Talk to me about RX-8s
Discussion
I know this gets asked a lot, but please humour me for a second...
I'm thinking about swapping my MX-5 for an RX-8. It would be my main car, but I work from home and I live in a town where I can walk to most stuff, so it could sit outside for a week at a time in between use, which will include a lot of long-ish motorway trips. The upside is, I don't do a particularly big overall mileage (so mpg is not a massive issue) and I very rarely do short trips. Do you think that sort of usage would suit an RX-8?
How serious is the flooding issue? If I got the car warmed up on a long trip, then stopped at the petrol station half a mile from home on the way back would that cause problems?
If I was to take the plunge, would I be better off getting the newest, lowest mileage one I could afford or would the money be better spent on an older one with a reconditioned engine?
Are the special editions (PZs and so on) worth holding out for?
I'm thinking about swapping my MX-5 for an RX-8. It would be my main car, but I work from home and I live in a town where I can walk to most stuff, so it could sit outside for a week at a time in between use, which will include a lot of long-ish motorway trips. The upside is, I don't do a particularly big overall mileage (so mpg is not a massive issue) and I very rarely do short trips. Do you think that sort of usage would suit an RX-8?
How serious is the flooding issue? If I got the car warmed up on a long trip, then stopped at the petrol station half a mile from home on the way back would that cause problems?
If I was to take the plunge, would I be better off getting the newest, lowest mileage one I could afford or would the money be better spent on an older one with a reconditioned engine?
Are the special editions (PZs and so on) worth holding out for?
Has anyone on here owned an RX-8 and a 350Z? If so, which would you pick?
I've owned a string of TVRs, kit cars and other things that make the RX-8's reputation seem like a walk in the park, so I'm sort of hoping I'd have the right mindset if I tried one. That said, it would be my work car, so I'd need to be fairly sure it was going to start if I dash out the house late for an early morning flight or something.
I've owned a string of TVRs, kit cars and other things that make the RX-8's reputation seem like a walk in the park, so I'm sort of hoping I'd have the right mindset if I tried one. That said, it would be my work car, so I'd need to be fairly sure it was going to start if I dash out the house late for an early morning flight or something.
I'm really torn on this. It's probably not something I'd do until the new year either way (better price for the MX-5, tax bill out the way etc.) but it does seem quite tempting. Most of the high-risk cars I've owned in the past have turned out to be a lot easier to live with than I expected ... and some of the nice sensible saloons have been a nightmare.
So if you were planning to buy an RX-8 that was going to be kept on the street and driven in all weathers, what spec/era would you look to buy and how much would you plan to spend? I want something that's going to drive well and be reliable, but it's not going to live a pampered life in the garage.
So if you were planning to buy an RX-8 that was going to be kept on the street and driven in all weathers, what spec/era would you look to buy and how much would you plan to spend? I want something that's going to drive well and be reliable, but it's not going to live a pampered life in the garage.
vernz said:
I'm not sure I agree with the comment about running on 98 fuel. I got mine from new in 2006 and did quite a lot of research at the time about the 'benefits' of running on high octane fuel and the conclusion was that it made no difference to the wankel engine.
I had a 190 and it was great. I put 60k miles on it in three years and it didn't miss a beat. The chassis and brakes were the stand out bits for me. The engine felt light and whizzy but you could feel the lack of torque at all times. I managed around 25mpg on my 20 mile commute which included a 5 mile high revving hoon around the Milton Keynes grid. I never achieved more than 30mpg even sitting at 70mph on the mottorway.
They use plenty of oil, but I'd buy mine when it was on offer in Halfords and I think I went through about 25 litres in the three years.
The flooding issue sounds worse than it actually is. As long as the car is run for around 5 minutes to clear it's throat, then It's ok.
I had a 350z (313ps) as my next car and they are quite different. The Zed is a bit of a beast by comparison and in normal use was similar on fuel consumption, but better MPG could be achieved on longer runs at sensible motorway speeds and with the bigger tank is quite good on range. The brakes on the Z were as good and the handling on a par although both cars feel quite different. The Z feels heavier and is a bit of a bruiser, whereas the RX8 always felt like is was up on it's toes. The added torque on the Zed means that you don't need to rev the nuts of it if you are not in the mood.
I think from memory the RX8 is around 1350kg v 1490kg for the Z, and that is evident.
The RX8 however is far more practical and rear passengers used to always comment on how comfortable the rear seats were and actually I thought the interior was a bit better than the Zed, although having one of the final Zeds, the interior on that car was better than the earlier cars.
Which one would I go for......If I needed the seats, then the RX8, otherwise I'd go for the Z, and I suspect it would be easier to move on a Z in three or four years time than an RX8.
Thanks. That's exactly the sort of thing I was after.I had a 190 and it was great. I put 60k miles on it in three years and it didn't miss a beat. The chassis and brakes were the stand out bits for me. The engine felt light and whizzy but you could feel the lack of torque at all times. I managed around 25mpg on my 20 mile commute which included a 5 mile high revving hoon around the Milton Keynes grid. I never achieved more than 30mpg even sitting at 70mph on the mottorway.
They use plenty of oil, but I'd buy mine when it was on offer in Halfords and I think I went through about 25 litres in the three years.
The flooding issue sounds worse than it actually is. As long as the car is run for around 5 minutes to clear it's throat, then It's ok.
I had a 350z (313ps) as my next car and they are quite different. The Zed is a bit of a beast by comparison and in normal use was similar on fuel consumption, but better MPG could be achieved on longer runs at sensible motorway speeds and with the bigger tank is quite good on range. The brakes on the Z were as good and the handling on a par although both cars feel quite different. The Z feels heavier and is a bit of a bruiser, whereas the RX8 always felt like is was up on it's toes. The added torque on the Zed means that you don't need to rev the nuts of it if you are not in the mood.
I think from memory the RX8 is around 1350kg v 1490kg for the Z, and that is evident.
The RX8 however is far more practical and rear passengers used to always comment on how comfortable the rear seats were and actually I thought the interior was a bit better than the Zed, although having one of the final Zeds, the interior on that car was better than the earlier cars.
Which one would I go for......If I needed the seats, then the RX8, otherwise I'd go for the Z, and I suspect it would be easier to move on a Z in three or four years time than an RX8.
It's going to cover a high percentage of motorway miles. I want something that has a bit of character and something that will indulge to a certain extent when I do find myself on better roads (I'm not interested in big wafty barges like CLKs, XK8s etc.) but basically I'm looking for a GT rather than a sports car. We've also got a family car so it doesn't need to have four seats (although I'm sure my son would like the occasional family outing in something with rear seats!)
Tricky. If and when I take the plunge I guess it depends on budget and what's around locally. I've driven a couple of 370Zs, and while I wasn't a fan of the truck gearbox (presumably same as the 350Z?), they were great fun on a damp track. Briefly drove a colleague's RX-8 and even cruising round at low speeds there seemed to be an inherent rightness to the chassis and steering. Might save my calf muscles if I'm doing a lot of stop-start traffic on the M25 too. Hmm...
Edited by Chris71 on Monday 7th November 11:59
£900? Wow. Even at twice that I'd be quids in from selling my MX-5. There does seem to be a big spread of prices out there, though.
Do you have any sort of warning when the oil level is getting low? I have no problem with the idea of it consuming a certain amount (as I understand it, rotaries do so by design) but I'm not the most conscientious car owner and I can imagine I'd forget to check.
Do you have any sort of warning when the oil level is getting low? I have no problem with the idea of it consuming a certain amount (as I understand it, rotaries do so by design) but I'm not the most conscientious car owner and I can imagine I'd forget to check.
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