RE: Shed of the Week: Mazda RX-8
Discussion
It's not the reliability that puts me off them as rebuilds are pretty reasonably priced. I'd just buy one of the ones we a pre-borked engine that are available for next to nothing, get it rebuilt and it's good for a long time. The fuel consumption is crazy though. If I was going to live with 20mpg it'd need to be something much quicker than an RX8.
I ran a PZ version for just under 3 years as a daily. It was a great car as I did not do a lot of miles so the mpg was not an issue.
Mineral/semi oil is best, the owners club and Opie for example recommend one that is cheap, so I found buying 5 litres for the annual change and 5 litres for top ups over the 5k miles a year was more than enough, worked out about £45 incl delivery per year which is what I pay for 5 litres of good quality synthetic for my current car.
I changed, plugs, coils and leads at start of ownership. Apart from a flat battery once I never had any issues over 3 years. Was an ideal car for the annual Ring trip as well, just needed yellow stuff pads and uprated fluid/hoses and ran all day every day on laps great.
Only issue was power, most 230's I saw at a RR day only made about 195bhp flywheel on average, at 80k miles would be surprised if this one made 185bhp.
Mineral/semi oil is best, the owners club and Opie for example recommend one that is cheap, so I found buying 5 litres for the annual change and 5 litres for top ups over the 5k miles a year was more than enough, worked out about £45 incl delivery per year which is what I pay for 5 litres of good quality synthetic for my current car.
I changed, plugs, coils and leads at start of ownership. Apart from a flat battery once I never had any issues over 3 years. Was an ideal car for the annual Ring trip as well, just needed yellow stuff pads and uprated fluid/hoses and ran all day every day on laps great.
Only issue was power, most 230's I saw at a RR day only made about 195bhp flywheel on average, at 80k miles would be surprised if this one made 185bhp.
Ive had a couple, my blue 192 was sub-10mpg and was truly unsustainable in terms of fuel usage ... I bought it with a pre-Christmas bonus in 2007 (it was 2yrs old) and driving to Heathrow from Newcastle on boxing day I filled it in Newcastle before setting off and had to fill it again at Watford Gap services lol (and the same coming back). Its one of the only RX8's I have ever seen to have SatNav and the Sunroof options both present - I sold it on within 6mths as it was just too expensive although I racked nectar points from petrol like nobodies business
My second was a 231 a good few years later on a 55plate. It had been cherished by a chap from Sheffield and drove perfectly, MPG in the low 20s. I had it compression tested after a couple of months and the rotors/compression was as good as when it was new and decided then to run it for a short period of time and then sell it while it was in great condition (I know, how stupid!). It was dark grey with the black/brown leather and was gorgeous - regret selling it
Both have now been off the road for years now so assume theyre scrapped
I am currently looking for another RX8, I have my eye on a couple that are already borked and current specialists are even starting at sub £1k for an engine replacement (crated) or £1300 fitted!
My second was a 231 a good few years later on a 55plate. It had been cherished by a chap from Sheffield and drove perfectly, MPG in the low 20s. I had it compression tested after a couple of months and the rotors/compression was as good as when it was new and decided then to run it for a short period of time and then sell it while it was in great condition (I know, how stupid!). It was dark grey with the black/brown leather and was gorgeous - regret selling it
Both have now been off the road for years now so assume theyre scrapped
I am currently looking for another RX8, I have my eye on a couple that are already borked and current specialists are even starting at sub £1k for an engine replacement (crated) or £1300 fitted!
GranCab said:
Indeed, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear !!Maybe a little more research needed by The Shed staff before making any suggestions !!
SimonTheSailor said:
GranCab said:
Indeed, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear !!Maybe a little more research needed by The Shed staff before making any suggestions !!
https://tinyurl.com/yc6pe5re
Love the look of these Mazda's, always have.
A rebuild kit for the engine can cost up to £1,100. That's just for the kit, and it's the first one I've googled. Although once that's been done (if it needs to be done and looked after), you'll have thousands of miles of - as Shed says - £5-6k of driving pleasure.
It's a bargain, even if you decide to chav it up and thrash it round Rockingham.
A rebuild kit for the engine can cost up to £1,100. That's just for the kit, and it's the first one I've googled. Although once that's been done (if it needs to be done and looked after), you'll have thousands of miles of - as Shed says - £5-6k of driving pleasure.
It's a bargain, even if you decide to chav it up and thrash it round Rockingham.
Unlike the RX7, not pretty, fast or special enough to overlook its foibles, am sure some had good experiences when they were new, and some committed fans keep good examples going with their knowledge but cheap ones from the classifieds, just no.
I sold some tyres, chap came round in one, bounced it off the rev limiter outside my house for a few seconds, then turned it off, it stank of oil and petrol, he said he needed to do that so it started again, which it did but with a fair plume of crap from the exhaust.
There is a reason 99.99 percent of IC cars have piston engines, the wankel is a nice idea but its been shown time and again not to work well enough for passenger cars to be used by normal owners, and not enthusiasts.
I sold some tyres, chap came round in one, bounced it off the rev limiter outside my house for a few seconds, then turned it off, it stank of oil and petrol, he said he needed to do that so it started again, which it did but with a fair plume of crap from the exhaust.
There is a reason 99.99 percent of IC cars have piston engines, the wankel is a nice idea but its been shown time and again not to work well enough for passenger cars to be used by normal owners, and not enthusiasts.
GranCab said:
Wow, I think PH should seriously think about removing this week’s shed based on those reviews. Doesn’t seem right to give a company like that this sort of advertising!!!alorotom said:
starting at sub £1k for an engine replacement (crated) or £1300 fitted!
Well then, that's it, it's worth it...nothing else to be said. no?As for the fuel consumption. Unless you're commuting to work in it (are you mental!!) and racking up the miles, so what!!
Sounds like a lot of car for the money. And good basis for a race car.....no where did I put that MSA license
J4CKO said:
There is a reason 99.99 percent of IC cars have piston engines, the wankel is a nice idea but its been shown time and again not to work well enough for passenger cars to be used by normal owners, and not enthusiasts.
youre right - fear of the unknown and the differentIf there was larger adoption then I genuinely believe the kinks in the design would be worked out, the same that has happened with piston engines over the past c.50yrs with engines getting smaller, more efficient and more powerful - but with only one manufacturer persevering it becomes challenging to say the least.
personally I applaud Mazda for that perseverance and keeping at it - its dedication to the cause and makes the world more interesting IMHO
sgtBerbatov said:
Although once that's been done (if it needs to be done and looked after), you'll have thousands of miles of - as Shed says - £5-6k of driving pleasure.
I doubt these had £5-6k of driving pleasure even when they were new.They're gutless, sound dreadful, overly expensive to run and have loads of issues, even taking the engine out the equation.
Some people say they have great handling, i can't comment as it wasn't fast enough to find out. That was the higher BHP model as well. Rubbish.
Edited by R8Steve on Friday 5th January 10:41
ruprechtmonkeyboy said:
GranCab said:
Wow, I think PH should seriously think about removing this week’s shed based on those reviews. Doesn’t seem right to give a company like that this sort of advertising!!!R8Steve said:
Some people say they have great handling, i can't comment as it wasn't fast enough to find out. That was the higher BHP model as well. Rubbish.
LMAO. "Wasn't fast enough to find out." It's hard not to attack you personally for a comment like this, maybe you were trying to exaggerate for effect, but what on earth does amount of power got to do with a cars handling? What do you think of the handling in a Yaris? Wow.Edited by R8Steve on Friday 5th January 10:41
I had two from new back in 2005 - why two? Well the first one's engine let go with 600miles on the clock. I should have known...
16mpg in year 1 with a LOT of oil being used as well, but after the first disaster (which in fairness to Mazda UK, was swapped for an identical brand new car within 24 hours) I never really trusted the second vehicle, even tho it was brand new as well.
Despite what a coupe of comments say, it really did handle very well...in the dry. If it was raining, you had to be on the ball. It wasn't a super-fast coupe (despite using fuel usage suggesting it should have 500bhp!), but it was every bit as fast in a straight line as a Golf GTI and was miles more fun and nimble on the country roads than the FWD hot hatches.
Interior was a great place and very well spec'd for the price. The car looked really good (add some nice chrome strakes to the side vents and a 'V' to the front below the bumper like I did - looks good).
The car is surprisingly practical in every day terms. I had a toddler and a baby at that time and we never struggled once with the RX8 on days where we used that as the main family car. The suicide doors actually made it easier to place the kids in to their car seats without twisting around door pillars etc and the opening was the whole side of the car, so all good.
You are taxed as if it's a 2.6ltr engine, so that's not cheap. The most reasonable cost was the 1st year service at Mazda was only £99. I don't know what it was after that since whilst the car was in for a service I walked across the road and bought a Mk5 Golf GTI! Ha ha.
For £1k + a £1.3k engine rebuild, you could have a really fun little car that you could get away with not being too precious about (£2.3k is nothing and you could always sell for parts if the new engine ate it) that actually still looks good today (IMHO!).
16mpg in year 1 with a LOT of oil being used as well, but after the first disaster (which in fairness to Mazda UK, was swapped for an identical brand new car within 24 hours) I never really trusted the second vehicle, even tho it was brand new as well.
Despite what a coupe of comments say, it really did handle very well...in the dry. If it was raining, you had to be on the ball. It wasn't a super-fast coupe (despite using fuel usage suggesting it should have 500bhp!), but it was every bit as fast in a straight line as a Golf GTI and was miles more fun and nimble on the country roads than the FWD hot hatches.
Interior was a great place and very well spec'd for the price. The car looked really good (add some nice chrome strakes to the side vents and a 'V' to the front below the bumper like I did - looks good).
The car is surprisingly practical in every day terms. I had a toddler and a baby at that time and we never struggled once with the RX8 on days where we used that as the main family car. The suicide doors actually made it easier to place the kids in to their car seats without twisting around door pillars etc and the opening was the whole side of the car, so all good.
You are taxed as if it's a 2.6ltr engine, so that's not cheap. The most reasonable cost was the 1st year service at Mazda was only £99. I don't know what it was after that since whilst the car was in for a service I walked across the road and bought a Mk5 Golf GTI! Ha ha.
For £1k + a £1.3k engine rebuild, you could have a really fun little car that you could get away with not being too precious about (£2.3k is nothing and you could always sell for parts if the new engine ate it) that actually still looks good today (IMHO!).
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff