Hi all, posting on behalf of a mate.

He has an RX8 and when he starts it cold it starts fine. But after it has had time to warm up, and he turns the engine off and on again it won't go. Takes about 15minutes to cool off before it will.

So he's posted the problem on the RX8 forum and asked owners and they all say engine is going to go, reckon it is to do with the rotor tips?

Either way he is panicking because he has only just bought it(just over a year) and doesn't want the engine to go just yet, obviously.

So does it sound like they might be talking sense or be going OTT? If they are talking sense what are some good options what to do next?

I think the tips can be replaced without a rebuild unlike the RX7 engine.

The tip can be replaced with out the need for a whole new rotor assembly.

I almost bought an RX8 about 6 months ago and joined up to that forum. My impression was that they were a knowledgable bunch, and subsequently I would take any advice they were offering in the first instance!

Its quite a funny car. I think there is more too it than the dealer told him. Like the car is a jap import 06 model with 26k? on the clock and the front bonnet has been resprayed and the rear bumper has been resprayed badly. Almost like its been in a smack?

Yeah we were told about compression issues.

Was told to try sparks to start (£50 each apparently) then look at the coil issue.

The car only cost £10k so prices are kind of warranting a new car instead of fixing by the looks of it.

Can you believe he got this over a 350z?

If he ever wants to carry more than one other person, it's not really a contest, is it?

M.

Hi All, thanks for the advice.

I told him today and his face didn't look to dissimilar from this D:.

Not overly happy about hearing it after he has just spent out for new wheels and a few engine bay enhancements (strut bar and caps).

He is going to try the hot and cold compression test before anything else and look at the warranty to. But TBH he is thinking about just getting rid of it rather than have the hassle.

So in an ideal world he would get back his full £10k for the car and get something else but that's not the case. So realistically what would you expect to get for an RX8 06 jap import (260bhp), with a special edition veilside kit on it, 23k? on the clock and a problem (potentially big problem) in the engine?

from looking in the classifieds, i could see him possibly re selling for 10k if he was a dealer and offered a warranty on a good running car

if i was buying, i wouldn't want to part with much more than 5-6k as i'd be factoring in a reconn'd engine straight after purchase

Its been mentioned before this. My dad wanted one which i found a mint 2004 model with 32k on for just £5k. He reckons the starter on the newer ones was upgraded due to these starting problems. I believe they are about £350 from Mazda. Short journeys can flood them resulting in an excessive amount of fuel getting into the cat. This can explode and blow the cat up, again this is expensive.
the trick is to rev them before turning them off.
Problem is they are not a "normal" engine, yet people treat them like they are (short runs), which results in these problems.
The coils can be bought for half the price from some company on the RX8 website.

OP...Maybe try changing the coils?

Issues with the RX8 go some way to explaing why they are so damn cheap at the moment. I just had a look on the net and £6k will get you a sub 50k 04 231 bhp car with a full Mazda History.

Now compare that to the cost of a simlar age and milage 350z, an O5 Focus ST etc etc.

People are practically giving them away