MAZDA RX8 Owners

blueb

Hi all

Im very eager to contact anyone who owns/ has ownes a mazda 8.
Love the look of these cars and iv heard they handle very well, all be it with not as much torque as youd expect.

But iv also heard about alot of engine replacements and parts needed plus apparently that rotary engine isnt very fuel efficient ... im not naive.. i know most cars in this bracket are not misers on petrol!

Id just like to know whats your experience with this motor?.. worth buying?
I know the basics.. change oil, spark plugs,... general maintenance but thats about it.

I have an interest in cars and i love to drive! the thoughts of a 1.3 corolla depress me

dantastic

I've an RX8 as my daily driver. I love it, my wife loves it and my local petrol monger loves it too.
Worst I've done is 12.7MPG, best 24.8MPG. I average at 17-18MPG. I do little mileage so I'm OK with it.

The car has a 1.3l engine, but it revvs its pants off. It has no torque and is all about the upper range. It redlines at 9000 RPM and there is a beep to tell you to shift gears. I find it very rewarding to drive. It handles well but being a powerful rwd car you need to spend money on the tyres, cheap tyres will kill you.

It's a very comfy car with nice leather interior, good standard sound system, nice ride and a super rewarding whistle from the engine.

Don't waste your time with the 192, you will forever be googling how to upgrade to a 231 engine. You generally get hold of one in very good condition for little money.

The engine then, where the magic is. The engine is designed to consume oil from the sump so you need to constantly check the oil level. I check the fluids once per week. You must do this. If you think you may forget then this car is not for you.
Most problems stem from either running low on oil or having run on shagged coils. The coils in the RX7 were quite expensive so Mazda put cheaper coils into the RX8. As a result these cheaper coils die causing fuel not to burn in the cylinders but rather in the exhaust killing the cat.
Just budget for coils, leads & plugs - Don't cheap out! Either but Mazda R3 or BHR coils. Make damn sure they are genuine as there have been several knockoffs on ebay claiming to be real at cheap prices (and they won't work properly).

The starter is often thought to be broken when all it needs is to be cleaned out. A handy job.

Should you fine a car in otherwise excellent condition but with a blown engine you can still consider it. Having the engine rebuilt isn't that crazy expensive and then you will have a car for years to come.

blueb

wow cheers man.. some great info there..

I wish there were more options like the RX8.. im also considering a VRS but they seem to be a lot pricier!
Im still not sure if the RX8 is the car for me, have some more thinking to do..
If anyone has some other suggestions please feel free to add

Thanks again bud

dmaprelude

check out www.irishrotary.com for loads of info

dantastic

When I bought mine I had it down to 2 cars, the RX8 and the MX5. I'd wholeheartedly recommend either. What tipped the scale for me was ultimately the need for 4 seats. There is plenty of space in the back on the RX8 and 2 large fellas will fit comfortably.

Chris_Heilong

You wont really find torque in a non turbo car, they are great looking alright. I know MetzgerMeister had one for a while.

Alanstrainor

If fuel efficiency is on your mind at all, I would just forget the RX8, it is horrendous! Drinks more than an M3 will. They can be bought cheap now, whether or not any of them are in good condition or not, I just don't know. I would be wary about such cars given the price bracket they're in.

MX5 would be plenty of craic, if you can get over the looks!

Kimbot

My sister has one and as she puts it, "You can pass everything on the road except a garage".

blueb

wouldnt be pushed on an mx5.. i think i might see can i test drive a VRS 06-07 model.. plenty a go in them id say.. not the prettiest car but could knock a bit a craic outa it

fmcg_scribe

dantastic wrote: »

I've an RX8 as my daily driver. I love it, my wife loves it and my local petrol monger loves it too.
Worst I've done is 12.7MPG, best 24.8MPG. I average at 17-18MPG. I do little mileage so I'm OK with it.

The car has a 1.3l engine, but it revvs its pants off. It has no torque and is all about the upper range. It redlines at 9000 RPM and there is a beep to tell you to shift gears. I find it very rewarding to drive. It handles well but being a powerful rwd car you need to spend money on the tyres, cheap tyres will kill you.

It's a very comfy car with nice leather interior, good standard sound system, nice ride and a super rewarding whistle from the engine.

Don't waste your time with the 192, you will forever be googling how to upgrade to a 231 engine. You generally get hold of one in very good condition for little money.

The engine then, where the magic is. The engine is designed to consume oil from the sump so you need to constantly check the oil level. I check the fluids once per week. You must do this. If you think you may forget then this car is not for you.
Most problems stem from either running low on oil or having run on shagged coils. The coils in the RX7 were quite expensive so Mazda put cheaper coils into the RX8. As a result these cheaper coils die causing fuel not to burn in the cylinders but rather in the exhaust killing the cat.
Just budget for coils, leads & plugs - Don't cheap out! Either but Mazda R3 or BHR coils. Make damn sure they are genuine as there have been several knockoffs on ebay claiming to be real at cheap prices (and they won't work properly).

The starter is often thought to be broken when all it needs is to be cleaned out. A handy job.

Should you fine a car in otherwise excellent condition but with a blown engine you can still consider it. Having the engine rebuilt isn't that crazy expensive and then you will have a car for years to come.

Interesting post.

I knew about the oil top-up issue (every second time you fill up the petrol tank?) and I thought that that may have affected the sales of the car but the mpg that you have been getting is appalling.

I'd expect that sort of mpg data from an exotic sports car.

dantastic

Oil is every time you're at the pump. You can burn a full liter of oil if you go for an enthusiastic drive.

You can fit a Sohn adapter and a separate oil tank. So the engine won't consume dirty oil from the sump but rather nice and clean 2-stroke from a separate tank. Makes it a lot easier to top up the oil then. I haven't done this yet but it's on my list.

With regards to fuel consumption, I'm reasonably happy with the consumption. A lot of my driving is city driving and when I'm not sitting in traffic I'm enjoying the performance. I don't drive it with fuel consumption in mind. Smiles per gallon

Motorway driving (obeying limits) and you should see 20-22MPG.

blueb

I dont think obeying limits would would come into my head if i was behind the wheel on a motorway

fmcg_scribe

dantastic wrote: »

Oil is every time you're at the pump. You can burn a full liter of oil if you go for an enthusiastic drive.

You can fit a Sohn adapter and a separate oil tank. So the engine won't consume dirty oil from the sump but rather nice and clean 2-stroke from a separate tank. Makes it a lot easier to top up the oil then. I haven't done this yet but it's on my list.

With regards to fuel consumption, I'm reasonably happy with the consumption. A lot of my driving is city driving and when I'm not sitting in traffic I'm enjoying the performance. I don't drive it with fuel consumption in mind. Smiles per gallon

Motorway driving (obeying limits) and you should see 20-22MPG.

Fair enough.

Choice of car can be a very personal decision.

That said, the mpg figures that you've been getting would not suit the vast majority of drivers - in the US where petrol is much cheaper than Europe, RX8 mpg would be less of an issue.

ShaunieVW

If it were me id go for the vrs, a remap will leave it above the mazdas 231hp and they have bags of torque. However, the rx will handle better. I looked into rx-8s a while back but the mpg put me off. Thats subaru STI figures. I know which one I'd have! They lack the power to justify that MPG.

Dartz

Another owner checking in.

2006, 231bhp Exclusive model

I'd never outright tell someone to buy one - but then again I'd never turn someone away from one if they were interested. You just have to take a little care and time to work at getting the right one. I think right now there're two for sale on the Irishrotary forum that might be worth looking at.

The simple trick to finding a good one is making sure that it starts hot. Take it for a test drive, get a good feel for the car and let it sit for a few minutes. If it in any way struggles to start hot, you've got an engine that could do with a rebuild. Not terminal, mind - but something to use as a negotiating tool.

Other than that, mine's not too bad. It's been a little more expensive to run than I expected but at the same time it's an 8 year old car so a few things are going to fail. The fundamentals of the machine are still solid. Tax is cheap for what it can do, and starting of scratch with 0 NCB, the insurance was 1350.

When I bought it the ignition was a little weak and it steadily got worse over the next thousand or so kilometres. If you're getting fuel 'economy' of 20L/100km from one of these around town, something's badly wrong. The cat's gone Chernobyl because of the ****e coils but **** that, it doesn't get emissions tested in the NCT so you can save yourself a lot of bother by just getting rid of it. I replaced it there myself with a RotaryRevs D585 coil kit and it's like a night and day improvement. It's nearly 500 quid, but totally worth it.

It should be getting anywhere between 8L/100 and 15L/100 depending on where and you drive it. Even with worn ignition on a long motorway drive I was still pulling 10-11L/100 on a long motorway drive, with some forays up to really silly speeds. First run on the new coils gave me somewhere between 12 and 13L, with a 60/40 split between city/motorway mileage. (At an estimate)

Poor ignition can kill one of these however if it's left for too long. Especially if it misfires and detonates.

Oilwise, it depends on how you drive it. Dexelia's a load of monkey-piss and too thin really. 10w40 mineral is ideal. A lot of owners premix in some 2-stroke into the petrol - anywhere between 100:1 and 200:1 - which roughly matches the engine's natural lubrication rate anyway. It's for peace of mind mostly, but can save the engine if the oil metering pump goes pop. It will happily run as concentrated as 50:1.

There's no getting around the fact that the engine core is something of a wear item. It is what it is, and normally comes up around the time a conventional engine needs its timing chain or cambelt done. The effect of a pinged seal is no different from a dropped valve or camchain - except the engine will keep running on 1 rotor long enough to get you home. It happens about as often too... Other maintenance tends to come up a little cheaper, especially since the engine core likes mineral oil, and there's ****all to change except for fluids and filter when you service it. It evens out.

And if I can can consider servicing it in my drive, so can you.

As a car, I love mine to bits. The styling's aged well - even if mine shows a litle clouding in the headlights and some laquer peel - and agoldfish bowl in the right rear light. But it's a comfy thing and a proper long distance cruiser. Slip it into 6th and at 120kph the engine's doing 4000rpm and you just can't feel it spinning. The cabin equipment is of it's era, but it feels like a premium place to be - especially if you get the version wit the 6 CD changer and Bose sound system that's half decent.

The Wankel engine really is a nice thing to drive when it's on song. It's just so weirdly smooth - nearly everyone who's been in the car has commented on it. When you're not in the mood for high RPM shenanigans, it'll whirr along quietly and unobtrusively. When you put the foot down, it'll make a loud noise out the back and charge towards the redline, beeping to let you know it's time to consider changing gear. If you take a test drive, run it up to 9000 - you won't regret it.

It is, ultimately, what it is.

quietsailor

Thank you for that post. I've been looking at UK RX-8s and that's cleared up a few things for me.

Even if I never bought one it was good to read a post from someone who loves and lows their car like that

quietsailor

Thank you for that post. I've been looking at UK RX-8s and that's cleared up a few things for me.

Even if I never bought one it was good to read a post from someone who loves and lows their car like that

Dartz

quietsailor wrote: »

Thank you for that post. I've been looking at UK RX-8s and that's cleared up a few things for me.

Even if I never bought one it was good to read a post from someone who loves and lows their car like that

Take it with a grain of salt. They're a car that can inspire an odd loyalty.,.,,or extreme frustration, Especially since mines also the first car I ever owned myself. Try before you buy and make sure you like what it offers. It doesn't especially apologize for what it is.

Ultimately, owning one and driving one is a unique experience that's getting rarer- and will probably never be available again. There'll always be some form of Vrs or M3... The RX will likely never be seen again

porsche959

Personally I'd baulk at the fuel consumption figures, but great drivers cars by all accounts. Just my 2c.

Nissan 350z might be an alternative.

Dartz

porsche959 wrote: »

Personally I'd baulk at the fuel consumption figures, but great drivers cars by all accounts. Just my 2c.

Nissan 350z might be an alternative.

What you might save in fuel though, you pay in tax. For what it can do, the 8's in a pretty handy tax bracket. Tax and insurance are pretty low on them.

Z's are in the top bracket, while 8's are taxed as 1.7's prior to '08

Esel

blueb wrote: »

I have an interest in cars and i love to drive! the thoughts of a 1.3 corolla depress me

blueb wrote: »

i think i might see can i test drive a VRS 06-07 model.. plenty a go in them id say.. not the prettiest car but could knock a bit a craic outa it

blueb wrote: »

I dont think obeying limits would would come into my head if i was behind the wheel on a motorway

Would this be your first car, by any chance?

blueb

350Z.. arnt they 3.5? .. i pay nuff tax to that shower already!

blueb

Esel wrote: »

Would this be your first car, by any chance?

ha ha no no its far from my first car

Im drivin an 04 audi a4 at the moment.. id say its my 6th r 7th car, i have to sell it due to financial issues! I have an old run around corolla that ill be using untill my finances are in order (6months).. so im looking for something to look forward to getting.

Imagine looking for a rx8 for your first car.... Insurance nightmare

Is it not possible that a 29 yr old still wants to " knock a bita craic" outa their car... or at any age for that matter!

ARGINITE

Have owned one for the last two years, they are a great car as long as you service it regularly.
As Dartz has already mentioned thing worth doing are changing the coils to the RotaryRevs kit, the oil from the Mazda recommended 5w30 to 10w40 (the semi or mineral decision is up to you) and premixing. After that don't skimp on tyres it's amazing how tail happy the thing is when using crap tyres.

Since you mention a worry about the rotary engine not being very fuel efficient, on short trips or city driving expect crap MPG (15ish) on the motorway 19 to 25 is common.

RX8 Buyers guide

Special Circumstances

Dartz wrote: »

Ultimately, owning one and driving one is a unique experience that's getting rarer- and will probably never be available again. There'll always be some form of Vrs or M3... The RX will likely never be seen again

This is possibly the best reason to get one now , sooner rather thanan later, if they appeal to you.

:-(

tommylimerick

I have a rx8 but I only do small miles and I have a set of jump leads handy for my rx8

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Dartz wrote: »

What you might save in fuel though, you pay in tax. For what it can do, the 8's in a pretty handy tax bracket. Tax and insurance are pretty low on them.

Z's are in the top bracket, while 8's are taxed as 1.7's prior to '08

I have a 300zx and it does ok MPG, 20-25 at best. By all accounts RX8s dont do too far away from 18-20mpg.
That 5mpg is really not worth the 1200 extra tax (rx8 can be taxed as a 1.3)

But if you are buying an RX8 do it with your heart not with rationality or mpg. If you rationalize you'll buy something crap like a diesel auris or something.

blueb

Diesel Auris... i feel my blood pumping just thinking about it, thrilling lol

Dartz

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

I have a 300zx and it does ok MPG, 20-25 at best. By all accounts RX8s dont do too far away from 18-20mpg.
That 5mpg is really not worth the 1200 extra tax (rx8 can be taxed as a 1.3)

But if you are buying an RX8 do it with your heart not with rationality or mpg. If you rationalize you'll buy something crap like a diesel auris or something.

I've been up in the 25's on longer drives. I wouldn't call the low fuel economy a myth as such - but it's certainly not as bad as its reputation. Hideous consumption figures are usually a symptom of something else going wrong. And it's really not a city car.

On the upside, it does warm up quickly.

Over the course of a year, you're talking about an extra 10-15 extra refuels in the difference in tax prices - which isn't going to happen unless you're doing big mileage or a lot of city crawling.

RootX

Another happy REX owner here

Dartz's post is pretty much "RX-8 ownership in a nutshell"

OP, If you're planning on test driving a few, you may find some tips I put together for another member, helpful.

How much do you expect to get for your 04 if you don't mind me asking?

blueb

Very Kind.. thanks Rootx, and everyone for the valuable info..

Just wondering do any of u guys have kids? as i have one .. roomie enough for one?

RootX

I have a 3 y.o. and no issues with car-seat at the back.

Dartz

I've got the driver-seat in the full-back position and nobody's fitting behind me. Unless they're a landmine victim.

OTOH, I will fit in the back seat if someone short is up front.

dantastic

It's a bit of a marmite car. I love it, others hate it. Some reviews here as well. I really think it has aged very well. For the money there are very few other cars in the same category. Should reiterate, a lot of my driving is bumper to bumper traffic, a few 100m in 10-15 minutes.

MetzgerMeister

having owned and loved a JDM 6 speed RX8 for 2.5 years, I implore you to buy one. I also implore you to investigate each one and preferably buy one with compression test results. As was said, good ones are getting thin on the ground. We'll have ones in a few years with perfect rebuilt engines but the bodywork and interiors are going to be fooked.

Dartz, the reason you have a flooded rear light is because you are either missing one of the 3 nuts that hold the light in place or your gasket has failed. The nuts/bolts are a sh!te design because if you tighten them too tight, the whole thing snaps off the cluster. the only fix is to replace the whole thing.

I have a huge post including video in one of the numerous RX8 threads on here but I'm too lazy to look for it!

RootX

Ordered and fitted a set of these and so far no water/condensation.

The gaskets were in a bad shape and the drain channels were also blocked, gave it a good clean before I fitted the new gaskets.

Dartz

It only started leaking after I washed the car and paid specific attention to that point because there was a lot of trapped gunk around there and it looked horrendous. It's not that big a deal anyway.

What I really need to find is a little plastic goldfish to drop inside. Or a small drillbit.

EazyD

I've noticed there's a very limited number examples of the 230hp ones in Ireland. Is there much between the two? (Insurance, MPG?)

Dartz

Only real difference is BHP and gearbox. 192's will come with either an automatic 4-speed (Which us a poor match for the engine), or a 5-speed manual. They only rev to 7500 taking the top-end out of the engine, but that's it. They might not have the shiniest toys inside. But are otherwise sound cars.

MetzgerMeister

The biggest difference is the fact that the 231 engine has an extra 2 ports over the 192. It's not as simple as buying a 192 and remapping it to 231.

Dartz

Those two extra ports can cause problems on some engines, mind. If you don't rev it up often enough the valves controlling them can jam with carbon. While the 192 can have the same carbon issues on the automatic, it's a little simpler in the intake. It's much of a muchness, really. You wouldn't be disappointed with a 192, especially if it's well equipped inside.

It's almost funny. There're more moving parts in the intake manifold than the engine core. Take a peek.

Anyway...
And a snapshot of my car, post wash.
And by the sea, down in Wexford That's called trusting the handbrake.
Also. Film photography.

EazyD

Dartz wrote: »

Those two extra ports can cause problems on some engines, mind. If you don't rev it up often enough the valves controlling them can jam with carbon. While the 192 can have the same carbon issues on the automatic, it's a little simpler in the intake. It's much of a muchness, really. You wouldn't be disappointed with a 192, especially if it's well equipped inside.

It's almost funny. There're more moving parts in the intake manifold than the engine core. Take a peek.

Anyway...
And a snapshot of my car, post wash.
And by the sea, down in Wexford That's called trusting the handbrake.
Also. Film photography.

Nice example you have. I'm still in the consideration process, but I'd have to move the MX5 on which as of now I'm reluctant to do.