Hi all, I bought an 05 rx8 last week. lovely car. My concern tho is the speed. or lack of it!!

A friend beat me of the lights in a 1.6l petrol golf the other day, all the way untill around 80mph where the rx8 then went flying past. The golf is around 70-80 bhp!!!

I have a 1.8t golf running 200bhp and that would be able to leave this like its not moving, even a saxo vtr could kick the crap out of this...

Should I get this to the stealers for a compression test right away?? is this normal???

Cheers

 

Sell your car and buy something else.

 

Did you do prior research?

 

I did as much as I could. No knocks or rattles when engines running. Car drove fine as test drive (me in passanger seat, he didnt floor it tho). The car+engine bay are immaculate. Car has been fully services by mazda and had 65k on the clock. Thought it was a nice looked after car untill I got some driving in it and immediately wanted to sell it. I dont mind paying 15-20mpg in petrol if its worth it. Paying it to get beat by 1.6's = nonono..

Guess this isnt normal and it should be a lot faster then. Jeez I cant even get the rears to spin no matter what I do!

 

someone didn't do their homework

 

all im asking is.. is this normal?? no need to flame.

 

you are asking relative questions. What is slow to you might be fast to others. You losing to a car means absolutely nothing, maybe you suck as a driver, maybe the other person is a brilliant driver. Ask questions that have qualitative answers.

 

ok then heres one. sitting at 80mph in 5th. floor it. takes a few minutes to get to 90.

 

minutes? then yea, something is wrong. Go get a compression test.

 

Running normally it would not take minutes to go from 80 to 90, in any gear. In 5th it shouldn't take but a few seconds.

But this car on its best day will not outrun your 1.8t, at least not in a straight line. My last car was a jetta 1.8t, and I would say this car is a tad bit slower off the line, and 100x better in a turn.

 

cheers paimon and tcole. It litterally does take minutes. I was thinking whats the point in 5th if it doesnt go anwhere.

Cheers all I will go get the compression test. Anyone know how much a rebuild would set me back ?

 

I would look at the ignition components. Make sure you have new Plugs/coils/plug wires. Check your air filter, make sure its clean. And take a look at the catalytic converter after some spirited highway driving at night. Make sure it's not glowing and plugged.
You could look at the service records at the dealership and see what work has been done to the car.

 

Clogged cat was my first thought...

The RX-8 is not known for straight line speed, but 80 to 90 in minutes means there is something wrong...

Also, try cleaning the MAF sensor and doing an ECU reset.

 

pray for the best,
expect the worse,
you prob need to replace the engine

and why u bought it without driving it yourself i dont know!!!!!!

 

This.

 

cheers for all the comments. Why I didnt drive it myself is because my insurance didnt cover any other car except my 1.8t.

BigMike how can you do the ecu resett on these? 1.8t's have vagcom. Do these have similar or just an unplug of the battery and leave it overnight?

cheers all

 

Your in the UK. Do you have a low power 5 speed? The high power 6 speed performs much better.

 

Eeeewwwwww the 4 port sssshhhhhh the evil one may hear you say its name.

I'm curious about the insurance.
So honestly ... you can't test drive another vehicle in the UK if "your" insurance doesn't cover it?

In Canada (Ontario) I'm not positive but I "thought" the dealer had insurance to cover test drives and such, not to mention you're own insurance coverage.

Ummm I'm going to look in to this, interesting.

Back on topic sorry about the hijack

 

i don't know about the low power 5 speed, we didn't get those

a high power 6 speed should be about dead even with a 911 cabriolet from 10mph to about 60, give or take.

 

I dont know what you all are talking about, my 8 is the fastest car ever, 0-60 in 1.1 seconds mach 7 top speed after the griffin wing and unicorn tear conversion kit was installed

 

Insurance aside, that's a lame excuse. I assume you payed more than a couple hundred bucks for it (the only time a test drive is not warranted, as it probably doesn't run). A personal test drive is a must!. If the previous owner wont let you drive it, As a serious buyer, not just a tire kicker, Then walk away immediately. Regardless of what lame excuse he tried to dish out. Not to mention the lack of research on your part before making such a big purchase.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound mean or rude, but you deserve all the problems you just inherited. The previous owner is probably happier than a pig in .... Well, whether you learn the hard way or the easy way, now you have learned.

Edit: Since I don't see it yet, You should have started here: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/

 

Since I don't see it yet (I'll get on the bandwagon too)

The whole also stinks a bit of Trollolol

 

your trolling isnt even funny

i hope your other 9 posts weren't as bad

 

Do a compression test, check your ignition components and your catalytic converter.
Be ready to:
Rebuild your engine,
Replace the whole ignition system (coils, leads, plugs)
Possibly gut or replace your catalytic converter.

Expect to spend 5000, you bought a badly serviced car. The norm in the UK since they change their oil every 12k miles and barely do the plugs every 60k.

 

I used to have a 1.8T GTI. Comparing straight line speed, I'd say the GTI should just edge a high-power 230 RX-8, but only by virtue of more torque and less weight. (BTW, talking about UK-spec 1.8Ts here, 150bhp, not 180 like US. And even though the GTI's 155lb-ft is identical to hi-po RX-8's, I think VW were conservative in their rating.)

@mxadams: get yourself over to the UK Owner's Club forums. If you let people know whereabouts you live, you might be lucky and someone might volunteer to check your car out in-person and give you a second opinion.

Unfortunately, in the UK there are a lot of 'mint' RX-8s around that are in fact dogs because they've never been driven and/or serviced properly. Sounds like you got a duff one.