T RX8

Eh, voted highly satisfied, I hate the gas economy ( CEL+Gutted cat is making that fun ), bought it used, need coils, and some other goodies, but i knew what i was getting myself into when i signed the paper. Well worth it.

SheffieldSteel

Just give us a rotay engine that burns hydrogen already. Then everyone will be happy.

redcopper06

compared to my '08 evo...
my '06 rx-8 is

-MUCH better looking (personal opinion- the copper red shinka color turns me on lol)

-a bit slower (much improved from my first test drive. been adding premium gas only, which helped. then removed the DAMNED GUMMY CLOGGED K&N "lifetime" filter and put a paper purolater from advance auto in and wow, nice power. go figure.)

-a little lumpy on the handling. i'll probably add a tein basic kit. ~$900

-spins a lot when it's wet out. awd evo's dont have that issue. the stiffer rear springs from tein should help, and i might go with wider tires, maybe move the battery to the back. (both the battery and the windshield washer fluid, and some other stuff are in the trunk on a stock evo btw). when i get the wider tires i'll probably not replace them with bridgestones

-seats are way more comfy. my evo has recaro racing seats. the upper wings have been killing my shoulders. thus i got the rx-8 and my son is now driving the evo o.O. my shoulders are feeling better already.

-lack of a sensible redline on the rx-8. 9k? wow, no wonder people blow engines on these right and left. nascar runs at 10k or so i think, and they keep 4 or 5 spare engines handy. ask any racecar driver, if you run at 9k constantly something is gonna break. the evo comes stock with a 6k rev limiter, which people flash to get it higher. but that is a 4bolt main block stock.

-cheaper to mod than the evo. it's probably about 33% cheaper for rx-8 addons if i had to approximate.

-wow factor... the ladies are wow'ed by the rx8, and my buddies are wow'ed by the evo lol.

Kaiser bun

iTrader: (2)

lol lack of sensible redline? ya... -1

other then that good write up

CyberPitz

Gonna stop you on the whole redline part. They run 10k RPM's on piston engines. The Rolex 24 hour race holds quite a few Rotaries, and I believe they are limited to just under 9k RPMs *Porsche made them lower it from where it was, claiming it was an unfair advantage*.

Let's just say the Rotary engine wins the 24 hour races on 1 engine and then stops the car and leaves it idling while they do interviews. Don't equate 10k rpm's in a piston engine to 9k rpm's in a rotary. The reving isn't what is destroying the engine. There are quite a few other variables.

Anyway, yeah, the rest of what you said is true.

oskierox

My 2009 RX-8 is just fantastic. Completely superb, looking to get an exhaust system to make it sound even prettier. Can't say anything besides HIGHLY SATISFIED :D

fortis

Highly satisfied . Gas mileage could be better but who puts a price on fun.

rxgirrl

I'm overall happy with my 2004 RX8, manual, Nav. I bought it brand new in April 2005. I had to replace the catalytic converter, 02 sensor, plugs and coils to the tune of 2777.00 in 2008. It had 94K miles on it. I am happy to say (hope I'm not jinxing it) that I now have 132K and it is running strong! I also experienced engine flooding out in 2007 and I'm on my third driver side sunvisor, #2 on passenger side. It is still the most fun I have every day! I don't baby it and open it up just about every day. That's the fun part!

CandiApple-RX8

I Love my car, no problems at all. It's got all the power that I will ever need for on the street. Handling couldn't be better. Its stylish, very eye catching both inside and out. I alway get compliments from people. I keep it clean, keep the maintenance up and just take good car of it. My son can't wait for me to get tide of it and let him have it. He will have a long wait. That saying a lot about the RX8.

Imphaetus

iTrader: (3)

would have been very happy if this car came with something other than a rotary, sorry rotor heads. would have been a VERY badass car with a 5.0 HO or the 4.6. the 4.6Li sound matched with the looks of the rx8 would have been AWESOME

jimbo010

stopped at an ice cream stand the other night. as I was leaving a guy sitting on a picnic table near my car said to me "is that car as fun to drive as it looks?"..... what could I say? the smile on my face said it all!!!

Ryan2008

I love that ****

Rennsport1

Sorry to interrupt but I think I am too new to begin a thread and I am looking for advice on how to break in a new RX8 properly, it will be my 1st rotary powered car. What oils are best ? I'm not too concerned about price, I am just a little lost with rotary motors. Especially when it comes to oil, and proper break in. I want my RX8 to run strong for many years and subsequent owners.

Also what is the best shifting technique for the 6 speed manual ? Any tips to prevent damaging the gears ? I've had a lot of cars from DSM AWD Turbos, 7 series, '69 Camaro RS 327, turbo Trans Am, two Porsche 951/951S, '06 COBB STAGE III WRX, MAZDA6ISPORTHATCH, two SAAB TURBOs (currently a '08 Aero V6Twin Scroll Turbo LP9 Snow Silver Metallic JET by Holden/SAAB). I like Motul 300V, but I am not sure what oil is best for an RX8 manual with the 6 port high power Renesis.

I used to work on my cars myself a lot for basic stuff, but with a busy Real Estate business now I rely on good dealership mechanics, Sewell SAAB has been excellent, and my friend Dan owns a tuning shop. Since Mazda does not include free maintenance like SAAB (I still do an extra oil and filter change each time above the free maintenance schedule which I pay for, so I've been at 5K intervals for the full synthetic M1 0W40 European Car Formula and SAAB filer changes) I may take the RX8 to Dan's tuning shop(Scarab Perfmormance) in Mansfield for oil changes, are oilf filters for the RX8 easy to get ? Which is the best ?

How does motor oil weights translate to a rotary, is the operating temp range for the rotory much different than a Turbo6 ?

Does anyone suggest a Mazdaspeed intake for a '10 RX8 manual ?

Moderators, please feel free to transfer this to a new thread, thank you. I want to be an excellent RX8 owner, in my mind I'm just taking care of it so I can pass along a nice car to the next person.

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

Rennsport1

Wow, sorry, I'm new here.

flashgordon91

The other day I went to see a bunch of my old friends getting back from a trip. They were all around talking as I pulled up. Before I could ask them how they had been or how the trip was I got several times, "No way.." and "Get outta here, this is yours?" Couldn't help but grin. It is truly special, already.

kjb

I'm only about a thousand miles into mine (used 2007 GT), but it has lived up to or exceeded expectations. Mileage has been equal to my previous 2008 TT V6 at 22 mpg. Love the engine and, of course, the handling.

LeeRain

I want to see serious voting volume here, c'mon everyone. What do you think ?

DreeZ

I can confidently say, iv had more breaks/ repairs than your usual 8 owner. All the way up to a new engine. I am still very satisfied. In fact I love my 8 more than any relationship iv ever been in. Lol.

Imphaetus

iTrader: (3)

well, arent you lucky. ive had 4 engines and im about to need a 5th. 4 engines and i havent even hit 80,000 miles yet. truely THE WORST car i have ever had, my gf bought a kia a few years ago and i thought that was a peice of crap; and then i buy this thing. and im glad im not the only one; everytime my car has to be taken to mazda, theres on average of 6-10 other rx8s sitting in their repair bays. i cant have this car for more than 12 hours before there's another problem. i absolutely hate this car and will never buy another mazda again. RX8s are worse than the Yugos

maskedferret

iTrader: (1)

99 problems but the engine ain't one.

plain ole wanker

Spoken like a true rx8 fan boy.

Mazdaspeed 88

WOW! hate the car but have changed 4 engines!!! and going for the 5th one.... that says it all huh... Love hate relationship

micadelic

I've had mine for almost a year and I absolute love it. Not one single problem and it's got just under 16,000 miles. It even uses very little oil, maybe 1qt every 1,500 miles or so which is good for this engine design.

Just got back from a 1,500 mile road trip and loved every mile in the car, it's surprisingly comfortable for long trips.

If you buy a car (any car) and you have to put 4 engines in it in the space of 80,000 miles... I have to wonder...

A. Are you insane? I think I would have gotten rid of the car after engine #2.
B. What the heck are you doing to it? I can maybe understand 1 lemon of an engine, but 4 of them? Don't think so.

MPG > HP

Rotarys are very sensitive to predetonation, usually induced by bogging the motor which is fairly easy to do with a manual, but you appear to have an AT. Have you ever floored the throttle with the revs below 3k or not known to never do that? From my sig, you can see that I've been running Wankels, since '84, and the only motor I've "lost" was when I lent the GXL to my brother with 60lbs oil pressure and he returned it with 15lbs. After ?ing him, it appeared that he skipped a gear upshifting and bogged. A month later the engine gave up in a huge plume of tailpipe smoke. From my own experience, seems like if you know how to care for rotarys WITHOUT FAIL (i.e., never bog, redline at least every 200 miles, keep oil/coolant levels up and filters changed) then you'll likely crash the car before the motor even starts to show signs of retiring. So, the saying "your mileage will vary" really applies here. My '04 has only been tracked, since 80k and now just turned 120k of REALLY HARD driving. Since replacing the igniters at 110k, the motor seems almost as strong as when new and even more free revving, all the way to 10k RPM and 250F coolant in 20 minute track sessions, now that it's a bit more "broken in"!