RE: Mazda RX-8: PH Carpool
Discussion
I've owned my 192 (in winning blue... best colour!) for a year and a half now. With daily driving I can say it is the most rewarding experience you can have in a car. It isn't fast, but it doesn't need to be, it is utterly fantastic in the corners.
I've added a miltek exhaust which is quieter than the cobra or toyosport but still has a great sound. The fuel consumption is terrible but doesn't get better if you drive sensibly, which gives me a go to excuse on b roads.
Other than the oil cooler lines failing me (rotary revs saved the day, highly recommend them) the car has given me no problems. It doesn't use much oil, my mates gti of the same age was using just as much, By checking it all the time makes for good car maintenance practice in any case.
I couldn't sing its praises enough, and for me there currently isn't another car that will fit the bill (rx7 but as mentioned, too expensive). I've only looked at other rx8's.
I've added a miltek exhaust which is quieter than the cobra or toyosport but still has a great sound. The fuel consumption is terrible but doesn't get better if you drive sensibly, which gives me a go to excuse on b roads.
Other than the oil cooler lines failing me (rotary revs saved the day, highly recommend them) the car has given me no problems. It doesn't use much oil, my mates gti of the same age was using just as much, By checking it all the time makes for good car maintenance practice in any case.
I couldn't sing its praises enough, and for me there currently isn't another car that will fit the bill (rx7 but as mentioned, too expensive). I've only looked at other rx8's.
Get a streetport done (keep the stock ECU) when you are rebuilding it. Type C rev OEM coils or BHR. Sort out any cooling issues and put on some nice Ohlins or KW V3 on it. Put some new swaybars and all it a day.
Maybe find a Spirit R in Japan or NZ if you are lucky and keep it stock.
Maybe find a Spirit R in Japan or NZ if you are lucky and keep it stock.
Edited by KJH on Monday 20th March 19:04
Get a streetport done (keep the stock ECU) when you are rebuilding it. Type C rev OEM coils or BHR. Sort out any cooling issues and put on some nice Ohlins or KW V3 on it. Put some new swaybars and all it a day.
Maybe find a Spirit R in Japan or NZ if you are lucky and keep it stock.
Maybe find a Spirit R in Japan or NZ if you are lucky and keep it stock.
Edited by KJH on Monday 20th March 21:20
I have an R3 also. It is an absolutely stunning car. The short ratio gearbox on the R3 gives it an extra kick compared to the series 1. Revving over 9,000rpm is very additive. The car feels pretty special to drive. Also great to see 2 car magazines recently identify this car as a future classic. Numbers are very low especially for the R3.
I've had mine since 2011; cost just over 6 grand, 2007 with 17k miles on the clock. Reliability issues have been limited to minor stuff like oil cooler pipes and a lambda sensor. The RX8 goes out on track on a regular basis, never the fastest thing out there but far from the slowest. I put 170 miles in a day on it at Oulton, worked without fault. The only track mod I've made is to put track brake pads on. I hear all the stories about them being a nightmare to maintain, not true. The chassis is just a big MX5 and poses no special problems. The engine just needs the coils changing every 30k or maybe just the once if you use certain ones. Bank on changing plugs every 10-12k and ignition leads every 20-25k. Oil is best done every 3k with cheapo mineral, semi-synthetic. All stuff that you or you local garage can do very cheaply and will make the engine last 100k.
I noticed that at the moment there are some good ones for sale on ebay, £2300 for a 2006 with 35k miles with an owner that is making all the right noises about how the car has been maintained. In my opinion the market has grossly overcompensated for the exaggerated failings of the RX8. These cars have been an amazing bargain for some time and a great buy for those in the know.
I noticed that at the moment there are some good ones for sale on ebay, £2300 for a 2006 with 35k miles with an owner that is making all the right noises about how the car has been maintained. In my opinion the market has grossly overcompensated for the exaggerated failings of the RX8. These cars have been an amazing bargain for some time and a great buy for those in the know.
JTN358AT said:
I've had mine since 2011; cost just over 6 grand, 2007 with 17k miles on the clock. Reliability issues have been limited to minor stuff like oil cooler pipes and a lambda sensor. The RX8 goes out on track on a regular basis, never the fastest thing out there but far from the slowest. I put 170 miles in a day on it at Oulton, worked without fault. The only track mod I've made is to put track brake pads on. I hear all the stories about them being a nightmare to maintain, not true. The chassis is just a big MX5 and poses no special problems. The engine just needs the coils changing every 30k or maybe just the once if you use certain ones. Bank on changing plugs every 10-12k and ignition leads every 20-25k. Oil is best done every 3k with cheapo mineral, semi-synthetic. All stuff that you or you local garage can do very cheaply and will make the engine last 100k.
I noticed that at the moment there are some good ones for sale on ebay, £2300 for a 2006 with 35k miles with an owner that is making all the right noises about how the car has been maintained. In my opinion the market has grossly overcompensated for the exaggerated failings of the RX8. These cars have been an amazing bargain for some time and a great buy for those in the know.
To add to this: If a rotary does need a rebuild, it's a lot cheaper than a lot of performance engines!I noticed that at the moment there are some good ones for sale on ebay, £2300 for a 2006 with 35k miles with an owner that is making all the right noises about how the car has been maintained. In my opinion the market has grossly overcompensated for the exaggerated failings of the RX8. These cars have been an amazing bargain for some time and a great buy for those in the know.
The idea of a remap to increase the rev limit sounds really cool- I found it easy to hit the rev limiter as the torque was barely dropping off at that point(usually through having the window open and not hearing the beep). There is a caution though- I understood (happy to be corrected) that although the engine could in theory rev to well beyond 10,000, the limit was to protect the gearbox.
JTN358AT said:
These cars have been an amazing bargain for some time and a great buy for those in the know.
I was looking for a new daily hack/shed about 6 months ago but wanted something interesting/fun and ended up with a 231 with £50k on the clock and a folder full of receipts for just £1,500. To get such a great car for little over shed money is amazing, I'm loving it so far.mac96 said:
The idea of a remap to increase the rev limit sounds really cool- I found it easy to hit the rev limiter as the torque was barely dropping off at that point(usually through having the window open and not hearing the beep). There is a caution though- I understood (happy to be corrected) that although the engine could in theory rev to well beyond 10,000, the limit was to protect the gearbox.
I believe it was originally to protect the clutch, although Mazda never stated anything openly about it.There are quite a few peeps who are running 10k limits on the RX8 Owner's Club without too many issues, but it's like anything, if you spend all your time up at 10k rpm then you're going to reduce the shelf-life of the components
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