics plz!

 

look around at the stickies, there is tons of info there.

Also redline at least once a week, frees up carbon in the engine. It's not like a normal piston engine in that the rotary loves to rev, and rewards you for it

 

This practice also ensures that the grin on your face stays properly secured and does not sag.

Here's what I'd give you as a quick top 10 things to know:

1) Oil - it consumes oil by design - nothing wrong with that. Check your oil at every other fill up, or do like I do and spend an hour puttering around the garage every other weekend, and adjust the tire pressures, check the oil, give it a wash, etc. A little RX-8 love time.

2) While it says "premium recommended" you can safely burn '87 in most climates and areas. If you feel guilty, pop the extra cost.

3) Change the oil every 5000 miles at least, more frequently if you'd like to. Pay attention to the maintenance schedule in the book and do those items.

4) Beware, Mazda dealers charge through the nose for everything, and they will try to sell you extra crap during scheduled maintenance stops. Don't let them do it.

5) You can safely upsize the tires to 245/40-18s - they are fatter, fill the wheel wells more, and look **** hot.

6) The summer tires work like crap when the temp falls below 45F. All-season performance radials are an acceptable compromise. Snow tires are a must if you commute in snow.

7) Visit your redline often to keep you happy and keep the buzzer from getting lonely.

8) Keep your car shiny and sparkling clean for best crowd pleasing.

9) Watch out for idiots in Civics who will rev on you.

10) This car is NOT a straight-line speed car - don't get disappointed when you realize that LOTS of cars can beat you at the strip.

Enjoy - post pics when you can!

And search and read:

- The little things
and all the other stickies in all the other forums - DIY - Show & Shine, and more.

Have fun!

Stew (the nice guy, not the grumpy old man).

 

turn the dsc off and beep it every day, and abuse the crap out of your tires, that is as good as any therapy

 

Stew, you make me happy

 

Trust me, it's always best to drive from the seat with the steering wheel.

 

Here's a few other goodies - let's call them "unique features":

1) Drive by wire throttle with adaptive learning - the engine computer "reads" your driving habits and can flatten or steepen the throttle response curve to match. Drive hard for a few days and find "new" horsepower (it's always there, just visiting at different times). Baby it and it becomes a rental car ... weird.

2) You have a sport. so this won't mean anything to you, but the weird Bose adaptive radio will boost the volume automatically while you drive - you'l turn it down and minute later you say to yourself "I swear I just turned the radio down".

3) The Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) will flash a warning on the dash when any tire is about 4 to 5 lbs down on pressure from the factory setpoint which is 32 PSI. If you get a TPMS warning, stop, do a walk around to make sure you don't have a tire going down, once you're sure, head to a gas station and fill the tire.

4) Never but NEVER use the fix-a-flat kit. It ruins the tire and clogs the TPMS.

5) Feel free to experiment with driving with the DSC off, but understand that there is a stern little Japanese guy hiding the in the works with his finger on the "I think not!" button when it's enabled, and it WILL save your ***! It saved mine once today when I hit a patch of oily pavement in the rain.

6) Don't bother trying to understand or explain the abject ergonomic failure represented by the sunvisors. Just accept that every hot supermodel has a knarly wart somewhere ...

7) Did I mention that the summer tires that come stock on it suck? Oh, yeah, I did. Well it bears mentioning again. If you stick with summers, at least upgrade to a better tire. If you live in a climate where the temp visits sub-40 ranges then consider all-season high performance radials - visit TireRack.com for good reccos, but can heartily reccommend the Pirelli PZero-Nero M+S.

8) You can buy used snows on eBay if you want to go that way. But if you don't use Mazda wheels with TPMS sensors, the light will be on all the time.

9) You can't make love in an RX8. I tried. Doesn't work. Either that or my wife and I both need to lose 7" in height and 75 lbs each (Ok, I could stand to lose 40 lbs ...).

10) Find twisty roads and drive them. Smile.

 

stew, i dont need this forum anymore . these words should basically be its own sticky for newcomers. better yet, it should be a mandatory read somehow that every new person should read. your words are perfect. well, that is if your married

 

zoloft???

beers

 

Thanks guys and stew you’re like the rx-8 guru from what I can see. I pick up my car tomorrow from the dealer and if I have anymore questions ill write back.

 

to fun, stew, you have to answer all these ?s now..

STEW FOR THE WIN...

beers

 

I've made love in my car...

 

Although I gotta say........I really liked just about every little thing he said!

 

are you kidding??? The sunvisors are one of the most under-rated features of the car. Pure genius. I would put those same sunvisors in every car I own if I could.

#1 they are hard plastic so you don't have the sag that most soft visors have.
#2 they are perfed... so that you can have them down and actually see through them at the light across the street, but (and here is the pure genus part) they block light at all but one small angle so you are not blinded when looking at that light and having a sunset or sunrise at the same time.

now granted the early versions had some construction problems and there is a TSB to that, but by far this is a very very cool feature of the car.

I think that only the people that just don't look outside the box hate them. They just don't get how cool they are.

 

Sure would love a direct translation of the JDM sales brochure where they explain the philosophy behind these visors. Would help ease the frustration I have with them.

REgards