Neith's RX-8 231
Discussion
Having previously owned a Renaultsport Clio (which cost me the earth in repairs and failed MOTs), I decided that I needed to get something more reliable. The shortlist ended up being primarily EP3 Civic Type-Rs, SW20 MR2s and S2000s. Unfortunately, S2000s are starting to get noticed and prices have climbed a lot lately. I'd already had a EP3 and finding a tidy SW20 was next to impossible at the time.
So naturally, I bought a RX-8. So much for buying reliable!
To be fair, the one I ended up going for was the third I'd looked at (one wouldn't start from warm and one appeared to be more rust than car). This one popped up for £4,500 but I hesitated on buying it. It promptly disappeared from sale, only to be relisted a week later at £2495. Having haggled a bit more off, I am still surprised how much car you get for so little money.
She's a 2008 model 231 in Galaxy Grey with only 46,000 miles. Compression is still great and it started from both hot and cold with no issues whatsoever.
So far, the only thing I can see wrong with it is the alloys are quite badly corroded, but this is a common thing. They'll get replaced eventually anyway.
The interior is immaculate and I keep finding new storage areas every time I drive it.
The most important thing about these is the driving experience. Nothing I have ever driven turns in as well as this thing. The engine being so small and positioned so far back gives it amazing balance and it feels really agile on the road. The rotary is more work to deal with than a regular engine but every time you hit the beep at 9,000 rpm you forget all the problems and end up grinning like an idiot. I would like to think that looked after properly it'll last but...time will tell.
For the time being I've taken it out for a blast across the Yorkshire Dales and ended up in Reeth for an ice cream and for the awesome views. The car was perfect but my god does it like a drink
No idea what to do next to it, the alloys do need looking at but aside from that I just want to drive the thing- at least until the fuel bills bankrupt me
So naturally, I bought a RX-8. So much for buying reliable!
To be fair, the one I ended up going for was the third I'd looked at (one wouldn't start from warm and one appeared to be more rust than car). This one popped up for £4,500 but I hesitated on buying it. It promptly disappeared from sale, only to be relisted a week later at £2495. Having haggled a bit more off, I am still surprised how much car you get for so little money.
She's a 2008 model 231 in Galaxy Grey with only 46,000 miles. Compression is still great and it started from both hot and cold with no issues whatsoever.
So far, the only thing I can see wrong with it is the alloys are quite badly corroded, but this is a common thing. They'll get replaced eventually anyway.
The interior is immaculate and I keep finding new storage areas every time I drive it.
The most important thing about these is the driving experience. Nothing I have ever driven turns in as well as this thing. The engine being so small and positioned so far back gives it amazing balance and it feels really agile on the road. The rotary is more work to deal with than a regular engine but every time you hit the beep at 9,000 rpm you forget all the problems and end up grinning like an idiot. I would like to think that looked after properly it'll last but...time will tell.
For the time being I've taken it out for a blast across the Yorkshire Dales and ended up in Reeth for an ice cream and for the awesome views. The car was perfect but my god does it like a drink
No idea what to do next to it, the alloys do need looking at but aside from that I just want to drive the thing- at least until the fuel bills bankrupt me
That's an insane amount of car for your money, congrats would love to take one of these for a spin.
I've heard these get through lots of oil so make sure you've got the right type and keep it topped up and fresh.
When you say it's thirsty how bad is it?
Make sure you get the wheels shotblasted and powdercoated it's so worth it.
I've heard these get through lots of oil so make sure you've got the right type and keep it topped up and fresh.
When you say it's thirsty how bad is it?
Make sure you get the wheels shotblasted and powdercoated it's so worth it.
Looks great OP (apart from the wheels)!
That is a lot of car for the money, but I'm guessing the £500 a year RFL doesn't help values of the post 06 models! And the fuel consumption of these was always pretty painful, but if you don't do too many miles it's less of an issue.
Keep enjoying it while cars like this still exist!
That is a lot of car for the money, but I'm guessing the £500 a year RFL doesn't help values of the post 06 models! And the fuel consumption of these was always pretty painful, but if you don't do too many miles it's less of an issue.
Keep enjoying it while cars like this still exist!
Yeah, the £2k drop was a worry but the car was pretty close by so if it was a nugget I'd be no worse off for visiting.
From what I can see though, it has healthy compression, no starting issues and pulls fine. No rust on the sills or anywhere else either.
I'd seen a few of these and this was by far the cleanest!
From what I can see though, it has healthy compression, no starting issues and pulls fine. No rust on the sills or anywhere else either.
I'd seen a few of these and this was by far the cleanest!
Well I've had the RX-8 a few weeks now so I've had a bit of time to get to know it... I figure I can break this down into pros and cons for simplicity's sake.
Pros
- The sound. My god, the sound It's a very placid car under 5,000rpm and is very happy between 4-5k when in towns as not to labour the engine. Above 6k RPM it's a complete screamer and it keeps going all the way to 9,000! I've become very accustomed to redlining it once per day once warmed up (this is recommended by the owner's club) and it's not a hardship to do so. Nothing really sounds even similar to it.
- Practicality. Yes ok, it's still a sports coupe at the end of the day but Mazda did a lot of work to make the RX-8 as practical as possible. The back seats are actually habitable by adults (I can fit in them fine and I'm 5'11"), the boot is a decent size (if a bit awkward for access), there's storage space all over the place and it's just a nice place to be. Really comfortable seats, a great stereo and the driving position seems pretty much perfect for me.
- Driving experience. How a 4-door, 4-seater car can stick to the road so well is beyond me. Because the Renesis rotary engine is mounted low and pretty far back the balance is amazing. It feels much lighter than it actually is and the turn-in is really eager. I believe the RX-8 is built on a modified version of the NC MX-5 chassis, which seems believable once you drive it.
Cons
- Fuel. Considering the engine is only classed as a 1.3 litre (even though in reality it probably shouldn't be) it has a thirst for fuel like nothing I've driven. I drove a S15 Silvia turbo for 3 years and that tended to do mid-20s mpg with no issue. The RX-8 is probably around 18-20 if I'm lucky. I am almost on first-name terms with my local Shell garage.
- Insurance. Unfortunately, insurers do NOT class the RX-8 as a 1.3. Instead it gets classified as a 2.6L so insurance isn't as cheap as it perhaps could be. However, it's still cheaper to insure than the Renaultsport Clio I had before it!
- Tax. Mine's a 57 reg so is subject to the £500+ tax band.
The one I know everyone wants to know is reliability. I've only had the car a few weeks and so far (fingers crossed) I've only had one problem. The car started to make a horrible clattering/ticking noise and was becoming difficult to start when cold and when warm. I immediately sat thinking that the engine was on borrowed time. When I actually listened, I could hear the noise was coming from the front nearside wheel arch, which is where your spark plugs are on a RX-8. After jacking the car up and peeling back some of the wheel arch liner I could see that one of the spark plug leads that connect the coils to the spark plugs was dangling loose and a spark plug wasn't covered. Pushed the spark plug lead back in place and it's been fine since. Cue the biggest sigh of relief It's been a little while since the sparks were replaced, so next plan is to buy a full sparks/coils/leads set since you're meant to replace them around every 25-30k miles.
Hoping to take it on a track evening at my local track soon (Teesside Autodrome), once I get shares in Shell to afford the on-track fuel use!
Pros
- The sound. My god, the sound
It's a very placid car under 5,000rpm and is very happy between 4-5k when in towns as not to labour the engine. Above 6k RPM it's a complete screamer and it keeps going all the way to 9,000! I've become very accustomed to redlining it once per day once warmed up (this is recommended by the owner's club) and it's not a hardship to do so. Nothing really sounds even similar to it.- Practicality. Yes ok, it's still a sports coupe at the end of the day but Mazda did a lot of work to make the RX-8 as practical as possible. The back seats are actually habitable by adults (I can fit in them fine and I'm 5'11"), the boot is a decent size (if a bit awkward for access), there's storage space all over the place and it's just a nice place to be. Really comfortable seats, a great stereo and the driving position seems pretty much perfect for me.
- Driving experience. How a 4-door, 4-seater car can stick to the road so well is beyond me. Because the Renesis rotary engine is mounted low and pretty far back the balance is amazing. It feels much lighter than it actually is and the turn-in is really eager. I believe the RX-8 is built on a modified version of the NC MX-5 chassis, which seems believable once you drive it.
Cons
- Fuel. Considering the engine is only classed as a 1.3 litre (even though in reality it probably shouldn't be) it has a thirst for fuel like nothing I've driven. I drove a S15 Silvia turbo for 3 years and that tended to do mid-20s mpg with no issue. The RX-8 is probably around 18-20 if I'm lucky. I am almost on first-name terms with my local Shell garage.
- Insurance. Unfortunately, insurers do NOT class the RX-8 as a 1.3
. Instead it gets classified as a 2.6L so insurance isn't as cheap as it perhaps could be. However, it's still cheaper to insure than the Renaultsport Clio I had before it!- Tax. Mine's a 57 reg so is subject to the £500+ tax band.
The one I know everyone wants to know is reliability. I've only had the car a few weeks and so far (fingers crossed) I've only had one problem. The car started to make a horrible clattering/ticking noise and was becoming difficult to start when cold and when warm. I immediately sat thinking that the engine was on borrowed time. When I actually listened, I could hear the noise was coming from the front nearside wheel arch, which is where your spark plugs are on a RX-8. After jacking the car up and peeling back some of the wheel arch liner I could see that one of the spark plug leads that connect the coils to the spark plugs was dangling loose and a spark plug wasn't covered. Pushed the spark plug lead back in place and it's been fine since. Cue the biggest sigh of relief
It's been a little while since the sparks were replaced, so next plan is to buy a full sparks/coils/leads set since you're meant to replace them around every 25-30k miles.Hoping to take it on a track evening at my local track soon (Teesside Autodrome), once I get shares in Shell to afford the on-track fuel use!
I owned one of these for a couple of years. It was the same colour as yours actually, but with a black interior. I'm a fan.
I agree with all the Pros you've listed. I got around 21 mpg constantly, and seemingly regardless of how it was driven; granny-style or TWOC-style all saw 21mpg! You do need to use the gearbox - I found that people who described it as gutless were the type of people who were used to diesel or who were lazy changers. If it doesn't shift like a scalded cat, you're in the wrong gear.
The other myth that bored me was oil consumption. The handbook said to check with each fill or something, but over my 15-odd thousand miles the actual usage was pretty low (some use is a feature of the engine). In fact, that car used less oil - a lot less - than the BMW 5-series that followed or the V70 T5 I have now.
You're advised not to start the engine and then quickly switch off - there is a very simple starting procedure and an idiots guide for what to do if you flood it online which I printed and kept in the glovebox. I only had a problem once, but followed the guide and it was sorted.
Overall I really enjoyed mine - a really practical car that is genuinely sporty. How fantastic that a mainstream manufacturer made such a thing! Miles better that all the anodyne boring stuff. I hope you get on well with it.
I agree with all the Pros you've listed. I got around 21 mpg constantly, and seemingly regardless of how it was driven; granny-style or TWOC-style all saw 21mpg! You do need to use the gearbox - I found that people who described it as gutless were the type of people who were used to diesel or who were lazy changers. If it doesn't shift like a scalded cat, you're in the wrong gear.
The other myth that bored me was oil consumption. The handbook said to check with each fill or something, but over my 15-odd thousand miles the actual usage was pretty low (some use is a feature of the engine). In fact, that car used less oil - a lot less - than the BMW 5-series that followed or the V70 T5 I have now.
You're advised not to start the engine and then quickly switch off - there is a very simple starting procedure and an idiots guide for what to do if you flood it online which I printed and kept in the glovebox. I only had a problem once, but followed the guide and it was sorted.
Overall I really enjoyed mine - a really practical car that is genuinely sporty. How fantastic that a mainstream manufacturer made such a thing! Miles better that all the anodyne boring stuff. I hope you get on well with it.
0a said:
That tax and MPG is a killer!
I like the look and idea of RX-8s, but have come across 3 stranded at petrol stations unable to start. The power plant of a car shouldn't be considered a consumable!
Yeah, the fuel and tax costs are painful I like the look and idea of RX-8s, but have come across 3 stranded at petrol stations unable to start. The power plant of a car shouldn't be considered a consumable!
I'm assuming those stranded cars were either cars with low compression or flooded. Generally when I go to get petrol I'll hold the revs at about 3k for about 10 seconds before switching off the engine. Doing that after any short journey seems to help a lot and I've not had any issues with warm starts yet. I will however agree that the rotary does have its foibles and they don't take kindly if you don't follow the right procedures with them.sgtbash said:
Lovely motor. Ive always been interested in the RX8, always wanted to own a rotary at one point. Ive always liked Mazda's also, always a lot of car for the money.
Thanks 
These can be had for peanuts really; the problem is finding a good one with healthy compression and owners who know how to look after a rotary. Honestly I'd have loved an RX-7 as I'm a huge fan of 90's JDM stuff but they're getting into mega money now CharlesdeGaulle said:
I owned one of these for a couple of years. It was the same colour as yours actually, but with a black interior. I'm a fan.
I agree with all the Pros you've listed. I got around 21 mpg constantly, and seemingly regardless of how it was driven; granny-style or TWOC-style all saw 21mpg! You do need to use the gearbox - I found that people who described it as gutless were the type of people who were used to diesel or who were lazy changers. If it doesn't shift like a scalded cat, you're in the wrong gear.
The other myth that bored me was oil consumption. The handbook said to check with each fill or something, but over my 15-odd thousand miles the actual usage was pretty low (some use is a feature of the engine). In fact, that car used less oil - a lot less - than the BMW 5-series that followed or the V70 T5 I have now.
You're advised not to start the engine and then quickly switch off - there is a very simple starting procedure and an idiots guide for what to do if you flood it online which I printed and kept in the glovebox. I only had a problem once, but followed the guide and it was sorted.
Overall I really enjoyed mine - a really practical car that is genuinely sporty. How fantastic that a mainstream manufacturer made such a thing! Miles better that all the anodyne boring stuff. I hope you get on well with it.
To me it feels quicker than the figures suggest, but that's probably down to the epic noise it makes I agree with all the Pros you've listed. I got around 21 mpg constantly, and seemingly regardless of how it was driven; granny-style or TWOC-style all saw 21mpg! You do need to use the gearbox - I found that people who described it as gutless were the type of people who were used to diesel or who were lazy changers. If it doesn't shift like a scalded cat, you're in the wrong gear.
The other myth that bored me was oil consumption. The handbook said to check with each fill or something, but over my 15-odd thousand miles the actual usage was pretty low (some use is a feature of the engine). In fact, that car used less oil - a lot less - than the BMW 5-series that followed or the V70 T5 I have now.
You're advised not to start the engine and then quickly switch off - there is a very simple starting procedure and an idiots guide for what to do if you flood it online which I printed and kept in the glovebox. I only had a problem once, but followed the guide and it was sorted.
Overall I really enjoyed mine - a really practical car that is genuinely sporty. How fantastic that a mainstream manufacturer made such a thing! Miles better that all the anodyne boring stuff. I hope you get on well with it.
It is a genuinely quick car and as you've said anyone that thinks they're gutless wasn't driving it right.I tend to check my oil after every 2nd fill as Mazda recommend but yeah I agree, the oil consumption isn't that bad at all. I carry a 1L bottle in the boot but it does seem like a massively overblown myth about them 'drinking oil'. I'd be more concerned if it wasn't using oil!
Yeah, I've seen the video Mazda USA did about the cold shutdown procedure and what to do if it floods. The rotary definitely needs more care and attention than other cars I've owned but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it'd be (so far at least!).
I've always liked these and feel they're underrated. I almost bought one last year when I was looking for a drift car, but ended up with an e36. I wouldn't say I regret it as I'm still ticking one off the list, but they are very interesting cars and I wouldn't be surprised if I own one in the future, probably as a daily than a drifter. Unless I find myself with the budget for an FD 
Yours looks good but I can't stand the stock wheels.
Yours looks good but I can't stand the stock wheels.
danllama said:
I've always liked these and feel they're underrated. I almost bought one last year when I was looking for a drift car, but ended up with an e36. I wouldn't say I regret it as I'm still ticking one off the list, but they are very interesting cars and I wouldn't be surprised if I own one in the future, probably as a daily than a drifter. Unless I find myself with the budget for an FD
Yours looks good but I can't stand the stock wheels.
I don't like the stock wheels either; not a fan of the design to begin with and making them chrome makes them even worse. Yours looks good but I can't stand the stock wheels.
I'd like to change them at some point really; they're also badly corroded so they look a mess anyway.I do feel that they're underrated cars; I think the horror stories about the Renesis put a lot of people off (to be honest it had put me off until I found this one with an engine warranty). The good news is that the issues mean they're dirt cheap to buy. The bad news being it'll have next to no resale value down the line. For me it'd gotten to a point where pretty much every Japanese 90's car I was interested in had shot up in value and anything I decided to look at seemed to follow suit (S2000s, I'm looking at you). The RX-8 is one of very few Japanese sports cars that is still cheap to buy and I find them so interesting that I had to at least take one for a test drive. Glad I did!
Neith said:
The car started to make a horrible clattering/ticking noise and was becoming difficult to start when cold and when warm. I immediately sat thinking that the engine was on borrowed time. When I actually listened, I could hear the noise was coming from the front nearside wheel arch, which is where your spark plugs are on a RX-8. After jacking the car up and peeling back some of the wheel arch liner I could see that one of the spark plug leads that connect the coils to the spark plugs was dangling loose and a spark plug wasn't covered. Pushed the spark plug lead back in place and it's been fine since. Cue the biggest sigh of relief
This happened to me during a recent sprint event at Anglesey - one of the trailing spark plug leads popped off. Amazingly we didn't notice at first, because aside from taking a couple extra spins to start it ran fine (although we were a second or two a lap slower). We did, however, get massive flames on downshift 
What a lovely example! It really is immaculate inside!
I currently have an S2000 and have looked at the RX8 a lot as a replacement - only thing putting me off is the fixed roof - I have become a bit of a roof-down enthusiast! It took a while to get used to a high-revving engine with very average performance in the bottom half of the rev range, but once you're in the mindset of keeping between 6-9000rpm, it's an utter hoot!
Has anyone owned both an S2000 and an RX8? On paper, they seem very similar, is this the case?
Thanks for the write-up! Now go and buy another tank of V-power and enjoy it!
I currently have an S2000 and have looked at the RX8 a lot as a replacement - only thing putting me off is the fixed roof - I have become a bit of a roof-down enthusiast! It took a while to get used to a high-revving engine with very average performance in the bottom half of the rev range, but once you're in the mindset of keeping between 6-9000rpm, it's an utter hoot!
Has anyone owned both an S2000 and an RX8? On paper, they seem very similar, is this the case?
Thanks for the write-up! Now go and buy another tank of V-power and enjoy it!
mrfunex said:
What a lovely example! It really is immaculate inside!
I currently have an S2000 and have looked at the RX8 a lot as a replacement - only thing putting me off is the fixed roof - I have become a bit of a roof-down enthusiast! It took a while to get used to a high-revving engine with very average performance in the bottom half of the rev range, but once you're in the mindset of keeping between 6-9000rpm, it's an utter hoot!
Has anyone owned both an S2000 and an RX8? On paper, they seem very similar, is this the case?
Thanks for the write-up! Now go and buy another tank of V-power and enjoy it!
Thanks! I'd been looking into S2000s before I bought this but seemed to pick the worst timing as they're all budging up in value now. I'm not disappointed with my choice though; the only downside is the appetite for fuel! I'd imagine the S2000 would feel a little more focused but the RX-8 does also feel very well connected to the road. The RX-8 R3 is probably even better than the regular one but you pay quite a big premium for the R3 (cheapest tend to be around £5k, whereas running 'regular' RX-8s can sometimes be as low as £1k-1.5k). I love the R3 but budget didn't allow for one at the time, they're also pretty rare and don't show up for sale very often!I currently have an S2000 and have looked at the RX8 a lot as a replacement - only thing putting me off is the fixed roof - I have become a bit of a roof-down enthusiast! It took a while to get used to a high-revving engine with very average performance in the bottom half of the rev range, but once you're in the mindset of keeping between 6-9000rpm, it's an utter hoot!
Has anyone owned both an S2000 and an RX8? On paper, they seem very similar, is this the case?
Thanks for the write-up! Now go and buy another tank of V-power and enjoy it!
avenger286 said:
Looked at these years ago. They are a good drive with a distinct sound. You must be fairly local to me with the autodrome being your local track. I am in Seaton Carew.
Yeah, I'm in Middlesbrough so the Autodrome is just down the road really. I've been to it a few times for different events and to watch the BDC but never actually been to a track night there- need to change that.Few months into ownership now and the news is good! The commonly held belief that these drink oil is proving to be a myth; I've only had to top it up with about half a litre so far. No real problems so far (aside from a small scratch on my front bumper, courtesy of someone at my work car park who didn't own up to it
) I have a small rattle in the interior too, which I think is one of the rear passenger windows (they're the type of windows that fold out and they do rattle a bit on rough roads). I believe this can be reduced by putting a small piece of foam in the latching clip.I've decided that the next purchase for the car is going to be a USB/MP3 kit for the stereo; these come with a Bose 6CD changer but it has no easily accessible auxillary. I'd really prefer to have the option to use my phone or a USB stick so one of these is definitely on the cards. The wheel refurb is going to wait until after the winter otherwise they'll just be ruined again by summer.
Really warmed up to the car now; I've taken it for a few good runs out and it never disappoints!
Ah, every time I read an RX8 post it makes me miss mine.
I had the 231 in red, with black wheels and all the trimmings (sat nav, harmon kardon, heated black and red leather etc etc)
I averaged 17mpg, that was the sole reason I sold it, more visits to the fuel station than a fuel tanker.
I echo the handling comments, it's great, so is the 9000rpm limit.
When I clear some space I will have another one as a weekend car.
Take all the oil and reliability comments with a pinch of salt.
I sold mine on approx 80k miles, original engine and it still had healthy compression (tested as a condition of sale)
Mine didn't use a huge amount of oil, a friends S2000 used more.
The only thing that can catch people out is flooding the engine, you can't move it off the drive onto the road and then turn it off - for example. if you MUST then hold the revs at 6k rpm as you turn the engine off, that should see all the fuel burnt in the chambers.
Whilst the car isn't silly low, the sump does hang a bit low, be careful of that. I managed to graze a hole in mine...
I had the 231 in red, with black wheels and all the trimmings (sat nav, harmon kardon, heated black and red leather etc etc)
I averaged 17mpg, that was the sole reason I sold it, more visits to the fuel station than a fuel tanker.
I echo the handling comments, it's great, so is the 9000rpm limit.
When I clear some space I will have another one as a weekend car.
Take all the oil and reliability comments with a pinch of salt.
I sold mine on approx 80k miles, original engine and it still had healthy compression (tested as a condition of sale)
Mine didn't use a huge amount of oil, a friends S2000 used more.
The only thing that can catch people out is flooding the engine, you can't move it off the drive onto the road and then turn it off - for example. if you MUST then hold the revs at 6k rpm as you turn the engine off, that should see all the fuel burnt in the chambers.
Whilst the car isn't silly low, the sump does hang a bit low, be careful of that. I managed to graze a hole in mine...
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