RX8 Reliability??? Assuming everything remain stock...
#1
RX8 Reliability??? Assuming everything remain stock...
I'm considering ordering a RX8 automatic with GT package and will eventually export that puppy to Taiwan when I graduate. I'm pretty concerned about the potential liabilities of breakdowns since warranties won't be honored in Taiwan. Do you think this will become a risk if I bring the car back? What are the chances of the RX8 totally #@$@% beyond fixable by above-average mechanics?
Last edited by Technomarine; 10-16-2003 at 11:57 PM.
#2
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My opinion is this: the normally aspirated RX-7s were champs at bullet-proof reliability. The RX-8 is destined to follow in those foot steps. one thing to keep in mind: in Japan, the RX-7 has been produced and on sale through late 2002 - the rotary as a production engine has not been dead for a decade. On top of that, most Mazda models have been on the more reliable than average side. My 1990 Miata only realized a couple problems common that were later solved as production continued into 1991 and later years - in other words, they get most things right the first time. The only real new techy thing I can foresee having problems is not the engine, but the power steering. But I'm sure they've tested this a lot and have full confidence it'll be still going 200,000 miles or beyond. Stick around for results!
#4
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Re: RX8 Reliability??? Assuming everything remain stock...
Originally posted by Technomarine
I'm considering ordering a RX8 automatic with GT package and will eventually export that puppy to Taiwan when I graduate. I'm pretty concerned about the potential liabilities of breakdowns since warranties won't be honored in Taiwan. Do you think this will become a risk if I bring the car back? What are the chances of the RX8 totally #@$@% beyond fixable by above-average mechanics?
I'm considering ordering a RX8 automatic with GT package and will eventually export that puppy to Taiwan when I graduate. I'm pretty concerned about the potential liabilities of breakdowns since warranties won't be honored in Taiwan. Do you think this will become a risk if I bring the car back? What are the chances of the RX8 totally #@$@% beyond fixable by above-average mechanics?
#5
Prodigal Wankler
Re: Re: RX8 Reliability??? Assuming everything remain stock...
Originally posted by tribal azn
why u gonna export it to taiwan?
why u gonna export it to taiwan?
#6
I remember reading in an early-1980s Road and Track that among readers polled, the 12A in the RX-7 had the fewest incidence of problems or breakdowns of ANY engine! Quite remarkable in light of the fact that it was put into duty in a sports car, one that invited hard driving.
It was not an RX article, either... it was a poll of all makes and models for problem areas, cars owned, etc- general demograohics.
It was not an RX article, either... it was a poll of all makes and models for problem areas, cars owned, etc- general demograohics.
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the 12A in the RX-7 had the fewest incidence of problems or breakdowns of ANY engine!
I find this to be incredibly impressive given the validity of the study & the fact that the only engine in the world to beat the Mazda Wankel (as pointed out earlier) was in a low stress environment. Additionally, the power to weight ratio of the diesel probably isn’t even a third that of the Wankel. We’d all be dead long before a 700 Lb. 3,000 RPM Wankel would wear out wouldn’t we.
BTW, I’m the original owner of a ’87 RX-7 which has over 260,000 miles on it’s un-rebuilt, un-patched up, never a problem Wankel.
Keep the oil clean & full & stay away from turbo’s; that’s all you need to know.
#8
Yo,
Amen brother. Turbo + Rotary = Problems.
NA all the way!
Kevin
1989 GTUs "200K to go!"
Originally posted by RX7 Guy
Keep the oil clean & full & stay away from turbo’s; that’s all you need to know.
Keep the oil clean & full & stay away from turbo’s; that’s all you need to know.
Amen brother. Turbo + Rotary = Problems.
NA all the way!
Kevin
1989 GTUs "200K to go!"
#9
Re: Re: RX8 Reliability??? Assuming everything remain stock...
Originally posted by tribal azn
why u gonna export it to taiwan?
why u gonna export it to taiwan?
In addition, we pay tags by the engine size...
1300cc = $200 a year
my current Bimmer 330ci (3000cc) would be like $1000 a year just to keep on the road...
But then I still need to clarify custom issues... If Taiwan wants me to pay a Environmental Emissions Fee (value of the car), then it is just cheaper to get a Benz E230. >_< A car most rich women, nightclub ******, and single women dating rich married men drive...
Regarding auto thief, Taiwan has a "lo-jack" type that costs around US$15/mo to keep the car on watch (Lo-jack is a one-time charge in the US as I remembered). Supposely, the company will keep a tab on your activities and inform you (on cell) whether you are in the car or not.
I would be more worried about being scratched... haha...
#10
Don't be crazy, forget about exporting the RX8 to Taiwan. If you like the car, then have fun drive it and sell it before you leave. Think about this: How many mechanics in Taiwan will know how to operate on the rotary engine? They'll probably call a regional conference to check out the Renesis engine that nobody knows how to work on. When was the last time a rotary engine vehicle was sold in Taiwan? (Never?) Mazda of Taiwan will probably not service your car even if it's still under warranty. I don't think it's worth the trouble.
#12
Originally posted by Skyline Maniac
Don't be crazy, forget about exporting the RX8 to Taiwan. If you like the car, then have fun drive it and sell it before you leave.
Don't be crazy, forget about exporting the RX8 to Taiwan. If you like the car, then have fun drive it and sell it before you leave.
Another concern is the 18" rims... have to drive so careful to not bent those beauties... -_-" of all of the opinions and advice, maybe I will have sit this one out. Too bad in today's world, we can't put the money we were going to spend on stocks and watch it grow. hahaha...
#13
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Originally posted by Technomarine
Too bad in today's world, we can't put the money we were going to spend on stocks and watch it grow. hahaha...
Too bad in today's world, we can't put the money we were going to spend on stocks and watch it grow. hahaha...
#14
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Where r u gonna stay in Taiwan?
I would assume Taipei. In that case u were smart to go with auto. Stealing....not really a prob from my experience. Just worry about it get scratched. All in all, find a nice place to park the car! A structure or underground place will do nicely.
I would assume Taipei. In that case u were smart to go with auto. Stealing....not really a prob from my experience. Just worry about it get scratched. All in all, find a nice place to park the car! A structure or underground place will do nicely.
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#15
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Well, I refer to this:
True & the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) conducted a scientifically correct study not long after which found the Mercedes Benz, five liter diesel engine to achieve the highest mileage before failure of any passenger car sold in the world & the Mazda Wankel to come in a close second
posted by RX 7guy
This is very good news to me. The rotary still has a poor reputation of unreliability and being prone to mechanical failures in Germany. I fight this wherever I can but John Average claims to know it better. I continiounsly asked myself where the bias comes from. Some weeks before I read that NSU (predecessor of AUDI) burned the image of the rotary by bad policy way back in the early '70s. They just changed the engine if anything was wrong. The engine was deliverd to the company for overhauling it. Many of this engines did not have any failure at all and needed nothing but cleaning or adjusting the carburator or adjusting the timing of the ignition. The car owner however thought he needes a new engine. It was meant as an extra (and probably cost free) service and turned out to be the worst they could do.
By the way the car I drive now is the old five liter Mercedes mentioned by the ASME. Though it is a gas engine rather than diesel. The largest passenger diesel merc has is a 4 liter V8 and it is brandnew. They never had a five liter passenger diesel. The 5 liter Merc is very sturdy indeed but it pumps out merely 243 HP. My RX 8 (black wit black/red leather) will have roughly the same power coming from 1.3. And I am very positive that it will be as reliable as my current car is.
True & the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) conducted a scientifically correct study not long after which found the Mercedes Benz, five liter diesel engine to achieve the highest mileage before failure of any passenger car sold in the world & the Mazda Wankel to come in a close second
posted by RX 7guy
This is very good news to me. The rotary still has a poor reputation of unreliability and being prone to mechanical failures in Germany. I fight this wherever I can but John Average claims to know it better. I continiounsly asked myself where the bias comes from. Some weeks before I read that NSU (predecessor of AUDI) burned the image of the rotary by bad policy way back in the early '70s. They just changed the engine if anything was wrong. The engine was deliverd to the company for overhauling it. Many of this engines did not have any failure at all and needed nothing but cleaning or adjusting the carburator or adjusting the timing of the ignition. The car owner however thought he needes a new engine. It was meant as an extra (and probably cost free) service and turned out to be the worst they could do.
By the way the car I drive now is the old five liter Mercedes mentioned by the ASME. Though it is a gas engine rather than diesel. The largest passenger diesel merc has is a 4 liter V8 and it is brandnew. They never had a five liter passenger diesel. The 5 liter Merc is very sturdy indeed but it pumps out merely 243 HP. My RX 8 (black wit black/red leather) will have roughly the same power coming from 1.3. And I am very positive that it will be as reliable as my current car is.
![Cool](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/cool.gif)
#16
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The RX-8 would be a perfect car for Taiwan. I lived there for three years and in my experience, the RX-8's manueverability, stopping power, size and agility would be great for the crowded roads around the bigger cities. There are some of the best twisties on earth along some of the coast roads, and going through the mountainous interier of the island. I recommend Toroko Gorge (its been a while, don't know about the spelling), it is winding and breathtaking. You can use it for the time your there, then sell it for a hefty profit before you leave.
#17
I've been reading about a lot of problems regarding the Rx8 (on this board and others). what's that all about? I want an rx8 so bad (maybe a year later) but i'm reading about all these problems!!! my current car is a 2000 alero and i have problems to hell with it!! it's not fun at all, even if it's covered under warranty and the problem persists...go figure...
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There isn't a ton of problems with this car. An overwhelming majority of the owner (of which this forum has a good cross section of) have experienced no problem. Many more are experiencing problem that they wouldn't even mention in association with any other vehicle purchase. The reason I say that is because this car was so widely anticipated and pre oredered by many knowledgeable car buffs and rotor heads, that there expectation were almost unachievable. And yet in a vast majority of post this car met all of these high expectation and then some. I expected a lot, and got more than I expected. I am thouroughly satisfied with my purchase. There appears to be a few cars that took a lot worse hit than I can imagine with my so favorable of situation and prospective with this car. The vast majority of actual owners I think expected a lot of satifaction, and indeed got it.
#20
One thing I found interesting about the history of the Wankel was that it was so close to becoming more mainstream, like being produced by a major American car maker. They all had done research into the rotary. As far as I can remember Ford and GM at least paid for the rights to work on the design, and they had several options. They could pay more and obtain rights to all the work done thus far on the engine (by NSU I think).
GM made the idiotic mistake of thinking that they could figure it all out on their own, so they went for the basic contract. They invested a ton of money on research, basically duplicating all of NSU's previous research. It took them much longer than they thought to get some workable concept, so they cut their losses and dumped the project. If they had used the NSU research, they may have been able to actually sell some rotary engine cars. A lot of the other American car companies were just waiting for someone to take the first step, so it's conceivable that others would have followed.
There was even work done on a diesel rotary (by either Mercedes or Rolls Royce, can't remember). I do know that MB had a concept car with a rotary at one point. There were also a few companies that used them on motorcycles.
GM made the idiotic mistake of thinking that they could figure it all out on their own, so they went for the basic contract. They invested a ton of money on research, basically duplicating all of NSU's previous research. It took them much longer than they thought to get some workable concept, so they cut their losses and dumped the project. If they had used the NSU research, they may have been able to actually sell some rotary engine cars. A lot of the other American car companies were just waiting for someone to take the first step, so it's conceivable that others would have followed.
There was even work done on a diesel rotary (by either Mercedes or Rolls Royce, can't remember). I do know that MB had a concept car with a rotary at one point. There were also a few companies that used them on motorcycles.
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yea MikeB the sti is ruining the reliability rating of Subaru from what I understand. - scary
BTW When did teh 350Z become available for purchase in the US?
BTW When did teh 350Z become available for purchase in the US?
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Originally posted by Chuck Clifford
The RX-8 would be a perfect car for Taiwan. I lived there for three years and in my experience, the RX-8's manueverability, stopping power, size and agility would be great for the crowded roads around the bigger cities. There are some of the best twisties on earth along some of the coast roads, and going through the mountainous interier of the island. I recommend Toroko Gorge (its been a while, don't know about the spelling), it is winding and breathtaking. You can use it for the time your there, then sell it for a hefty profit before you leave.
The RX-8 would be a perfect car for Taiwan. I lived there for three years and in my experience, the RX-8's manueverability, stopping power, size and agility would be great for the crowded roads around the bigger cities. There are some of the best twisties on earth along some of the coast roads, and going through the mountainous interier of the island. I recommend Toroko Gorge (its been a while, don't know about the spelling), it is winding and breathtaking. You can use it for the time your there, then sell it for a hefty profit before you leave.
#24
mikeb, you forgot the mitsubishi evolution. At one point or another, I've absolutely decided that my next car would be in order sti, evo, and now the rx-8 ![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Edit: Oh, yeah, the first two are only available in manual BTW, so maybe those aren't too helpful then.
![Smilie](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Edit: Oh, yeah, the first two are only available in manual BTW, so maybe those aren't too helpful then.
Last edited by rabinabo; 10-17-2003 at 10:20 PM.
#25
Originally posted by Winning
No use, he is getting a four speed automatic!!:D :D :D :p :p :p
No use, he is getting a four speed automatic!!:D :D :D :p :p :p
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