Strata.. Come on now. Your first posts had legit good questions.. Sales tax kbb etc doesn't relate specifically to the rx-8. Please keep the questions good, info that hard to find elsewhere. That way, you'll earn respect, won't look like an idiot, and you'll make this thread a quality thread.

 

Can finally answer all questions properly.

Coils were not replaced when the plugs were. Actually now I don't even think the wires were, looking at the receipt again. Just the plugs set for C$269. Issue noted on the receipt at the time was "no start" despite "customer following deflooding procedure"

First tank, mostly city driving, I got 13.4 mpg, or 17 L/100km.

 

Yeah, definitely replace the coils and wires.

Mazmart (coils and wires) or BHR (just wires) both forum vendors here, will give you the best prices you can get (I think, I don't know if Canadian shipping/import fees will drive it up higher)

The US prices are $140 for all 4 coils, $60 or less for the wires. Wires take less than 5 minutes to swap, coils maybe 20 minutes and a 10mm socket wrench.

 

So if I understood the DIY right, I have to remove the air intake and then remove the plugs to change the coils?

 

Not quite. You don't need to touch the plugs for changing the coils.

For the coils, remove the intake (if you have an aftermark intake, you might not even need to do that), and you can directly access the coils at that point. There is a single 10mm nut over the single bolt post on each coil. Disconnect the plug wire, remove the nut (careful not to let it drop, remove the coil, put the new coil on, replace the plug wire. You should be able to do this 1 coil at a time, but it requires a bit of tricky finger work. IF you remove all 4 coils then replace all 4, make sure you label the wires to make sure you don't cross them. Putting the wrong wire on the wrong coil (or plug) can be very bad (depending on how exactly you mix them up).

Once your coils are replaced, then replace the plug wires 1 at a time.


IF you get exprienced at it, then coil, plug, and wire order isn't a big deal, but one of the biggest newbie mistakes in doing their own change here is connecting the wires wrong, so the coils are firing to the wrong plugs.

The coil order is listed in the DIY I think as well, if you want to verify connections after doing the change to make sure everything is connected correctly.

 

I agree with the OP.
I personally would be scared.

No problems with heat, your in WI.
No problems in snow, use snow tires.

The starting and flooding yes.

Get a big battery for a V8 and you should be good.

To make sure, I would get the coils from BHR for hotter spark.

I'm from Minnesota and people don't understad how freezing it is up there and how hard it is to start any car.

Make sure you get a engine warmer like one for the radiator fluid.

 

Thanks RIWWP

 

If you want the most trouble free car then it's all Subaru. 2004 8's are horrible. 2005's a bit better. 2006+ are the most trouble free. The Mazda Service folks will even admit this.

I'd look 2006+ for the 8. If not, the WRX will run forever. (though the WRX is not my style for sure)

 

^ I have a trouble-free 2005 (albeit latter year build).

 

^ Me too.

'05 Shinka built on Thursday, 3/31/05. #1339 out of 1357.

 

so consensus is dont buy 2004?

 

i wouldnt get one rx8s are pretty gay if you ask me

 

dont be scurd just do it

 

Tuesday 3/29/05 and number 1132 myself. UrbanOcho's Shinka was built the same day. Must have been a good week.

 

cant believe this tread is still going to be honest with ya..


unsubscribed

 

I live in Wisconsin and been through 6 winters with snow tires and rims I bought at the same time as the car. I have no problems in snow. It has about the same snow traction as a fwd except The 8 is alot more fun in snow. Best to park the car if snow exceeds 6 inches because of low frame clearance.

Mine is an 04 6sp and I love the car. It's given me no trouble so far at 43k miles. I have flooded it but my own fault for moving it around the drive cold and then pulling it in the garage for the night without the 4k rpm rev. It's easy to deflood and start when this happens.

 

Not everyone in general don't buy 2004. YOU don't buy 2004.

 

I just bought an 04 with 92,000km and that thing still looks new inside and out, is tight, and runs great And since I have maintenance records, I also know it hasn't needed anything major yet. If the problems start cropping up now, well, I got it so cheap, I don't mind a few bills!

 

so dont buy a 2004. cuz im looking at an 04 with 70k on it

 

^ as long as it has a good service history, to include incorporation of the required TSB/MSP's, there's no reason to automatically shun a 2004. There is good reason to automatically shun an automatic tho'.

 

I bought my used 2004 in 2006 with 30,000 miles on it. It's now up to 72,000 and the only major issue I've had is a couple of leaking oil cooler lines. Had some minor things that were covered under warranty but other than that it's been rock solid. It's a year round driver and I've had no trouble in the winter in upstate NY with a good set of snows and a little extra weight in the trunk.

 

also keep in mind not everyone that complains actually owns an rx8. Ive read a couple threads where guys are throwing out numbers that are from manuals. Each car is going to dyno different from one engine to the other even with exact same mods. Some drivers think you have to slam the shifter every time and break the forks in the tranny. Some problems are simply caused by people who don't know how to drive, or mechanically dont ask questions and break something. You should never fear a car, everything can be fixed, you should only fear ignorance and people who just suck at driving. my rx8 passed a compression test at 60k when the last engine change was at 25k. My clutches last a long time, and I have no real general problems. Once in a while ill see something that is different from normal engines but then you just search or ask someone here. I was misfortunate enough this week to have a rock punchthrough an oil cooler so now its leaking, and BHR is getting me a new one on the way. The rock punched right through my shields and screen. Lucky me. Just follow the directions for preventing a flood, do your routine maintenece, and drive the car hard just not over pot holes, and you dont have to shift it with more than finger tip pressure. Stick to oem parts until your comfortable with your decisions to mod, and always remember to ask for help.

 

BOO

 

i am also scared to buy an 8 becuase i live in europe, Malta so i will not have any type of warranty if something happens to the engine and i don't know if i am ready to take that risk. if i will get one it will be a 2006 MT for sure but from i read in this forum is that you don't here about many of them (2006 models) with the engine that fails because the mileages are still down.

in this forum there is a thread with 33 pages and this is the club of people who had their engine replaced so it is scary.

inside and out the 8 is the perfect car for me to mod for shows but what will i do after all that money spend on it and then the engine fails?

i have another problem this is not going to be my DD so i will take it for a good spin only in the weekends and they say if you don't redline it once a day you will carbon build ups problems.

sry for the long post but i wanted to share my toughts with you so all of you can tell me what do you think.

 

I actually did buy the RX-8 after all. It was a 2004 model with 38,000 miles on it. As with any car the most important thing to consider is the car's history and how well the previous owner took care of the car. The previous owner of my car babied it. He had paperwork for all scheduled maintenance, had recently bought new tires, and kept the car clean, and in the garage during the winter.

The other thing to realize is that the RX-8 is unlike other cars. It has perks you won't find in other cars but it does have drawbacks too that you won't face anywhere else. The engine is very quiet and refined, but expect to get around 16 to 18 mpg. It does have trouble starting up again if you turn off the engine before it is warm enough--so don't buy it manual if you don't drive stick well, because there is the risk of flooding the engine if you stall it say coming out of your driveway. If you remember to NEVER turn off the engine when it is cold then you should have no problems. (not that it will flood every time, but why risk it?) Also, I did park the car on an incline before and it took 2 to 3 seconds to start, so I try to park it level from now on. The engine also eats up a lot of oil, and requires premium gas. You however don't need to redline it every day, but once a week would is a good idea.

What else...you are probably going to want to have a second car for the winter because Mazda doesn't recommend you driving it in the snow even with snow tires. Plus you don't want road salt to start corroding the undercarriage anyway. Also as with any sports car, it has a low front bumper which is perfect for hitting curbs or getting stuck on entering steep driveways from the street.

There are a lot of little drawbacks with this car but they just don't seem to add up a big problem. The reason is because the RX8 is such a great car that it overshadows the small worries. When you consider that the RX-8 is only a fraction of a second slower to 60 than it's rival the 400+bhp 5 liter Ford Mustang GT, while only working with a tiny little 238hp rotary, you begin to realize what automotive gem you have in your hands. If you are passionate about cars and driving than you will be happy with this car. It handles like a dream, it is beautiful, the back seats are good enough for two average sized people, and the exhaust note of the engine is one of a kind. The seats are great, the driving position is great, and overall the car won't tire you out on long trips.

Like I said before it was either the RX-8 or the Subaru WRX. I test drove both cars and even though the WRX was bigger, faster, and overall more practical, it simply felt like just an average car. The 8 feels just so much more than average. I honestly get a rush of adrenaline every time I see it.