Hello all,

I'm been reading up RX8Club.com for awhile as I narrow down my search for my next car. I've come across two used Rx8s, a 2008 40th Anniversary and a 2009 R3, and was wondering what the performance differences are. I know that the body styles are different and that there are special badges and colors for the 40th Anniversary, but as far as I can tell, they are very similar:

urethane foam injected front cross members on both cars
bilstein shocks on both
R3 has the Recaro seats
R3 has 19" wheels vs 18" for 40th
tires are the same, I think
2009 model years have the shorter 4.777 rear differential gear ratio, vs 4.444 for 2008 and prior
2009 has audio in jacks

I'm curious mostly about the rear diff ratio change, and whether that makes a meaningful performance difference. Has anyone tried both and can comment on the differences? Is there anything else I'm missing? Thanks!

 

other points -
the 2008 is a Series I and the 2009 R3 is a Series II. Search on this site and read up on the differences between the 2 Series.

 

if performance is your top priority, than the R3 is probably better... just the recardo seats alone in that thing will make sure u don't slip and slide around on the track. my understanding of the gear ratio is cuz of the larger tires.

that said, the 40th is like a GT on steroids- but without the navi. the interior on that thing is just beautiful. dunno why they didn't include a navi tho, since everything else is blinged out up the yin yang.

personally, i'd take the R3 just cuz it comes in nicer colors

 

Wow I can't believe I missed this. I have a lot more reading to do. Thanks!

I'm also considering a new 2010 Sport (base) model. How would that compare with the 40th in terms of performance?

 

The 2010 Sport comes actually with a V8...

 

I guess I should note that I wasn't aware of some of the reliability changes between the 2008 and 2009 model years, like the 3rd oil nozzle, different MT, air ducts, etc. I didn't realize the term "series 2" would bring those issues up. Given what I've been reading on the rotary, I'd have to think about what these new changes would imply to the long term reliability of a car I'd buy. But otherwise, I'm not completely clueless.

 

Sorry bud, I just see so many of these posts. Just do your research.

 

First off, not all series I have reliability problems. When maintained properly a lot of them (regardless of the year) don't have many problems at all.... Secondly, the series I 8s that did have problems were mostly the early years. Even though the 40th anniversary is a series I, it was made in '08, and by then they had had a pretty good bit of time to work out the kinks and perfect it... That being said there were obviously some changes made between series I and series II, and looking into all of them is what you should do. Both the R3 and the 40th anniversary are great cars, and you really couldn't go wrong with either one.

Are you planning on doing many/any modifications to it? There is a slightly larger amount of mods (especially exterior ones) for series I than there are for series II since series I ran longer. Some mods will work on both though since a lot of things mechanically stayed about the same.

Anyway, like I said, both cars are badass so you can't really make a bad decision. It is just gonna come down to whether you want series I or II. If you look up all the technical differences and still cant decide then you might as well just go with the one that you think looks the best haha....

Good luck

 

 

Series II has the new oiling system which is a much better design... it is highly likely your engine will last longer with this

 

Go with the 40th... That's my bias opinion LoL

 

Sorry but that is just false. All Series I engines face the same problems and that problem was not, and cannot be fixed. Now you are seeing the 06's get replacements and as the years go by and mileage increases you will see the 07' and 08's. Many say the updated flash to increase the OMP has helped but there has been little proof of that since many with the updated flash have suffered failures despite having the latest flash (myself included). Premixing and meticulous maintenance and driving habits are the only way to extend the life of the Series I engine and even that is debatable as there have not been many tear downs of engines with documented maintenance histories that had premix from day one.

OP, there really is no argument that from a reliability standpoint, the 09+ RX-8 is the way to go. Plus the resale of the Series I is abysmal. So really it is a financial decision that you will have to base on how long you plan to keep the car.

 

Premix ... yay !

 

Oh and synthetic (minimum of 40W) will help extend the life of a S1 Renny as well (hopefully).

 

Based on looks, I'd go with the 40th... the 2009+ styling just doesn't do it for me. However, like 9k says, the survival rate of the Gen2 is much better. They've been out 2 years now... have any dead engines been reported? (I'll admit I don't read here as much as I used to)

 

I have a thread dedicated to Series II mileage. No failures reported there and on of our local guys is a tech at the Highest Volume Mazda (only sell Mazda's nothing else) dealer in the U.S. located here in San Antonio and he said he has not heard of or seen a failure in a 09+ yet.

 

Thanks everyone for the input. Right now I'm leaning towards the 40th anniversary for a couple of reasons. On top: financially it's the cheapest choice of the three by a couple of thousand. I do like the 2009+ liquid silver look, but the complete set up of the 40th is beautiful. I think it also has the most luxury to it; not important but definitely nice.

As for modding, I think that the car has plenty to offer to me at this point, but it is nice to have the option. Frankly though, I was very impressed with my test drive of the RX8 and I don't understand the complaints about the weak engine honestly. I had test driven a 2011 Mustang GT and while of course it is more powerful, I honestly didn't feel like I was missing much and actually prefer the RX8. The responsiveness is perfect and it revs very freely. It feels every bit like a Miata, except more sophisticated. As for the final gear ratio changes - I'm thinking that since I'm planning to do road course HPDEs, that it'd be fine as long as I keep the revs high and work the MT.

The only two faults I have for the RX8 are the noise (I guess that's a given for the high revs, but wish it wasn't so buzzy) and the suspension seems to get upset a bit over bumps. Might be a suspension mod I'd have to do. As for the flooding issue - I actually intentionally tried to flood the cold engine by starting it, revving and shutting the engine down three times. But no problem. I have no problem with the maintenance so long as there aren't any major surprises, hence my surprise with Series I vs II. Sorry I didn't catch that earlier; it definitely makes me look like a newb.

I'll keep reading up and taking in the advice. And soon enough, I hope to pull the trigger!

 

This is one of the main issues that keeps me from pulling the trigger haha. Thanks for your opinion, I'm thinking about it.