RE: Shed of the Week: Mazda RX-8

[350Matt]

There are a couple that have been converted to LS1 V8 power and few more that have the Cosmo 20B in them and some with the Rx7 13B ( turbo)

any engine conversion is major aggro to be honest as there's so much on a modern car that simply won't work without a lot of effort and expertise ( body control unit, instruments, security ABS, DSC etc etc)

so I doubt they're be much left of the original good things left once you've gone this route

[James-18yd2]

Have had my RX-8 for 4 years and it is a better drive than my CSL. Amazing engine noise (added titanium exhaust and delete cats and cold air induction), perfect handling (full ohlins suspension replacement and magnesium wheels), but it didn’t need any of these to be great from the start. Highly recommend anyone to test drive one. Mixture of balance and high revving engine is fantastic. I’d buy another in a heartbeat. Plus news of a 2018 RX-8 on the way will surely invigorate interest in this great car.

[h3nde]

Harji said:

the b road up to Bicester from Thame

Great road.

[Martin350]

I picked up a 2007 RX8 on sunday.

By monday evening I was starting to wonder if I'd made the right decision.

Then on tuesday night I took it for a blast down a familiar country road local to me and I was all

[R8Steve]

Martin350 said:

I picked up a 2007 RX8 on sunday.

By monday evening I was starting to wonder if I'd made the right decision.

Then on tuesday night I took it for a blast down a familiar country road local to me and I was all

What happened on Wednesday? Did it break down?

[Martin350]

I didn't want to take any chances on wednesday, I used another car!


It looks like mine has been well looked after, the M.O.T. history shows it's never had a fail or even an advisory on any of it's tests!

Even so, I'll be giving it a thorough check over with fluid changes this weekend.

[wjb]

Martin350 said:

I didn't want to take any chances on wednesday, I used another car!


It looks like mine has been well looked after, the M.O.T. history shows it's never had a fail or even an advisory on any of it's tests!

Even so, I'll be giving it a thorough check over with fluid changes this weekend.

Congrats, get the coils upgraded to D585 if they haven't already been done.

I'd love another one, but can't get over the £500+ road tax and constant rotary roulette in my mind!

[Martin350]

wjb said:

Congrats, get the coils upgraded to D585 if they haven't already been done.

I'd love another one, but can't get over the £500+ road tax and constant rotary roulette in my mind!

Thanks!

Yes, it has had upgraded coils.

I did some quite convincing (to me) man maths re. the £535 road tax.
An earlier car, or my 350Z which I'll be selling soon, is £305 a year. That's only a difference of £4.42 a week, so a pint and a half less in the pub..?

The rotary roulette is part of the excitement!
I've had an FD RX7 in the past, so I'm not a stranger to that.

[wjb]

Martin350 said:

Thanks!

Yes, it has had upgraded coils.

I did some quite convincing (to me) man maths re. the £535 road tax.
An earlier car, or my 350Z which I'll be selling soon, is £305 a year. That's only a difference of £4.42 a week, so a pint and a half less in the pub..?

The rotary roulette is part of the excitement!
I've had an FD RX7 in the past, so I'm not a stranger to that.

I had a PZ so was also in the upper tax bracket, I used to tell myself it was like an extra 3 tanks of fuel

I had a quick look on autotrader last night, there are 80 RX8's listed for sale nationally.

When I bought mine in early 2016, there were just under 200 to choose from on autotrader.

[Martin350]

I do wonder if the attrition rate is high with these cars as their value drops and the cost of engine or bodywork repairs means that many of them become beyond economical repair.

After having a good look underneath mine today whilst I changed the engine oil & filter and gearbox oil, I'm glad to say it looks very healthy in the sill / floor / chassis rails areas.

And the more I drive this thing the more I'm liking it!