I've been on this forum for a while. I have read all the complaints on the power of the car, how it's slower than car X and car Y. I've read rediculous posts on how the interior plastic is easly scratched. I've read how the RX8 is the first rotary they have ever owned, and it is too finnicky(always flooding). These posts annoy me. Too much bitching. I'm just glad Mazda came out with a decent rotary powered sports car that I could afford. Well, here is my story of love for this car.

I am 24 years old. Got my license when I was 17. 1st car was a nice 1 owner Nissan Sentra coupe. I beat the junk out of that car and it broke all the time. It probably wasn't the car's fault by I swore off all FWD cars and Nissans after that. Haven't owned one of either since. My 1st real car that I picked out was an 84 cream colored RX7 GS. I loved that car. Learned to drift in that hoopty. I owned many more RX7's after that(as seen in my sig). The 2nd Gen RX7's I owned were all pieces of junk. wouldn't start, electrical sytems would spontaniously self destruct...they were horrible. But, for those brief moments when everything was working right, they were awesome cars to drive. In 2000 I got married, I had to sell off all the toys to pay for the wedding. I also started a new job at a Toyota dealer. I started driving ok sporty RWD Toyotas, old Celica's, and the cool little AE86 Corolla GTS. I had 5 of those. Very fun cars. For daily drivers and family cars, I'd never drive anything but a Toyota. They don't have anything new out there to suit my RWD sporty taste(maybe the IS300 5speed), but they make great family cars, trucks, and SUV's.

Anyway fast forward to 2003. I knew the release date of the production RX8 was coming close. I read everything about it. I went to a Mazda dealer my friend worked at and got to check out an RX8. I did not cross shop it to anything. I was either gonna buy an RX8 or nothing. HP was an issue, but to me it wasn't a number on paper to compare against other cars. I drove it and if it felt quick enough for me it was ok. It's powerband was so much smoother than my streetport 13B 1st gen. My modded 1st gen was faster, but not by much it seemed. I loved the first impression it gave me. It was eerily familiar to my FC's. Same almost no compression starting noise. Similar exhaust noise...it was cool. I did not quite have enough money at that time, so I couldn't buy it. I saved up some money, sold my AE86 and returned to the dealer in November. After the usual haggling I picked up my beautiful Black 6 Speed. I have been enjoying it ever since. I currently have 850 miles on it. My only gripe is that not having owned a black car in a long time(only other black car was that Sentra) now I know why I never owned any others. This car is painful to keep clean. Gets dirty very very easly. Oh well. I haven't had any CEL's, Tire pressure lights go wack, no oil lights, all has been good. I feel for those with real problems, but don't share sympathy for those that complain about scratched interiors, noisy inside with the windows/sunroof open, noisy throw-out bearings(every rotary car I have owned made that noise), and much more. In short I don't care if a Z, G35, WRX, Evo, Turbo Neon, whatever else you got to add, is faster. I guess I was one of the few people that vowed to buy a rotary sports car when Mazda stopped bringing the FD. I remeber signing the "Save the Seven" petition on the Rotary News website. I could'nt afford an FD even if they kept importing them through 99. But I said the day I can afford a brand new rotary sports car I would buy it. The rotary engine is an awesome experience. The RX8 is a great very fun to drive car. Most of that has to do with the awesome rotary.

That's my story. Not many of you guys would care. But I just thought a few of the rotary purists would find my story similar.

 

nice story... man you had so many rotaries.. thats cool...

 

What a great story. You are so right; it's not about the numbers and "my car can beat yours in a quarter mile". It's all about the overall feeling of driving the car; the smoothness of the powertrain, the great brakes, the outstanding handling, the looks (and thumbs-up) that you get each time you drive it.

I've had over 50 cars in my lifetime, and I clearly place this in the top three, togther with my '99 M3 and '92 ZR-1 Vette.

 

Agree!!!
this is not only for driving fast. If I wanted to driver just fast, probably I get other car than RX-8. it is all about the integrity of driving and fun. not just fast on the road. driving fast just will give you more tickets. that's it.

 

nice!..

 

Ditto!

 

Nice. 9 cars within 7 years of driving. You must own a goldmine

 

Nope, just a bunch of really cheap beaters and hard work.

 

It's good to see another FB owner talk about what they think of the 8. (see my sig).

I like my FB almost as much as my 8... but for different reasons.

Bottom line for me is: once you have some rotary under your belt, it's what you want to drive. Might have some quirks, but we know what they are. And they make the car unique... not a pain in the ****.

Thanks for posting.

 

Yep...next to the 8 that modded 1st gen I had was my most favorite car I ever owned. It even super reliable too. Never broke anything. It was so easy to work on. I miss it so much.
The RX8 is the only rotary currently in the stable, but I am looking for a nice 84-85 GSl, or GSL-SE. As soon as tax season arrives.

 

read my site explain it all hehe.... www.step-hen.com/rx8.htm

 

NAVILES16V,

I can't agree with you more.

When I test drove the RX-8, I was in tears (I swear! My wife is my witness!).
I just loved EVERYTHING about the car. I realized later that it drove very much like my FC did, without the turbo lag.
It handled better, had more power, and was more confortable at the same time!

I did participate in the petition for the "Save the Seven".
I even emailed Mazda Japan (in Japanese, of course) to tell them that if they come out with another rotary powered sports car, I will buy one. And I did.

I did drive every car on the market (in the general price range) when I was shopping, none made me cry like RX-8 did.

BTW, I even submitted a picture of my car and little write-up to online version of one of the biggest newspaper in Japan. They have a section that shows reader's car. My car is currently on their featured car.

http://www.asahi.com/car/mycar/mycar118.html

I thank engineers at Mazda for creating RX-8.
Life is good right now.

Now, if I can trade in my Sentra ('04) for Mazda 3..........

 

That's a cool website you got there Takahashi.

 

Good story! Wow! What a collection of RX-7's over seven years. Which one was your favorite? My favorite (that I have owned) was a '84 GSL-SE.

 

ok...thanks for sharing. The forum is for all types of stories...good and not so good.

 

I had an 85 base model. My 2nd RX7. I got it in 98. It was a one owner perfect, mint condition blue RX7. It only had 60,000 miles on it. An old lady was selling it. It was her sons, he died of health problems( I think cancer). It just sat there. She didn't want to sell it. I had always seen it on the side of her house every time I passed by, so I asked about it. She said it needed an engine, it wouldn't start. I said I'll take it off her hands. She said sure for $800. I went the next day with my $800 a fresh battery and the tags from my other RX7. Plopped the battery in, and pulled the manual choke and vroom!! Right on 1st try. I checked all the fluids and drove off. It did need a muffler so the lady still thought the car was junk, since it sounded "strange". I ended up installing a GSL posi, disc brake rear, totaly redid the brakes, installed energy suspension bushings, Suspension technique springs and sway bars, and KYB shocks. I took out the smooth running 12A, and installed a streetported 13B, w/ late 89 lightweight rotors, had the housings clearanced, rotors snapringed, modified belt pulley system(double v-belts for alternator/waterpump), full Mazdatrix dual dual exhaust, MSD 6AL on the leading ignition, racing beat intake with a 600cfm holley carb, holley fuel pump and regulator, lightweight flywheel, Mazdatrix SS/HD clutch setup, and some more stuff I can't remember. That car was and still is my most favorite car in the whole world, and every day that goes by that I don't have a 1st gen RX7, the more I really really miss it. I was rotary-less for 3 years. I felt lost. I forgot a lot that I knew. I knew those FB's inside and out. Now it's a little hazy. But if i get another one I bet it'll all come back to me.

 

I think Nav16 really hit the horsepower issue on the head. All that drama about whether the car makes 250 at the rear wheels, or 230-something, and people crying "foul" and wanting their cars bought back... what a friggin' soap opera. Does the car feel quick and responsive to you, the driver? And does it allow you to overtake without undue risk to yourself and others? If so, who gives a crap what the actual horsepower rating is, other than for use in infantile "mine is bigger than yours" comparisons. For years, Rolls Royce did not divulge horsepower ratings, preferring instead to rate them as "adequate" when asked.

I'm troubled, though about your experience with the 2gen. Granted, the solder joints on the warning light panel and on the air conditioning Logicon were pretty weak on the 86s, but my '86 Sport has 215,000 miles on it and I put every one of 'em there myself. Apart from normal maintenance stuff and the electrical resolders I mentioned, a new clutch is the biggest thing I ever did to my car.

 

I don't want to take this thread too much off topic, but I'll say this much:
The first 2 cars weren't exactly great used cars...one was a basket case, I knew that going in...the motor was healthy but almost everything that goes wrong with them did in this one, bad logi-con, malfunctioning headlamp switch, shifter bushings were shot, cats were clogged up, it had exhaust leaks, suspension was all shot. It looked good, and the brakes were awesome, but other than that it sucked. Always flooding, never starting when I really needed it too. I was late to work many times. The 2nd was very nice. It was a high-mileage car. All hell broke loose after like 2 months of owning it. It just was possessed by an infuriating intermittent electrical gremlin. It also flooded like crazy and would stop running on the highway at random. I thought the 3rd time was the charm, when I found a nice clean low mileage (74,000 miles) one owner GXL. It drove nice for a while...then it started self destructing. The 4 th FC I got was just a decent running car whose body was all banged up. I used that for parts to keep the 3rd FC running. I don't know why. You'd be quick to assume I was hard on them. I wasn't any harder on the FC's than I was on the FB's. I actually was easier on them. The FB's took amazing abuse. I bet if I got one brand new, I could have maintained it well enough not to self-destruct like the other ones did. All I know is that of all my experience with those RX7's if I had to pick one generation over another, Turbo power be dammed, I'd take a 1st gen over any 2nd gen.

 

I get your point. I bought a Mazda 626 in 1980 when I really wanted a '7 - reasoning that I had other cars for my sports car fix. Therefore never got to experience the 1gen - so far at least. With the exception of the fluky electrics on the "86-'88 2gens, I think you'd have a different opinion if you'd had the opportunity to start with a fresh car. My 215,000 miles on every piece of the original drivetrain except the clutch is a testament to how robust these cars really are.

And to make sure we're not drifting too far off topic, my happiness with my FC, plus the 91,000 trouble-free miles I have on my FD are a major reason I'm staying with the rotary in the '8. You can run 'em hard -- just maintain 'em accordingly.