Ditto...
I didn't realize R3s were that cheap, but unfortunately that negates one of the reasons for wanting to do this. (Doesn't save any money.)
Ditto...
I didn't realize R3s were that cheap, but unfortunately that negates one of the reasons for wanting to do this. (Doesn't save any money.)
must resist urge to surf cl......
In reply to BoxheadTim:
JUST BUY IT!
And then when she gets mad, sell it to me for 90% of what you buy it for and let MY wife get mad at me!
BoxheadTim wrote: In reply to singleslammer: This is not a link I needed to see. The Wife would veto the color anyway.
My wife would like the color, but not the car. 
That one has been modified with at least an intake and exhaust. It will also need tires soon. I went cheap and got Nitto NT05s (245/35 R19; love them btw) and it was still just under $1k OTD. Do the original engine covers come with it?
In reply to CGLockRacer:
Hell, I dont know. I just found that on the Bay on a quick search. Damn tires are pricey. I think going with a smaller wheel (whatever would fit those brakes) would be worth it at that price. Tires that are more than $150 a piece are insane.
Didn't the later engines also get reworked oil injection? I seem to recall that somewhere...
I'm still kicking myself I didn't pick up the 2004 I saw a while back for $4500. It was black and had low compression, though.
Bastards. (opens tab to CraigsList)
In reply to Brett_Murphy:
I still don't trust it! I've taken apart many rotary engines and premix always makes the housings come out better, granted it would likely clog up your cat quicker if you are in an emission state but without a cat I would just add a little TCW3 during gas fill ups to be safe.
Then again my engines are 1980s technology...
Brett_Murphy wrote: Didn't the later engines also get reworked oil injection? I seem to recall that somewhere... I'm *still* kicking myself I didn't pick up the 2004 I saw a while back for $4500. It was *black* and had low compression, though.
Yeah they revamped the oil injection along with everything else. I think one of the changes was a doubling of the oil pressure, meaning it needs a special oil filter which is larger, making racing beat's cool oil pressure gauge dealy not fit! One of the many small changes. I don't know if that made it last longer, again, mine has barely any miles and I don't read RX8club much at all for obvious reasons.
Dusterbd13 wrote: must resist urge to surf cl......
I just did...this board is the worst enabler. I found one on my local CL for 3k and thought "hmmm blown engine I'll bet". Nope....apparently the deadbeat "still owes money on it" so is selling without a title. Nice.
In reply to Cotton:
Yeah, that is pretty much illegal. I think that might deserve an e-mail to the local constable.
When I was shopping for a new car earlier this year, I test drove an '06 RX8, and it was by far the best of the cars I drove. Not even close. The others included:
330CI, '06 Mini Cooper S, '08 Mustang GT, E36 M3, '07 350Z, '12 Hyundai Genesis Coupe R-Spec, '12 Mustang 6cyl, '05 Corvette, and a few more I can't remember.
I ended up with the Cooper S, but only because of the gas mileage. The RX8 was the driver's car of the group though. I didn't even mind the low torque. Everything about the car felt right from seating, to placement of the controls, and if you like Miatas, it is very similar.
I still want and have been considering buying one for a play car.
In reply to Cotton:
I'm still trying to figure out how that fixes anything, unless he is going to commit insurance fraud and report the car stolen. Therefore double dip on the same car and satisfy the bank.
In reply to singleslammer:
stock replacement (which are not that great) are over $300 each.
In reply to Ranger50:
yeah...here is the ad....this guy seems like a real winner. http://clarksville.craigslist.org/cto/3219478935.html
In reply to Cotton:
Timing is off? uhhh.....yeah. Maybe the belt slipped a tooth 
FWIW, I emailed Hinson a couple months ago. - the website is out of date, and the kit is available.
njansenv wrote: FWIW, I emailed Hinson a couple months ago. - the website is out of date, and the kit is available.
How much?
CGLockRacer wrote: In reply to Cotton: Timing is off? uhhh.....yeah. Maybe the belt slipped a tooth
The timing could be off.
I didn't know there was a facelift. I thought RX-8's were RX-8's. My brother in law has a nice titanium gray one that he bought from a river boat captain. The thing sat in a garage a lot of the time while the dude pushed barges up and down the ohio river. It has low miles and was like a brand new car when he bought it, but it was 5 or 6 years old.
My GF has an '06 for her daily. I set it up for C Stock auto-x and have won the class on a number of occasions in the Atlanta region (and placed in the top 10 in PAX times). It's really a great car for the reasons cited:
In the 2-3 years we've had the car, I've done the coils, spark plugs, clutch master cylinder (due to the pedal issue that has a service bulletin), and the regular CS mods. The car has ~70k on it now, so those are all pretty normal wear items.
I've checked engine compression recently and it looked really good (right on factory specs on all six rotor faces). I haven't looked into it extensively, but my impression is that the engine issues have largely been resolved and were limited mostly to the first two years or so of production.
The big crappy thing was that 2nd gear was pretty prone to grinding (I have reason to believe that the PO was a moron and messed it up). I replaced the trans with a used one - same issue, then I pulled apart the old trans and found that the synchros weren't the issue, but the clutch fork was slightly bent. I've talked to a few teams who race these semi-professionally and they all have this issue. Apparently the newer cars ('09+ have a fix). Otherwise we haven't had any issues that really bother me. A few other minor complaints though:
As far as gas mileage goes, it's not fantastic, but not horrible either. We get high 20s on the highway (27 or so), and around 17 in stop-and-go Atlanta commute (I only get 18 in my 2600 lb 4 cylinder oil-crisis-era Celica on the same type of driving, so that's not too bad really).
It's not a super fast car (remember it's a 1.3L engine), but it's fast enough to be fun and powerful enough to spin the wheels coming out of corners if you get into it (and if you don't have crazy wide/sticky tires). It's definitely a momentum car though, so if you like passing on the straights, this isn't for you. This is a passing-in-the-corners kind of car.
Overall, it's really a fantastic ride. I will seriously consider getting one as a dedicated track car down the road.
fidelity101 wrote: I still don't trust it! I've taken apart many rotary engines and premix always makes the housings come out better, granted it would likely clog up your cat quicker if you are in an emission state but without a cat I would just add a little TCW3 during gas fill ups to be safe.
I premixed in my FC. I don't think I'd do that in an RX-8 unless it was a dedicated track car.
The only thing holding me back from an RX-8 purchase is the price. I swear, if I could find one with a blown engine, I'd be all over it.
I've even taken to looking at co-part for a reasonable fixer-upper, but every one that shows up there is either an auto (nope, nope, nope) or wrecked so hard the list of damage includes "biohazardous". (Double nope, nope, nope!)
That's unusual. Not one post with a negative experience. I am a big rotary fan, I just think they are not for your usual non-car type. Unlike all of us.
Feedyurhed wrote: That's unusual. Not one post with a negative experience. I am a big rotary fan, I just think they are not for your usual non-car type. Unlike all of us.
It's probably only because i specifically asked the negative experiences to not be shared. I'm aware of all of them already and have heard the same anecdotes about these cars on this forum at least 50x over already. 
Anyways, i appreciate everyone sharing their experiences! We're going to go test drive on Tuesday. Don't get too excited right now, if this happens it'll probably be in Spring when i can get the most money for the Miata.
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