RE: PH Fleet Intro: Mazda RX-8
Discussion
I had a 54-reg RX8 and I bailed before prices went into free fall many years ago. I would very much like to buy another one now but the biggest, largest worry is how good or bad the previous owner(s) was(were).
I knew how the look after these but how can I trust the previous owner(s) would be like me?
I mean like, do people follow the proper shut-down procedure for a cold engine every time? From memory, I think it was to hold 4,000 rpm and switch-off while holding the throttle open.
I live in central London and the car used to do 2-mile commute each day + moving car in/out of garage and I never, ever had a starting problem, even on the old starter motor.
I would love to buy another one for £2-3k but I am just not sure how comfortable I am with the usage to date ...
I knew how the look after these but how can I trust the previous owner(s) would be like me?
I mean like, do people follow the proper shut-down procedure for a cold engine every time? From memory, I think it was to hold 4,000 rpm and switch-off while holding the throttle open.
I live in central London and the car used to do 2-mile commute each day + moving car in/out of garage and I never, ever had a starting problem, even on the old starter motor.
I would love to buy another one for £2-3k but I am just not sure how comfortable I am with the usage to date ...
Scottie - NW said:
tombstone said:
I've seen more knackered RX's thanks to de-cats
Why does a decat knacker an RX8?Was thinking of putting one on so am concerned now.
Scottie - NW said:
Why does a decat knacker an RX8?
Was thinking of putting one on so am concerned now.
The only problem I ever had was on my first 230 which ruined its cat at 25k. It had been an ex demo and, I suspect, stalled/flooded plenty of times before I got it. Unburnt fuel sitting in the cat is the usual cause of it to collpase, eventually. Because exhaust gas temperatures are so high, they're particularly hard on them anyway. A decat would be ideal!Was thinking of putting one on so am concerned now.
Scottie - NW said:
Why does a decat knacker an RX8?
Was thinking of putting one on so am concerned now.
Dont believe everything you hear, lol. Im sure the folk at Mrc or Rx8 club will put you straight Was thinking of putting one on so am concerned now.
I have never heard of any trouble with Rx7's having problems when there cats are removed, i have had 4, infact, i doubt there are any Rx7's with cats on any more as its the first thing most people do, get it breathing well! Of course an Apexi will help you make the most of exhaust and a filter but its not essential.
Really interesting to read about your RX-8 and will look forward to following it's progress.
I ran a 2007 RX-8 231 BHP for 3.5 years. There was/is so much uninformed negative press about this wonderful car. The amount of times 'non-car' people asked me about oil consumption, engines being unreliable and so on... but never did I hear anything but positive stuff from fellow owners. The truth is it didn't use oil more than any other performance car (I didn't keep a log of it, but it was totally acceptable). In 3.5 years I also didn't have to replace a single bulb - just had it serviced annually. The performance and handling were a pure joy.... It also had the best sounding stereo system I have ever experienced in a car!
Like all cars it had it's negative points - fuel consumption was heavy, but could easily be coaxed into 27MPG on a long run. Other things which annoyed were the awkwardness of the process of checking the oil due to the position of the dipstick and the fact it had a bit of an intractable drivetrain in heavy traffic.... all minor stuff really considering the pedigree of car you had.
I am amazed how cheap they were when I bought mine and even more so now - such a lot of car for the money. When I bought mine in mid-2008 (as an ex-demo) the high petrol prices and VED duties had kicked in and this meant an almost new RX-8 231 (fully optioned) with a few hundred miles on the clock cost me just £15K (list price IIRC was £23K) - I got 1/3 of that back in part-exchange a few weeks ago (overall that's not too bad - £10K depreciation from an almost new car like that over 3.5 years).
My only concern these days for the RX-8 is given the tiny prices that they start to fall into very unsympathetic hands - those who like odd body kits more than maintenance and those who can afford to buy one, but not look after it all - that'll be a shame.
I've now gone in reverse to PH - mine was swapped for an MX-5 (MK3 coupe) - very much back to basics. I love the new car, but will always have very fond memories of the RX-8.
Good luck with it!
I ran a 2007 RX-8 231 BHP for 3.5 years. There was/is so much uninformed negative press about this wonderful car. The amount of times 'non-car' people asked me about oil consumption, engines being unreliable and so on... but never did I hear anything but positive stuff from fellow owners. The truth is it didn't use oil more than any other performance car (I didn't keep a log of it, but it was totally acceptable). In 3.5 years I also didn't have to replace a single bulb - just had it serviced annually. The performance and handling were a pure joy.... It also had the best sounding stereo system I have ever experienced in a car!
Like all cars it had it's negative points - fuel consumption was heavy, but could easily be coaxed into 27MPG on a long run. Other things which annoyed were the awkwardness of the process of checking the oil due to the position of the dipstick and the fact it had a bit of an intractable drivetrain in heavy traffic.... all minor stuff really considering the pedigree of car you had.
I am amazed how cheap they were when I bought mine and even more so now - such a lot of car for the money. When I bought mine in mid-2008 (as an ex-demo) the high petrol prices and VED duties had kicked in and this meant an almost new RX-8 231 (fully optioned) with a few hundred miles on the clock cost me just £15K (list price IIRC was £23K) - I got 1/3 of that back in part-exchange a few weeks ago (overall that's not too bad - £10K depreciation from an almost new car like that over 3.5 years).
My only concern these days for the RX-8 is given the tiny prices that they start to fall into very unsympathetic hands - those who like odd body kits more than maintenance and those who can afford to buy one, but not look after it all - that'll be a shame.
I've now gone in reverse to PH - mine was swapped for an MX-5 (MK3 coupe) - very much back to basics. I love the new car, but will always have very fond memories of the RX-8.
Good luck with it!
Drop me a line in a few months My resolve is weakening and mine could be replaced with a ZT 260 V8! I'm only the 2nd owner, it's done 60k miles and has upgraded coil pack/leads/plugs and I even have a set of Winter tyres on it so snow holds no fear. Still pretty much worthless on the 2nd hand market though 
I've run my PZ for over 2 years now, it's been to Le Mans, a couple of laps of Scotland and one track day. The Eibach/Bilstein suspension on the PZ is awesome. There's a fast, twisty undulating single-track road down Glen Torridon (A896) which I did while being chased by a mate in his M3. I was just laughing out loud because it felt so good to drive.
Scotland, May 2011 by giveitfish, on Flickr
My resolve is weakening and mine could be replaced with a ZT 260 V8! I'm only the 2nd owner, it's done 60k miles and has upgraded coil pack/leads/plugs and I even have a set of Winter tyres on it so snow holds no fear. Still pretty much worthless on the 2nd hand market though I've run my PZ for over 2 years now, it's been to Le Mans, a couple of laps of Scotland and one track day. The Eibach/Bilstein suspension on the PZ is awesome. There's a fast, twisty undulating single-track road down Glen Torridon (A896) which I did while being chased by a mate in his M3. I was just laughing out loud because it felt so good to drive.
Scotland, May 2011 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Some predictable response about oil consumption. Except its a myth that the RX8 uses loads of oil. Uses no more than an M3, M5, Porsche Flat 6, and pretty much any half decent performance engine.
I have had mine 3 years, and it takes 4 litres of oil on a change, and the litre left from the change lasts until the next service which is 6 months for me.
Plugs and Coils will probably be a yearly change if using on the track, which means £300 outlay, but definitely cheaper than destroying the engine with unburnt fuel. Similar issue to bore wash on a piston engine.
Author forgot to mention that the RX8 also comes with a Carbon propshaft.
Suspension there are numerous from new companies such as XYZ, Daiyama, and then Tein, Cusco, and Gaz to name a few, and some at very reasonable prices.
The stock bushes are of a high quality and if changed then not worth going for anything under RED to make an improvement.
I have had mine 3 years, and it takes 4 litres of oil on a change, and the litre left from the change lasts until the next service which is 6 months for me.
Plugs and Coils will probably be a yearly change if using on the track, which means £300 outlay, but definitely cheaper than destroying the engine with unburnt fuel. Similar issue to bore wash on a piston engine.
Author forgot to mention that the RX8 also comes with a Carbon propshaft.
Suspension there are numerous from new companies such as XYZ, Daiyama, and then Tein, Cusco, and Gaz to name a few, and some at very reasonable prices.
The stock bushes are of a high quality and if changed then not worth going for anything under RED to make an improvement.
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