Originally Posted by RIWWP

You do sounds like you are ahead of the curve.

On your other points, I have a WWP, 2005 GT MT, and grew up in Laurel MD, and daily drive my 8 year round. I wouldn't take it over any other car. Even in heavy traffic, I know without a doubt I would be worse off in another car. And I have one of the heaviest stock clutches in 8s. Enough so that dealers and other owners comment on it constantly. The 8 just makes being on the road so much better.

I know how MD doesn't get much snow usually, then gets hammered every 3-6 years. So movement wise, you can probably survive the winters with 1 set of tires. If you exercise some of the intelligence that you have peaking out from behind the letters, I would recommend working on getting a set of alternate rims and winter tires. The rims can be complete garbage (mine are mismatched ), but it makes any winter condition drivable, and even fun! (as long as you are still clearing the snow with your air dam, but if you aren't, no one else should be on the road there anyway, the government would probably be shut down) If you take this route, buy them sometime between now and September, when the prices start climbing on them again. Get them in the summer when no one is looking and you can pay significantly less.

Cold itself is nothing to worry about unless your ignition system is weak. Stay on top of your ignition system (learn to subconsciously pay attention to the stability of the revs and how smooth, or not, the power band is, etc... Start feeling that hesistation and roughness, and it doesn't go away with WOT runs to redline, your ignition system is starting the downhill. Doesn't mean it will go right away, but the longer you wait, the greater and greater your flood risk, power loss, and mileage drop.


To be brutally honest though, we often make heavy attempts to steer kids (sorry, you are ) away from the 8 as a first car. First cars are usually neglected, abused, and/or wrecked. And we don't imply that it would all be your fault either. My first car last 2.5 months, ending it's life with an SUV landing on it's hood while I was stopped. **** happens. How prepared are you to lose a car that you will probably form an emotional attachment to? (it happens. Everyone either loves or hates this car)

Abusing the 8 doesn't have the same definition as other cars, but, with no real road experience, driving the 8 properly is insanely easy to land you in significant legal trouble. My first day driving my 8 I was up to 123 on I-70 winding through the mountains without any straights before I got woken up from heaven by passing another car like it was standing still, glanced down at the speedo and was shocked to realize how fast I was. Most owners have this same type of experience. If it happens at a bad point, in MD, you are talking arrestable. In most places it's arrestable.

Again, you seem smarter than most teenagers that come on here, and with the money saved up for it, more responsible and probably would take better care of it, but just some things to keep in mind. You can find a great Miata for a few thousand that will help teach you about maintenance while still getting the same handling without nearly the speed potential.

Regardless of your decision, I highly highly highly recommend you get to local SCCA autocross events. Seriously. Even 1 event will help improve your driving. Keep doing it for fun and education though, it's the best bang for the buck that you can have in your own car. Driver mods before car mods.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by RIWWP

Most problems that crop up in the 8 start very small and get serious because they aren't addressed. For example coils start going bad, plugs then start getting fouled from excess unburnt fuel, unburnt fuel rapidly degrades cat life, clogged cat can over stress the seals and over cook the O2 sensors, localize heat too much which accelerates oil breakdown and increases engine wear...

Most of the owners that remain trouble free are trouble free because they keep on top of their oil changes, their oil level, and their ignition health.

Then again, that stuff is like taking cholesterol medication and regular exercise for your heart. They help prevent problems, but it doesn't eliminate risk and it doesn't mean that you still won't die of a heart attack. Mazda factory QC over the engine tolerances has improved quite a bit, but it is entirely possible to be sitting on an engine waiting for any chance it can to fail. It's also entirely possible to completely ignore all the recommendations and get 160,000+ miles out of the engine (one owner came on here thinking her engine was blown, come to find out it was just badly flooded, but she didn't know anything about rotaries and still had it healthy at 160,000 without doing what she should have)


It very is much like a heart, or lungs, or whatnot. All you can do is reduce the risk of failure.


Cooling and Lubrication are 99% of the battle to keep these engines healthy. Mazda didn't have enough of either from the factory, a flaw that puts us behind the curve. Several mods that are common can go a long way towards improving engine live. Namely the ReMedy water pump and thermostat, BHR ignition upgrade, COBB AccessPORT (for the part that allows you to monitor temps and set a lower threshhold for the radiator fans). Even removing the cat and going with a midpipe helps I think, as it helps keep heat away from the engine, and you don't have to worry about a clogged cat causing more problems. My engine was perfect until my cat failed, and it's never been right since. In spec, not replaceable point, but not back to the above average that it was.



That being said, I had the engine fail in my 2002 Corolla. THAT was a shock. A massive shock, one I took years recovering from financially. Completely unexpected. I would 100% take the failure I know is possible than one that I have no idea might be coming.

That plus the Rotary is cheaper to pull and rebuild than any piston engine. Even a rebuilt engine bought whole is cheaper. But you also have the warranty. 100,000 miles, 8 years for the engine core. (if you are in that and outside powertrain, a "free engine" will still cost you ~$500 for all the fluids, gaskets, etc... associated with the engine, but not part of it)


Mazda made the 8 incredibly easy to work on, and insanely expensive to get someone else to work on. Coils are 20 minutes for the untrained with a 10mm socket wrench and $140 in parts, $300 is the lowest I have seen a dealer charge, $500-$700 is common. Plugs are $80 in parts and 10 minutes for the untrained with a plug socket and a few ratchet extensions. Dealers are $300-$500. Plug wires are $110 to $300 (depending on quality), and less than 5 minutes to change, no tools needed (though removing the intake makes it easier) A full brake job at a dealer, or just about any other shop, will run you $1200+, $500 or less doing it yourself. Even other stuff like suspension components (struts, springs, sway bars, end links) are really easy to remove and install compared to other cars. Engine components are too, like the water pump, thermostat, alternator, air pump. If you need something replaced, there is probably already a DIY on here, and tons of friendly advice to help you along the way, plus Columbia MD is a hot-bed of 8s, lots of local help. Most of us don't need much of an excuse to find a reason to wrench on an 8. We just love it. Beer is a common currency for help, but you have 4 years to go before you can start legally trading in it

Originally Posted by RIWWP

Flooding:
Going to quote something I posted elsewhere...



Winter Driving:
Also throwing in that I have driven my 8 through the last 3 New England winters. The car you have doesn't matter for anything but sheer ground clearance. FWD vehicles and SUVs are more likely to have more winter friendly tires on OEM, sports cars are more likely to have OEM summer tires, and this is where the difference is. As long as you have ground clearance though, my 8, with winter tires, will out-drive any SUV or jeep on OEM tires. My work is on a hill, the highest point in the state, and each winter I regularly climb the last steep hill into work, often winding my way around stuck SUVs and trucks.

Outside of tires, the 8 is low torque, more weight over the rear than most big engined sports cars, and a great set of driver aids. My only concern for driving it in the winter at all is the salt. The only time I got stuck was when it started dumping snow and the plows were not sent out until literally half of the state was stranded in gridlock and ditches, and the snow was simply too deep to push through. The low ground clearance was a bonus though, I was one of the first stuck, and thus got one of the only tow trucks. The tow truck got stuck on my street about 30 yards from my driveway after dropping my 8 off. Even he needed the extra weight at that point.

Otherwise I love it


Long trips:
I drive my 8 on long trips all the time. Last year I drove to and from MD (~800 mile round trip minimum) 18? times. This year, somewhat less, but no concern at all on doing a 7,390 mile drive to Sevenstock and then up the west coast and back.

Hot weather:
Hot weather is more of a concern with 8s, but I am talking like constant days of over 100f, and there are still very good aftermarket mods to improve cooling considerably. BHR is based in Phoenix AZ, and cooling is something they constantly work on improving. But hot weather just because it is harder to keep the engine cool. If engine temperature is affecting your compression, then you are already on a downhill slope towards engine failure. A healthy engine's compression shouldn't be affected by ambient temp.



61,000 miles, bought it at 8,600 miles, daily drive it, and I wouldn't take anything else. Even bad conditions are so much more pleasant and easy to deal with in my 8 than any other car.

Originally Posted by RIWWP

Flooding is only a concern if you have a weak ignition system. The problem is, your ignition system usually fails very slowly, so it is a gradual decline. The alert and responsible owner will detect the drop in mileage, the drop in power, the rougher idle, the occasional misfire, and replace their coils, plugs, and wires before it gets bad enough where there is a chance at flooding.

Every single flood I have seen reported for the past year or so ended up coming down to a failing or failed coil or spark plug or spark plug wire. But by then, they also generally have a fried cat that needs to get replaced as well, and possibly an O2 sensor or two. Stay on top of the maintenance (long term included!) and you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Coils ($160 for all 4, 20 minute swap), plugs ($80 for all 4, 10 minute swap), and wires ($50-140, depending on quality, 2 minute swap), should be replaced every 30,000 miles, possibly sooner if you detect something starting to fail, since people have had them fail as early as 8,000 miles or 15,000 miles, though that's rare.

You don't want to shut off while it's cold simply because when the engine is cold, the ECU dumps more fuel into engine to help it warm up, and it leans back once the engine is warm. This extra fuel can make it harder to start an ignition, which a healthy ignition system is perfectly capable of overcoming. Weaken the ignition with failing plugs, coils, wires, alternator, or battery, and you have a flood on your hands, and all the associated problems from that.

Originally Posted by Brettus

good write up riwwwp - pretty much what I said but much more eloquently ....

Originally Posted by bonestockrotary

Mazda did I serious injustice to that car by not putting the better rotors in it.

Originally Posted by bonestockrotary

Stay away from the auto! Take the time to find a manual. My buddy has an auto. Both his and mine are bonestock.(look at the name). I put over a length on him almost every time. And I kick his *** on 5he course. I'm not insulting the auto, but Mazda did I serious injustice to that car by not putting the better rotors in it. They're still great cars, but I ny buddy tells me constantly he wishes he would have held out. And don expect the 8 to be near as fast as your moms seven. It's a completely.different animal. But if your mom never had maintenance issues with a fd, follow whatever advice she gives you. cuz that's an accomplishment.

Originally Posted by jiggawha1

I really don't understand where this "Manual is so much faster than auto" comes from. .

Originally Posted by jiggawha1

I really don't understand where this "Manual is so much faster than auto" comes from. Yes there is a noticeable difference, mainly the lower redline, but not so god awful that it is going to impair your rx8 experience. I have an auto, with 5% tread on rear( new 275's ordered) and I ran 1 sec slower in an autoX event against a manual 8 with slicks. Maybe he didnt know how to drive well? Paddles can't be that bad....for f sake GTR's, Porsche's, Ferrari's all come equipped with them.

Originally Posted by DocBeech

also think about the kind of driving he will be doing. Do you really want an manual rx8 in san fran? or even in rush hour traffic every day in and out. Let him sit down and make the decision based on what this car is to him. if he is going to be in LA style traffic for 4 hours a day he might not want a manual to deal with.