RE: PH Fleet Intro: Mazda RX-8
Discussion
Video Vbox Lite. www.videovbox.co.uk. Not cheap but great if you have a serious trackday and internet affliction! Geeking out over the data can lose you many an hour as well...
johnpeat said:
I loved reading that - I love the way he's accumulated a lot of opinions and 'data' and used them to disabuse himself of the notion that he's bought a known-to-be-troublesome car which has peaky power delivery
Bit like a modern turbo charged diesel you mean?(the bit about "and uses fuel like it's OPEC's sugardaddy..." is true although its not that much worse than many other similar power cars) we get 18mpg out of ours in town driving. Our 2.0l Mondeo only manages just over and is doing about 21mpg in town!
johnpeat said:
All that stuff, prefaced with "not as bad as people make out" suggests a massive amount of personal spin-doctorness has been going on - and I can only hope it works-out for him!!
People love to bash the rotary and make out that its the end of the world to check the oil and that its going to go pop 5 minutes after he bought it. It's not and its (probably) not. Hell there is one on autotrader with 133k, although no mention of how many rebuilds it's had... 
I've always been a fan of rotary powered cars and drove RX7's throughout the early 90's. Even then, before the advent of online forums, lots of people slated RX engine's for their oil consumption despite the fact that it was an inherent feature of the design. In fact, I think it was covered in a press release from Mazda that also advised you didn't park on dried grass after a spate of fires, where the cat got so hot. Most people who actually owned and drove the cars enjoyed them and the performance and when maintained properly they were no less reliable than conventional piston engines.
I'm no mechanic but I haven't found checking and topping up the oil to be a problem. If I'm going on track I check before, during and after. Just as I also check tyre pressures and top up the washer bottle. What's the alternative? Wait till the 6th monthly service rolls around? Seems common sense isn't always common.
I'm no mechanic but I haven't found checking and topping up the oil to be a problem. If I'm going on track I check before, during and after. Just as I also check tyre pressures and top up the washer bottle. What's the alternative? Wait till the 6th monthly service rolls around? Seems common sense isn't always common.
...certainly enjoyed our "8" when we had it...very nice inside and more space than you would think, lovely revvy engine with a "different" soundtrack, great handling and good fun with traction control "off"!!!!...to be fair it did use oil more than other cars i have owned but not THAT much more...the downside for me was the staggeringly unhelpful Mazda dealer...when we had an issue he actually said " well, its not our fault, we are not Mazda we are "blank" group" (name with held)....as he said this we were surrounded by mazda cars, mazda flags, mazda brochures...still, the car was great.
Fastdruid said:
After the initial weekly checks we settled down to a once per month check and top up where we put in 0.25-0.5l. Works out to be about 4l/year or ~£30. Hardly the end of the world.
Hardly the end of the world - no. I totally agree. It's not that bad. But when you consider I've not stuck a single drop of oil in my daily ever (it's had two changes though), 4l a year is quite a bit.Especially given that a lot of people saw it as a cheap saloon with a bit of go, and aren't likely to be the sort to check the oil regularly enough.I would love an RX-8, but two things prevent me getting one. Firstly, I do short journeys - not good for the engine, and secondly, I don't actually fit (I'no giant either). Which was really disappointing as I thought the interior was really nice.
I loved my RX8. Only had it for a short time, it turned out to be a lemon with low compression so I ended up giving it back to the dealer. I was a bit gutted, it really does have amazing handling and its great fun to rev it right up to the 'beep' sound 
It is a shame they can be so temparamental. I would advise anyone getting one to take it to a mazda main dealer and get it compression tested asap. It only cost me about £60 for the test but saved me big head (wallet) ache further down the line. Part of me wishes I had just got the engine rebuilt and kept it because other than the engine it was a mint car and I paid very little for it.
It is a shame they can be so temparamental. I would advise anyone getting one to take it to a mazda main dealer and get it compression tested asap. It only cost me about £60 for the test but saved me big head (wallet) ache further down the line. Part of me wishes I had just got the engine rebuilt and kept it because other than the engine it was a mint car and I paid very little for it. They do make great track cars, in fact I think you'll find they are not fuel guzzlers on track (relatively) thrashing them seems to make little difference to the already hideous consumption levels.
I bet it makes a change to a damp drippy Mx5
Have fun & see you out there some time in the summer
Declan
I bet it makes a change to a damp drippy Mx5
Have fun & see you out there some time in the summer
Declan
I miss my RX8 and shouldnt have sold it when I did. They dont use a lot of oil. I checked mine every few weeks or before a long journey (the M5 I replaced it with used loads more). The starting wasnt an issue as long as it has the upgraded starter motor.
They do need some TLC and attention and Im a firm believer that a lot of the horror stories are from owners who just want to get in and drive the car. The starting procedure, not reving over 4K until warm and checking the oil are all stated in the handbook and a sperate leaflet that comes with the car.
Ok, its not ideal but to me it added to the specialness of the car. The coils do pack up around 30K though (mine did the day I sold it, covered under warranty). Great handling cars though and above all fun without being too slow. Needs a decent exhaust though, Borla all the way.
They do need some TLC and attention and Im a firm believer that a lot of the horror stories are from owners who just want to get in and drive the car. The starting procedure, not reving over 4K until warm and checking the oil are all stated in the handbook and a sperate leaflet that comes with the car.
Ok, its not ideal but to me it added to the specialness of the car. The coils do pack up around 30K though (mine did the day I sold it, covered under warranty). Great handling cars though and above all fun without being too slow. Needs a decent exhaust though, Borla all the way.
Ali_T said:
Isn't it funny how most people that have owned them love them, and miss them when they are gone. Yet there are so many people who never had one that criticise them endlessly?
I'm convinced that Flemke's McLaren is the only car that has had more pages written about it than the RX8 on here. I know you either "get" RX8s or don't but I never understand why it polarises to such an extent and why non-owners (and never-owners) have such strong opinions.
Anyway, back on topic. Good luck with it OP, I'm sure you'll find it a hoot on track. I suspect mine will end up being stripped out and used as a slag whenever I replace it, simply because it is too good to sell for the price that I would get.
Ali_T said:
Isn't it funny how most people that have owned them love them, and miss them when they are gone. Yet there are so many people who never had one that criticise them endlessly?
I'd happily replace my Evo with whatever they come up with next.
I think the reason for this is simple, I'd love an RX8 but I'll never buy one because of the horror stories, are they justified? I'd say yes, how many other 5-6 year old cars do you see for sale on with less than 50k and bulked engines. I can't think of a single one. I'd happily replace my Evo with whatever they come up with next.
Ali_T said:
Isn't it funny how most people that have owned them love them, and miss them when they are gone. Yet there are so many people who never had one that criticise them endlessly?
I'd happily replace my Evo with whatever they come up with next.
Nicely put. I miss the one I had as a company car and will buy another one for the track when I outgrow the MX-5/can afford one. They are getting seriously cheap now so I might not have to wait all that long!I'd happily replace my Evo with whatever they come up with next.
I drove an RX-8 Evolve for over two years and absolutely loved it. Yes, I was checking the oil level quite regularly and topping it up if needed but that never really bothered me. After all, I spend some time checking it too on my bike or making sure the chain has enough tension. To me, it's part of the ownership.
The Rotary has always been criticized for it poor torque and fuel consomption. Can't say I disagree with the latter. In fact, that is one of the few reasons why I decided to sell it and bought a V8 instead. The interesting thing is that so far, the V8 has been returning a better MPG than the rotary.
Apart from that, my RX-8 was a second-hand car that was cared for, it continued visiting the local Mazda dealer for its services and nothing went wrong. I am not saying they are bullet-proof. Simply that for every horror story you hear or read, there is an equally happy one somewhere else if you're willing to listen.
Good luck with this one.
The Rotary has always been criticized for it poor torque and fuel consomption. Can't say I disagree with the latter. In fact, that is one of the few reasons why I decided to sell it and bought a V8 instead. The interesting thing is that so far, the V8 has been returning a better MPG than the rotary.
Apart from that, my RX-8 was a second-hand car that was cared for, it continued visiting the local Mazda dealer for its services and nothing went wrong. I am not saying they are bullet-proof. Simply that for every horror story you hear or read, there is an equally happy one somewhere else if you're willing to listen.
Good luck with this one.
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