RX8 - Oh dear.
Discussion
Chris71 said:
This all sounds very familiar. I've just been asked to pass a message on at work to my say that one of my colleagues is going to be late today, as her RX8 has just expired. Again.
If it happens repeatedly, it is probably flooding, which is operator error (and he is killing his catalyst in the process).It's a classic RTFM problem.
RX8s have a special procedure which needs to be followed to avoid them flooding when used on very short journeys. IIRC you have to rev the engine and then turn it off at the key while the revs are still high, so that the engine keeps spinning for a few turns to pump out any excess fuel. (but check in the manual, I've never owned one so am going on hearsay!)
RX8s have a special procedure which needs to be followed to avoid them flooding when used on very short journeys. IIRC you have to rev the engine and then turn it off at the key while the revs are still high, so that the engine keeps spinning for a few turns to pump out any excess fuel. (but check in the manual, I've never owned one so am going on hearsay!)
To say I wasn't tempted by one of these this weekend would be an understatement, saw a 2004 231hp with 50k miles and just in need of a couple of tyres go through an auction for £3700.
Not a bad deal I reckon, the gf is after one but has to sell har car first so we just went to get a feel for how the auction went.
Not a bad deal I reckon, the gf is after one but has to sell har car first so we just went to get a feel for how the auction went.
otolith said:
Chris71 said:
This all sounds very familiar. I've just been asked to pass a message on at work to my say that one of my colleagues is going to be late today, as her RX8 has just expired. Again.
If it happens repeatedly, it is probably flooding, which is operator error (and he is killing his catalyst in the process).The AA man told her it was head gasket failure.
Ozzie Osmond said:
I've never understood why anyone would take the risk of buying a Mazda rotary when there are good alternatives available.
I must admit the rotary does put me off the idea of an RX8, but I think a decent boot and four fairly useable seats does put it into something of a niche.Can you think of any other affordable, genuinely sporting mainstream sports cars or coupes? The front engined Porsches are obvious contenders, but they're a bit long in the tooth and a bit specialist for most ordinary buyers and even they don't have the rear seat space that the Mazda does. The boot is hugely useful too - you'd struggle to carry a bag of sugar in the back of a 350Z.
The only icon that looks vaguely like a tap is the check engine light - it's not flooding if she started it in the first place. If she has flooded it repeatedly in the past, it could be that the catalytic converter is collapsing, though that usually becomes apparent as a loss of power at high rpm. Coil failure is a possibility - could have caused a history of problems, but I would assume that if she's had it in to anywhere half competent they would have picked that up.
To be honest, they're an enthusiast's car - they're great, and I really enjoyed owning mine, but while I would recommend one to another petrolhead, I wouldn't recommend one to my mum. They're cheap to buy, but they're expensive to run and they need looking after properly. Main dealer or specialist servicing is relatively cheap, but once they get to the point where they are being looked after by back street garages and being bought by people who know nothing about them, things are going to go horribly wrong.
Someone has just turned up on the owner's club saying that he's bought one, put a tenner in it and only got 30 miles out of it, which makes me cringe at the thought that he really didn't know what he was getting himself into and isn't going to be able to cope with 20mpg or less day to day. You can't get an accurate measure of mpg by sticking a tenner in and guessing from the fuel light when you've used it all up, but that would be about 16mpg and while right at the low end, it's feasible if used only for short urban journeys. Like our 350Z, which currently costs nearly 80 quid to brim, it's not the sort of car that you stick a tenner at a time in.
To be honest, they're an enthusiast's car - they're great, and I really enjoyed owning mine, but while I would recommend one to another petrolhead, I wouldn't recommend one to my mum. They're cheap to buy, but they're expensive to run and they need looking after properly. Main dealer or specialist servicing is relatively cheap, but once they get to the point where they are being looked after by back street garages and being bought by people who know nothing about them, things are going to go horribly wrong.
Someone has just turned up on the owner's club saying that he's bought one, put a tenner in it and only got 30 miles out of it, which makes me cringe at the thought that he really didn't know what he was getting himself into and isn't going to be able to cope with 20mpg or less day to day. You can't get an accurate measure of mpg by sticking a tenner in and guessing from the fuel light when you've used it all up, but that would be about 16mpg and while right at the low end, it's feasible if used only for short urban journeys. Like our 350Z, which currently costs nearly 80 quid to brim, it's not the sort of car that you stick a tenner at a time in.
Ozzie Osmond said:
I'd have thought the smaller coupes/hatches from BMW, Saab etc were the conventional choice. RX may have a nicer chassis 'though I'm always left wondering how much your kids and luggage want to be thrown around in any event!
It's a niche product that uses the packaging advantages of the rotary to do something that is difficult to do with a piston engine of similar power and refinement - it's a front mid engined layout that seats four adults. There's nothing particularly special about the chassis, the handling comes from the weight distribution. If you don't need the space, there are several two seaters with the engine between the driver and the front axle line. If you don't care about the handling advantages, the world is your lobster.Ozzie Osmond said:
I'm always left wondering how much your kids and luggage want to be thrown around in any event!
Well you can drive a sports car sedately if you so wish. Besides some people don't want or don't have the option of running two cars. I'm re-evaluating the whole two car idea at the moment myself and were it not for the running costs and reliability an RX8 would be a very appealing single car prospect. At the moment I run one car pretty much souly for the purpose of lugging mountain bikes and suitcases around, which seems a bit unfortunate when a 2+2 coupe or sports saloon would probably do that.Ozzie Osmond said:
I've never understood why anyone would take the risk of buying a Mazda rotary when there are good alternatives available.
I know some owners love their RX8 but what are the "upsides" to offset the obvious "downsides" as an ownership proposition?
What risk? What obvious downsides? The cheap servicing, the single issue I've had with mine in 6 years of ownership (failed headlight leveller, out of warranty, 70% of cost paid by Mazda), the space in the back for the kids, the boot that can take 2 sets of golf clubs? OK so in these days of 300bhp hot hatches the performance isn't anything to write home about but certainly as a second-hand proposition there's nothing on the market to touch it.I know some owners love their RX8 but what are the "upsides" to offset the obvious "downsides" as an ownership proposition?
deckster said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
I've never understood why anyone would take the risk of buying a Mazda rotary when there are good alternatives available.
I know some owners love their RX8 but what are the "upsides" to offset the obvious "downsides" as an ownership proposition?
What risk? What obvious downsides? The cheap servicing, the single issue I've had with mine in 6 years of ownership (failed headlight leveller, out of warranty, 70% of cost paid by Mazda), the space in the back for the kids, the boot that can take 2 sets of golf clubs? OK so in these days of 300bhp hot hatches the performance isn't anything to write home about but certainly as a second-hand proposition there's nothing on the market to touch it.I know some owners love their RX8 but what are the "upsides" to offset the obvious "downsides" as an ownership proposition?
DamianBPhoto said:
Hi all, posting on behalf of a mate.
He has an RX8 and when he starts it cold it starts fine. But after it has had time to warm up, and he turns the engine off and on again it won't go. Takes about 15minutes to cool off before it will.
So he's posted the problem on the RX8 forum and asked owners and they all say engine is going to go, reckon it is to do with the rotor tips?
Either way he is panicking because he has only just bought it(just over a year) and doesn't want the engine to go just yet, obviously.
So does it sound like they might be talking sense or be going OTT? If they are talking sense what are some good options what to do next?
This is not an age related problem, they did it from new.He has an RX8 and when he starts it cold it starts fine. But after it has had time to warm up, and he turns the engine off and on again it won't go. Takes about 15minutes to cool off before it will.
So he's posted the problem on the RX8 forum and asked owners and they all say engine is going to go, reckon it is to do with the rotor tips?
Either way he is panicking because he has only just bought it(just over a year) and doesn't want the engine to go just yet, obviously.
So does it sound like they might be talking sense or be going OTT? If they are talking sense what are some good options what to do next?
Cure = Hold revs at 4000 when you turn the ignition off, then it doesn't flood.
GraemeP said:
JB! said:
damn these are looking cheap!
has anyone trackday-ed thiers?
A friend has one purely for trackdays and he loves it! I sat in with him for a session at a very wet Goodwood in Feb - I have to say for the money it is a pretty good package.has anyone trackday-ed thiers?
a very tempting proposition indeed. can I presume these will continue to drop in price?
JB! said:
GraemeP said:
JB! said:
damn these are looking cheap!
has anyone trackday-ed thiers?
A friend has one purely for trackdays and he loves it! I sat in with him for a session at a very wet Goodwood in Feb - I have to say for the money it is a pretty good package.has anyone trackday-ed thiers?
a very tempting proposition indeed. can I presume these will continue to drop in price?
This car does give single digit MPG on track I believe (this one gets trailered to and from track as well).
GraemeP said:
This car does give single digit MPG on track I believe (this one gets trailered to and from track as well).
Mine did 9mpg on the Prodrive track - mixture of high speed and handling circuits and messing about about on the skid surfaces.I'd have thought most 230bhp petrol cars would turn in single digits on track?
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