RX8 Success Stories

I owned an 04 base model 6-speed for one year back when they first came out. I leased it for two-years, but had someone assume it from me when we bought our current house. I only put maybe 9k miles on it because I didn't drive it during the winter, but they were all trouble free, and I loved the car. The only problem I had was the dealer was pretty clueless about the car,and the ECU re-flash that I asked they perform to it before I took delivery. I am sure that stuff is all well known now, but at the time it wasn't. It was also my 3rd or 4th rotary at the time, so I knew what I was getting into. The chassis was sublime,and the car had way more power than my lousy driving skills could ever handle. I did drive it all the way to Indianapolis back in 05 as well,and it was a pleseant trip while averaging pretty decent gas mileage if I remember right. Running into a snow storm in April in Indiana was a bit of a surprise, but even the lousy factory tires handled it just fine.

I think my sister misses the car more than I do, but recently I have been looking at another base model(06 Phantom blue), and a 2009 red R3 model at a local dealer. The R3 is the one I really want, but the $8K price difference is a big gap.

Chris

I drive a 2009 sport model. It had 2,000 miles when I got it in march 2010. As of this morning it has 38,000 miles. I have done scheduled maintenance and put a set of tires on it. I also drive it in the winter with snowtires on 17" wheels. The car, as others have stated is a great driving car. If I could redesign the car I would make the visibility to rear better, drop the window frames so I could put my elbow in the breeze easier and I would get rid of the electric windows, doorlocks and alarm system. The windows are a pain in the butt to open just a little, they move very fast and are the type that one touch puts them down. I am afraid to leave the key in it with the windows up as it seems to lock itself often. This might be the car I keep until I can't drive due to my old age.

I need to re visit this question come spring time.

I have up to this point successfully managed not to own one. This is weird as I have had many many other rotary powered cars and loved them. It is on the bucket list at the moment. Thanks for posting this. Good info!

I've been thinking of trading my FD for an RX8

Let's put it this way. Name a car with better handling, dynamic feel, steering, brakes, transmission, etc. for a price that's within reach of semi-normal people. Name a better sports car for the money they go for (assuming comparing a car of remotely similar age)? It's a short list because the other car doesn't exist. It's even somewhat practical.

The negatives are that gas millage isn't good and there are more minor problems than other modern cars experience. It doesn't have the most power (merely adequate) or torque. Engine failures are probably more common than with other cars.

I have an 04. First rotary I owned and once you get used to the little idiosyncrasies of the RX8 it is a great and fun car. As stated, the handling and braking is very intuitive and great fun revving the engine. Would own another one in a heartbeat, although newer so it doesn't have the 04 issues. Also without the sunroof that mine has, the helmet touches the roof inside when I autocross. Can't speak on the leather seats as mine has cloth. I don't really prefer red cars, too conspicious, I do like the red with gold metallic mine has. Bought mine used. Any other way? The trunk was mentioned, I do find it roomy enough. The only issue I have with it is the trunk lid itself limits the size and shape of putting things in the trunk. The only fix for it would be to make the trunk longer but that would throw off the lines of the car so that's out.

One more thing about my R3. People are amazed by how much I fit in it for a track day. First, I line the trunk with a Harbor Freight moving blanket. The space in the far back of the trunk fits my craftsman tool box perfectly. I can then get my 150ish piece socket set case in the well, a couple of jack stands, a jack, empty 5 gal. fuel jug, and a couple of small items with space to spare. The only thing that goes in the trunk is my safety gear and a milk crate that doesn't fit through the trunk opening. It is like playing tetris, but you can fit quite a bit in there. (Disclaimer...I am coming from a Miata that I had to tow a trailer with, so the trunk seems huge. )

Yeah I see my friends track their RX8s and they can fit four 17" wheels and tires in the back with some other misc gear like jack stands some tools and a floor jack.

So, now that I want one, how do they do on rough roads? Most of the roads around here are a mess!

I've had mine for just over a year and 10k miles now and I still love it! It's an 04 with 71,000 miles. I had the compression checked when I bought it and it wasn't perfect, but was within the acceptable range. I have been pre-mixing 8 oz of 2 stroke oil per tank and have installed a Sohn adaptor to run 2 stroke oil to the seals instead of engine oil. It had new coils, plugs and a catalytic converterinstalled right before I got it, so I've only had to do oil changes and brakes. My best mileage was 26 and worst was 16. It's by far the most fun car I can still fit the kids in!

In reply to bgkast:

the suicide doors are extra practical for that.

Interesting, never heard of running the 2 stroke oil

In reply to Jaynen:

I don't use the factory injection in my FC anymore.

Premix wears the housings more evenly and less wear, reduce chance of flaking the housings.

Treat the car like a snowmobile and it will last forever.

if it aint smokin, its broken!

A redline a day keeps the carbon build up away!

When I originally purchased my rx7 I asked our shop foreman who used be a head tech at mazda for years for some advice, he merely stated:

"If you baby it, you will break it"

Another thing that changed on the '09+ RX-8 is the location of the dipstick and oil filter, making service MUCH easier.

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.

I'll be honest, when you specifically ask for positive experiences and no negatives, usually you will be amazed at how many positives there really are.

I talked to a guy who road-raced an RX-8. He put a roots-type blower on it. I never heard of anyone else doing that, but he said the power delivery was perfect.

Sky_Render wrote: I talked to a guy who road-raced an RX-8. He put a roots-type blower on it. I never heard of anyone else doing that, but he said the power delivery was *perfect.*

As usual, the aussies have us Rotards covered

McTinkerson wrote:

Sky_Render wrote: I talked to a guy who road-raced an RX-8. He put a roots-type blower on it. I never heard of anyone else doing that, but he said the power delivery was *perfect.*

As usual, the aussies have us Rotards covered

I've seen blower kits for the 4pt rx8s but not anything that extravagant...

Test drove an 09 Sport today. HNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Ranger50 wrote: Back to rebuilding rotatries, it isn't hard to do. If you can rebuild any piston engine, you can rebuild a rotary. Now here comes the rub, COST, but when you think about it isn't any more expensive as its piston counterpart.

Rotaries are cheaper to rebuild than piston engines.

Heck, I have more money in my friggin' Audi 5-cylinder engine than I do in my 13B, and the Audi isn't even a rebuild, just head gasket and valves and other resealing. Bottom end is staying just as it was when assembled 24 years ago in Ingolstadt.

Now, if you drive the rotary until it fails to move under its own power anymore, then yes it's going to be expensive. Just like it's expensive to rebuild a piston engine that you let drop a valve, which broke a piston, which allowed the flailing small end to saw through the side of the block and leave a mess all over the place (which seems to be the way LS1 engines die)

The problem is that rotaries don't audibly tell you that they're putting in their 2 week notice. You just sort of feel it, like they're soft below 3000rpm. I've logged something like 200,000 miles of rotary driving and I've experienced a few weak ones like that, which invariably would then FOD themselves in short order. Not everyone is that mechanically sensitive. A rod knock or a low-speed misfire is pretty obvious, though.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Test drove an 09 Sport today. HNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Yeah, they're EXTREMELY fun to drive.

I test drove Rufledt's 09 R3 a few weeks back, and the car was sublime, but the Recaro seats hurt my fat ass. I guess I need to find a normal RX-8, and I like the sport model. I want the R3 because it is everything I want, but I can't live with the seats unless I drop a lot of weight. I saw what appears to be a nice 09 sport on the RX-8 forum, and I may inquire more about it now that my Suburban is paid off.