Buying a Mazda RX8 in a few hours

ARGINITE wrote: »

There is no need to wait for five minute to warm the engine up, turn the car on wait a minute and then drive keeping the revs below 4K until the engine is up to temp.

...as should be done with every car!!!

wandatowell - with regards to driving it as an every day car, it's fine once you have the upgraded ignition components and good compression. I owned one for 2.5 years and loved it. I still miss it if I'm honest.

I have a post which covers everything about buying an RX8 that I have to copy and paste into every RX8 thread but I can't search for it right now, you'll find it easily enough if you search for RX8 related threads.

wandatowell wrote: »

RX8 or Astra OPC my forerunners at the moment.

The Astra is a good car and looks great but RWD over FWD all day every day if you want a proper sports car :cool:

OK, I had time to search and here it is copied and pasted. NB - Since I posted this, Mazda have since said to use mineral oil as opposed to synthetic. Also, I don't have the MPS any more :P

It's a great car but you really do have to be an enthusiast to own one. They are not for the fickle hearted, but by the time I sold mine, I had it set up like a normal car other than the mpg.

By that I mean it started first time every time with no hesitation at all. I did have trouble with this issue for a year and half of ownership but I sorted it myself. I did some research, bought all the parts I needed and fitted them myself.

2003, 2004 and early 2005 models came with crap starter motors. Mazda couldn't have done a better job at almost destroying the reputation of the rotary because of this. Once an RX8 has the upgraded starter motor, upgraded battery, ignition coils, HT leads and the hot leading plugs (RE7C-L), and has no compression issues, it will be fine.

A well looked after example will have very few issues if any. Your best bet is to buy one owned by an entusiast i.e. someone on irishrotary.com or the likes.

With regard to oil consumption, the harder you drive it, the more oil it will use. It burns oil as part of the combustion cycle in order to keep the rotor tips lubricated. When a rotary is starved of oil, the tips aren't lubricated and this causes them to fail hence compression issues. It's not what some make it out to be by saying "oh jaysus ya have to put more oil in than petrol". Simply not true. If you're looking at one and are wondering if it's been taken care of, the owner will keep a bottle of oil in the boot or in the boot access panel.

Try to get a compression test done on the one you're really thinking of buying. Drive a few of them and settle on the one you're happiest with. Thing is, there's only a few rotary engine compression tester machines in Ireland which all the mazda dealers here have to share as apparently, they're wicked expensive. You should book a few days in advance with your nearest dealer to make sure they have it on site when you show up.

They are very nice cars to work on, albeit a little cramped in the engine bay but once the engine is cold, nothing to worry about except if you're doing an oil change.

Unlike normal cars, the 8 uses 2 types of plugs - 2 leading (RE7C-L) and 2 trailing (RE9B-T). To buy them from a dealer is rape but I used get mine from the US for $80 + P&P.

I never bothered with calculating MPG when I had it, nor do I bother with the MPS. I just drive how I want and fill up when I have to. "It's nice to have money like that" you say? Well I don't, I just think that calculating mpg takes the fun out of owning a performance car. And if it's a performance car you're after you should get used to this way of thinking too.

The claimed figure of 25mpg is in a simulated environment. If you're expecting to get that in the real world with either the 192 or 232 models, stop thinking that right now

I must say, I really, really miss my RX8. The MPS is great but since it's a big saloon with a 2.3 piston engine, it's not as light or nimble as the 8. I miss not having to slow down in order to take bends

If you are interested in buying one, I would be more than happy to help by answering any questions you have.

Here's a video showing the difference between the original starter and upgraded starter. The starter used in this was manufactured for MazdaRotaryParts but the OEM Mazda one is identical:

Yes, the white gunk on the dipstick is normal. I nearly had heart failure when I first saw it on my one