RotaryFiend

that's an odd expression for surprise "flopping nachos", what happened to "holy cow" or even "nice post!"

Listen up drunkard, I'm pretty sure they've upgraded the starter in the past few years and I have plugs of heat range 6 installed on my car. These plugs being installed by mazda during the reman of my engine. I believe the idea behind it is that they burn hotter and stay cleaner so they spark better to start better?

swoope

iTrader: (5)

wow,

what did you get banned for??? just caught up.. btw, drunkard? wow, drunk like moderator.

you still have about 20% of the info correct.. so just comment on what you know..

fail..

beers

Flashwing

Wha?

I'd hardly say the RX8 has a "limited" following. Sure they are not flying off of the showroom floor but the rotary community is alive and kicking with no signs of slowing down. With the RX8 featured in the Koni and Rolex series GT races, featured in numerous video games, movies, and television adds it's a car that clearly is noticed.

If you compare it to the Mustang or Corvette following, well yeah I'd say it's limited. Those cars have also been in production for over 40 years.

If there are any Mazdaspeed3 owners, I hope you'll forgive me on this one. The speed3 is a great car. I've had the ability to drive one in a spirited fashion as well as crusing around town. To me, it's a Mazda3 with a speed6 motor in it. The RX8 has much more grace, a better overall drive feeling, and tons more styling than the speed3.

Even though my buddy's speed3 was pretty quick (275whp) I still was happy to get behind the wheel of my RX8.

I don't know how much more practicle you can get with a sports car. You have 4 doors, 4 functional seats, and a trunk that you can pack a weeks worth of groceries in. If you want an impractical car, the 350z comes to mind...2 seats and no trunk space.

I have daily driven my RX8 for 2 years and almost 60,000 miles and I love it. It's the best part of my day...going to and from work. I too cannot afford to miss any time at work and not once has my RX8 failed to start or otherwise left me stranded.

There's nothing about this car that within the near future would be appealing to the average car buyer. The average buyer isn't interested in checking their oil, learning about the engine, or even having to follow special warm up instructions. The average buyer is a point A to point B buyer. People buy the rotary because they love the motor and the car. I've found the majority of rotary owners to know more about the car than the mechanics do for very good reason.

In short, it's a great daily driver. I love driving it every day!

RotaryFiend

alright, i can handle mind games

swoope

iTrader: (5)

no mind games.

what did you get banned for????

to the op..

90k miles, never flooded never left me stranded. but a month ago i did have to replace the battery.. had to jump it with my motorcycle..

the upgraded starter was late 04. the plugs have been updated several times as has the flash for the ecu..

the plugs for the reman motor and the motor that came in the car are the same..

in normal operation the lead acid battery is fine..

hope that covers most of it..

beers

RotaryFiend

In normal operation it's fine, but it's that one day that will come and the car just won't start and it will **** you off.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

how many track days before yours failed? they all have a life span. usually about 4 to 5 yrs..

mine made it to 4.25 years.. i did ok..

how many miles have you got on a rx8?

beers

RotaryFiend

zero, just a combination of georgia heat poisoning and asinine teen driving.

It's a 2005, needed a battery in 07 at 50something thousand miles. I'm the 2nd owner claiming the region between 49-66, the car also came with a non-OEM battery too.

Razz1

I think the car is too nice to be a daily driver.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

18,000 miles last year.

the car makes a great daily driver.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I drive my rx-8 almost everyday. except that lately got a new Honda FIT, when it comes to MPG, that sucker pwnz the Rx-8 anyday.

but sadly, the Fun factor from driving the Honda FIT is absolutely ZERO. I MEAN ZERO, NADA, NOTHING @!

and I want to keep my Bumper to Bumper warranty a bit longer so, might drive the FIT a bit more often now.

but yeah, u can use it as DD, mine never gave me a problem

Easy_E1

iTrader: (2)

Daily driver to work ,, yes. Of course it's only 3.2 miles one way now.

alz0rz

iTrader: (41)

what sort of question is this?

mshea

Let me chime in. Since 1982, I've owned 21 BMW's, including multiple versions of the E39 and E46, most in M-format. There's no arguing that these are excellent cars. But...

IMHO, the RX8 is bar none, the most fun I've had driving in at least 15 years and several BMW's, including the ones you mention. And financially, you can't beat it. - the upfront purchase price, low relative maintenance and depreciation make for practical ownership. Plus, BMW's have become so mainstream that they hold little appeal to me anymore; at least with the RX8, you won't see yourself at every stop light.

I agree with other posters that while the car IS EASILY a daily driver, why would you? This car needs to be driven WOT to be truly happy and the commute you describe seems, well... boring. Why not leave it home, except when necessary?

d_of_e

There is no such thing as a Boring Commute when piloting your RX8.

Even those of us with less than a 5 mile run to work can benefit from the small adreneline surges supplied by:

1) That tight left hand turn off the side street accross mucho traffic into the middle median.
2) The quick accel to 45 in 2nd pulling out of the above median into major traffic flow.
3) The sharp braking needed to slow down quick enough to make the next right in order to keep that semi off your tail.
4) That wonderful feeling of pulling out of the parking lot on the way home and out-accelerating that loser in the BMW.
5) Etc, etc.

All the above are impossible with your typical "daily driver vehicle", so why not drive your 1st choice of car?

Daily driver of my '06 since I bought it new,

d_of_e.

Rems31

This is exactly what I use my car for during the week...almost going on 2 years

delhi

While my RX-8 is not really a true DD. I had on a few weeks driven the car to work every day. It was perhaps one of the best commuting experience in a car. I look forward to driving it to work and back to home. Comfortable, damn stylish unlike all the boxy cars around me and for me, the performance on the street is fantastic.
We also had a 330ci for a bit. I find the BMW's clutch not suitable for stop 'n go traffic. Quite hard. It's almost on-off feeling while the RX-8 has a more smoother gradual feel.
No matter how you look at it, the RX-8 is a practical sports car or damn fine sedan.

kristopher_d

I dd my 8. 4yrs, 7mos, now. As long as you take proper care of it, and make her scream daily, you'll be fine. Hell, I filled up Sunday evening, It's now wednessday, and I'm down to half a tank. And my commute is about 15 miles each way. And I still grin every time I drive the car.

Camel8

05MT GT, 54,000 Miles, not one single problem! (apart from the fishtank rear lights)

Used to commute 35 miles each way, reliable and comfortable in traffic.

JRichter

My 8 is daily driven and has been for the last 2.75 years minus an odd Saturday or Sunday here and there (and of course the one vacation where I didn't take it w/ me). At over 40k, so far it has never failed to start, never died while running, or never flooded, ever. I've lived w/ this car in hot/humid central TX climate the first 1 years and (usually) colder/dry CO climate the remainder.

rotary.enthusiast

FWIW my 8 is daily driven with ~21K miles with absolutely no problems whatsoever.

jay.sass

i have an 04 gt use it as a daily driver (80 miles round trip). i have 47000 on it with no problems. if i were you before you buy one write down the vin # and call a mazda dealership. they will be able to see what work has been done. that will give you an idea if the car is up to date on the recalls. stay away from vehicles that have been in the shop a ton of times.