I would get it again. To me "sports car" has nothing at all to do with torque and HP, it has everything to do with wanting to drive the car.

I drove an STI, 350Z, and a G35 the same day I drove the 8. The others felt like they were straining to get their power, especially the STI, the 8 didn't feel that way at all. The others were also pretty ugly, especially the STI and the G35.

Straight line accelleration can be had for a lot less money. If that's what someone wanted and they bought the 8 that is really their fault not the cars. Besides you can get decent acceleration out of the 8 without modifying it if you know how to drive a little.

 

I would do it again and get the 8. I just would get a 6spd this time around.

 

Well I'm pretty sure I'm getting a new one.

I planning on buying the FI version when it comes out. Or the new 1.6L motor with improved gas milage.

If that doesn't occur, I probably wil buy another one.

Want to know why?

Maintenence. Cost on this car is cheap. No moving parts. Ever replace and work on all those moving parts on a piston engine? 12 yrs from now you'll be happy you bought a rotory.

 

This is my first NEW sports car.
My previous cars: 01 Cougar v6 5-sp (Good car, up until the Fuel Pump problems), 95 Mitsubishi Ecplise Turbo AWD and 92 Geo Storm Gsi...

I currently have about 10k miles on the car. The gas mileage thing does not bother me that much. I never had a problem with flooding (knock on wood).
This car handles VERY VERY good. The Geo was converted to an autocross car during it's last days. The suspension was done over with Intrax springs and Koni struts. That car, I think would give the RX-8 a run for its money on the twisties. But somehow in the RX-8, when driving on the road it has a very forgiving ride. The GEO's suspension was so hard, I developed lower back problems. The passenger seat vibrated so much, it stripped the screws holding the seat down.

Overall, if I had the money I would buy the RX-8 again.
But I must say, If I had more money to spend, I would buy the Infinite G35 sedan with a 6-speed manual. I love that car, almost as much as the RX-8.

P.S. My neighbor down the street (I think he is a doctor) has a Corvette Z06. He also had a '96 Camaro Z28 6-speed SS that he traded in for a new 350z. He says that the Camero was starting to cost him money for repairs and he wanted to get rid of it before getting to deep into it.
He mentioned liking my car, but when he test drove it, it did nothing for him. He is accustomed to the TORQUE of a v8. He says that he will keep the 350z, because he is waiting to trade in his vette for a newer model Z06....
I asked him about the Pontiac GTO, he says that is the ugliest over priced v8 cavalier, he has ever seen!

 

Thanks for the reply. I was just curious if you had any major quality issues, that's all.

 

First time I drove behind a Pacifica I thought, "Wow, all the car companies are doing this retro thing, and Chrysler picked the AMC Pacer to bring back."

 

I'd have to think about this, but because I as an auto driver long for more torque and hp, I wonder if in two years--assuming I purchase another auto--I would get an '06 RX-8, which is supposed to have the makes-more-sense, five-gear, high-powered engine, or the G35c, which I think is also a good looking car and has nearly 300 hp. I keep thinking that if I had just 30-40 more horses under the hood right now, I'd be much happier. I'm certainly not dying to race every chance I get, but a little more pickup and pep would make the daily drive a little more enjoyable. The higher-powered engine in the future auto 8 just may be the solution...

 

Why did you not consider the 6MT instead then?

 

Fair question. I didn't even consider the MT b/c I've always driven an auto. I've never learned how to drive a stick, and, even that fact aside, I wasn't sure if I could get used to driving a manual as a daily driver.

 

It's never too late to learn, and it becomes 2nd nature after a short while. I think you would be pleasantly surprised how different the 6MT is with the taller powerband and snappier off-the-line performance.

 

..... as for myself, I didn't do my homework on the 8.
My last rotary was a black 92 turbo 7 that I dearly loved...
In the early 90's, there weren't many sports cars in its price range that had her unique style and power.
I, of course, expected the same from the 8.... so, after driving an '04 MT, I ordered an "04 AT.
Once again, my fault... I screwed up and didn't do my research.

It's a good car and I must admit,
I've had fewer difficulties with my 8 then a lot of owners have reported here...

Would I purchase one again knowing what I know now....? No.

It's a pretty girly-gay car that sucks down the ol' gas and spits out very little power.
Yes, it can go around a corner with uncompromising finness...
Too bad most of my driving is in a straight line....
The 8 can't get out of it's own way and when you step on the gas, it stumbles all over itself ..

I'm looking forward to the end of my lease.

 

At least you put the blame where it belongs, on yourself, for not buying the MT. Right up until you called it a girly-gay car.

 

18 months now exactly, 22k miles. I'd buy again but not in black. I'd take blue instead.
Also I'd opt for the built-in GPS. I use an IQue (PDA with GPS nav system) now and I know that it is superior to Mazda's built-in solution but it's messy with the cable to the charger.

The built-in system would look so much cleaner :-( too late now

This is so far the only car that I would buy a second time.

Peter

P.S.:
I would probably want to have a warranty that the car gets 20 mpg on the freeway :-)
I didn't know this site before I purchased.

 

Actually I dont know about that. Fromwhat youre saying here it sounds like you just want more torque. Youre talking about pick up from a low speed/stopped right? Inthat case you probably wouldnt be happy w/a high power automatic or even the 6speed manual for that matter b/c a high powered version of the automatic is stillgoing to have the same flaws you just complained about: low pick up.
The launch from the 6spd is normally just as bad as it is in our automatic. It has that same slow start that were stuck w/from 1000 - 3000 RPM except they have "a backdoor" around that problem by revving their engines first to 5000+ and then launching from all the way up there (whereas we are stuck all the way at the bottom).
But if you do a normal launch on the 6speed manual it initally feels just as slow at as our automatic does (at leastfor the first couple seconds). All youd gain w/the high power engine is prolonged speed. Where we die out at 7500 - they just keep getting faster all the way till 9000.

You shouldgo test drive a manual to see what youd be getting into w/a high power automatic. Its faster up top than ours are but nothing amazing likethey all make it sound like it is.

 

Sorry, but there's a big difference off the line- even at a low RPM engagement, the clutch is instantly engaged, whereas an auto's torque converter has to build up pressure slowly, hence the delay. But you're right about power going to 9krpm... I don't really care about launching at lights- I love that I can downshift into 3rd going 70 on the highway and it takes off like a rocket. There's not many cars that have that same performance, which is more real-world than playing with riceboy street light racers.

 

Yes I would and I did.

I bought the old one (sport pkg) in Aug '03 and paid $500 below MSRP. I bought new '04 GT pkg. in Dec '04 and traded in the old one. The trade-in was more than I owed, the price on the new one was $50 over invoice (edmunds.com was my resource) and I also got $2000 in rebates. I drove out for less than the old car and got a better package to boot. I am happy with the deal I got. You may think I got screwed, but . . .

 

HELL YEAH..... no question about it. I did my homework before I ordered mine in Aug '03 and haven't regreted my decision a single time. I absolutely love my 8!

 

Now that I think about it, I could have sworn that someone said here a while ago that the low-end torque on the MT is slightly worse than it is on the AT. Is that true? If so, then on normal launches, it would seem that the MT would be slower from a dead stop...?

 

as a new owner of a red rx8 ( 2 days owner) i am one of the person who think o buying a G35, 350z or even STI, coz they are almost the same price .... but after i bought the car and drive on the street i have no regret coz there are too must G35 and 350z on the road.... i can or see more then 20 of those everyday it is like civi, rsx, or even integra..... but there isn't much rx8 on the street still.... This is just my reason coz i am living in Vancouver.. i don't know other place of the world.....

i think people who choose rx8 coz of the outlook and inside too coz if STI the out look is good but the inside..eerr....sicks man...
this is just me 2 cents

and if i chose again i will buy it again

 

Hell yes I'd buy it again! Silly, silly question.

 

Yes, the 4-port Renesis used in the auto has 5 more ft/lb's of torque (164 vs 159), but that isn't reached until 5000rpm. All things being equal, than yes, the higher torque motor would have a slight advantage in the lower power band.

However, several factors negate that-- First is the torque converter that all auto's have- they have to build up pressure before you get complete engagement. Second is that process starts at ~1000 rpm or so with an auto (idle speed) where very little of that torque is available, where as with a MT you can build up torque by taking off at a moderate 2-3k rpm (putting you closer to the torque sweet spot), and the clutch gives you immediate engagement. That is a pretty significant difference in performance right there. Or you can take off at maximum torque at 5k-6k rpm with an MT and the difference between the auto and MT would be night and day... but that is not something you're going to do at every stop light.

Another factor is that the gearing in the 4 speed auto is hurting it too... that tall powerband (even though it's smaller than the MT's 9krpm) really needs a 5 speed. The 6 speed's MT combined with 9krpm redline allows it to be extremely flexible for the conditions... the ability to downshift from 6th to 3rd for highway passing, and being able to take 3rd gear to 90mph (or 2nd gear to 60+mph for non-highway driving) is huge.

 

Thats definitely true but its something I obviously couldnt experience myself since every time I took the manual Rx8 for a test drive (about 4 different times) I never gotit out into the highway.
In our automatics 1st gear goes up to 45mph but Mazda prevents the automatic from downshifting into 1st if youre driving faster than 30 - which is really horrible when you need somepickup and youre going between 31 and 40mph (basically youre screwed). And 2nd gear goes allthe way up to 80 - thoughyou dont feel power in 2nd until youre going at least 50mph.
So inother words you have to be cruising below 30 or above 50 tofeel pickup from a down shift when you drive the automatic. And there isnt much power in 3rd gear until 70mph or so and its very brief.
I would only hope that the 6speed manual is void of any of these "no fly zone" areas in its powerband (I wouldntknow cause Ive never driven in one long enough to find out).

See this isa good example of a flaw in my automatic Rx8 thatI wouldnt miss if I got a new car.

 

That is going to be a problem with just about any automatic that is low on torque... there's going to be a lot of "no fly zones". That's one of the reasons traditional sports cars make lousy automatics- they make their power way up high in the rev range. The NA Renesis is odd compared to piston engines as it has the HP of a small v8, but the torque of a big I4. One of my Dad's RX7's was an automatic FD touring- it was over a second slower than the 5sp MT version, and also felt very lifeless until the first turbo spooled up.

 

I love mine, but this will be my only one - at least of this generation of rotary sports cars. The week after mine goes off lease, my son gets his license as a 16 year old. This car goes back and I return to sensible-shoes sedans. Will most likely get either a 3-series BMW or a C-Class Mercedes Benz to replace it for me as a daily driver, and will buy a 5 or 6 year old Civic for him.

 

Gas mileage issues aside, the great looks and outstanding handling would bring me back for another. I really like the overall "uniqueness" of the 8. Its been 15 years since I owned a car that drew so many compliments and attention. Yes, there are many fine cars out there but you would have a spend a great deal more $ to find one as distinct as this. This 8 is special. It's not just a car, its an emotional exerience.