Discussion
Been looking for a new car for Mrs N for a while now - she's a fussy so & so and is still very attached to her Puma...
Anyhoo, we were looking at a Monaro in a local Vauxhall dealership and she spotted a 55 plate RX8 in blue and she really liked it.
It has 13000m up and is the 192ps model for £16495.
Anyone any experience of these cars from a running them pov?
Is it true they have to have the total loss oil topped up every 2nd tankful?
What mpg might she get - the Mazda website mentions only 27mpg combined which ain't a lot and may put her off.
Thoughts etc always enjoyed.
Anyhoo, we were looking at a Monaro in a local Vauxhall dealership and she spotted a 55 plate RX8 in blue and she really liked it.
It has 13000m up and is the 192ps model for £16495.
Anyone any experience of these cars from a running them pov?
Is it true they have to have the total loss oil topped up every 2nd tankful?
What mpg might she get - the Mazda website mentions only 27mpg combined which ain't a lot and may put her off.
Thoughts etc always enjoyed.
I would give www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk a search and see what comes up.
I think the ?Renasis? engine is much more durable than the turbo'd RX7, but yes the oil needs filling every other tank.
I think the ?Renasis? engine is much more durable than the turbo'd RX7, but yes the oil needs filling every other tank.
The RX7 is probably the source on really bad oil comsumption stories. The ports were on the outer edge of rotation, you'd get oil and petrol everywhere and the rotors tips could wear badly.
On the RX8, I believe the ports were relocated to the sides of the chamber and things improved considerably. Watch out for an abused model though, the clutch & gearbox have been designed to take advantage of the low weight, and low torque.
From friends who have run the RX8, Fuel comsumption is not great, and you still need to check the oil often.
If you can afford the petrol and check the oil each weekend, why not though?
On the RX8, I believe the ports were relocated to the sides of the chamber and things improved considerably. Watch out for an abused model though, the clutch & gearbox have been designed to take advantage of the low weight, and low torque.
From friends who have run the RX8, Fuel comsumption is not great, and you still need to check the oil often.
If you can afford the petrol and check the oil each weekend, why not though?
try www.thecarrotclub.co.uk where you can have a CV8 for 3 months then an RX8 for 3 months then an S2000 for 3 months
Funny, I was set on a RX8 as my 'sensible family car' before I test drove one. Don't get me wrong, I'm a LOOONG time commited rotorhead, but in this case I just couldn't be bothered with the revs & gearchanging... hence my search for a Monaro or HSV...
ETA Whoops GF just arrived and interrupted my train of thought...
I was going to say that oil consumption isn't as bad as some make out, oilk is used as part of the process to lubricate the seals, but if you check it and top iut up as part of your routine checks of any decent car, it isn't a biggie.
Just been for a blast in the RX7 turbo the torque is fantastic. Wish they doid a boosted RX8 
ETA Whoops GF just arrived and interrupted my train of thought...
I was going to say that oil consumption isn't as bad as some make out, oilk is used as part of the process to lubricate the seals, but if you check it and top iut up as part of your routine checks of any decent car, it isn't a biggie. Just been for a blast in the RX7 turbo
the torque is fantastic. Wish they doid a boosted RX8 Edited by madazrx7 on Sunday 7th January 09:08
I nearly bought one before the Ro (231 version) was nice and handled really well.
BUT....did some research and spoke to owners in garages and two things
Petrol most people did were lucky to see teh far side of 22mpg
The oil business as I was told is a real pain. Not only the frequency and hence cost but it is actually quite awkward to do as well and the big point if you don't do it and you have engine trouble it can invalidate any warranty claim. I did not get a clear answer from Mazda which was inetersting.
Still V nice car but lack of torque woudl get on my nerves.
BUT....did some research and spoke to owners in garages and two things
Petrol most people did were lucky to see teh far side of 22mpg
The oil business as I was told is a real pain. Not only the frequency and hence cost but it is actually quite awkward to do as well and the big point if you don't do it and you have engine trouble it can invalidate any warranty claim. I did not get a clear answer from Mazda which was inetersting.
Still V nice car but lack of torque woudl get on my nerves.
BigNige said:
Been looking for a new car for Mrs N for a while now - she's a fussy so & so and is still very attached to her Puma...
Anyhoo, we were looking at a Monaro in a local Vauxhall dealership and she spotted a 55 plate RX8 in blue and she really liked it.
It has 13000m up and is the 192ps model for £16495.
Anyone any experience of these cars from a running them pov?
Is it true they have to have the total loss oil topped up every 2nd tankful?
What mpg might she get - the Mazda website mentions only 27mpg combined which ain't a lot and may put her off.
Thoughts etc always enjoyed.
Anyhoo, we were looking at a Monaro in a local Vauxhall dealership and she spotted a 55 plate RX8 in blue and she really liked it.
It has 13000m up and is the 192ps model for £16495.
Anyone any experience of these cars from a running them pov?
Is it true they have to have the total loss oil topped up every 2nd tankful?
What mpg might she get - the Mazda website mentions only 27mpg combined which ain't a lot and may put her off.
Thoughts etc always enjoyed.
The oil doesnt need topping up every 2nd tank fuel just suggests checking as the engine is designed to use oil to lubricate the rotor tips. When it does need a top up you must use a quality semi synth 5w 30 -(some owners do use fully synth though). Some people think this is a pain but it only takes a couple of minutes as you have to pop a cover off the engine to get to the dipstick.
If 27mpg scares her she will s
t a brick when it does alot less 
my 231 does a fairly consistent 18-20 mpg but it does get extended upto the 9500 limiter quite often 
Some things to look for on the car - check the alloys round the centre caps - if corrosion is apparent dont panic Mazda will change under warranty , if the hubs the wheels mount onto look a bit rusty the dealer will paint them under warranty also!
If you get in it and the drivers seat creaks this can be fixed by dealer putting a fibre washer between seat mount and floor.
If the brakes squeak there is a modfied pad design available from mazda - the modified pads have green backing plates.
Open the front doors then open the rear doors - look closly at the sill face that has been revealled - there may be some small rust marks , this is due to the rubber seal of the door contacting and rubbing the sill - there was a production line fix and dealers will do a repair on the sills and put a clear plastic membrain on the affected part to prevent reoccurrance.
Make sure the car has had its 12.5k service and that the body corrosion check page further back in the service book was stamped.
The cars are fun to drive with very good handling/chassis- the version you are looking at is the 192 which has a 5 speed box and more torque than a 231, the 231 has xenons and a 6 speed - from my personal experience some people find the car hard to drive smoothly as the engine is very free reving with a light flywheel so some attention has to be paid when pulling off. The standard bridgestones seem quite low in grip on cold/wet/damp conditions making the car an absolute hoot as the traction control (not sure if a 192 has this as i haven't driven one) will allow it to get a bit side ways/require some opposite lock action
Some people feel the cars are a bit short on torque but the engines love revs and have a smooth light clutch/gearchange - so drive accordingly , mine will happily potter around town in 3rd gear if i want to. There is alot of guff talked about the engines flooding - they can do but mines not done it since Ive had it - the main cause seems to be that when you start from cold the ecu runs a very agressive enrichment to warm the engine up - mine ticks over at 2 - 2.5k on cold start , if you turned it off then it would most probably flood the engine and there is a specific procudure you have to follow to start a flooded one . Also when starting let all the warning lights on the dash go out before turning the key and keep it cranking till it catches - some start better than others - some earlier cars needed an faster cranking starter motor fitting to cure this.
If I was you i would look at the rx8 owners club site - there is a section on FAQ's which will probably answer most of your questions.
I cannot emphasis enough how smooth the engines are - they have a beeper to give a warning as you hit the redline as its so easy to get there -
What car Coupe of the year 2004 & 2005 times
Evo 4 star rating
A 231 did a 1.31.8 round the Top Gear track - same as an BMW M3
Give it a go - you may like it!
Edited by marcusrx on Monday 8th January 17:43
BigNige said:
"Shit a brick"?
Charming.
Charming.
Sorry about that can only blame it on a very late night and early start leading to lack of forethought can edit to : "she will be extremely surprised and disappointed" if you prefer!
I was trying to emphasise the point that the claimed fuel figures from mazda and the reality are very very different in most cases - some owners do reckon to get 300 milesish from a tankfull of fuel but most seem to get low 200's.
BigNige
I'm just chopping in an RX8 (192hp) for a Monaro. The RX8 is my wifes, and she is keeping my Impreza STi as our second car...
So, after 3 years running (30,000 miles) the RX8 I can tell you the following:
- Overall 7/10
- Oil consumption - does need checking but in my experience it doesn't actually use that much.
- Fuel consumption isn't great - I would have said around 30mpg average - but we never really thrashed it.
- Very comfy as a motorway cruiser or going to the shops.
- In my opinion it doesn't handle well - you can really feel the flex in the car due to the absence of the central pillars.
- Seems to suffer a lot from bump-steer despite it being rear wheel drive. Follows ruts in the road badly.
- Those doors - funky but a pain in the ar*e. In a car park, or anywhere where you are tight against something and you need to get someone out of the back is a complete nightmare. They WILL annoy you.
- Rotary engine. Very smooth. Actually too smooth I think - power delivery is very linear so you never get a real feel of going fast. There is no monster acceleration. It is quick, just not fast - if you see the difference. (I know that my experience is of the Impreza but I still think it is valid).
- Street Cred - Lots of people like this car so you do get admiring looks!
- Flooding - we have had to call Mazda Breakdown out 3-4 times for this. Once it has flooded you are not getting it started again without them clearing the computer's memory or whatever trick they do. Only takes them 2 mins to fix, but you have to wait for them to come out to you. We have had all of the supposed fixes - haven't had the problem since they recently fitted the uprated starter motor.
Overall verdict - my wife loved it, and is really sad that it is going. I hated driving it, but agree that it is a good cruiser. I guess I just drive too fast all the time.....
Hope that helps.
Steve
I'm just chopping in an RX8 (192hp) for a Monaro. The RX8 is my wifes, and she is keeping my Impreza STi as our second car...
So, after 3 years running (30,000 miles) the RX8 I can tell you the following:
- Overall 7/10
- Oil consumption - does need checking but in my experience it doesn't actually use that much.
- Fuel consumption isn't great - I would have said around 30mpg average - but we never really thrashed it.
- Very comfy as a motorway cruiser or going to the shops.
- In my opinion it doesn't handle well - you can really feel the flex in the car due to the absence of the central pillars.
- Seems to suffer a lot from bump-steer despite it being rear wheel drive. Follows ruts in the road badly.
- Those doors - funky but a pain in the ar*e. In a car park, or anywhere where you are tight against something and you need to get someone out of the back is a complete nightmare. They WILL annoy you.
- Rotary engine. Very smooth. Actually too smooth I think - power delivery is very linear so you never get a real feel of going fast. There is no monster acceleration. It is quick, just not fast - if you see the difference. (I know that my experience is of the Impreza but I still think it is valid).
- Street Cred - Lots of people like this car so you do get admiring looks!
- Flooding - we have had to call Mazda Breakdown out 3-4 times for this. Once it has flooded you are not getting it started again without them clearing the computer's memory or whatever trick they do. Only takes them 2 mins to fix, but you have to wait for them to come out to you. We have had all of the supposed fixes - haven't had the problem since they recently fitted the uprated starter motor.
Overall verdict - my wife loved it, and is really sad that it is going. I hated driving it, but agree that it is a good cruiser. I guess I just drive too fast all the time.....
Hope that helps.
Steve
vixpy1 said:
Things to say about the RX8?
It seriously needs a turbo!
It seriously needs a turbo!
Have to agree
I had one of the very first.........but after 14 months sold it and bought a Ro.
Oil was not a problem, the engine flooding was on a couple of occasions.... only if tou started it moved the car a few yards, then stopped. Mazda have come up with a fix, but otherwise rev to 4k and switch off...as the engine dies all fuel in chambers is burnt......hey presto no flooding.
I thought it handled great, but just needed supercharging/turbo to give it the go the chassis deserved. Will still be faster than a puma mind - no offence!
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